EQ: To what extent was the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union a major turning point in global history?

1. New Entry: Collapse of Communism Collapse of Communism 2. What caused the collapse of

communism in the Soviet Union?

By the end of class our objectives are to: -explain Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms -evaluate the significance of the changes in East Germany -analyze the collapse of the Soviet Union

Mikhail Gorbachev:• Young, energetic, and politically skilled

– 54 years old, had not blindly followed Stalin

• Soviet Union expected mild reform– Second Russian Revolution – New ideas

• Glasnost – Openness – Free flow of ideas and information– Churches opened– Publication of previously banned books– Reporters investigated social problems and

criticized the government

• Perestroika – Economic restructuring – Soviets had economic complaints– Central planning was inefficient– Local managers gained greater authority over

farms and factories– People allowed to open small

private businesses– Keep communism, but make it

more efficient and productive • Democratization

– Opening of political system• Foreign policy

– Arms reduction– Urge Eastern Europe to follow

“Each people determines the future of its own country and

chooses its own form of society. There must be no

interference from outside, no matter what the pretext.”

-Mikhail Gorbachev

Poland:• Solidarity – Labor union that defeated

Communists in free elections • Lech Walesa – Union Leader, national hero,

President of Poland

“We hold our heads high, despite the

price we have paid, because freedom is

priceless.”

Berlin Wall:• Austria provided a new escape route for East

Germans• East German government closed borders

entirely– October 1989: Huge demonstrations broke out– People demanded right to travel freely and free

elections

• Police refused to break up protests– Communist leader resigned – New leader opened the Berlin Wall in an attempt

to save communism

• Public found evidence of corrupt leaders– E. German Communist Party ceased to exist

• Reunification – merging of the two Germanys– October 3, 1990– E. Germany had to be rebuilt– By the mid-90s the economy began to slowly

improve– Germany returned to prominent role in global

community

Boris Yeltsin:• Change of the 1980s brought calls of freedom

from the many ethnic groups in the Soviet Union

• Lack of progress and revolts damaged Gorbachev’s popularity– Yeltsin became the first directly elected president– Gorbachev resigned as general secretary of the

Communist Party

• All 15 Soviet republics declared independence• Yeltsin led the Russian Republic

– “shock therapy” – shift to free-market economy

• Ethnic and religious differences caused conflict • Bosnia declared independence from Yugoslavia

in 1992– Population included Bosniaks [Muslims] (44%),

Serbs (31%), and Croats (17%)

• Bosnian Serbs wage war to stop independence– 200,000 people die war– 2 million fled their homes– Serbs policy of “ethnic cleansing” in an attempt to

rid Bosnia of its Muslim population – Peace treaty signed with UN help in 1995, but

remains unstable today

Read

Be prepared to discuss:Be prepared to discuss:OPVLCompare and Contrast