The End of Bipolarity 3
In the arms race, the Soviet Gorbachev, did not intervene
Union managed to match the US when the disturbances occurred,
from time to time, but at great and the communist regimes
cost. The Soviet Union lagged collapsed one after another.
behind the West in technology, LEADERS OF THE
These developments were SOVIET UNION
infrastructure (e.g., transport, accompanied by a rapidly
power), and most importantly, in escalating crisis within the USSR
fulfilling the political or economic that hastened its disintegration.
aspirations of citizens. The Soviet Gorbachev initiated the policies
invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 of economic and political reform
weakened the system even further. and democratisation within
Though wages continued to grow, the country. The reforms were
productivity and technology fell opposed by leaders within the
considerably behind that of the Communist Party. Joseph Stalin
West. This led to shortages in all (1879-1953)
consumer goods. Food imports A coup took place in 1991 that Successor to Lenin
was encouraged by Communist and led the Soviet
increased every year. The Soviet
Party hardliners. The people had Union during its
economy was faltering in the late consolidation
1970s and became stagnant. tasted freedom by then and did
(1924-53);
not want the old-style rule of the began rapid
Communist Party. Boris Yeltsin industrialisation
Gorbachev and the emerged as a national hero in and forcible
collectivisation
Disintegration opposing this coup. The Russian
Republic, where Yeltsin won a of agriculture;
Mikhail Gorbachev, who had credited with
popular election, began to shake Soviet victory
become General Secretary of off centralised control. Power in the Second
the Communist Party of the began to shift from the Soviet World War; held
Soviet Union in 1985, sought centre to the republics, especially responsible for
to reform this system. Reforms in the more Europeanised part the Great Terror
were necessary to keep the USSR of the 1930s,
of the Soviet Union, which saw
authoritarian
abreast of the information and themselves as sovereign states. functioning and
technological revolutions taking The Central Asian republics elimination of
place in the West. However, did not ask for independence rivals within the
Gorbachev’s decision to normalise and wanted to remain with the party.
relations with the West and Soviet Federation. In December
democratise and refor m the 1991, under the leadership of
Soviet Union had some other Yeltsin, Russia, Ukraine and
effects that neither he nor anyone Belarus, three major republics
else intended or anticipated. The of the USSR, declared that the
people in the East European Soviet Union was disbanded. The
countries which were part of the Communist Party of the Soviet
Soviet bloc started to protest Union was banned. Capitalism
against their own governments and democracy were adopted
and Soviet control. Unlike in the as the bases for the post-Soviet
past, the Soviet Union, under republics.
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4 Contemporary World Politics
A Communist Party bureaucrat drives down from Moscow to a collective
farm to register a potato harvest.
“Comrade farmer, how has the harvest been this year?” the official asks.
LEADERS OF THE “Oh, by the grace of God, we had mountains of potatoes,” answers the
SOVIET UNION farmer.
“But there is no God,” counters the official.
“Huh”, says the farmer, “And there are no mountains of potatoes either.”
The declaration on the there may be more general
disintegration of the USSR and the lessons to be drawn from this
formation of the Commonwealth of very important case.
Independent States (CIS) came as
There is no doubt that
a surprise to the other republics,
Nikita Khrushchev the inter nal weaknesses of
(1894-1971)
especially to the Central Asian
Soviet political and economic
Leader of the ones. The exclusion of these
institutions, which failed to meet
Soviet Union republics was an issue that was
(1953-64);
the aspirations of the people, were
quickly solved by making them
denounced responsible for the collapse of
founding members of the CIS.
Stalin’s leadership the system. Economic stagnation
Russia was now accepted as
style and for many years led to severe
introduced
the successor state of the Soviet
consumer shortages and a large
some reforms in Union. It inherited the Soviet seat
in the UN Security Council. Russia section of Soviet society began to
1956; suggested
“peaceful accepted all the international doubt and question the system
coexistence” treaties and commitments of the and to do so openly.
with the West;
Soviet Union. It took over as the Why did the system become
involved in
suppressing
only nuclear state of the post- so weak and why did the economy
popular rebellion Soviet space and carried out some stagnate? The answer is partially
in Hungary and in nuclear disarmament measures c l e a r. T h e S o v i e t e c o n o m y
the Cuban missile with the US. The old Soviet Union used much of its resources in
crisis. was thus dead and buried. maintaining a nuclear and military
arsenal and the development of its
Why did the Soviet Union satellite states in Eastern Europe
and within the Soviet system (the
Disintegrate? five Central Asian Republics in
How did the second most particular). This led to a huge
powerful country in the world economic burden that the system
suddenly disintegrate? This is a could not cope with. At the same
question worth asking not just to time, ordinary citizens became
I am amazed! How
understand the Soviet Union and more knowledgeable about the
could so many the end of communism but also economic advance of the West.
sensitive people because it is not the first and may They could see the disparities
all over the world not be the last political system to between their system and the
admire a system like collapse. While there are unique systems of the West. After years
this?
features of the Soviet collapse, of being told that the Soviet
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The End of Bipolarity 5
system was better than Western impossible to control. There were
capitalism, the reality of its sections of Soviet society which
backwardness came as a political felt that Gorbachev should have
and psychological shock. moved much faster and were
disappointed and impatient with LEADERS OF THE
The Soviet Union had become SOVIET UNION
his methods. They did not benefit
stagnant in an administrative
in the way they had hoped,
and political sense as well. The
or they benefited too slowly.
Communist Party that had ruled
Others, especially members of the
the Soviet Union for over 70
Communist Party and those who
years was not accountable to
were served by the system, took
the people. Ordinary people
exactly the opposite view. They
were alienated by slow and
felt that their power and privileges
stifling administration, rampant
were eroding and Gorbachev was
corruption, the inability of the Leonid Brezhnev
system to correct mistakes it had moving too quickly. In this ‘tug
(1906-82)
made, the unwillingness to allow of war’, Gorbachev lost support Leader of the
more openness in government, on all sides and divided public Soviet Union (1964-
and the centralisation of authority opinion. Even those who were 82); proposed
with him became disillusioned as Asian Collective
in a vast land. Worse still, the
they felt that he did not adequately Security system;
party bureaucrats gained more associated with
privileges than ordinary citizens. defend his own policies.
the détente phase
People did not identify with the All this might not have led to in relations with
system and with the rulers, and the collapse of the Soviet Union the US; involved
the government increasingly lost but for another development that in suppressing a
popular backing. popular rebellion
surprised most observers and
in Czechoslovakia
Gorbachev’s reforms promised indeed many insiders. The rise and in invading
to deal with these problems. of nationalism and the desire Afghanistan.
Gorbachev promised to reform the for sovereignty within various
economy, catch up with the West, republics including Russia and
and loosen the administrative the Baltic Republics (Estonia,
system. You may wonder why the Latvia and Lithuania), Ukraine,
Soviet Union collapsed in spite of Georgia, and others proved to
Gorbachev’s accurate diagnosis be the final and most immediate
of the problem and his attempt cause for the disintegration of
to implement reforms. Here is the USSR. Here again there are
where the answers become more differing views.
controversial, and we have to One view is that nationalist
depend on future historians to
urges and feelings were very much
guide us better.
at work throughout the history of
The most basic answer seems the Soviet Union and that whether
to be that when Gorbachev carried or not the reforms had occurred
out his reforms and loosened the there would have been an internal
system, he set in motion forces and struggle within the Soviet Union.
expectations that few could have This is a ‘what-if’ of history, but
predicted and became virtually surely it is not an unreasonable
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6 Contemporary World Politics
view given the size and diversity of Ironically, during the Cold War
the Soviet Union and its growing many thought that nationalist
internal problems. Others think unrest would be strongest in the
that Gorbachev’s reforms speeded Central Asian republics given their
LEADERS OF THE up and increased nationalist ethnic and religious differences
SOVIET UNION dissatisfaction to the point that with the rest of the Soviet Union
the government and rulers could and their economic backwardness.
not control it. However, as things turned out,
TIMELINE OF DISINTEGRATION
OF THE SOVIET UNION
1985 March: Mikhail Gorbachev elected as the General Secretary of the
Mikhail Communist Party of the Soviet Union; appoints Boris Yeltsin as the head of the
Gorbachev Communist Party in Moscow; initiates a series of reforms in the Soviet Union
(Born 1931)
Last leader 1988 June: Independence movement begins in Lithuania; later spreads to
of the Soviet Estonia and Latvia
Union (1985-
91); introduced 1989 October: Soviet Union declares that the Warsaw Pact members are free
economic to decide their own futures; Berlin Wall falls in November
and political
reform policies 1990 February: Gorbachev strips the Soviet Communist Party of its 72-year-long
of perestroika monopoly on power by calling on the Soviet parliament (Duma) to permit
(restructuring) multi-party politics
and glasnost
(openness); 1990 March: Lithuania becomes the first of the 15 Soviet republics to declare
stopped the its independence
arms race with
the US; withdrew 1990 June: Russian parliament declares its independence from the Soviet Union
Soviet troops from
Afghanistan and 1991 June: Yeltsin, no longer in the Communist Party, becomes the President
eastern Europe; of Russia
helped in the
unification of 1991 August: The Communist Party hardliners stage an abortive coup against
Germany; ended Gorbachev
the Cold War;
blamed for the 1991 September: Three Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania become
disintegration of UN members (later join NATO in March 2004)
the Soviet Union.
1991 December: 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
1991 December 25: Gorbachev resigns as the President of the Soviet Union; the
end of the Soviet Union
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