Gorbachev and the downfall of Soviet communism, 1985–91
The impetus to reform:
impact of Afghanistan war;
- Civil war throughout 1978 and 1979 in Afghanistan (on USSR’s southern border)
meant Afghan communists desired Soviet support. Initially Brezhnev rejected their
requests but in December 1979 the politburo, influenced by military hardliners,
ordered the army to invade afghanistan.
- The USSR was plunged into a ten-year war that drained its resources and soured its
relations with the west.
- The war was unwinnable, the US-funded mujahideen used guerrilla tactics in a war of
attrition in the mountains. (It became a parallel to vietnam.)
- Gorbachev became leader in 1985 and in July 1986 announced the withdrawal of six
army divisions within a year. In February 1988 he ordered the departure of all
115,000 troops starting in May with the last leaving in February 1989.
- USSR spent an estimated $8.2 billion a year on the Afghan war
- The soviet government announced 13,310 soviet troops had been killed and 35,478
wounded (but this did not include accidents and drug addiction which was a big
problem.) These numbers were not large enough to alter the political nature of USSR
but influenced the atmosphere and pressure to reform.
- However as soldiers returned home and media restrictions were lifted under glasnost
people began to distrust the state. Particularly when the degree of drug addiction
among the 55,000 soviet troops who had served became known.
- One group who became particularly important later were the war veterans known as
Afgantsy. After the traumatising experience of war some turned to violence and crime
adding to the social problems. Many also later engaged in politics with many in the
crowd defending the democratic parliament buildings in the coup d’état 1991.
- The war ended Détente period
- USA boycotted Moscow Olympics in 1980, USSR boycotted the Los Angeles games
1984
- Reagan launched a new arms race, increasing spending to 7% of GDP (in order to
keep up USSR had to spend 22-27% of GDP on military)
- However there is evidence to suggest soviet officials were not concerned about
Reagan's most expensive and ambitious plan SDI (Star wars) 1983 as they were
never convinced it would work. But escalation in the cold war did divert from internal
spending.
- The war was seen to undermine the legitimacy of the USSR to rule an empire and
further motivated nationalists in the satellite states to push for independence.
- The withdrawal focused senior military’s opposition onto Gorbachev and his reforms
as they felt they had been betrayed. This would lead to the 1991 coup.
economic stagnation;
- Annual growth less than 1% in 1985
- Oil prices dropped by two-thirds from 1980-85 which impacted soviet exports.
- Kremlin had to spend $4bn just to deal with the 1980 crisis in poland were mass
strikes led to the emergence of the solidarity opposition movement and imposition of
martial law.
- Low birth rates. Particularly in russia meant working population had levelled
, - Lack of technology, inefficient workers, corrupt managers and uninspired political
leadership created an economy mired in its own deficiencies.
- Command economy with uncoordinated decisions
- There was little incentive to work and few luxuries to buy
- Meanwhile western capitalist economies picked up and the difference in living
standards became clearer and wider.
- The government falsified data in order to hide the failing economy by raising targets
in line with previous targets that had not been met.
- In 1987 Russian economists Khanin and Selyunin famously argued that soviet
income had not multiplied by 84.4 times between 1928-1985 as officials claimed but
instead only 6.6 times.
- 1961 at the launch of Third Communist programme Khruschev declared the USA
would be overtaken and a communist utopia would emerge in 20 years. Gorbachev
confessed this had not happened and the circumstances were not right for it to ever
happen in 1986.
- However the economic stagnation did not cause mass protests instead there was a
cynical acceptance among people that this was simply the way things were with
workers skipping work as it was the only time shops were open and they needed to
queue.
the alcohol problem;
- Alcohol consumption in the USSR was among the world’s highest.
- Vodka was one of the few products always available in shops but a quarter of all
alcohol brewed was illicitly in the form of samogon.
- The USSR used sobering-up stations to ease burden on the police, in 1979
estimated 16-18 million drunks had used them with 30 stations in Moscow alone.
- Alcohol was seen as a primary reason for absenteeism, poor-quality products and
work related accidents.
- In 1980s Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko toughened the ‘law against parasites’
with people grabbed off the streets and fined for not being at work
- Gorbachev instead saw rising rates of alcoholism, divorce, mental illness and suicide
as symptomatic of a failed economy
- The USSR institute of Sociology estimated alcoholism was costing the government
80 billion rubles per year by 1985.
rising nationalism;
- Due to there being few media centres beyond Moscow and St Petersburg the
growing nationalist and separatist feelings in the various republics across the USSR
are often overlooked.
- Under Lenin republics were originally intended to retain independence and the right
to withdraw but they were brought under direct control by force. In the 1930’s a
programme similar to Russification had existed alongside a large migration of
russians into republics that made many ethnic groups a minority in their own republic
(particularly in the baltic states)
- The disasters of recent years resulted in states distrusting russia (particularly belarus
and ukraine after chernobyl fallout)
The impetus to reform:
impact of Afghanistan war;
- Civil war throughout 1978 and 1979 in Afghanistan (on USSR’s southern border)
meant Afghan communists desired Soviet support. Initially Brezhnev rejected their
requests but in December 1979 the politburo, influenced by military hardliners,
ordered the army to invade afghanistan.
- The USSR was plunged into a ten-year war that drained its resources and soured its
relations with the west.
- The war was unwinnable, the US-funded mujahideen used guerrilla tactics in a war of
attrition in the mountains. (It became a parallel to vietnam.)
- Gorbachev became leader in 1985 and in July 1986 announced the withdrawal of six
army divisions within a year. In February 1988 he ordered the departure of all
115,000 troops starting in May with the last leaving in February 1989.
- USSR spent an estimated $8.2 billion a year on the Afghan war
- The soviet government announced 13,310 soviet troops had been killed and 35,478
wounded (but this did not include accidents and drug addiction which was a big
problem.) These numbers were not large enough to alter the political nature of USSR
but influenced the atmosphere and pressure to reform.
- However as soldiers returned home and media restrictions were lifted under glasnost
people began to distrust the state. Particularly when the degree of drug addiction
among the 55,000 soviet troops who had served became known.
- One group who became particularly important later were the war veterans known as
Afgantsy. After the traumatising experience of war some turned to violence and crime
adding to the social problems. Many also later engaged in politics with many in the
crowd defending the democratic parliament buildings in the coup d’état 1991.
- The war ended Détente period
- USA boycotted Moscow Olympics in 1980, USSR boycotted the Los Angeles games
1984
- Reagan launched a new arms race, increasing spending to 7% of GDP (in order to
keep up USSR had to spend 22-27% of GDP on military)
- However there is evidence to suggest soviet officials were not concerned about
Reagan's most expensive and ambitious plan SDI (Star wars) 1983 as they were
never convinced it would work. But escalation in the cold war did divert from internal
spending.
- The war was seen to undermine the legitimacy of the USSR to rule an empire and
further motivated nationalists in the satellite states to push for independence.
- The withdrawal focused senior military’s opposition onto Gorbachev and his reforms
as they felt they had been betrayed. This would lead to the 1991 coup.
economic stagnation;
- Annual growth less than 1% in 1985
- Oil prices dropped by two-thirds from 1980-85 which impacted soviet exports.
- Kremlin had to spend $4bn just to deal with the 1980 crisis in poland were mass
strikes led to the emergence of the solidarity opposition movement and imposition of
martial law.
- Low birth rates. Particularly in russia meant working population had levelled
, - Lack of technology, inefficient workers, corrupt managers and uninspired political
leadership created an economy mired in its own deficiencies.
- Command economy with uncoordinated decisions
- There was little incentive to work and few luxuries to buy
- Meanwhile western capitalist economies picked up and the difference in living
standards became clearer and wider.
- The government falsified data in order to hide the failing economy by raising targets
in line with previous targets that had not been met.
- In 1987 Russian economists Khanin and Selyunin famously argued that soviet
income had not multiplied by 84.4 times between 1928-1985 as officials claimed but
instead only 6.6 times.
- 1961 at the launch of Third Communist programme Khruschev declared the USA
would be overtaken and a communist utopia would emerge in 20 years. Gorbachev
confessed this had not happened and the circumstances were not right for it to ever
happen in 1986.
- However the economic stagnation did not cause mass protests instead there was a
cynical acceptance among people that this was simply the way things were with
workers skipping work as it was the only time shops were open and they needed to
queue.
the alcohol problem;
- Alcohol consumption in the USSR was among the world’s highest.
- Vodka was one of the few products always available in shops but a quarter of all
alcohol brewed was illicitly in the form of samogon.
- The USSR used sobering-up stations to ease burden on the police, in 1979
estimated 16-18 million drunks had used them with 30 stations in Moscow alone.
- Alcohol was seen as a primary reason for absenteeism, poor-quality products and
work related accidents.
- In 1980s Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko toughened the ‘law against parasites’
with people grabbed off the streets and fined for not being at work
- Gorbachev instead saw rising rates of alcoholism, divorce, mental illness and suicide
as symptomatic of a failed economy
- The USSR institute of Sociology estimated alcoholism was costing the government
80 billion rubles per year by 1985.
rising nationalism;
- Due to there being few media centres beyond Moscow and St Petersburg the
growing nationalist and separatist feelings in the various republics across the USSR
are often overlooked.
- Under Lenin republics were originally intended to retain independence and the right
to withdraw but they were brought under direct control by force. In the 1930’s a
programme similar to Russification had existed alongside a large migration of
russians into republics that made many ethnic groups a minority in their own republic
(particularly in the baltic states)
- The disasters of recent years resulted in states distrusting russia (particularly belarus
and ukraine after chernobyl fallout)
