NCERT Textbook - The End of Bipolarity | Polity and Constitution (Prelims) by IAS Masters - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


Overview The Berlin Wall, which had been 
built at the height of the Cold 
War and was its greatest symbol, 
was toppled by the people in 
1989. This dramatic event was 
followed by an equally dramatic 
and historic chain of events that 
led to the collapse of the ‘second 
world’ and the end of the Cold 
War. Germany, divided after the 
Second World War, was unified. 
One after another, the eight East 
European countries that were 
part of the Soviet bloc replaced 
their communist governments in 
response to mass demonstrations. 
The Soviet Union stood by as the 
Cold War began to end, not by 
military means but as a result 
of mass actions by ordinary men 
and women. Eventually the Soviet 
Union itself disintegrated. In this 
chapter, we discuss the meaning, 
the causes and the consequences 
of the disintegration of the ‘second 
world’. We also discuss what 
happened to that part of the world 
after the collapse of communist 
regimes and how India relates to 
these countries now. 
Chapter 1
The End of Bipolarity
The Berlin Wall 
symbolised the division 
between the capitalist 
and the communist 
world. Built in 1961 
to separate East Berlin from West Berlin, this more than 
150 kilometre long wall stood for 28 years and was finally 
broken by the people on 9 November 1989. This marked the 
unification of the two parts of Germany and the beginning of 
the end of the communist bloc. The pictures here depict: 
1. People making a tiny hole in the wall       
2. A section of the wall opened to allow free movement
3. The Berlin Wall as it stood before 1989 
Credit: 1. and 2. Frederik Ramm,  
www.remote.org/frederik/culture/berlin
3. www.cs.utah.edu
Chapter 1.indd   1 14 September 2022   11:01:41
2024-25
Page 2


Overview The Berlin Wall, which had been 
built at the height of the Cold 
War and was its greatest symbol, 
was toppled by the people in 
1989. This dramatic event was 
followed by an equally dramatic 
and historic chain of events that 
led to the collapse of the ‘second 
world’ and the end of the Cold 
War. Germany, divided after the 
Second World War, was unified. 
One after another, the eight East 
European countries that were 
part of the Soviet bloc replaced 
their communist governments in 
response to mass demonstrations. 
The Soviet Union stood by as the 
Cold War began to end, not by 
military means but as a result 
of mass actions by ordinary men 
and women. Eventually the Soviet 
Union itself disintegrated. In this 
chapter, we discuss the meaning, 
the causes and the consequences 
of the disintegration of the ‘second 
world’. We also discuss what 
happened to that part of the world 
after the collapse of communist 
regimes and how India relates to 
these countries now. 
Chapter 1
The End of Bipolarity
The Berlin Wall 
symbolised the division 
between the capitalist 
and the communist 
world. Built in 1961 
to separate East Berlin from West Berlin, this more than 
150 kilometre long wall stood for 28 years and was finally 
broken by the people on 9 November 1989. This marked the 
unification of the two parts of Germany and the beginning of 
the end of the communist bloc. The pictures here depict: 
1. People making a tiny hole in the wall       
2. A section of the wall opened to allow free movement
3. The Berlin Wall as it stood before 1989 
Credit: 1. and 2. Frederik Ramm,  
www.remote.org/frederik/culture/berlin
3. www.cs.utah.edu
Chapter 1.indd   1 14 September 2022   11:01:41
2024-25
Contemporary World Politics
2
machinery production, and a 
transport sector that connected 
its remotest areas with efficiency. 
It had a domestic consumer 
industry that produced everything 
from pins to cars, though their 
quality did not match that of the 
Western capitalist countries. 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. State 
ownership was the dominant 
form of ownership: land and 
productive assets were owned 
and controlled by the Soviet state. 
The Soviet system, however, 
became very bureaucratic and 
authoritarian, making life very 
difficult for its citizens. Lack of 
democracy and the absence of 
freedom of speech stifled people 
who often expressed their dissent 
in jokes and cartoons. Most of 
the institutions of the Soviet 
state needed reform: the one-
party system represented by 
the Communist Party of the 
Soviet Union had tight control 
over all institutions and was 
unaccountable to the people. 
The party refused to recognise 
the urge of people in the fifteen 
different republics that formed 
the Soviet Union to manage 
their own affairs including their 
cultural affairs. Although, on 
paper, Russia was only one of 
the fifteen republics that together 
constituted the USSR, in reality 
Russia dominated everything, 
and people from other regions felt 
neglected and often suppressed.
What Was the s oviet 
s ystem ?
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. 
This was perhaps the biggest 
attempt in human history to 
abolish the institution of private 
property and consciously design 
a society based on principles of 
equality. In doing so, the makers of 
the Soviet system gave primacy to 
the state and the institution of the 
party. 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. 
The political and the economic 
systems of all these countries 
were modelled after the USSR.  
This group of countries was called 
the Second World or the ‘socialist 
bloc’. The Warsaw Pact, a military 
alliance, held them together. The 
USSR was the leader of the bloc.
The Soviet Union became 
a great power after the Second 
World War. The Soviet economy 
was then more developed than the 
rest of the world except for the US. 
It had a complex communications 
network, vast energy resources 
including oil, iron and steel, 
Vladimir Lenin 
(1870-1924) 
Founder of the 
Bolshevik 
Communist party; 
leader of the 
Russian Revolution 
of 1917 and the 
founder-head of 
the USSR during 
the most difficult 
period following 
the revolution 
(1917-1924); a 
practitioner of 
Marxism and 
a source of 
inspiration for 
communists all 
over the world.
LEADERS OF THE 
SOVIET UNION
Chapter 1.indd   2 15-03-2024   11:45:31
2024-25
Page 3


Overview The Berlin Wall, which had been 
built at the height of the Cold 
War and was its greatest symbol, 
was toppled by the people in 
1989. This dramatic event was 
followed by an equally dramatic 
and historic chain of events that 
led to the collapse of the ‘second 
world’ and the end of the Cold 
War. Germany, divided after the 
Second World War, was unified. 
One after another, the eight East 
European countries that were 
part of the Soviet bloc replaced 
their communist governments in 
response to mass demonstrations. 
The Soviet Union stood by as the 
Cold War began to end, not by 
military means but as a result 
of mass actions by ordinary men 
and women. Eventually the Soviet 
Union itself disintegrated. In this 
chapter, we discuss the meaning, 
the causes and the consequences 
of the disintegration of the ‘second 
world’. We also discuss what 
happened to that part of the world 
after the collapse of communist 
regimes and how India relates to 
these countries now. 
Chapter 1
The End of Bipolarity
The Berlin Wall 
symbolised the division 
between the capitalist 
and the communist 
world. Built in 1961 
to separate East Berlin from West Berlin, this more than 
150 kilometre long wall stood for 28 years and was finally 
broken by the people on 9 November 1989. This marked the 
unification of the two parts of Germany and the beginning of 
the end of the communist bloc. The pictures here depict: 
1. People making a tiny hole in the wall       
2. A section of the wall opened to allow free movement
3. The Berlin Wall as it stood before 1989 
Credit: 1. and 2. Frederik Ramm,  
www.remote.org/frederik/culture/berlin
3. www.cs.utah.edu
Chapter 1.indd   1 14 September 2022   11:01:41
2024-25
Contemporary World Politics
2
machinery production, and a 
transport sector that connected 
its remotest areas with efficiency. 
It had a domestic consumer 
industry that produced everything 
from pins to cars, though their 
quality did not match that of the 
Western capitalist countries. 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. State 
ownership was the dominant 
form of ownership: land and 
productive assets were owned 
and controlled by the Soviet state. 
The Soviet system, however, 
became very bureaucratic and 
authoritarian, making life very 
difficult for its citizens. Lack of 
democracy and the absence of 
freedom of speech stifled people 
who often expressed their dissent 
in jokes and cartoons. Most of 
the institutions of the Soviet 
state needed reform: the one-
party system represented by 
the Communist Party of the 
Soviet Union had tight control 
over all institutions and was 
unaccountable to the people. 
The party refused to recognise 
the urge of people in the fifteen 
different republics that formed 
the Soviet Union to manage 
their own affairs including their 
cultural affairs. Although, on 
paper, Russia was only one of 
the fifteen republics that together 
constituted the USSR, in reality 
Russia dominated everything, 
and people from other regions felt 
neglected and often suppressed.
What Was the s oviet 
s ystem ?
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. 
This was perhaps the biggest 
attempt in human history to 
abolish the institution of private 
property and consciously design 
a society based on principles of 
equality. In doing so, the makers of 
the Soviet system gave primacy to 
the state and the institution of the 
party. 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. 
The political and the economic 
systems of all these countries 
were modelled after the USSR.  
This group of countries was called 
the Second World or the ‘socialist 
bloc’. The Warsaw Pact, a military 
alliance, held them together. The 
USSR was the leader of the bloc.
The Soviet Union became 
a great power after the Second 
World War. The Soviet economy 
was then more developed than the 
rest of the world except for the US. 
It had a complex communications 
network, vast energy resources 
including oil, iron and steel, 
Vladimir Lenin 
(1870-1924) 
Founder of the 
Bolshevik 
Communist party; 
leader of the 
Russian Revolution 
of 1917 and the 
founder-head of 
the USSR during 
the most difficult 
period following 
the revolution 
(1917-1924); a 
practitioner of 
Marxism and 
a source of 
inspiration for 
communists all 
over the world.
LEADERS OF THE 
SOVIET UNION
Chapter 1.indd   2 15-03-2024   11:45:31
2024-25
The End of Bipolarity
3
Joseph Stalin 
(1879-1953)
Successor to Lenin 
and led the Soviet 
Union during its 
consolidation 
(1924-53); 
began rapid 
industrialisation 
and forcible 
collectivisation 
of agriculture; 
credited with 
Soviet victory 
in the Second 
World War;  held 
responsible for 
the Great Terror 
of the 1930s, 
authoritarian 
functioning and 
elimination of 
rivals within the 
party. 
LEADERS OF THE 
SOVIET UNION
Gorbachev, did not intervene 
when the disturbances occurred, 
and the communist regimes 
collapsed one after another. 
These developments were 
accompanied by a rapidly 
escalating crisis within the USSR 
that hastened its disintegration. 
Gorbachev initiated the policies 
of economic and political reform 
and democratisation within 
the country. The reforms were 
opposed by leaders within the 
Communist Party.
A coup took place in 1991 that 
was encouraged by Communist 
Party hardliners. The people had 
tasted freedom by then and did 
not want the old-style rule of the 
Communist Party. Boris Yeltsin 
emerged as a national hero in 
opposing this coup. The Russian 
Republic, where Yeltsin won a 
popular election, began to shake 
off centralised control. Power 
began to shift from the Soviet 
centre to the republics, especially 
in the more Europeanised part 
of the Soviet Union, which saw 
themselves as sovereign states.  
The Central Asian republics 
did not ask for independence 
and wanted to remain with the 
Soviet Federation. 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. The 
Communist Party of the Soviet 
Union was banned. Capitalism 
and democracy were adopted 
as the bases for the post-Soviet 
republics.
In the arms race, the Soviet 
Union managed to match the US 
from time to time, but at great 
cost. The Soviet Union lagged 
behind the West in technology, 
infrastructure (e.g., transport, 
power), and most importantly, in 
fulfilling the political or economic 
aspirations of citizens. The Soviet 
invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 
weakened the system even further. 
Though wages continued to grow, 
productivity and technology fell 
considerably behind that of the 
West. This led to shortages in all 
consumer goods. Food imports 
increased every year. The Soviet 
economy was faltering in the late 
1970s and became stagnant. 
Gorbachev and the 
d isinte Gration Mikhail Gorbachev, who had 
become General Secretary of 
the Communist Party of the 
Soviet Union in 1985, sought 
to reform this system. Reforms 
were necessary to keep the USSR 
abreast of the information and 
technological revolutions taking 
place in the West. However, 
Gorbachev’s decision to normalise 
relations with the West and 
democratise and reform the 
Soviet Union had some other 
effects that neither he nor anyone 
else intended or anticipated. The 
people in the East European 
countries which were part of the 
Soviet bloc started to protest 
against their own governments 
and Soviet control. Unlike in the 
past, the Soviet Union, under 
Chapter 1.indd   3 14 September 2022   11:01:41
2024-25
Page 4


Overview The Berlin Wall, which had been 
built at the height of the Cold 
War and was its greatest symbol, 
was toppled by the people in 
1989. This dramatic event was 
followed by an equally dramatic 
and historic chain of events that 
led to the collapse of the ‘second 
world’ and the end of the Cold 
War. Germany, divided after the 
Second World War, was unified. 
One after another, the eight East 
European countries that were 
part of the Soviet bloc replaced 
their communist governments in 
response to mass demonstrations. 
The Soviet Union stood by as the 
Cold War began to end, not by 
military means but as a result 
of mass actions by ordinary men 
and women. Eventually the Soviet 
Union itself disintegrated. In this 
chapter, we discuss the meaning, 
the causes and the consequences 
of the disintegration of the ‘second 
world’. We also discuss what 
happened to that part of the world 
after the collapse of communist 
regimes and how India relates to 
these countries now. 
Chapter 1
The End of Bipolarity
The Berlin Wall 
symbolised the division 
between the capitalist 
and the communist 
world. Built in 1961 
to separate East Berlin from West Berlin, this more than 
150 kilometre long wall stood for 28 years and was finally 
broken by the people on 9 November 1989. This marked the 
unification of the two parts of Germany and the beginning of 
the end of the communist bloc. The pictures here depict: 
1. People making a tiny hole in the wall       
2. A section of the wall opened to allow free movement
3. The Berlin Wall as it stood before 1989 
Credit: 1. and 2. Frederik Ramm,  
www.remote.org/frederik/culture/berlin
3. www.cs.utah.edu
Chapter 1.indd   1 14 September 2022   11:01:41
2024-25
Contemporary World Politics
2
machinery production, and a 
transport sector that connected 
its remotest areas with efficiency. 
It had a domestic consumer 
industry that produced everything 
from pins to cars, though their 
quality did not match that of the 
Western capitalist countries. 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. State 
ownership was the dominant 
form of ownership: land and 
productive assets were owned 
and controlled by the Soviet state. 
The Soviet system, however, 
became very bureaucratic and 
authoritarian, making life very 
difficult for its citizens. Lack of 
democracy and the absence of 
freedom of speech stifled people 
who often expressed their dissent 
in jokes and cartoons. Most of 
the institutions of the Soviet 
state needed reform: the one-
party system represented by 
the Communist Party of the 
Soviet Union had tight control 
over all institutions and was 
unaccountable to the people. 
The party refused to recognise 
the urge of people in the fifteen 
different republics that formed 
the Soviet Union to manage 
their own affairs including their 
cultural affairs. Although, on 
paper, Russia was only one of 
the fifteen republics that together 
constituted the USSR, in reality 
Russia dominated everything, 
and people from other regions felt 
neglected and often suppressed.
What Was the s oviet 
s ystem ?
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. 
This was perhaps the biggest 
attempt in human history to 
abolish the institution of private 
property and consciously design 
a society based on principles of 
equality. In doing so, the makers of 
the Soviet system gave primacy to 
the state and the institution of the 
party. 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. 
The political and the economic 
systems of all these countries 
were modelled after the USSR.  
This group of countries was called 
the Second World or the ‘socialist 
bloc’. The Warsaw Pact, a military 
alliance, held them together. The 
USSR was the leader of the bloc.
The Soviet Union became 
a great power after the Second 
World War. The Soviet economy 
was then more developed than the 
rest of the world except for the US. 
It had a complex communications 
network, vast energy resources 
including oil, iron and steel, 
Vladimir Lenin 
(1870-1924) 
Founder of the 
Bolshevik 
Communist party; 
leader of the 
Russian Revolution 
of 1917 and the 
founder-head of 
the USSR during 
the most difficult 
period following 
the revolution 
(1917-1924); a 
practitioner of 
Marxism and 
a source of 
inspiration for 
communists all 
over the world.
LEADERS OF THE 
SOVIET UNION
Chapter 1.indd   2 15-03-2024   11:45:31
2024-25
The End of Bipolarity
3
Joseph Stalin 
(1879-1953)
Successor to Lenin 
and led the Soviet 
Union during its 
consolidation 
(1924-53); 
began rapid 
industrialisation 
and forcible 
collectivisation 
of agriculture; 
credited with 
Soviet victory 
in the Second 
World War;  held 
responsible for 
the Great Terror 
of the 1930s, 
authoritarian 
functioning and 
elimination of 
rivals within the 
party. 
LEADERS OF THE 
SOVIET UNION
Gorbachev, did not intervene 
when the disturbances occurred, 
and the communist regimes 
collapsed one after another. 
These developments were 
accompanied by a rapidly 
escalating crisis within the USSR 
that hastened its disintegration. 
Gorbachev initiated the policies 
of economic and political reform 
and democratisation within 
the country. The reforms were 
opposed by leaders within the 
Communist Party.
A coup took place in 1991 that 
was encouraged by Communist 
Party hardliners. The people had 
tasted freedom by then and did 
not want the old-style rule of the 
Communist Party. Boris Yeltsin 
emerged as a national hero in 
opposing this coup. The Russian 
Republic, where Yeltsin won a 
popular election, began to shake 
off centralised control. Power 
began to shift from the Soviet 
centre to the republics, especially 
in the more Europeanised part 
of the Soviet Union, which saw 
themselves as sovereign states.  
The Central Asian republics 
did not ask for independence 
and wanted to remain with the 
Soviet Federation. 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. The 
Communist Party of the Soviet 
Union was banned. Capitalism 
and democracy were adopted 
as the bases for the post-Soviet 
republics.
In the arms race, the Soviet 
Union managed to match the US 
from time to time, but at great 
cost. The Soviet Union lagged 
behind the West in technology, 
infrastructure (e.g., transport, 
power), and most importantly, in 
fulfilling the political or economic 
aspirations of citizens. The Soviet 
invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 
weakened the system even further. 
Though wages continued to grow, 
productivity and technology fell 
considerably behind that of the 
West. This led to shortages in all 
consumer goods. Food imports 
increased every year. The Soviet 
economy was faltering in the late 
1970s and became stagnant. 
Gorbachev and the 
d isinte Gration Mikhail Gorbachev, who had 
become General Secretary of 
the Communist Party of the 
Soviet Union in 1985, sought 
to reform this system. Reforms 
were necessary to keep the USSR 
abreast of the information and 
technological revolutions taking 
place in the West. However, 
Gorbachev’s decision to normalise 
relations with the West and 
democratise and reform the 
Soviet Union had some other 
effects that neither he nor anyone 
else intended or anticipated. The 
people in the East European 
countries which were part of the 
Soviet bloc started to protest 
against their own governments 
and Soviet control. Unlike in the 
past, the Soviet Union, under 
Chapter 1.indd   3 14 September 2022   11:01:41
2024-25
Contemporary World Politics
4
The declaration on the 
disintegration of the USSR and the 
formation of the Commonwealth of 
Independent States (CIS) came as 
a surprise to the other republics, 
especially to the Central Asian 
ones. The exclusion of these 
republics was an issue that was 
quickly solved by making them 
founding members of the CIS. 
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. It took over as the 
only nuclear state of the post-
Soviet space and carried out some 
nuclear disarmament measures 
with the US. The old Soviet Union 
was thus dead and buried.
Why did the s oviet Union 
Disinte Grate ?
How did the second most 
powerful country in the world 
suddenly disintegrate? This is a 
question worth asking not just to 
understand the Soviet Union and 
the end of communism but also 
because it is not the first and may 
not be the last political system to 
collapse. While there are unique 
features of the Soviet collapse,  
there may be more general 
lessons to be drawn from this 
very important case.
There is no doubt that 
the internal weaknesses of 
Soviet political and economic 
institutions, which failed to meet 
the aspirations of the people, were 
responsible for the collapse of 
the system. Economic stagnation 
for many years led to severe 
consumer shortages and a large 
section of Soviet society began to 
doubt and question the system 
and to do so openly.
Why did the system become 
so weak and why did the economy 
stagnate?  The answer is partially 
clear. 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). This led to a huge 
economic burden that the system 
could not cope with. At the same 
time, ordinary citizens became 
more knowledgeable about the 
economic advance of the West. 
They could see the disparities 
between their system and the 
systems of the West. After years 
of being told that the Soviet  
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.
“Oh, by the grace of God, we had mountains of potatoes,” answers the 
farmer.
“But there is no God,” counters the official.
“Huh”, says the farmer, “And there are no mountains of potatoes either.” 
Nikita Khrushchev 
(1894-1971) 
Leader of the 
Soviet Union 
(1953-64); 
denounced 
Stalin’s leadership 
style and 
introduced 
some reforms in 
1956; suggested 
“peaceful 
coexistence” 
with the West; 
involved in 
suppressing 
popular rebellion 
in Hungary and in 
the Cuban missile 
crisis. 
LEADERS OF THE 
SOVIET UNION
I am amazed! How 
could so many 
sensitive people 
all over the world 
admire a system like 
this? 
Chapter 1.indd   4 14 September 2022   11:01:41
2024-25
Page 5


Overview The Berlin Wall, which had been 
built at the height of the Cold 
War and was its greatest symbol, 
was toppled by the people in 
1989. This dramatic event was 
followed by an equally dramatic 
and historic chain of events that 
led to the collapse of the ‘second 
world’ and the end of the Cold 
War. Germany, divided after the 
Second World War, was unified. 
One after another, the eight East 
European countries that were 
part of the Soviet bloc replaced 
their communist governments in 
response to mass demonstrations. 
The Soviet Union stood by as the 
Cold War began to end, not by 
military means but as a result 
of mass actions by ordinary men 
and women. Eventually the Soviet 
Union itself disintegrated. In this 
chapter, we discuss the meaning, 
the causes and the consequences 
of the disintegration of the ‘second 
world’. We also discuss what 
happened to that part of the world 
after the collapse of communist 
regimes and how India relates to 
these countries now. 
Chapter 1
The End of Bipolarity
The Berlin Wall 
symbolised the division 
between the capitalist 
and the communist 
world. Built in 1961 
to separate East Berlin from West Berlin, this more than 
150 kilometre long wall stood for 28 years and was finally 
broken by the people on 9 November 1989. This marked the 
unification of the two parts of Germany and the beginning of 
the end of the communist bloc. The pictures here depict: 
1. People making a tiny hole in the wall       
2. A section of the wall opened to allow free movement
3. The Berlin Wall as it stood before 1989 
Credit: 1. and 2. Frederik Ramm,  
www.remote.org/frederik/culture/berlin
3. www.cs.utah.edu
Chapter 1.indd   1 14 September 2022   11:01:41
2024-25
Contemporary World Politics
2
machinery production, and a 
transport sector that connected 
its remotest areas with efficiency. 
It had a domestic consumer 
industry that produced everything 
from pins to cars, though their 
quality did not match that of the 
Western capitalist countries. 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. State 
ownership was the dominant 
form of ownership: land and 
productive assets were owned 
and controlled by the Soviet state. 
The Soviet system, however, 
became very bureaucratic and 
authoritarian, making life very 
difficult for its citizens. Lack of 
democracy and the absence of 
freedom of speech stifled people 
who often expressed their dissent 
in jokes and cartoons. Most of 
the institutions of the Soviet 
state needed reform: the one-
party system represented by 
the Communist Party of the 
Soviet Union had tight control 
over all institutions and was 
unaccountable to the people. 
The party refused to recognise 
the urge of people in the fifteen 
different republics that formed 
the Soviet Union to manage 
their own affairs including their 
cultural affairs. Although, on 
paper, Russia was only one of 
the fifteen republics that together 
constituted the USSR, in reality 
Russia dominated everything, 
and people from other regions felt 
neglected and often suppressed.
What Was the s oviet 
s ystem ?
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. 
This was perhaps the biggest 
attempt in human history to 
abolish the institution of private 
property and consciously design 
a society based on principles of 
equality. In doing so, the makers of 
the Soviet system gave primacy to 
the state and the institution of the 
party. 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. 
The political and the economic 
systems of all these countries 
were modelled after the USSR.  
This group of countries was called 
the Second World or the ‘socialist 
bloc’. The Warsaw Pact, a military 
alliance, held them together. The 
USSR was the leader of the bloc.
The Soviet Union became 
a great power after the Second 
World War. The Soviet economy 
was then more developed than the 
rest of the world except for the US. 
It had a complex communications 
network, vast energy resources 
including oil, iron and steel, 
Vladimir Lenin 
(1870-1924) 
Founder of the 
Bolshevik 
Communist party; 
leader of the 
Russian Revolution 
of 1917 and the 
founder-head of 
the USSR during 
the most difficult 
period following 
the revolution 
(1917-1924); a 
practitioner of 
Marxism and 
a source of 
inspiration for 
communists all 
over the world.
LEADERS OF THE 
SOVIET UNION
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The End of Bipolarity
3
Joseph Stalin 
(1879-1953)
Successor to Lenin 
and led the Soviet 
Union during its 
consolidation 
(1924-53); 
began rapid 
industrialisation 
and forcible 
collectivisation 
of agriculture; 
credited with 
Soviet victory 
in the Second 
World War;  held 
responsible for 
the Great Terror 
of the 1930s, 
authoritarian 
functioning and 
elimination of 
rivals within the 
party. 
LEADERS OF THE 
SOVIET UNION
Gorbachev, did not intervene 
when the disturbances occurred, 
and the communist regimes 
collapsed one after another. 
These developments were 
accompanied by a rapidly 
escalating crisis within the USSR 
that hastened its disintegration. 
Gorbachev initiated the policies 
of economic and political reform 
and democratisation within 
the country. The reforms were 
opposed by leaders within the 
Communist Party.
A coup took place in 1991 that 
was encouraged by Communist 
Party hardliners. The people had 
tasted freedom by then and did 
not want the old-style rule of the 
Communist Party. Boris Yeltsin 
emerged as a national hero in 
opposing this coup. The Russian 
Republic, where Yeltsin won a 
popular election, began to shake 
off centralised control. Power 
began to shift from the Soviet 
centre to the republics, especially 
in the more Europeanised part 
of the Soviet Union, which saw 
themselves as sovereign states.  
The Central Asian republics 
did not ask for independence 
and wanted to remain with the 
Soviet Federation. 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. The 
Communist Party of the Soviet 
Union was banned. Capitalism 
and democracy were adopted 
as the bases for the post-Soviet 
republics.
In the arms race, the Soviet 
Union managed to match the US 
from time to time, but at great 
cost. The Soviet Union lagged 
behind the West in technology, 
infrastructure (e.g., transport, 
power), and most importantly, in 
fulfilling the political or economic 
aspirations of citizens. The Soviet 
invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 
weakened the system even further. 
Though wages continued to grow, 
productivity and technology fell 
considerably behind that of the 
West. This led to shortages in all 
consumer goods. Food imports 
increased every year. The Soviet 
economy was faltering in the late 
1970s and became stagnant. 
Gorbachev and the 
d isinte Gration Mikhail Gorbachev, who had 
become General Secretary of 
the Communist Party of the 
Soviet Union in 1985, sought 
to reform this system. Reforms 
were necessary to keep the USSR 
abreast of the information and 
technological revolutions taking 
place in the West. However, 
Gorbachev’s decision to normalise 
relations with the West and 
democratise and reform the 
Soviet Union had some other 
effects that neither he nor anyone 
else intended or anticipated. The 
people in the East European 
countries which were part of the 
Soviet bloc started to protest 
against their own governments 
and Soviet control. Unlike in the 
past, the Soviet Union, under 
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Contemporary World Politics
4
The declaration on the 
disintegration of the USSR and the 
formation of the Commonwealth of 
Independent States (CIS) came as 
a surprise to the other republics, 
especially to the Central Asian 
ones. The exclusion of these 
republics was an issue that was 
quickly solved by making them 
founding members of the CIS. 
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. It took over as the 
only nuclear state of the post-
Soviet space and carried out some 
nuclear disarmament measures 
with the US. The old Soviet Union 
was thus dead and buried.
Why did the s oviet Union 
Disinte Grate ?
How did the second most 
powerful country in the world 
suddenly disintegrate? This is a 
question worth asking not just to 
understand the Soviet Union and 
the end of communism but also 
because it is not the first and may 
not be the last political system to 
collapse. While there are unique 
features of the Soviet collapse,  
there may be more general 
lessons to be drawn from this 
very important case.
There is no doubt that 
the internal weaknesses of 
Soviet political and economic 
institutions, which failed to meet 
the aspirations of the people, were 
responsible for the collapse of 
the system. Economic stagnation 
for many years led to severe 
consumer shortages and a large 
section of Soviet society began to 
doubt and question the system 
and to do so openly.
Why did the system become 
so weak and why did the economy 
stagnate?  The answer is partially 
clear. 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). This led to a huge 
economic burden that the system 
could not cope with. At the same 
time, ordinary citizens became 
more knowledgeable about the 
economic advance of the West. 
They could see the disparities 
between their system and the 
systems of the West. After years 
of being told that the Soviet  
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.
“Oh, by the grace of God, we had mountains of potatoes,” answers the 
farmer.
“But there is no God,” counters the official.
“Huh”, says the farmer, “And there are no mountains of potatoes either.” 
Nikita Khrushchev 
(1894-1971) 
Leader of the 
Soviet Union 
(1953-64); 
denounced 
Stalin’s leadership 
style and 
introduced 
some reforms in 
1956; suggested 
“peaceful 
coexistence” 
with the West; 
involved in 
suppressing 
popular rebellion 
in Hungary and in 
the Cuban missile 
crisis. 
LEADERS OF THE 
SOVIET UNION
I am amazed! How 
could so many 
sensitive people 
all over the world 
admire a system like 
this? 
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The End of Bipolarity
5
system was better than Western 
capitalism, the reality of its 
backwardness came as a political 
and psychological shock.
The Soviet Union had become 
stagnant in an administrative 
and political sense as well. 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. Worse still, the 
party bureaucrats gained more 
privileges than ordinary citizens. 
People did not identify with the 
system and with the rulers, and 
the government increasingly lost 
popular backing.
Gorbachev’s reforms promised 
to deal with these problems. 
Gorbachev promised to reform the 
economy, catch up with the West, 
and loosen the administrative 
system. You may wonder why the 
Soviet Union collapsed in spite of 
Gorbachev’s accurate diagnosis 
of the problem and his attempt 
to implement reforms. Here is 
where the answers become more 
controversial, and we have to 
depend on future historians to 
guide us better. 
The most basic answer seems 
to be that when Gorbachev carried 
out his reforms and loosened the 
system, he set in motion forces and 
expectations that few could have 
predicted and became virtually 
impossible to control.  There were 
sections of Soviet society which 
felt that Gorbachev should have 
moved much faster and were 
disappointed and impatient with 
his methods. They did not benefit 
in the way they had hoped, 
or they benefited too slowly. 
Others, especially members of the 
Communist Party and those who 
were served by the system, took 
exactly the opposite view. They 
felt that their power and privileges 
were eroding and Gorbachev was 
moving too quickly. In this ‘tug 
of war’, Gorbachev lost support 
on all sides and divided public 
opinion.  Even those who were 
with him became disillusioned as 
they felt that he did not adequately 
defend his own policies.
All this might not have led to 
the collapse of the Soviet Union 
but for another development that 
surprised most observers and 
indeed many insiders. The rise 
of nationalism and the desire 
for sovereignty within various 
republics including Russia and 
the Baltic Republics (Estonia, 
Latvia and Lithuania), Ukraine, 
Georgia, and others proved to 
be the final and most immediate 
cause for the disintegration of 
the USSR. Here again there are 
differing views.
One view is that nationalist 
urges and feelings were very much 
at work throughout the history of 
the Soviet Union and that whether 
or not the reforms had occurred 
there would have been an internal 
struggle within the Soviet Union. 
This is a ‘what-if’ of history, but 
surely it is not an unreasonable 
Leonid Brezhnev 
(1906-82) 
Leader of the 
Soviet Union (1964-
82); proposed 
Asian Collective 
Security system; 
associated with 
the détente phase 
in relations with 
the US; involved 
in suppressing a 
popular rebellion 
in Czechoslovakia 
and in invading 
Afghanistan.
LEADERS OF THE 
SOVIET UNION
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