Economic reform: perestroika
On 11 March 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev, aged 54, became General Secretary of the Party. He knew the economy was slowing and the USSR was falling behind in technology.
- 1985-86, "acceleration" (uskorenie): more machines, more discipline, an anti-alcohol campaign. It did not work.
- Perestroika ("rebuilding"): the Law on State Enterprises (1987) gave factories freedom to plan and sell part of their goods. The Law on Co-operatives (1988) allowed small private firms, shops and restaurants.
- Problems: prices were still fixed, money grew faster than goods, and old links between factories broke. Oil prices fell in 1986, so state income dropped. By 1989-91 many goods were rationed by coupons and shelves were empty.
- Result: people lost trust in the old system and also in the new half-reform.
Glasnost: openness
Glasnost means "openness" or "speaking aloud". It began as an order to report problems honestly.
- Chernobyl (26 April 1986): the nuclear plant accident shocked everyone. At first the news was held back, which showed the cost of secrecy.
- Media: magazines and TV began to show the truth about Stalin's terror, the Gulag and past mistakes. Banned books were printed. Andrei Sakharov was freed from exile (1986).
- Foreign policy "new thinking": the INF treaty on missiles (1987), withdrawal from Afghanistan (completed February 1989), and in 1989 no use of force when Eastern Europe changed. The Berlin Wall fell in November 1989.
Glasnost let people talk about everything, including the failures of the system and the rights of each nation.
Political reform
Gorbachev wanted to give life to the councils and weaken the old Party machine.
- 1988: a Party conference agreed to create a new parliament, the Congress of People's Deputies.
- March 1989: the first elections with real choice. Some Party bosses lost. The Congress met in May and was shown live on TV.
- March 1990: Article 6 of the Constitution, which gave the Party the leading role, was removed. Gorbachev became President of the USSR (elected by the Congress).
- Russia: in 1990 Boris Yeltsin became leader of the Russian parliament, and in June 1991 Russia elected him its President by popular vote.
- March 1991: a referendum asked about a renewed union: most of those who voted said yes, but six republics did not take part.
By now there were two centres of power: the Union and Russia.
National movements and the end of the USSR
With free speech, old national feelings came out in the 15 republics.
- Baltic states: popular fronts in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania asked for self-rule. On 23 August 1989 about two million people made the human chain "Baltic Way". Lithuania declared independence on 11 March 1990.
- Caucasus and Central Asia: clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh from 1988; Georgia 1989 protests; troops were used in some cities (Tbilisi 1989, Baku 1990, Vilnius 1991).
- "War of laws": in 1990 most republics, Russia included, declared their laws were above the Union's.
- A new Union Treaty was to be signed on 20 August 1991. A day earlier hard-liners staged a coup (19-21 August) to stop it. It failed in three days, after crowds gathered round Yeltsin in Moscow. The Party lost its power.
- After the coup: republic after republic declared independence.
- 8 December 1991: leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus met at Belovezha and said the USSR had ceased to exist. They founded the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS); eleven republics joined by 21 December.
- 25-26 December 1991: Gorbachev resigned and the USSR formally ended. Russia took its seat at the UN.
Why did it end? A weak economy, shortages, loss of trust in the Party, nationalism and a free press, plus a leader who refused to use force to keep the union together.
Try it
Use the free-play slider. Before you slide, guess how many republics were still under the roof after the coup in August 1991. Then count, and note the date when the last republic (Kazakhstan) declared independence. Write one sentence: which was the main cause in your view, the economy, openness or nationalism?
Key formulas and definitions
- Gorbachev: General Secretary March 1985; President March 1990; resigned 25 December 1991
- Chernobyl: 26 April 1986
- Law on State Enterprises 1987; Law on Co-operatives 1988
- First free-choice elections: March 1989; Article 6 removed March 1990
- Baltic Way: 23 August 1989; Lithuania declares independence: 11 March 1990
- Coup: 19-21 August 1991; Belovezha: 8 December 1991; USSR ends 26 December 1991
- Key words: perestroika, glasnost, uskorenie, co-operative, sovereignty, CIS
Worked examples
1. What did perestroika and glasnost mean?
Perestroika means "rebuilding": reforms to give factories and small firms more freedom. Glasnost means "openness": more free speech, press and honest discussion of problems and history.
2. The USSR had 15 republics. After Russia, 14 declared independence in 1990-91. Lithuania was first. How many still had not declared after Lithuania?
14 - 1 = 13 republics (apart from Russia) had not yet declared.
3. Explain why the August 1991 coup failed and what it caused.
The plotters were divided and unpopular; the army did not act, and crowds in Moscow gathered around Yeltsin. After three days it collapsed. It weakened the Party and Gorbachev, speeded up the republics' independence, and led to the end of the USSR.
Common mistakes
- Mixing perestroika (economy) with glasnost (openness).
- Thinking the USSR ended on 8 December. That was the Belovezha statement; the USSR formally ended on 26 December 1991.
- Saying Gorbachev was removed in the coup. He was held for three days, came back, but lost power.
- Believing all 15 republics left at once. They declared independence one by one from 1990 to December 1991.