Ch. 19 sec 3 The Collapse of the Soviet UnionI. Gorbachev Moves Toward Democracy

A. A Younger Leader

1. The Politburo was the ruling committee of the Communist Party which promoted censorship and restrictions on freedom of speech

A. A Younger Leader3. After Brezhnez’s death and the deaths of the next two

leaders in successive years the Communist Party chose Mikhail Gorbachev to lead the country

4. Gorbachev was praised for his youth, energy & political skills but the Politburo had no idea that he would unleash another Russian Revolution

B. Glasnost Promotes Openness

1. Gorbachev realized that economic and social reforms were needed if Russia was to prosper

2. Glasnost (1985) reform brought remarkable changes: churches opened, dissidents were released & allowed publication of banned books

3. This was all done to end the stagnate economy and society that was developing

II. Reforming the Economy & PoliticsA. Economic Restructuring

1. 1st step that needed fixing was improve the inefficient system of central planning

2. Controlling wages & production created a lack of motivation thus creating a disinterested worker

A. Economic Restructuring3. In 1985 Gorbachev introduced the idea of perestroika which

means economic restructuring4. His goal was to add a little capitalism without throwing out

communism and so he allowed small private businesses to open

B. Democratization Opens the Political System

1. To improve the economy and loosen the grip of the Communist Party, Gorbachev created a policy called Democratization

2. This policy opened up the election process allowing voters the option to vote for lesser known candidates

C. Foreign Policy

1. Gorbachev stopped the Soviets competition with the U.S. in arms race (U.S. spent 2 trillion) because he realized their economy could not keep up

2. In Dec. 1987 Regan and Gorbachev signed the Intermediate- Range Nuclear Forces Treaty banning nuclear missiles with ranges of 300-3,400 miles

III. The Soviet Union Faces TurmoilA. Lithuania Defies Gorbachev

1. Reforms loosened central control allowing for Soviet Republics that were non-Russian to vie for independence

2. Lithuania, Estonia, & Latvia split from the Soviets causing the Soviets to enact a economic blockade and then an attack by its military on Lithuanian citizens

B. Yeltsin Denounces Gorbachev

1. Boris Yeltsin, a former mayor of Moscow, became the 1st directly elected president replacing his rival Gorbachev

2. Yeltsin criticized the crackdown in Lithuania and the slow progress of reforms

3. Yeltsin was challenged by the old guard Communist officials who didn’t want to give up being the dominant Eastern European force

C. The August Coup

1. Aug. 18,1991 hardliners of the Communist Party detained Gorbachev and demanded his resignation

2. They sent tanks & armored vehicles into Moscow surrounding the Russian Parliament and Yeltsin himself

C. The August Coup1. Yeltsin Climbed out a window and gave words of hope to all

the citizens protesting the hardliner communists use of military force

2. Aug. 24th the soldiers listening to the people and the hardliner communist decide to refuse the order to attack

D. End of the Soviet Union

1. As a result of the failed coup the Communist Party collapsed which also led to the breakup of the Soviet Union

2. All 15 republics declared independence forcing Yeltsin to form the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)-a loose federation of former Soviet territories

D. End of the Soviet Union3. Dec. 25th Gorbachev announced his resignation as president

of the Soviet Union thus ended the Soviet Union