A detailed summary of all relevant information pertaining to the End of the Cold War (). This summary is perfect for studying this section in preparation for IEB exams. This summary includes: Gorbachev, Satellite States, Gorbachev's aims, Perestroika, Glasnost, Poland, Solidarity, Gdansk Agreement,...
End of the Cold War (Mainly 1985-1991) + Gorbachev:
In 1985, Gorbachev became the Secretary-General of the Communist party.
Gorbachev attacked Brezhnev for ‘years of stagnation’.
USSR was still in a state of ‘Cold War’ with the West which became very costly
due to:
Arms race.
Control of satellite states in Eastern Europe.
War in Afghanistan.
A satellite state is a country that is formally independent in the world, but
under heavy political, economic and military influence or control from another
country.
Soviet Central planning committee was corrupt and inefficient. As a result,
industrial production decreased and there were inefficient farming practices
that had been implemented.
As a result of this:
Soviet standards of living decreased even more.
People suffered severe food shortages.
Government was forced to import grain from the USA and other
Western Countries.
There were shortages of goods.
Poor and inadequate healthcare services.
Inflation.
Gorbachev’s aims:
Restructure and restore the Soviet economy by reducing communist
party control.
Reduce military spending.
Allowed more competition and more incentives.
In 1985 Gorbachev launched 2 policies: Perestroika (restructuring) and
Glasnost (Openness).
, Perestroika: Reshaping of the Soviet Economy to allow for more profit-
making individuals and to reduce control by the government.
E.g. Profit of goods at a reasonable price, remove central planning in the
economics of the government and enable the Soviet economy to restructure.
Glasnost: More openness about the government and more freedom of
speech. Criticism of government policy would be allowed and corruption by
government officials would stop.
E.g. More democratic, more freedom from Government control, more
freedom of speech, more media freedom and have leaders who listen to
people’s views and accept criticism.
By 1980, life in Poland had become difficult for the majority of Polish citizens.
Workers organisation was called: ‘Solidarity’ which was led by Lech Walesa.
Communist government made religion and worship difficult for many Polish
Citizens and a lot of them were members of the Roman Catholic Church. IN
1980, Poland was poor. There were food and fuel shortages, goods were in
short supply and inflation was in full effect.
Solidarity gained popularity by many people because the Polish people were
very loyal to the Roman Catholic Church and the communist government
limited their worship and ‘took’ away their religion.
USA (President Reagan) said that Solidarity was a perfect anti-communism
movement that people were supporting. A wave of strikes were initiated along
the Polish coast as a result of ‘solidarity’ being created.
Gdansk and Szczecin - polish port coastal strikes caused chaos and
international coverage was drawn to the issue.
An agreement was reached on 3 September 1980 (it gave in to many of the
workers demands’). It was known as the Gdansk Agreement. It was considered
the first step in dismantling the Soviet control in Poland.
It gave polish people the right to:
Form labour unions independent of communist party control.
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