Collapse Of The Soviet Union
By: Zander, Abbey, Tyjaha, RaQuiez
Gorbachev Moves Toward Democracy
●Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev and the Politburo, the ruling committee of the
communist party crushed all political disagreement
●The communist party also restricted freedom of speech and worship
A younger leader
●Politburo debated between two men
●Gorbachev was one, supporters praised his youth, energy, and political skills
●Gorbachev became the partys new general secretary
●At the age of 54, he was the youngest Soviet leader since Stalin.
Glasnost Pro
●Past Soviet leaders had created a totalitarian state
●Glasnot brought remarkable change, it is also known as openness
●The government allowed churches to open, and it released dissidents from prison and
allowed publication of books by previously banned authors
Reforming the Economy and Politics
Economic Restructuring
Gorbachev blamed the economic problems on the Soviet Union’s system of central planning
Central planning- party officials told farm and factory manages how much to produce, what wages to pay the workers, and what to charge for those products
The people had little motivation to improve efficiency in production because they knew they couldn’t improve their pay by producing more
Gorbachev introduced perestroika (economic restructuring) by allowing managers to gain greater control over their farms and factories and allowing people to open up small businesses in order to restore the Soviet Union’s economy
Democratization Opens the Political System
Voters could choose from a list of candidates for each office instead of approving a candidate hand picked by the Communist party
Foreign Policy
Most expensive military buildup in peacetime history (cost more than $2 trillion)
Focused on arms control
Gorbachev and Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty which banned missiles with ranges of 300 to 3,400 ft
The Soviet Union Faces Turmoil
Lithuania Defies Gorbachev
The first challenge came from the Baltic nations of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia
These republics had been independent states between the two world wars, until the Soviets annexed them in 1940
In March 1990, Lithuania declared its independence
Gorbachev ordered an economic blockade of the republic to force them back into the Soviet Union
In January 1991, Soviet troops attacked unarmed citizens in Lithuania’s capital
Yeltsin Denounces Gorbachev
The assault in Lithuania and the lack of economic progress damaged Gorbachev’s popularity
People looked to Boris Yeltsin for leadership
He criticized the crackdown in Lithuania and the slow pace of reforms
He became the Russian Federation’s first directly elected president in June 1991
The August Coup
On August 18,1991, the hardliners detained Gorbachev at his vacation home on the Black Sea
They demanded his resignation as Soviet president
On August 20, the hardliners ordered troops to attack the parliament building, but they refused
On August 21, the military withdrew its forces from Moscow
That night, Gorbachev returned to Moscow
End of the Soviet Union
The coup attempt sparked anger against the Communist Party
Gorbachev resigned as general secretary of the party
The Soviet parliament voted to stop all party activities
Having first seized power in 1917 in a coup that succeeded, the Communist Party now collapsed because of a coup that failed
- By early December, all 15 republics had declared independence
Russia Under Boris Yeltsin
Yeltsin Faces Problems
He adopted a bold plan to to reform the Russian economy known as shock therapy, which is an abrupt shift to free market economics.
Prices soared; the inflation rates averaged 800%.
Yeltsin’s opposers shut themselves inside the parliament building, so Yeltsin proceeded to bombard the building which killed many.
Chechnya Rebels
In 1991 Chechnya declared its independence, but Yeltsin denied their right to secede.
In 1994, he sent 40,000 Russian troops to end the enemy Republic. The troops turned the capital city of Grozny into rubble.
In 1999, Yeltsin resigned and named Vladimir Putin as president.
Russia under Vladimir Putin
Russia Under Vladimir Putin
Putin forcefully dealt with the rebellion in Chechnya, A popular move that helped him win the presidential election in 2000
Troubles Continue in Chechnya
In 2000 Russia said that the war in Chechnya was nearing a end
July 2002, the Kremlin said it would begin pulling some of its 80,000 troops out of Chechnya, but Russia had made and broken
October 2002, Chechen rebels seized a theater in moscow, and more than 150 people died in the rescue attempt by russian forces.
Economic, Political, and Social Problems
A decade of changes and reform between 1992 and 2002 caused enormous social upheaval in Russia
- some being include high rates of domestic violence and unemployment, a steep population decline