Russia, 1917-91 | Fall of the USSR (1985-91)
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- Created by: dkingston16
- Created on: 14-04-18 23:10
Which two leaders were responsible during this period?
Mikhail Gorbachev & Boris Yeltsin
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What are the possible reasons for the USSR's fall?
Economic weaknesses; Gorbachev's failure to reform Communist Party/Soviet gov.; 1980s nationalist resurgence; roles of Gorbachev & Yeltsin
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What could potentially be the main reason for the fall, and how?
Economic reform failure - Possibly undermined existing system; approach kept changing; long-term weaknesses = inevitable failure.
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What were the three steps in the economic reform policy, and when would they take place?
Rationalisation (1985/6); Reform (late '86-90); Transformation (1990/1)
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What happened in the rationalisation process?
Andropov's anti-alcohol campaign continued; 'Uskorenie' (acceleration) programme created to modernise economy.
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Why did this process fail?
Alcohol bought illegally - less gov. vodka sales wages (67 billion roubles decrease); Uskorenie funded by Western gov. loan (Russia in $18.1 billion debt)
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What were the reform laws introduced by Gorbachev?
Law on Individual Economic Acts (Nov 1986); Law on State Enterprises (June 1987); Law on Co-operatives (May 1988)
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What happened as a result of the Law on Individual Economic Acts?
Now legal to earn money from small-scale jobs (i.e. private teaching, repairs & maintenance)
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What happened as a result of the Law on State Enterprises?
Power devolved from central gov. to factory management - fact. managers could set prices.
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What happened as a result of the Law on Co-operatives?
State co-ops (i.e. private companies) could now be created.
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Why did market reform fail?
No effective way of goods distribution - shortages increasingly severe
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What was the difference between what political hardliners and radicals wanted in Soviet economy?
Hardliners: preservation of Soviet eco/political system; Radicals: speed up reform
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What was proposed in the transformation process, and who commissioned it?
Widespread privatisation & complete marketisation; Stanislav Shatalin & Grigory Yavlinsky
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What was this proposal called?
500 Day Programme
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What did the Supreme Soviet (1991) introduce, and why was it significant?
Private property in way impossible since 1920s: important step towards free market economy.
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Why did this feature fail?
Oil production fell by 9%; steel & tractor production fell by 12%. Official report stated Soviet economy = catastrophic.
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What were Gorbachev's government goals?
Creation of democracy for workers; greater freedom of speech; end to cynicism towards gov.
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In 1985, what were the early reforms for the Party, intellectuals and public?
Party: debate; Intellectuals: more free speech; Public: more access to information.
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Who was to be purged in the Party, and why?
Senior Communists that served under Brezhnev, so Gorbachev could appoint a new generation of reform-favouring ministers.
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Who was Prime Minister, head of KGB and head of Communist Party in Moscow under Gorbachev?
Nikolai Rzyhkov (Prime Minister); Viktor Chebrikov (KGB head); Boris Yeltsin (Comm. Party head)
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What does 'Glasnost' translate to, what did the government need to do for this, and when did it run?
'Openness'- government needed to tell truth; 1986-88.
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What happened to the Party as a result of Glasnost?
Divided it - many officials refused to support political & economic reforms.
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When did Gorbachev's democratisation process begin?
1988
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What happened as a result of the 19th Party Conference (1988)?
Multi-candidate elections authorised.
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How much of the vote did Yeltsin win in the March 1989 election, the first Russian election since 1921?
89%
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Which group, effectively Communist opposition led by Yeltsin & Sakharov, formed in the 1989 election?
Inter-Regional Deputies' Group (IRDG).
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In 1990, what was introduced to give Gorbachev new powers to deal w/ USSR's economic/political problems?
Constitutional reform
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What happened to Gorbachev as a result of this?
Appointed President of the USSR by Congress of People's Deputies.
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Why didn't the Presidency solve problems?
His new position was unelected, so therefore illegitmate.
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What caused the USSR's economic decline?
Acceleration
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In 1988, which countries held Nationalist protests?
Karabakh; Azerbaijan
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What name was given to the massacre of Meskhitans by Uzbeks in April 1989?
Tbilisi Massacre
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Which two factors led to creation of Russian environmental groups?
Chernobyl explosion; Communist environmental impact revelations.
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Gorbachev's policy change in which region led to USSR nationalist growth
Eastern Bloc
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What was the name given to the August 1989 doctrine allowing greater freedom in Eastern-European countries?
Sinatra Doctrine
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Which famous event, symbolising an end to Soviet control over Eastern-Europe, took place on 9th November 1989?
Berlin Wall destruction
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Which country declared independence from the USSR in March 1990?
Lithuania
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What did Gorbachev do to this country after claiming the independence declaration was illegal?
Imposed economic sanctions.
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In May 1990, what did Yeltsin claim that gave Russia a high level of independence?
Russian parliament laws were legally superior to that of Soviet's.
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When did Yeltsin resign from the Communist Party, therefore damaging its authority?
July 1990
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On 18th August 1990, what was announced to replace Gorbachev's government, and who led it?
Emergency Committee; Gorb's deputy, heads of Army/KGB.
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When was a treaty for creation of a more decentralised union to be signed?
August 21st 1990
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In January 1991, what did Soviet troops occupy, killing 14 people in the process?
Press & TV headquarters.
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Nationalist in which republics declared independence in early September 1990?
Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Kyrgystan, Armenia
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When was the Communist Party banned by Yeltsin due to little popular opposition?
Nov 6th 1990
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On 4th December 1991, what percentage of Ukranians voted for independence?
90%
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What percentage of the Soviet population did Ukraine have at the time?
20%
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What was the name of the agreement signed by Yeltsin and leaders of Ukraine and Belarus?
Minsk Agreement
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What would replace the USSR - 11/15 former Soviet republics joined on December 21st 1991.
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
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When did Gorbachev formally resign as USSR president due to the impact of the CIS?
Christmas Day 1991
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When did Gorbachev declare the end of the USSR?
December 31st 1991
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What does 'Perestroika' translate to?
Re-structuring
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What did Gorbachev replace local republic leaders with?
Russian supporters
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What were the 4 phases of Perestroika?
Acceleration, Glasnost, Democratisation, Market reform.
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Why did Gorbachev argue the government needed to respect individual rights (i.e. free speech)?
Ensure there was no repeat of Stalin's atrocities.
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Why did commitment to individual rights play key role in USSR's fall.
Party's power to repress opposition weakened.
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What were the consequences of Gorbachev's reforms?
Economic chaos, reduced faith in Comm. Party and USSR.
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Why did the 'uskoreniye' policy fail?
It was designed to restructure industry AND increase output - couldn't happen simultaneously.
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Why was introducing new reforms a bad idea for Gorbachev?
They were never given time to grow.
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Which other Communist country had many USSR features (i.e. reform introductions), yet their Comm. Party retained power?
China
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In terms of market reform, what was different about China's embracing of it compared to the USSR's?
China = quicker, more comprehensive; USSR = slow, inconsistent
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How much did the Party's popularity decline in 1990?
18.8%
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What did Yeltsin advise leaders of several Soviet nations to do upon visiting their countries in summer 1990?
'Take as much sovereignty as you can swallow'.
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Why did Yeltsin have democratic legitimacy?
He had been elected, unlike Gorbachev.
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
What are the possible reasons for the USSR's fall?
Back
Economic weaknesses; Gorbachev's failure to reform Communist Party/Soviet gov.; 1980s nationalist resurgence; roles of Gorbachev & Yeltsin
Card 3
Front
What could potentially be the main reason for the fall, and how?
Back
Card 4
Front
What were the three steps in the economic reform policy, and when would they take place?
Back
Card 5
Front
What happened in the rationalisation process?
Back
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