APA format
Running head: DISINTEGRATION OF USSR
Disintegration of USSR
Nitasha
XYZ University
Disintegration Of USSR (Soviet Union)
The great Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), which
emerged as a result of the spectacular October 1917 revolution,
disintegrated even more dramatically in December 1991. The fall
of Soviet Union with its far-reaching consequences on the global
politics is regarded as the most important political event of
the 20th century. It would be interesting to study the political,
economic and social factors, which contributed to the fall of
this great country. As Sam Marcy (http://eserver.org/history/collapse-of-ussr.txt)
says
The collapse of the USSR has inevitably caused wholesale desertions
from Marxism. This is not uncommon when great catastrophes are
experienced by the world working class. Nevertheless, over a
protracted period, the working class has always shown astonishing
recovery and regeneration. We believe that the dissolution of
the USSR will be no exception.
Historical
Background
The recorded history of the Soviet Union dates back to the 8th
century A.D. when the European and Middle Eastern traders explored
this region. At that time it was inhabited by the Slavic tribes.
However the Scandinavian chieftains established the first Russian
empire in the 9th century, which centered round Kiev and Novgorad.
Later on this region remained under the control of the Mongols
from 13th to the 15th century. Ivan the Great was declared the
first Tsar of unified Russian principality in 1547. Ivan conquered
Kazan and Astrakhan and established trading links with England.
After that Peter the Great (1682-1725) remained the Tsar and
emperor of Russia from 1682 to 1725. Peter introduced many reforms
in the country and in 1703 founded the city of Petersburg. Thus
the Great Russian Empire was founded which in future was destined
to play important role in the politics of the world. By the
19th century Russian territory had been greatly extended but
although a force to be reckoned with, in the world, Russia was
industrially far behind the UK, Germany and the USA. Its bureaucracy
had grown unwieldy and oppressive and its Romanov emperors (Tsars)
were opposed to any political change. Revolutionary activity
began with the Dekabrists conspiracy uncovered in 1825 and although
serfdom was abolished in 1861, its abolition was achieved on
terms unfavorable to the peasants and served to encourage revolutionaries,
a group of whom assassinated Alexander II in 1881.
The first decade of the 20th century witnessed great political
unrest in the country. Military defeats in the 1905 war with
Japan and in the First Great War resulted in the fall of Tsar
rule in Russia. After the abdication of Nicholas II a provisional
government set up under Prince Lvov was replaced in may be a
second government under Alexander Kerensky. However this government
too was overthrown in the October 1917 revolution by communists
led by Lenin. The October revolution was followed by a civil
war that lasted from 1918 to 1922. The communists came out victorious
in this war and Lenin emerged as the strong man of Russia. Lenin's
death in 1924 resulted in a war of succession between Stalin
and Trotsky in which Stalin succeeded in ousting his opponent.
Stalin eliminated his rivals through a series of purge trials,
mass executions and mass exiles to work damps. Having consolidated
his position Stalin put the Soviet Union on the road of industrial
and economic development through five-year plans and the system
of collective farming. Consequently in the thirties the Soviet
Union became a major industrial power of the world. In August
1939 Russia signed a non-aggression pact with Germany. But Germany's
dictator Hitler disregarded this pact and attacked the Soviet
Union in June 1941. Thus USSR was dragged into the Second World
War, which inflicted heavy losses on her. It is estimated that
Soviet Union lost 11 million combatants and 7 million civilians
in the war.
Soviet
Union after the Second World War
After the Second World War the Soviet Union emerged as one of
the two major powers of the world. Under Stalin USSR established
herself as a great industrial and military power. It made rapid
economic progress. With remarkable technical advancement the
Soviet Union succeeded in building a large army, navy and air
force which-brought the communist block militarily at par with
the combined strength of the western capitalist countries viz.
USA, France and United Kingdom. Soon after USA, the Soviet Union
exploded the nuclear device and became an Atomic power. Stalin
pursued a hostile policy towards the western bloc. Consequently
this post-war era witnessed the beginning of the cold war, which
lasted till 1970s when the movement towards detente slowed down
its momentum. After the death of Stalin in 1953 Nikita Khrushchev
became the strongman of Russia. He embarked upon the policy
of De-Stalinization. He advocated peaceful co-existence with
the western countries but at the same time continued the nuclear
build up of the country. Under Khrushchev Russia expanded the
sphere of its influence in different parts of the world. In
1956 Khrushchev's threats of retaliation forced France and United
Kingdom to withdraw their forces from Suez Canal.
However in 1962 President Kennedy of USA forced the Soviet Union
to withdraw her missiles from Cuba. Khrushchev's policies led
to his downfall in October 1964. His successor Alexei Kosygin
adopted cautious moderate policies. His reign (1964.1980) witnessed
the Middle East Wars of 1967 and 1973, Indo-Pak War of 1971,
Russian assistance to Vietnam and Soviet military intervention
in Afghanistan in 1979. Russian intervention in Afghanistan
proved to be a turning point in the history of Russia. It not
only led to her isolation from the free world, drained her economy
and incurred great losses but also caused a rift amongst the
higher echelons of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Gorbachev's Policies of Glasnost and Perestroika
After Cherenko's death in March 1985, Mikhail S. Gorbachev was
chosen General Secretary of the Communist Party. Immediately
after assuming power Gorbachev embarked upon the introduction
of radical reforms in the political and economic fields. Consequently
in 1985 he held two rounds of talks with the US President in
which the issue of arms reduction was discussed. Gorbachev was
aware that the entire political, economic and social set-up
of the country needed reformation. The Soviet economy was in
a shattered state because her defense budget and military adventures
in Angola, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Middle East and Afghanistan were
a great burden on the exchequer and required 20 to 30 percent
of GDP. The extremely centralized setup dominated by the authoritarian
communist party had shaken the social and political structure
of the state. Similarly the socialist ideology had suffered
much at the hands of the state system, which offered no reforms
since many years. Gorbachev decided to solve these problems
through his policies of Glasnost (Openness) and Perestroika
(Restructuring). Through his policies of Glasnost and Perestroika
Gorbachev wanted to:
Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS): After the disintegration of USSR
in December 1991, eleven of the former Soviet Constituent Republics
created a Commonwealth of Independent States. The members of
CIS agreed to maintain their common borders, cooperate in foreign
policy and promote trade. The capital of the CIS is Minsk (Belarus).
The following states are the member of CIS.
(1) Armenia (2) Azerbaijan (3) Belorussia (Belarus)
(4) Kazakhstan (5) Kyrgyzstan (6) Moldovia
(7) Russia (8) Tajikistan (9) Turkmenistan
(10)
Ukraine and (11) Uzbekistan
