The Collapse of the Soviet Union Questions

Identify/define each of the following: [remember to answer fully]

a. Politburo The politburo is the ruling committee of the Communist party
which argued all political disagreement. The Communist party decided what writers
could publish, and they limited freedom of speech or worship. The Soviet Union tried
to hold onto its power, but the Brezhnevs two people who did the most work died
quickly. The Politburo had a debate between two men. One man was Mikhail Gorbachev,
but choosing him caused another Russian Revolution.
b. Soviet hard-liners - There are conservatives who opposed reform. They
were furious that Gorbachev given up the Soviet Unions role as the dominant force in
Eastern Europe. They didnt want to lose their power and privileges, so they wanted to
overthrow Gorbachev and undo his reforms.
c. coup - The coup were hard-liners who didnt want to lose their freedom.
Because of this they sent hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles into Moscow. Also
they wanted the military to attack the Russian Parliament, but they refused. They lost
all their freedoms. Yeltsin made it so that decisions and decrees of the committee to
be illegal. He wanted to return to a normal constitutional developments.
d. CIS The CIS was a loose federation of former Soviet territories which
Yeltsin named. After the coup this was the name given to the Soviet Union.
e. shock therapy- This was a plan made by Yeltsin which as an abrupt shift to
free market economies.
1. Identify and define two early changes that Gorbachev made? How were these
changes different from previous Soviet leaders?
Two Changes that he made were he created a policy known as glasnost. This policy
brought huge changes to the Soviet Union. The government allowed more freedom for
example the churches were allowed to be open. It released people who opposed official
policy from prison. It allowed authors to write books as before they were not allowed.
This was different from changes from Soviet leaders before because they allowed
hardly any freedom. They created a totalitarian state which didnt allow people the
freedom they deserved. These decisions made the Soviet Unions economy dull, and
society hardly changed. Gorbachev saw the social and economic reforms, and wanted a
free flow of ideas and information. He then created an idea of perestroika which
would help the economy. He made changes to restore the Soviet economy. There were
more authority over peoples companies, and people were allowed to open companies. He

wanted to make the economic system more productive. The leaders before didnt allow
people to have much authority over their property. People hardly had any freedom.
2. Why would it be ineffective for the central government to decide what should be
produced all over the country.
It would be ineffective because they told people how much to produce, and how much
wages to pay. They also told them what prices they hard to charge. This led to many
farmers and factory managers who could not increase they pay by increasing more.
People had no motive to accomplish anything. Gorbachev blamed problems on the Soviet
Unions system because people felt like they had no freedom. This caused the economy
to have problems. Citizens were now allowed to complain about economic problems, and
there were many protests. The protests were because they had to stand in lines to but
food, and other things needed. Before people weren't allowed to have a say, and were
not allowed to speak up for themselves.
3. Explain Gorbachevs third reform and how it would help to move the country toward
democracy.
Gorbachevs third reform was called democratization which would open political
systems. This would help the country move toward democracy because now there was
an election to pick the new legislative body. Before voters had candidates that were
picked by the Communist party. Voters were allowed to choose from a list of
candidates for each office. Many people chose lesser known people over people who
seemed to be more powerful. The country moved more towards Democracy because
now people had the freedom to choose who they wanted to be elected.
4. What was the INF Treaty? Why did Gorbachev agree to sign it? What effect do
you think this Treaty had on the Cold War?
The INF treaty was created to ban nuclear missiles with ranges of 300 to 2,400 miles.
Gorbachev agreed to sign it because Soviet foreign policy had changed completely too
militarily with the Soviet Union. The US spent over $2 trillion on the military. This was
the most expensive buildup in the US which was caused by Ronald Reagan. Gorbachev
realized that the Soviet Union didnt have enough money to spend on the military.
Arms control was one of Gorbachevs main concerns because of this he agreed to sign
the INF treaty. I think the effect this had on the cold war was that this was the first
time Russia had agreed to reduce their nuclear bombs. This caused the Soviet Union
and the US to actually use missiles before the deadline. Before the ban they have
tested out missiles; therefore, this caused so much tension between the US and the
Soviet Union.
5. What effect did Gorbachevs reforms have on Russian ethnic minorities?

Gorbachev wanted to support movements and create change in the economy and
political systems. Democracy was building up in the country; therefore, Gorbachev
didnt disapprove of reform. Glasnost, Perestroika, and democratization were supposed
to reform the system. All these reforms were supposed to help the system, but
instead it led to its breakup. Many nationalities wanted more freedom, so they formed
a majority in all of the other republics. More than 100 ethnic groups lived in the Soviet
Union, so there was a lot of tension. Central controls spread across the country;
therefore, people demanded self-rule. Muslims wanted religious freedom, and
nationalist groups in Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldavia wanted self-rule.
6. Which satellite nation was first to defy Gorbachev? How did Gorbachev respond?
Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia hated Russia, and started many protests. They had been
independent states since the Soviets annexed them in 1940. Lithuanias declared
independence fifty years later. Gorbachev feared that their protests might encourage
other republics to take measures; therefore, Soviet troops attacked Lithuanias
citizens. They killed 14 people, and hurt hundreds.
7. What was Boris Yeltsins position in Soviet government? Why did he oppose
Gorbachev?
He was a member of parliament, and the mayor of Moscow. He opposed Gorbachev
because he criticized what happened in Lithuania, and the slow pace of reforms. Voters
chose Yeltsin to because Russias first elected president by the citizens.
8. What name was given to the older communist members in parliament? What
opinion did they have regarding both Gorbachev and Yeltsin? Explain your answer.
The name given to them was the hard-liners. Their opinion on Gorbachev and Yeltsin
was that they were furious that Gorbachev had given up the Soviet Unions role as the
dominant force in Eastern Europe. They also didnt want to lose their power and
privileges. They were in fear because Gorbachev after everything that he had done
has just given up. He didnt fight for the Soviet Union, he just resigned. They didnt
know if Yeltsin would come in and change things or not thats why they were scared
that they would lose all freedoms. At the end they end up losing their freedoms.

9. What was the August Coup? Who orchestrated it?

The August Coup was when the hardliners detained Gorbachev at his vacation home on
the Black sea. They wanted his resignation as Soviet president. The next day hundreds
of tanks and armored vehicles went into Moscow while the Soviet people lost their
fear of the party. The Soviets wanted to defend their freedom, and protesters
gathered at the Russian parliament building. Yeltsin climbed on top of one of the tanks
and said We proclaim all decisions and decrees of this committee to be illegal We
appeal to the citizens of Russia to demand a return of the country to normal
constitutional developments On August 20 the hardliners ordered troops to attack
the parliament building where Yeltsin was, but they refused. On August 21 the military
took out forces from Moscow. The August Coup was orchestrated by the hard-liners.
10. What were the most important reasons for the failure of the Coup?
The most important reasons were that the coup sparked anger against the Communist
Party. Gorbachev resigned as general secretary of the party. The Soviet parliament
voted to stop all party activities. The coup seized power in 1917, the Communist Party
now collapsed because the coup failed. The coup played a huge role in accelerating the
breakup of the Soviet Union. Yeltsin climbed on top of one of the tanks, and said that
he demanded all decisions and decrees of the committee to be illegal. Also that Russia
would return to a normal constitutional development. Hardliners ordered troops to
attack the parliament building, but they wouldnt. The military took out forces from
Moscow.
11. How did the 15 soviet Republics respond to the failed Coup?
They responded by all 15 republics declared independence. Gorbachev pleaded for
unity, but no one was listening. The Coup had power in 1917, but now failed. The Coup
played a big role in the breakup of the Soviet Union.
12. When Gorbachev stepped down as president, who became the next president?
The next president was Boris Yeltsin who was the most powerful figure in the CIS. He
faced many problems like an ailing economy, tough political opposition, and an unpopular
war.
13. What was the new name of the Soviet Union after this coup?
The new name of the Soviet Union after the coup was Commonwealth of Independent
States. Only the Baltic republics, and Georgia declined to join.

14. What was Yeltsin attempting to do by forming the CIS? What effect would it
have on the traditional Soviet Union?
He was attempting to ailing the economy, tough political opposition, and an
unpopular war. The CIS meant the death of the Soviet Union.

15. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin was faced with economic issues.
What did he do to attempt to solve these issues? Did it work? Why or why not?
He wanted to reform the Russian economy. He adopted a plan known as shock
therapy. He lowered trade barriers, removed price controls, and ended subsidies
to state-owned industries. No the plan didnt work because it produced a lot of
shock more than therapy. Prices soared from 1992 to 1994, the inflation rate
averaged 800 percent. Factories depended on government money had to cut
production or shut down. Thousands of people were out of work, and many Russians
suffered economic hardships. This fueled a political crisis because of economic
problems. Legislators opposed to Yeltsins policies, and shut themselves inside the
parliament building. Yeltsin sent troops to bombard the building forcing hundreds
of rebel legislators to surrender. Many people were killed, and many opponents
accused Yeltsin of acting like a dictator. Because of this there was a war in
Chechnya. Chechnya wanted independence, but Yeltsin denied. He ordered 40,000
Russian troops into Chechnya, and killed people in Grozny. There was so much anger
in Russia.
16. When Yeltsin stepped down, a new leader was elected. What are some of the
problems that faced this new leader, Vladimir Putin?
Yeltsin resigned because the fighting between Chechnya and Russia. Problems that
faced the new leader was that economic problems continued. Observers didnt
think Russian democracy could survive. There was a decade of change and reform
which caused social violent changes in Russia. There were between 30,000 and
50,000 homeless children in Moscow half were younger than 13. The society had
stress issues; therefore, there were high rates of domestic violence. There was a
lot of unemployment, a high population decline, and declines in the standard of
living and the average life expectancy. There were some signs of improvement
under Putin.

17. What was the Chechnya issue? How did Putin deal with it? Was he able to end
this issue for the new Federation? Explain.
Because of Yeltsin's trouble there was a war in Chechnya. Chechnya wanted
independence, but Yeltsin denied. He ordered 40,000 Russian troops into Chechnya,
and killed people in Grozny. There was so much anger in Russia. No he wasnt able to
end the issue for new federation because news of the death and destruction
caused so much anger throughout Russia. Yeltsin wanted to end the war, but war
broke up again between Russia and Chechnya. Yeltsin resigned.
18. In what ways were the policies of Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Putin similar?
The policies of Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Putin were all similar because they all tried
to move away and complete communism. They all fought against economic and social
issues. They all didnt let the soviet Union split into independent states. They were
all popular, and liked by the people at first.