Factors leading to collapse of Soviet Communism and Soviet Union, 1985-1991 | History Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Second Cold War (1979–85)

• The "Second Cold War" describes a period in the late 1970s and early 1980s when tensions and conflicts between major powers, mainly the United States and the Soviet Union, intensified significantly. During this time, both sides became more militaristic and confrontational.
• U.S. President Ronald Reagan was particularly aggressive in this phase, actively supporting counterinsurgencies in various parts of the world, especially in the Third World countries. Despite its intensity, the Second Cold War was relatively short-lived.
• In the early 1980s, tensions escalated further due to events like the Soviet Union's downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 in 1983 and NATO's "Able Archer" military exercises in the same year. The United States increased its diplomatic, military, and economic pressure on the Soviet Union, which was already struggling with economic stagnation.

Soviet War in Afghanistan:

• In April 1978, the communist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) took power in Afghanistan through the Saur Revolution. Almost immediately, opponents of the communist regime began an uprising, leading to a civil war between the government and guerrilla fighters known as mujahideen.
• The mujahideen, particularly the Peshawar Seven alliance, received military training and weapons from Pakistan, China, and substantial support from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia. The Soviet Union, in turn, sent military advisors to assist the PDPA government.
• Internal conflicts within the PDPA, particularly between the dominant Khalq faction and the more moderate Parcham faction, further destabilized the situation. By mid-1979, the United States had begun covertly supporting the mujahideen.
• In September 1979, a coup within the PDPA led to the assassination of Khalqist President Nur Muhammad Taraki and the rise of Hafizullah Amin. Distrusted by the Soviets, Amin was assassinated by Soviet special forces in December 1979. The Soviets then installed Babrak Karmal, a Parcham leader, as head of a new government.
• Soviet troops were deployed to stabilize the country under Karmal's leadership, marking a significant escalation of Soviet involvement in what had been a domestic conflict.
• In response to the Soviet intervention, U.S. President Jimmy Carter withdrew the SALT II treaty from the Senate, imposed embargoes on grain and technology shipments to the USSR, called for increased military spending, and announced a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics.
• The war quickly became a stalemate, with Soviet troops controlling urban areas while the mujahideen operated freely in the countryside. The Soviets attempted to crush the insurgency through various tactics, including bombing campaigns aimed at eliminating civilian support for the mujahideen.
• The mujahideen eventually gained an advantage with the introduction of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles supplied by the United States, neutralizing Soviet air power.
• By the late 1980s, the war had become a quagmire for the Soviet Union, which was facing internal disintegration. The Soviets suffered about 15,000 dead and many more injured. Despite failing to establish a friendly regime in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union signed an accord in 1988 to withdraw its troops, with the withdrawal completed on February 15, 1989.

Reagan and Thatcher:

• Before becoming president, Ronald Reagan clearly articulated his view of American policy toward the Soviet Union: "We win and they lose." When he won the presidency in 1980, Reagan pledged to increase military spending and confront the Soviets on multiple fronts.
• Both Reagan and newly elected British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were vocal opponents of the Soviet Union and its ideology. By early 1985, Reagan's anti-communist stance evolved into what became known as the new Reagan Doctrine. This doctrine not only focused on containment but also included the right to subvert existing communist governments.
• Continuing the policies of his predecessor, Jimmy Carter, Reagan supported the Islamic opponents of the Soviet Union and the Soviet-backed PDPA government in Afghanistan. Additionally, the CIA aimed to weaken the Soviet Union by promoting political Islam in the predominantly Muslim Central Asian regions of the Soviet Union.
• The CIA also encouraged Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to train Muslims from around the world to participate in the jihad against the Soviet Union.

Polish Solidarity Movement and Martial Law:

• Pope John Paul II played a significant role in fostering anti-communism. His visit to Poland in 1979 sparked a religious and nationalist revival, which was central to the Solidarity movement that emerged as a strong opposition force.
• Solidarity, a Polish trade union, was officially founded on September 22, 1980, when delegates from 36 regional trade unions convened in Gdańsk. Led by Lech Wałesa, Solidarity became the first trade union in a Warsaw Pact country independent of Communist Party control. Its membership quickly grew to 10 million, representing a broad anti-bureaucratic social movement advocating for workers' rights and social change through civil resistance.
• By early 1981, Solidarity had become a powerful force, representing most of Poland's workforce. A separate agricultural union for private farmers, Rural Solidarity, was established in Warsaw on December 14, 1980.
• Throughout 1981, Solidarity intensified its demands for economic reforms, free elections, and greater involvement of trade unions in decision-making processes. As Solidarity's stance became more rigid, the government, led by General Wojciech Jaruzelski, faced increasing pressure from the Soviet Union to suppress the movement.
• Unlike in previous instances such as the Prague Spring of 1968 or the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the Soviet Union refrained from military intervention. Soviet ideologist Mikhail Suslov advised against intervention to avoid potential economic sanctions that could harm the Soviet economy.
• On December 13, 1981, Jaruzelski imposed martial law to suppress Solidarity. The union was declared illegal, and its leaders were arrested. In response, Reagan imposed economic sanctions on Poland.
• Although martial law was lifted in 1983, many political prisoners were not released until a general amnesty in 1986. A new wave of strikes and labor unrest in 1988 led to the government agreeing to legalize Solidarity and allow it to participate in free elections.
• In the June 1989 elections, Solidarity-endorsed candidates won 99 out of 100 seats in the Senate and all 161 seats they were entitled to contest in the Sejm, marking a significant victory for the movement.

Soviet and US Military Buildup and Economic Issues

Soviet Military Build-up:

• By the early 1980s, the Soviet Union had developed a military arsenal and army that surpassed that of the United States.

US Military Buildup under Carter and Reagan:

• In response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, President Jimmy Carter initiated a significant buildup of the United States military.
• President Ronald Reagan accelerated this buildup, leading to the largest peacetime defense expansion in U.S. history.

Reagan’s Military Policies:

• Tensions escalated in the early 1980s when Reagan:
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  • Revived the B-1 Lancer program, which had been canceled by Carter.
  • Installed U.S. cruise missiles in Europe.
  • Announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), nicknamed “Star Wars,” aimed at using ground-based and space-based systems to protect the U.S. from nuclear missile attacks.

NATO Missile Deployment:

• Amid rising tensions and the deployment of Soviet ballistic missiles targeting Western Europe, NATO, under Carter’s leadership, decided to deploy MGM-31 Pershing and cruise missiles in Europe, primarily in West Germany.
• This deployment would have placed missiles within a 10-minute striking distance of Moscow.

Soviet Economic Struggles:

• Despite Reagan’s military buildup, the Soviet Union did not respond with a similar increase in military spending due to the heavy burden of military expenses, inefficient planned manufacturing, and collectivized agriculture on its economy.
• The Soviet economy was further strained by the 1980s oil glut, as Saudi Arabia and other non-OPEC nations increased oil production, leading to a decrease in oil prices. Oil was a crucial source of export revenues for the Soviet Union.
• Issues with command economics, falling oil prices, and high military expenditures gradually led the Soviet economy into stagnation.

Incidents Escalating Tensions:

• On September 1, 1983, the Soviet Union shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, killing 269 people, including U.S. Congressman Larry McDonald, when the plane violated Soviet airspace. Reagan condemned this act as a “massacre,” which increased support for military deployment.
• The Able Archer 83 exercise in November 1983, a realistic simulation of a coordinated NATO nuclear release, was considered one of the most dangerous moments since the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet leadership closely monitored the exercise, fearing an imminent nuclear attack.

US Foreign Interventions under Reagan:

• Domestic concerns in the U.S. about intervening in foreign conflicts persisted after the Vietnam War.
• To address these concerns, the Reagan administration emphasized quick, low-cost counter-insurgency tactics for foreign interventions.
• In 1983, Reagan intervened in the Lebanese Civil War, invaded Grenada, bombed Libya, and supported the Central American Contras, who aimed to overthrow the Soviet-aligned Sandinista government in Nicaragua.

Soviet Foreign Interventions and Afghan War:

• Meanwhile, the Soviets faced high costs for their foreign interventions.
• Despite Brezhnev’s belief in 1979 that the Soviet war in Afghanistan would be brief, Muslim guerrillas, supported by the U.S. and other countries, mounted a fierce resistance.
• The Kremlin deployed nearly 100,000 troops to support its puppet regime in Afghanistan, leading many observers to compare the war to “the Soviets’ Vietnam.”
• However, Moscow’s struggle in Afghanistan was far more disastrous than Vietnam had been for the Americans, as it coincided with a period of internal decay and crisis within the Soviet system.
• The invasion was partly a response to a domestic crisis within the Soviet Union.

Final Years (1985–91)

• In the mid-1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev, the new General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, introduced reforms known as perestroika (meaning "reorganization") and glasnost (meaning "openness"). He also ended Soviet involvement in Afghanistan. During this time, there was a growing push for national independence in Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland. Gorbachev chose not to use Soviet troops to support the struggling regimes of the Warsaw Pact, unlike in the past.
• As a result of Gorbachev's policies and the changing atmosphere, 1989 saw a wave of revolutions that peacefully overthrew the Communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe, with the exception of the Romanian Revolution, which was violent. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union lost its grip on power and was banned after a failed coup attempt in August 1991.
• This series of events led to the formal dissolution of the USSR in December 1991. The collapse of Communist regimes also spread to other countries like Mongolia, Cambodia, and South Yemen. In the aftermath, the United States emerged as the world's only superpower.

Gorbachev's Reforms and Their Impact on the Soviet Union

When Mikhail Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Soviet Union in 1985, the country was facing serious economic problems, partly due to falling oil prices. Gorbachev aimed to revive the struggling state through various reforms.

Perestroika (Restructuring):

• Initially, Gorbachev's reforms were ineffective, leading to the realization that more profound changes were needed. In June 1987, he introduced perestroika, which aimed to restructure the Soviet economy and political system.
• Perestroika involved decentralizing economic controls, encouraging self-financing enterprises, relaxing production quotas, allowing private ownership of businesses, and inviting foreign investment.
• The goal was to shift resources from military spending to productive civilian sectors. However, the economic bureaucracy resisted these changes.
• Gorbachev also aimed to reduce the Communist Party's direct control over governance and empower local governments. In 1988, a new parliament, the Soviet Congress of People's Deputies, was established, allowing voters to choose from multiple candidates, although the Communist Party still held significant power.
• Perestroika is often considered a catalyst for the Soviet Union's dissolution, the 1989 revolutions in Eastern Europe, and the end of the Cold War. Initially met with skepticism in the West, Gorbachev's commitment to reform over arms competition was acknowledged.

Glasnost (Openness):

• Glasnost was a policy promoting open discussion of political and social issues, marking the beginning of democratization in the Soviet Union. To counter internal opposition to his reforms, Gorbachev introduced glasnost to increase press freedom and state transparency.
• Glasnost aimed to reduce corruption within the Communist Party and curb abuses of power by the Central Committee. It led to significant political changes, including diminished Communist Party power and multi-candidate elections.
• Glasnost also facilitated greater contact between Soviet citizens and the West, particularly the United States, contributing to the easing of tensions between the two nations.

Common European Home:

• Gorbachev introduced the concept of a "common European home" during a visit to Czechoslovakia in April 1987. He emphasized the importance of a unified European continent, opposing military block divisions and the accumulation of military arsenals, and advocating for an all-European house in line with new thinking.

Thaw in Relations

First Reagan-Gorbachev Summit (Geneva Summit, 1985):

• Took place in November 1985 in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Proposed a 50% reduction in the superpowers' nuclear arsenal.

Second Reagan-Gorbachev Summit (Reykjavík Summit, 1986):

• Took place in Reykjavík, Iceland, on October 11-12, 1986.
• Aimed to limit each country's strategic nuclear weapons.
• Nearly resulted in a nuclear arms-control agreement.
• Considered a turning point in the Cold War despite no formal agreement.

Third Reagan-Gorbachev Summit (Washington Summit, 1987):

• Discussed regional conflicts (Afghanistan, Central America, Southern Africa), arms control issues, and human rights.
• Notable for signing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

Fourth Reagan-Gorbachev Summit (Moscow Summit, 1988):

• Finalized the INF Treaty after U.S. Senate ratification.
• Discussed various bilateral issues, including human rights.

Malta Summit (1989):

• Involved a meeting between U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on December 2-3, 1989.
• Discussed rapid changes in Europe post-Berlin Wall fall.
• Seen as a significant moment marking the end of the Cold War.
• Gorbachev emphasized the importance of the summit in shaping today's world.

East Europe Breaks Away (Revolutions of 1989)

• Soviets recognized the economic burden of oil and gas subsidies and troop maintenance.
• Soviets declared non-intervention in allied states' affairs in Central and Eastern Europe.
• 1989 marked Soviet alliance system's collapse; Communist leaders lost power without Soviet support.
• Grassroots organizations like Poland's Solidarity movement gained strength.
• Revolutions of 1989, part of a wave, led to Fall of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe.
• Common aspect: civil resistance campaigns against one-party rule.
• Romania uniquely overthrew its Communist regime violently.
• Solidarity's victory in Poland led to peaceful communism's end.
• Hungary dismantled Iron Curtain, causing East German destabilization.
• 1989 wave peacefully toppled Soviet-style regimes in East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria.
• Romania's regime change was violent; head of state executed.

Fall of Berlin Wall and German Unification

• 1989 saw radical political changes in the Eastern Bloc, with the liberalization of authoritarian systems and the decline of pro-Soviet governments in Poland and Hungary.
• The East German regime began to weaken in May 1989 when Hungary removed its border fence, creating a gap in the Iron Curtain.
• This led to a mass exodus of East Germans fleeing to West Germany and Austria through Hungary.
• Thousands of East Germans sought asylum in West German embassies in Prague and Warsaw, demanding emigration to West Germany.
• West Germany's foreign minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, arranged their passage to West Germany, but another wave of refugees soon replaced them.
• Mass demonstrations in East German cities, especially Leipzig, demanded reforms.
• To address the crisis, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) Politburo deposed General Secretary Erich Honecker in mid-October and replaced him with Egon Krenz.
• The Politburo aimed to stop the flow of refugees to the West through Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland.
• On November 9, Günter Schabowski, a communist official, mistakenly announced that East Germans could travel to West Germany without restrictions, effective immediately.
• This was misinterpreted as an open invitation to cross the Berlin Wall that evening, leading to crowds gathering and demanding passage into West Berlin.
• Unprepared for the influx, border guards allowed East Germans to cross.
• In a night of celebration, tens of thousands of East Germans crossed the wall, joining West Berliners in revelry.
• In the following weeks, the public joyfully chipped away at parts of the wall.
• The fall of the Berlin Wall marked the beginning of the end for the German Democratic Republic.
• Demands for government accountability increased, leading to Krenz's replacement by reform-minded Hans Modrow, who promised free, multiparty elections.
• The March 1990 elections saw the SED, now the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), suffer a significant defeat.
• The Christian Democratic Union, the eastern counterpart of West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl's party, won the largest share of votes, advocating for swift reunification.
• A new East German government under Lothar de Maizière, a member of the eastern Christian Democratic Union, began unification negotiations.
• The urgency of these negotiations was heightened by a wave of refugees from East to West Germany threatening to overwhelm East Germany.
• The final obstacle to reunification was overcome in July 1990 when Kohl convinced Gorbachev to drop objections to a unified Germany in NATO.
• In exchange, West Germany offered substantial financial aid to the Soviet Union.
• Gorbachev agreed to German reunification.
• A unification treaty was ratified by the Bundestag and the People's Chamber in September and took effect on October 3, 1990.
• The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, officially completed on October 3, 1990.
• Gorbachev's vision of a "Common European Home" began to materialize as Eastern and Western Europe moved towards greater cooperation.
• Negotiations between the GDR, FRG, and the four occupying powers resulted in the "Two Plus Four Treaty," granting full sovereignty to a unified Germany.

Collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and New Ideas of Cooperation in Europe

• The Berlin Wall, erected in 1961 to prevent mass migration from East to West Berlin, symbolized the divide between communist and capitalist regimes. By the mid-1980s, the USSR's economic position lagged behind the West, and Gorbachev's policies signaled a shift towards liberal reforms.
• With Gorbachev's promise of freedom for East Germany and Berlin, the wall's collapse in 1989 marked a turning point. This event facilitated the reunification of East and West Germany, fostering socio-economic integration that eventually contributed to the formation of the European Union.
• The cooperation extended beyond the Berlin issue, as the United States agreed to the reunification. Despite initial reservations from Britain and France regarding a powerful unified Germany, the momentum for unification prevailed.
• The end of the Cold War allowed for increased cooperation between Western and Eastern Europe, including Russia. Former Eastern Bloc countries joined the EU, strengthening European unity and fostering global cooperation.
• However, the path to cooperation faced challenges, including confrontations and resistance. Britain's and France's initial reluctance towards German unification, along with objections from Russia regarding EU and NATO membership for Eastern European countries, highlighted the complexities of integration.
• Integrating economically weaker Eastern Germany with prosperous Western Germany, and Eastern Europe with Western Europe, presented significant challenges. Concerns about national identity and economic issues due to integration also emerged.
• Thus, the collapse of the Berlin Wall not only marked the end of communism and the disintegration of the USSR but also ushered in a new era of cooperation in Europe, despite facing various obstacles.

Soviet Republics Break Away

• In the Soviet Union, the policy of glasnost, which promoted openness and transparency, began to weaken the bonds that held the country together. By February 1990, as the dissolution of the USSR became imminent, the Communist Party had to relinquish its 73-year-old monopoly on state power. The increased freedom of the press and dissent allowed by glasnost, along with the long-standing "nationalities question," led the various republics within the Union to increasingly assert their autonomy from Moscow.
• The Baltic states, in particular, moved toward complete independence from the Union. This was exemplified by the Baltic Way, a peaceful political demonstration that took place on August 23, 1989. During this event, approximately two million people joined hands to form a human chain stretching 675.5 kilometers across the three Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, all of which were Soviet republics at the time. The protest aimed to draw global attention to the popular desire for independence within each of these entities.

Soviet Dissolution:

Mikhail Gorbachev's lenient approach towards Central and Eastern Europe did not initially apply to Soviet territory. Even U.S. President George H.W. Bush, who aimed to maintain amicable relations, condemned the violent events in Latvia and Lithuania in January 1991.New Union Treaty:

• The Union of Sovereign States was a proposed reorganization of the Soviet Union into a new confederation.
• Proposed by Mikhail Gorbachev, this plan aimed to prevent the Soviet Union's collapse.
• However, it was never implemented due to the August Coup and the eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
• The idea was later revived as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt (August Putsch or August Coup):

• The August Coup was an attempt by hard-line members of the Soviet government to oust President Mikhail Gorbachev.
• The coup leaders, opposed to Gorbachev's reforms and the new union treaty decentralizing power to the republics, put Gorbachev under house arrest.
• They demanded his resignation, but Gorbachev refused. The coup was poorly organized and collapsed within two days.
• Boris Yeltsin, taking refuge in the Russian Parliament, emerged as a key figure opposing the coup.
• Yeltsin called on the Russian people to protest, and the public responded in large numbers, leading to the coup's failure.
• Although Gorbachev returned to power, the coup weakened his regime and contributed to the decline of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union.
• In December 1991, with the Soviet Union in turmoil, Gorbachev resigned.
• Yeltsin became the dominant leader, removing Soviet flags from government buildings and asserting control over Russia.

Dissolution of Soviet Union and The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS):

• The Soviet Union disintegrated rapidly in late 1991.
• Between August and December, ten republics declared independence, fearing another coup.
• Gorbachev lost authority outside Moscow and was challenged by Yeltsin, who began taking control of the Soviet government.
• The collapse intensified with a Ukrainian referendum on December 1, 1991, where 90% of voters chose independence.
• The secession of Ukraine, the second-most powerful republic, diminished Gorbachev's ability to hold the Soviet Union together.
• The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus met on December 8, signing the Belavezha Accords, declaring the Soviet Union ceased to exist and forming the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
• Gorbachev condemned the Accords as unconstitutional, but they marked the end of the USSR as a geopolitical entity.
• On December 12, the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR ratified the Accords and renounced the 1922 Union Treaty, effectively seceding from the Soviet Union.
• On December 17, 1991, representatives from various countries, including the Baltic Republics and former Soviet republics, signed the European Energy Charter as sovereign states.
• On December 21, 1991, representatives of 11 former republics signed the Alma-Ata Protocol, confirming the dissolution of the Soviet Union and establishing the CIS.
• On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned as president of the USSR, declaring the office extinct and ceding powers to Yeltsin.
• The Soviet flag was lowered for the last time, and the Russian tricolor was raised, symbolizing the end of the Soviet Union.
• The CIS was intended as a successor to the Soviet Union, facilitating a peaceful separation between the republics.