GORBACHEV AND THE DISINTEGRATION OF USSR

  • Mikhail Gorbachev the General Secretary of Communist party (USSR) in 1985.
  • He brought reform in the USSR.
  • He wanted to know the citizens of USSR and also wanted to be fully updated about the technological revolutions taking place in the West.
  • He wanted to normalize the relationships with the west and democratize and reform the USSR.
  • But this brought some effects which neither he nor anyone else anticipated:
  1. East European countries started protesting against their own government and USSR for democracy to be established. And one by one communist regimes started collapsing.
  2. At the same time economic system was of the USSR weakened which hastened the disintegration.
  3. Gorbachev initiated political and economic reforms and democratization within the country but the reforms were opposed by the leaders withing the Communist party.
  4. And the leaders of communist party started a coup in 1991.
  5. People now tasted the freedom and did not want to live in the old style.
  6. Boris Yeltsin became the national hero as he won the election in Republic Russia and opposed the coup.
  7. Eastern Europe demanded independence and Central Asian republics wanted to remain with Soviet Federations.
  8. In 1991, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, the three major republics of USSR declared that USSR has disbanded.
  9. Capitalism and democracy were adopted for post- Soviet republics.
  • USSR disintegrated, all states separated from Warsaw Pact and “Commonwealth of Independent States” (CIS) was introduced and this was a surprise for Central Asia republics.
  • After disintegration Russia inherited the Soviet seat in the UN security Council.
  1. Russia accepted all the international treaties of Soviet Union.
  2. Only nuclear state was Russia and carried out some nuclear disarmament measures with the US.
  • Old USSR buried and Russia was accepted as the successor state.

Why Did the Soviet Union Disintegrate?

  • Weakness of the USSR’s economic and political institutions led to the disintegration:

1. Economic Weakness:

  • The economic stagnation leading to severe consumer shortages of goods and services. As a result, the public was not satisfied and started doubting and asking questions openly, which was later followed by protests.
  • Reasons of weak and stagnated economy:
  • USSR used to spend money and resources in maintaining a nuclear and military arsenal.
  • Spend money in development of satellite states in Eastern Europe and within USSR (basically in 5 Central Asian republics).
  • People gained knowledge about the technological advancement in the West and started comparing.

2. Political Weakness:

  • Communist party was ruling over 70 years and became authoritarian and was not accountable to people.
  • Corruption started at high rate; government could not stop/reduce it.
  • The people did not know about the functioning about the government/ political system i.e., lack of transparency between people and the government.
  • Party bureaucrats gained privileges than ordinary citizens.
  • People did not identify with the system and with the rulers and the government lost popular backing.
  • Even after reforms of Gorbachev were introduced and promised to deal with the problems, USSR disintegrated. Why?

3. There were sections of society which believed that Gorbachev should have moved much faster, and he was disappointed and impatient with his methods.

4. Communist party had a opposite view and concerns, they felt that their power and privileges were eroding and Gorbachev was moving very fast.

  • Therefore, Gorbachev lost support on all sides and divided the public opinion. People who were with him were disillusioned and felt he did not defend his own policies.
  • The final and most immediate cause for the disintegration for USSR:

5. The rise of nationalism and the desire for sovereignty within various republics including Russia and the Baltic Republics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), Ukraine, Georgia, and others.

2.Consequences of Disintegration

  • There were many consequences of disintegration, but for now we will talk about only three:

1) End of Cold War Confrontation and Ideology Dispute   

  • The ideological dispute over whether the socialist system would beat the capitalist system was not an issue any more.
  • As a result, the end of confrontation demanded an end to his arms race and a possible new peace.

2) Power relations in World Politics Changed:

  • Two possibilities were there:

(i) Unipolar world- Only one republic will be dominant

(ii) Multipolar world- No one country will be dominant.

  • But after Cold War US became the dominant republic and became unipolar.
  • Capitalistic ideology was followed internationally.
  • Institutions like World Bank and International Monetary Fund became powerful advisors and other countries took loan from them for developing.
  • Now, the best way to organize the political life was liberal democracy.

3) Emergence of New Countries:

  • The end of Cold War led to the emergence of many new countries.
  • Baltic and east European states became part of NATO.
  • Central Asian countries continued close ties with Russia and also established ties with the west, the US, China and others.
  • All the new countries had their own independent aspirations and choices.