THE END OF BIPOLARITY NOTES (Pol.

science)

What was the Soviet System?

• The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) came into being after the
socialist revolution in Russia in 1917.
• The revolution was inspired by the ideals of socialism, as opposed to
capitalism, and the need for an egalitarian society.
• The Soviet political system centred around the communist party, and no
other political party or opposition was allowed. The economy was planned
and controlled by the state.
• After the Second World War, the east European countries that the Soviet
army had liberated from the fascist forces came under the control of the
USSR. This group of countries was called the Second
World or the ‘socialist bloc’ held together by Warsaw Pact, a military
alliance.
• After the Second World War, the Soviet economy was then more developed
than the rest of the world except for the US. The Soviet state ensured a
minimum standard of living for all citizens, and the government subsidised
basic necessities including health, education, childcare and other welfare
schemes. There was no unemployment.
• The Soviet system became very bureaucratic and authoritarian, making
life very difficult for its citizens.
• In the arms race, the Soviet Union managed to match the US from time to
time, but the Soviet Union lagged behind the West in technology,
infrastructure and in fulfilling the political or economic aspirations of
citizens.
• The Soviet economy was faltering in the late 1970s and became stagnant.

Gorbachev and the Disintegration

• Mikhail Gorbachev, who had become General Secretary of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union in 1985 started reforming the system.
• He decided to normalise relations with the West and democratise and
reform the Soviet Union but he did not anticipate the defects of the system.
• The people in the East European countries which were part of the Soviet
bloc started to protest against their own governments and Soviet control.
Gorbachev, did not intervene when the disturbances occurred, and the
communist regimes collapsed one after another.
• The democratic reforms were opposed by leaders within the Communist
Party. A coup took place in 1991 that was encouraged by Communist Party
hardliners. The people did not want the old-style rule of the Communist
Party and wanted freedom.
• In December 1991, under the leadership of Yeltsin, Russia, Ukraine and
Belarus, three major republics of the USSR, declared that the Soviet Union
was disbanded. Capitalism and democracy were adopted as the bases for
the post-Soviet republics.
• Russia was now accepted as the successor state of the Soviet Union. It
inherited the Soviet seat in the UN Security Council. Russia accepted all the
international treaties and commitments of the Soviet Union.
Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate?
• The internal weaknesses of Soviet political and economic institutions
failed to meet the aspirations of the people.
• The Soviet economy used much of its resources in maintaining a nuclear
and military arsenal and the development of its satellite states in Eastern
Europe and within the Soviet system (the five Central Asian Republics in
particular). Thus, economic stagnation for many years led to severe
consumer shortages and a large section of Soviet society began to doubt
and question the system.
• The Communist Party that had ruled the Soviet Union for over 70 years
was not accountable to the people. Ordinary people were alienated by slow
and stifling administration, rampant corruption, the inability of the system
to correct mistakes it had made, the unwillingness to allow more openness
in government, and the centralisation of authority in a vast land.
• A section of the society was not happy with the reforms of Gorbachev. It
was believed that the reforms introduced by Gorbachev were at a very slow
pace.
• The rise of nationalism and the desire for sovereignty within various
republics including Russia and the Baltic republics.

Consequences of Disintegration
• It meant the end of Cold War confrontations. The ideological dispute over
whether the socialist system was over.
• Power relations in world politics changed therefore it led to change in the
relative influence of ideas and institutions.
• The US became the sole superpower. Backed by the power and prestige of
the US, the capitalist economy was now the dominant economic system
internationally.
• Institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund became
powerful advisors to all countries.
• Politically, the notion of liberal democracy emerged as the best way to
organise political life.
• The end of the Soviet bloc paved way for the emergence of many new
countries who had their own independent aspirations and choices. Some of
them, especially the Baltic and east European states, wanted to join the
European Union and become part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
(NATO). The Central Asian countries wanted to take advantage of their
geographical location and continue their close ties with Russia and also to
establish ties with the West, the US, China and others.

Shock therapy in post-communist regimes

• The model of transition in Russia, Central Asia and East Europe from an
authoritarian socialist system to a democratic capitalist system which was
influenced by the World Bank and the IMF came to be known as ‘Shock
Therapy’.
• Shock therapy varied in intensity and speed amongst the former second
world countries, but its direction and features were quite similar.
• Each of the countries was required to make a total shift to a capitalist
economy, which meant rooting out completely any structures evolved
during the Soviet period.
• The transition also involved a break up of the existing trade alliances
among the countries of the Soviet bloc.

Consequences of Shock Therapy

• The shock therapy brought ruin to the economies and disaster upon the
people of the entire region.
• The value of the ruble, the Russian currency, declined dramatically and
the rate of inflation was so high that people lost all their savings.
• The old system of social welfare was systematically destroyed. The
withdrawal of government subsidies pushed large sections of the people
into poverty.
• The construction of democratic institutions was not given the same
attention and priority as the demands of economic transformation.

Tensions and Conflicts

• Most of the former Soviet Republics are prone to conflicts, and many have
had civil wars and insurgencies.
• In Russia, two republics, Chechnya and Dagestan, have had violent
secessionist movements.
• Tajikistan witnessed a civil war for almost 10 years till 2001. The region
had many sectarian conflicts.
Central Asia too become a zone of competition between outside powers and
oil companies.
• In eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia was divided into two, the Czechs and
the Slovaks thus forming independent countries.
• Yugoslavia broke apart with several provinces like Croatia, Slovenia and
Bosnia and Herzegovina declaring independence.

India and Post-Communist Countries

• India has maintained good relations with all the post- communist
countries. India’s relations with Russia are an important aspect of India’s
foreign policy as both the countries share a vision of a multipolar world
order.
• More than 80 bilateral agreements have been signed between India and
Russia as part of the Indo-Russian Strategic Agreement of 2001
• India benefitted from Russia over issues like Kashmir, energy supplies,
access to Central Asia, balancing its relations with China.
• Russia benefitted from this relationship because India is the second
largest arms market for Russia.

Timeline of Chapter 2 The End of Bipolarity (EXTRA)

• March 1985: Mikhail Gorbachev elected as the General Secretary of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union; appoints Boris Yeltsin as the head of
the Communist Party in Moscow; initiates a series of reforms in the Soviet
Union
• 1988: Independence movement begins in Lithuania; later spreads to
Estonia and Latvia
• October 1989: Soviet Union declares that the Warsaw Pact members are
free to decide their own futures; Berlin Wall falls in November
• February 1990: Gorbachev strips the Soviet Communist Party of its 72-
year-long monopoly on power by calling on the Soviet parliament (Duma) to
permit multi- party politics
• March 1990: Lithuania becomes the first of the 15 Soviet republics to
declare its independence
• June 1990: Russian parliament declares its independence from the Soviet
Union
• June 1991: Yeltsin, no longer in the Communist Party, becomes the
President of Russia
• August 1991: The Communist Party hardliners stage an abortive coup
against Gorbachev
• September 1991: Three Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
become UN members (later join NATO in March 2004)
• December 1991: Russia, Belarus and Ukraine decide to annul the 1922
Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and establish the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS); Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the CIS (Georgia
joins later in 1993); Russia takes over the USSR seat in the United Nations
• 25 December 1991 : Gorbachev resigns as the President of the Soviet Union;
the end of the Soviet Union