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The Soviet System Under Stress
The Soviet Union was unable to survive a
combination of domestic and foreign problems.
Reading Connection Do you listen to regular reporting
on the domestic and foreign challenges of the American president? Read to learn why Soviet leaders could not solve domestic and foreign problems that intensified in the 1980s.
Between 1964 and 1982, drastic change in the
Soviet Union had seemed highly unlikely. What happened to create such a dramatic turnaround by the
late 1980s? The major reason lies with a man named
Mikhail Gorbachev (GAWR•buh•CHAWF).
Gorbachev, who became the Soviet leader in 1985,
wrote a 1978 book that explained his goals for change
in the Soviet Union:
“
There is a great thirst for mutual understanding and mutual communication in the world. It is
felt among politicians, it is gaining momentum
among the intelligentsia, representatives of culture, and the public at large. And if the Russian
word ‘perestroika’ has easily entered the international lexicon [vocabulary], this is due to more
than just interest in what is going on in the Soviet
Union. Now the whole world needs restructuring,
i.e., progressive development, a fundamental
change. . . . I believe that more and more people
will come to realize that through RESTRUCTURING in the broad sense of the word, the integrity
of the world will be enhanced.
relaxation of tensions and improved relations
between the two superpowers. The Soviet Union was
roughly equal to the United States in nuclear arms. Its
leaders thus felt secure and were willing to relax their
rigid rule. There was more access to Western literature
and pop culture, although dissidents—those who
spoke out against the regime—were still punished.
In economic policy, Brezhnev continued to emphasize heavy industry. He also stuck with two policies
that weakened the economy. Central government
planning had created a huge bureaucracy that discouraged efficiency in industry. In agriculture, too,
there was inefficiency. Farmers had no incentive to
work hard on huge state-owned collectives—they
worked much harder on their own tiny plots. Brezhnev also made no effort to reform the Communist
ruling class, which by now was corrupt. Party officials and army and secret-police personnel enjoyed a
high standard of living, while average Russians
struggled to make ends meet.
By the 1970s, improved American-Soviet relations
allowed grain and consumer goods to be sold to
the Soviet Union. Beginning in 1979, however, the
apparent collapse of détente began a new period
of East-West confrontation. Détente suffered a major
setback in 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded
Afghanistan. The Soviet Union wanted to restore a
pro-Soviet regime there, which the United States
viewed as an act of expansion. To show his disapproval, President Jimmy Carter canceled American
participation in the 1980 Olympic Games to be held
in Moscow. He also put an embargo on the shipment
of American grain to the Soviets.
”
It is hard to understand how dramatic Gorbachev’s
words were unless we look at Soviet events of that
era. When Nikita Khrushchev was removed from
office in 1964, two men, Alexei Kosygin and Leonid
Brezhnev (BREHZH•NEHF), replaced him. Brezhnev
emerged as the dominant leader in the 1970s. He was
determined to keep Eastern Europe in Communist
hands and was uninterested in reform. Brezhnev
insisted on the right of the Soviet Union to intervene
if communism was threatened in another Communist
state (known as the Brezhnev Doctrine).
At the same time, Brezhnev benefited from the
more relaxed atmosphere associated with détente, a
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Mikhail Gorbachev
When Ronald Reagan was elected president of the
United States in 1980, relations with the Soviets
became even chillier. Calling the Soviet Union an “evil
empire,” Reagan began a military buildup, which
stimulated a new arms race. He also gave military aid
to rebels fighting a pro-Soviet regime in Afghanistan.
By doing so, Reagan believed he would force the
Soviet Union to waste resources on a foreign war.
Reading Check Making Inferences Why did
détente between Soviets and Americans come to an end?
Gorbachev and Soviet Reform
Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms contributed to
the end of the Cold War and of the Soviet system.
Reading Connection Can you think of an American
president who dramatically changed the course of the nation?
Read to learn how a Communist Party leader changed the
course of Russian history.
By 1980, the Soviet Union was seriously ailing,
with a declining economy, a rise in infant mortality
rates, a surge in alcoholism, and poor working conditions. It was clear that the system was in trouble.
Within the Communist Party, a small group of
reformers emerged who wanted to address these
problems. One of these was Mikhail Gorbachev.
When the party chose him as leader in March 1985,
a new era began. From the start, he preached
the need for radical reforms. The basis of these
reforms was perestroika (PEHR•uh•STROY•kuh), or
restructuring.
At first, this meant restructuring economic policy.
Gorbachev wanted to start a market economy more
responsive to consumers. It was to have limited free
enterprise so that some businesses would be privately owned and operated.
Soon Gorbachev realized that an attempt to reform
the economy would not work without political
reform. Therefore at the 1988 Communist Party conference, he established a new Soviet parliament with
elected members, the Congress of People’s Deputies.
It met in 1989—the first such meeting in Russia since
1918. Early in 1990, Gorbachev decreed that noncommunist political parties could organize. He also
abolished a constitutional provision saying that the
Communist Party had a “leading role” in the state.
Gorbachev then created a new state presidency as
the leading executive office—under the old system,
the first secretary of the Communist Party had been
Gorbachev and Reagan meeting in the 1980s
the most important. In March 1990, Gorbachev
became the Soviet Union’s first president. Ironically,
he was also its last.
End of the Cold War
When Mikhail Gorbachev
came to power in the Soviet Union, the Cold War came
suddenly to an end. Gorbachev’s “New Thinking”—
his willingness to rethink Soviet foreign policy—had
resulted in stunning changes.
First, Gorbachev made an agreement with the
United States in 1987, often called the INF Treaty, to
eliminate intermediate-range nuclear weapons. Both
superpowers wanted to slow down the arms race.
Instead of spending so much on weapons, Gorbachev
hoped to focus resources on social and economic
change. In the United States, too, cutting military
expenditures would be helpful. It would help balance
the national debt, which had tripled during the Reagan presidency. The country had moved from being a
creditor nation—a country that exports more than it
imports—to being the world’s biggest debtor nation.
By 1990, both countries wanted to reduce their military budgets in order to solve domestic problems.
For the Soviets, another important change resulted
from the reduced military budget: Gorbachev
stopped giving military support to Communist governments in Eastern Europe. This change opened the
door to the overthrow of these Communist regimes.
In 1989, a mostly peaceful revolutionary movement
swept through Eastern Europe.
When this peaceful popular revolution occurred
in East Germany, it was not long before the two
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Joseph C. Marquette
Arctic Ocean
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Germanies came together. The reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990, was a powerful symbol of
the end of the Cold War. In 1991, the Soviet Union
was dissolved. The long rivalry between the two
superpowers was over.
The End of the Soviet Union
One of Gorbachev’s
most serious problems was the multi-ethnic nature of
the Soviet Union. It included 92 nationalities and 112
different languages. The iron hand of the Communist
Party, centered in Moscow, had kept centuries-old
ethnic tensions contained.
As Gorbachev released this iron grip, these tensions again came to the fore. Nationalist movements
emerged in the republics that made up the Soviet
Union. In 1989 and 1990, there were calls for independence, first in Soviet Georgia and then in Latvia,
Estonia, Moldavia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and
Lithuania.
During 1990 and 1991, Gorbachev struggled to
deal with the problems unleashed by his reforms. By
1991, the conservative leaders of the traditional
Soviet institutions like the army and the secret police
were worried. The possible breakup of the Soviet
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Astana
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National boundary
National capital
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Breakup of the Soviet Union, 1991
The Contemporary Western World
90°E
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Three republics of the Soviet Union—Lithuania, Estonia, and
Latvia—became independent states in September 1991.
Twelve more countries became independent in December.
1. Interpreting Maps Identify the new independent states.
2. Applying Geography Skills Why would trade become
more difficult for Russia after the breakup?
Union would mean an end to their privileges. On
August 19, 1991, a group of these conservatives
arrested Gorbachev and tried to seize power. The
attempt failed, however, when Boris Yeltsin, president of the Russian Republic, and thousands of Russians bravely resisted the rebel forces in Moscow.
The Soviet republics now moved for complete
independence. Ukraine voted for independence on
December 1, 1991. A week later, the leaders of Russia,
Ukraine, and Belarus announced that the Soviet
Union had “ceased to exist.” Gorbachev resigned on
December 25, 1991, and turned over his responsibilities as commander in chief to Boris Yeltsin, the new
Russian president. By the end of 1991, one of the
largest empires in world history had ended. A new
era began.
The New Russia
Boris Yeltsin was committed to
introducing a free market economy as quickly as possible, but the transition was not easy. Economic hardships and social disorder were made worse by a rise
in organized crime. Another problem Yeltsin faced
was in Chechnya, a province in the south that wanted
to be independent. Yeltsin used force to keep Chechnya in Russia. Yeltsin also dealt with former Soviet
states like Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic
who wanted to join NATO. Yeltsin opposed their
wishes, but in the 1990s, these countries succeeded.
At the end of 1999, Yeltsin resigned and was
replaced by Vladimir Putin, who was elected president in 2000. Putin, a former officer in the KGB, or
secret police, was widely seen as someone who
wanted to keep a tight rein on government power. In
July 2001, Putin launched reforms aimed at boosting
growth and budget revenues and keeping Russia on
a strong economic track. The reforms included the
free sale and purchase of land and tax cuts. Since
then, Russia has experienced a budget surplus and a
growing economy. The business climate remains
somewhat uncertain, however, and this has stifled
foreign investment.
In foreign policy Putin worked to have Russia take
on a bigger role in international affairs. He applied
for Russia’s admission to the World Trade Organization and worked out a special partnership with the
European Union.
Putin followed a hard-line policy in Chechnya,
vowing to return the breakaway state to Russian
authority. Fighting in this largely Muslim state intensified and the capital of Grozny was nearly reduced to
ruins. As more Russian troops were sent, the rebels
became even more radical and religious motives
became more important. Some claimed that al-Qaeda,
Checking for Understanding
1. Vocabulary Define: détente, dissident,
apparent, expansion, perestroika.
2. People and Events Identify: Mikhail
Gorbachev, Leonid Brezhnev, Brezhnev
Doctrine, Ronald Reagan, Boris Yeltsin,
Vladimir Putin.
3. Places Locate: Afghanistan, Ukraine,
Belarus.
Reviewing Big Ideas
4. Explain why the conservative leaders
of the traditional Soviet institutions
opposed the breakup of the Soviet
Union. Name the institutions these
leaders represented.
Vladimir Putin
the terrorist organization, was funding the rebels,
though others doubted that this was true.
Bombings and assassinations continued. In early
September 2004, Chechnyan rebels seized a school in
the town of Beslan. When Russian troops moved in to
end the siege, more than 300 died. Many were young
schoolchildren. Putin continued to refuse to negotiate with the Chechnyan rebels, but critics began to
question his hard-line position, as well as how fully
this event was reported in state-owned media. In
response Putin cracked down on media outlets, and
in the fall of 2004, he proposed that regional leaders
be appointed rather than popularly elected.
Reading Check Cause and Effect How did
Gorbachev contribute to the fall of the Soviet Union?
HISTORY
For help with the concepts in this section of Glencoe World
History—Modern Times, go to wh.mt.glencoe.com and
click on Study Central.
Critical Thinking
5. Drawing Inferences Why did the former Soviet Union have problems
adapting to a free-market society?
6. Organizing Information Create a diagram like the one below showing the
problems the Soviet Union faced under
communism and the problems the former Soviet republics face today.
Soviet
Union
Study Central
Former
Soviet
Republics
Analyzing Visuals
7. Examine the photograph on page 611
of a man tearing down the Berlin Wall.
How would you describe the reaction
of the Soviet soldiers standing on top of
the wall?
8. Expository Writing Locate biographical information on Leonid Brezhnev, Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris
Yeltsin, and Vladimir Putin. In an
essay, analyze each leader’s
strengths and weaknesses.
CA 10WA2.3
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