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Why Did Mikhail Gorbachev Start Reforming the Soviet Union?

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Why Did Mikhail Gorbachev Start Reforming the Soviet Union? Differences between Communism and Socialism 1960s 1960- U2 plane incident On 1 May 1960, a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defence Forces while performing photographic aerial reconnaissance deep inside Soviet territory. The single-seat aircraft, flown by pilot Francis Gary Powers, was hit by an S-75 Dvina (SA-2 Guideline) surface-to-air missile and crashed near Sverdlovsk (present-day Yekaterinburg). Powers parachuted safely and was captured 1960s 1960- Paris Summit Failed 1961- Berlin Wall construction begins 1962-Cuban Missile Crisis Map created by American intelligence showing Surface-to-Air Missile activity in Cuba, September 5, 1962 1962-Cuban Missile Crisis Cuba underwent a revolution in 1959 bringing communist Fidel Castro to power. 1962 USSR positioned ballistic nuclear missiles there in 1962 threatening the entire continental USA. 1960s 1962-Sino-Soviet split due to ideological difference. The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), caused by doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications of Marxism– Leninism, as influenced by their respective geopolitics during the Cold War (1945–1991). In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Sino-Soviet debates about the interpretation of orthodox Marxism became specific disputes about the USSR's policies of national de-Stalinization and international peaceful coexistence with the Western world, which Mao decried as revisionism. Against that ideological background, China took a belligerent stance towards the West, and publicly rejected the USSR's policy of peaceful coexistence between the Eastern and Western blocs. In addition, China resented the closer Soviet ties with India, and Moscow feared Mao was too nonchalant about the horrors of nuclear war 1960s 1968- Prague spring (reforms) crushed by USSR Prague Spring The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), and continued until 21 August 1968, when the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact members invaded the country to suppress the reforms. The Vietnam war carried on at a brutal scale. Finally, the USSR backed north Vietnam won in 1975. 1970s-De-Escalation USA-China relations- In 1972 Nixon ratify the treaty in response to the Soviet visited China. invasion of Afghanistan, which took place later that year. The Supreme Soviet also did not ratify Détente between USA and USSR it either. The agreement expired on December strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) 31, 1985 and was not renewed although both 1973 sides continued to respect it. The talks led to the STARTs, The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were or Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties, which two rounds of bilateral conferences and consisted of START I, 1991 completed corresponding international treaties involving agreement between the United States and the the United States and the Soviet Union. Soviet Union, and START II, a 1993 agreement The Cold War superpowers dealt with arms between the United States and Russia, which control in two rounds of talks and was never ratified by the United States, both of agreements: SALT I and SALT II. which proposed limits on multiple-warhead Negotiations commenced in Helsinki, in capacities and other restrictions on each side's November 1969. SALT I led to the Anti-Ballistic number of nuclear weapons. A successor to Missile Treaty and an interim agreement START I, New START, was proposed and was between the two countries. eventually ratified in February 2011. Although SALT II resulted in an agreement in 1979 in Vienna, the US Senate chose not to 1979 1979—USSR sent troops to Afghanistan to help the newly formed Communist government. USA supported the Mujaheedin against USSR. End of détente ( Co-operation). 1980s 1980 Moscow & 1984 Los Angeles Olympics boycotts. Ronald Reagan increased military spending immensely while USSR could not keep up due to its failing economy. Strategic Defence Initiative Plan by USA to equip satellites with nuclear missile (STAR WARS). 1980s 1983-Large NATO military exercise again brought the world on the brink of nuclear annihilation. Able Archer 83 was the annual NATO Able Archer exercise conducted in November 1983. The purpose for the command post exercise, like previous years, was to simulate a period of conflict escalation, culminating in the US military attaining a simulated DEFCON 1 coordinated nuclear attack. The five-day exercise, which involved NATO commands throughout Western Europe, was coordinated from the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) headquarters in Casteau, Belgium. 1983- South Korean civilian plane shot down by USSR 1985- Mikhail Gorbachev becomes General Secretary of Communist Party of USSR The End of Cold War • Main reason- reforms brought by Gorbachev and economy. • The Communist economy simply could not keep up with the high growth rates of capitalist ones. • Why did Gorbachev bring in reforms? The End of Cold War Why Did Mikhail Gorbachev Start Reforming the Soviet Union? Mikhail Gorbachev served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991. Before he assumed office, much attention went to building up the nation’s military at the expense of development within the Soviet Union, which ultimately weakened the economy. Gorbachev was instrumental in several reforms which changed the military, cultural and political climates, which eventually led to his downfall. Pre-Reform Environment Although the government of the Soviet Union was Communist in name, it didn’t emulate the values and structure of Communism. It reflected a more authoritarian, or even dictatorship, style of government. Citizens were highly controlled, as what they read, watched and said was monitored and their public lives were enforced in a way to prevent rebellion or resistance. Before 1985, political and social freedoms in the Soviet Union were minimal. Citizens were closely monitored about what they said about their country, as they were not free to openly criticize their nation’s leadership. What the people knew was monitored too—the press wasn’t free the way it is in the United States, and unfavorable stories about the government couldn’t run. Censorship of other counties film, music and other cultural objects was in effect as well as books that the government found disagreeable with their ideology. The Soviet Union had been gaining power as a world player in the 1970s and 1980s, but with a new generation being brought up in this strict environment, reform quickly became necessary. The End of Cold War Gorbachev’s Reform Efforts Gorbachev started reforming the Soviet Union by implementing policies to bring about individual freedom, bureaucratic transparency and to stimulate economic change, most notably with the Sinatra Doctrine and Glasnost. Sinatra Doctrine The Sinatra Doctrine allowed East Bloc governments to be more autonomous and self- governing and gets its namesake for the Frank Sinatra classic “My Way.” The name for this policy was said by Foreign Ministry spokesman Gannadi Geraimov during an appearance on the American news show "Good Morning America." Symbolically, he was allowing previously Soviet-controlled countries to go their own way. Prior to Gorbachev, the Brezhnev Doctrine controlled these satellite countries and maintained that the affairs of these countries should be tightly controlled by the Soviet government in Moscow. Although this move was met with favor in most of the world, some notable Soviet leaders were unhappy. Erich Honcker, a leader in East Germany, criticized the plan, saying it ended the unity in socialism that the Soviet states shared and maintained that they would become weaker as a result. Glasnost The End of Cold War Gorbachev implemented Glasnost to make the Soviet Union more free and more in line with other modern industrialized countries. • Glasnost was a set of policies created in the late 1980s to: • Make the government of the USSR more transparent • Increase accessibility to the affairs of the government • Ease censorship laws The word literally translates to “openness” and signified a new mood and standard of governing that Gorbachev was attempting to bring to the Soviet Union. Glasnost is much known for allowing a greater freedom of speech to the Soviet people. But the most important aim of this set of policies regarding governmental leadership focused upon making the goings- on of the Soviet government transparent and allowing citizens to discuss, deliberate and debate what the government was doing in a public setting, something that had previously been forbidden. Glasnost made formerly censored sections of the libraries accessible to the people once again. Restrictions on the press and media were also lightened. Glasnost is largely credited with creating policies that led to the downfall of the Soviet Union, as the citizens of the Soviet Union became extremely outspoken about the failure of their government. Because individuals were once again permitted to openly criticize their government without fear of harsh repercussions, many citizens began to vocalize their concerns about what they saw as the failure of their authoritarian government. Reasons for Reform The End of Cold War The Soviet Union’s strict policies over its satellite countries and its citizens at home were ultimately making the once powerful world force weaker and were preventing diplomatic relations with many other countries. With Gorbachev's introduction of the Glasnost policies, the United States and other countries were more willing to work with and have relations with the Soviet Union, something that had been cut under the strict censorship policies. Aftermath of Reform Since the media wasn’t under control of the state anymore, they were more free to report resistance and run stories that weren’t in the government’s favor.
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