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Gorbachev vs. Yeltsin (Gorbachev (Westernisation (Gorbachev reoriented…
Gorbachev vs. Yeltsin
Gorbachev
Perestroika
Glasnost exposed the crimes of the previous eras which the Communist Party had covered up for decades.
Gorbachev lurched towards abandoning reform altogether which allowed nationalism to explode onto the scene
Economic reforms failed to get the system going, more radical ones were used
Gorbachev's fault
Dissidents had been largely neutralised by Andropov so Gorbachev was under no immediate popular pressure to make any reforms.
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In 1985 extensive economic reform was not really necessary – economy was stagnant / in decline but not in crisis.
New thinking
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Perestroika inferred a scientific restructuring in order to maximise efficiency and therefore did not arouse suspicion.
Pluralism is the formation of different political groups to stand for election. This is the word Gorbachev began to use for values in the USSR.
Westernisation
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Gorbachev also renounce violence as a method for suppressing its citizens and holding together the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc.
Replacing Stalinist socialism with genuine democracy, with free elections, a multi-party system and human rights.
Gorbachev and China
China embraced economic reform quicker and better than the Soviet Union. Gorbachev tried to blend the command and market economies, which didn't work
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In China, economic freedom was introduced without political freedom. This may have been abhorrent to Westerners in terms of lack of freedom of speech but it maintained political stability.
Gorbachev's mistakes
Failed to anticipate the effects of glasnost and the extent of historical revelations would destroy peoples faith in communism, believing the Party’s own propaganda about the strength of Soviet nationalism.
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Believed that reform could save the USSR. However reform caused a crisis from which it could not recover.
Failed to win over the whole of Communist Party which was the only organisation strong enough to carry out reform. Policies were made that undermined his authority.
Who is Gorbachev?
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Made a deal with Gromyko who would become head of state while Gorbachev would become Party Secretary.
Yeltsin
Yeltsin and nationalism
Embraced nationalism and emphasised the rights of Russia over the Soviet Union which was the basis of Gorbachev’s power.
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His election as President of Russia in June 1991 gave him status and authority that Gorbachev did not have.
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Yeltsin in 1990
Elections happened in the Soviet republics so Yeltsin became Chairman of the Russian Congress Peoples’ Deputies, Russia’s new parliament, in May 1990.
In June the Congress declared Russia’s sovereignty, meaning its laws were superior to the Soviet Union's.
The Soviet Union had lost power at this point because 75% of the Soviet Union’s population lived under these laws.
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Yeltsin and the coup
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Publicly denounced the coup, demanded Gorbachev return as to Moscow from temporary captivity and encouraged popular uprisings against the Communist Party.
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Later that year Yeltsin banned the Party altogether, seized its money and property, published evidence of corruption by Party officials.
In November 1991 Yeltsin announced that Russia was taking control of the Soviet oil and gold industries. Unlimited wealth was now at his disposal.
Who is Yeltsin?
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In 1985 at the recommendation of Yegor Ligachev, Yeltsin was promoted from his regional secretary to Head of Central Committee in Moscow
Dared to step up on podium and criticise those who oppose reform on the 70th anniversary of the Revolution. He was rebuked and tried to kill himself with office scissors.
Survived and came out of the hospital with a "badge of honour", then got dismissed after calling for multi-party elections, attracting middle-ranking Party members.
In the 1990 election in Moscow he won with 89% of the vote. He founded this first opposition group with the Inter Regional Deputies Group
Yeltsin and the Union
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The reconstructing the Russian economy was the most viable option as it was the most developed of all the republics and without having to support the other republics, recovery and success would be likely.
Reached this decision in December 1991 after the people of Ukraine had voted to leave the Union in a referendum.