1.6.3
The Collapse of Soviet Control
The Soviet Collapse in Eastern Europe
The Soviet Collapse in Eastern Europe
Gorbachev wanted to encourage civil liberties and freedom, whilst maintaining Soviet influence.
The end of the Brezhnev Doctrine
The end of the Brezhnev Doctrine
- Gorbachev needed to revive the Soviet economy. The Arms Race and Warsaw Pact costs were both a large part of the Soviet budget.
- Gorbachev also believed in increasing civil liberties and freedom.
- The Brezhnev Doctrine ended officially in December 1988.
Glasnost
Glasnost
- Gorbachev thought that his Glasnost and civil rights policies would end the protests happening in Soviet satellite states like Poland.
The trigger
The trigger
- On the 7th of December 1988, Gorbachev addressed the United Nations Assembly. He ended the Brezhnev Doctrine and effectively said that the USSR would not use the Warsaw Pact armies to keep control of their satellite states.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
Gorbachev's speech in December 1988 indicated some willingness to change from the Soviet Union. Protests began in East Germany in Summer 1989 and the Berlin Wall fell. This was a symbolic marker of the fall of communism.
Why did the Berlin Wall fall?
Why did the Berlin Wall fall?
- In an interview in 2009, Gorbachev said 'If the East German leader Erich Honecker had not been so stubborn, he would have introduced democratic changes. But the East German leaders did not initiate their own perestroika. Thus a struggle broke out in their country.'
- At a parade in East Germany on the 7th October, representatives of twenty-eight different regions of East Germany were marching in front of Gorbachev. He says 'They’re talking about democracy and change. They’re saying, ‘Gorbachev, stay in our country!’" Then Rakowski remarked, "If it’s true that these are representatives of people from twenty-eight regions of the country, it means the end." I said, "I think you’re right."'
The summer of 1989
The summer of 1989
- Throughout the summer of 1989, demands for change had been growing across East Germany. The most notable protests happened outside the Stasi (secret police) headquarters in Leipzig.
The collapse of the wall
The collapse of the wall
- 7th October 1989 - Gorbachev attends the parade and believes that 'it means the end'. He sees people marching for the democratic reforms of glasnost and perestroika, but the East German leader Honecker was resisting.
- The first section of the Berlin Wall was taken down by protestors on the 9th of November 1989.
- The governments in Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria would collapse before the end of 1989.
Krenz and the mistake
Krenz and the mistake
- Honecker resigned and he was replaced by the more moderate Egon Krenz.
- East Germans could already travel to West Germany through Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
- In a press conference, an East German government official incorrectly announced the opening of the checkpoints through the Berlin Wall, with no directives as to how this should be carried out.
The importance of the wall's collapse
The importance of the wall's collapse
- The Berlin Wall, forcibly keeping people in East Germany, was one of the strongest symbols dividing East and West. Its collapse was symbolic of the wider thaw in relations between the USA and USSR globally.
The Collapse of the Soviet Union
The Collapse of the Soviet Union
The Berlin Wall fell. Then before the end of 1989, governments had been overthrown in Romania, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia.
Military alliances
Military alliances
- The Warsaw Pact officially ended in July 1991, although Gorbachev's decision not to use it to enforce Soviet rule using military force in October 1988 was the first sign of the end.
- NATO continues to exist to this day. Former Warsaw Pact members like Poland have joined.
Arms agreements
Arms agreements
- The Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Agreement (1990) limited use of non-nuclear weapons and troops in Europe.
- The superpowers also agreed to reduce their number of nuclear weapons in START - the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
- Gorbachev created a new constitution to try to save the Soviet Union. This would have kept countries like Ukraine under Soviet Control, but with more independence. They rejected his constitution.
- So, on Christmas Day 1991, Gorbachev dissolved the USSR. This was his final act as the President of the USSR.
The failure of 'Perestroika'
The failure of 'Perestroika'
- Perestroika had the opposite effect to the effects that Gorbachev had hoped for.
- Living conditions were poor in the Soviet Union and its satellite states. People were only staying in the Soviet sphere of influence because they were trapped and oppressed. Giving them more freedom empowered them to overthrow Soviet rule.
The end of the Cold War
The end of the Cold War
- The USSR split creating Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and many more different countries.
- Some of the nations in Eurasia formed out of the USSR would create the 'Commonwealth of Independent States'. This was an organisation for economic and military collaboration that included Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and many surrounding countries.
1The Cold War
1.1Early Tension
1.2The Development of the Cold War
1.3The Cold War Intensifies
1.4Cold War Crises, 1958–70
1.5Attempts to Reduce Tension Between East & West
Jump to other topics
1The Cold War
1.1Early Tension
1.2The Development of the Cold War
1.3The Cold War Intensifies
1.4Cold War Crises, 1958–70
1.5Attempts to Reduce Tension Between East & West
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