ia_2010_harry_b

=B. Summary of Evidence (500-600 words) Tips]=

Gorbachev arrived in Moscow in 1978 and was immediately put in charge of the Central Committee's 'Food Program'. This was a spectacular failure ** "as was to be expected" ** [1] and throughout Gorbachev's time as the agricultural secretary of the USSR the country saw almost the lowest grain harvests since the war so Gorbachev repeatedly bought vast quantities of grain from abroad. Gorbachev announced that he intended to reform the economical situation in Russia after the Brezhnev years. Gorbachev called for increased agricultural and industrial productivity through quick technological modernization. However, it became clear that fixing the Soviet economy would not be possible without reforming the political Situation in the USSR. Gorbachev felt that he had to “cure the Leninist system” [2] and so he began using three terms: uskorenie (acceleration), perestroika (reconstruction) and glasnost (openness). He tried to implement these processes through demokratizatsiia (democratization). Gorbachev started his policy of Perestroika in March 1985 with trying to return the country to its Leninist roots through democratization. In a sense Gorbachev intended to return to the beginning of socialism through democratization. “Perestroika was to refashion all the institutes of state and society.” [3] The problem with Perestroika was that Gorbachev never made his policy fully clear; he merely sketched it out at the 27th Party Congress. According to Gorbachev perestroika was the "conference of development of democracy, socialist self-government, encouragement of initiative and creative endeavor, improved order and disciple, more glasnost, criticism and self-criticism in all spheres of our society. It is utmost respect for the individual and consideration for personal dignity." [4] In 1987 the Central Committee Plenum saw a host of Gorbachev’s political reforms. Such as: multi-candidate elections and the appointment of non-party members. It was here that Gorbachev first raised the idea of expanding cooperatives, which shocked members at the plenum. The climate of perestroika was simply contradictory, the whole country was alive with meetings. By 1990 it was clear that a turning point had been reached. In December 1989 the Berlin Wall came down and the call for liberation from Moscow’s grip rose to a peak. In the Soviet Union Party Organizations were disbanding themselves, thousands were leaving the party in protest against the leading methods and “continuing political monopoly” [5]. By 1990 neither Gorbachev nor the Politburo knew how to stop the democratic perestroika. Unfortunately, Gorbachev handed the main responsibility of Perestroika to the CPSU who disabled the process. Gorbachev genuinely believed that perestroika could work, “we want more socialism and, therefore, more democracy....” [6] but the USSR could not follow these two ideologies as one and so the process had to be stopped.

When economical growth failed Gorbachev began to focus more heavily on political reforms. To gain legitimacy for Glasnost Gorbachev supported the intelligentsia, especially journalists and writers. Glasnost gave new freedoms to the people including the freedom of speech. This was hugely radical as suppression of speech was a central part of the Soviet Union. The most dramatic sign of change was the decision to free Andrei Sakharov – “the moral voice of the nation” [7]. Along with this Gorbachev opened his policies up for open criticism. Very quickly the party began to split in two. The moderate reformers who were led by Ligachev and Ryzhkov, and the radical reformers who were led by Gorbachev, Yeltsin and Iakovlev. Gorbachev’s intention was to provoke debate and participation but due to a lack of clarity over his objectives only a short order of informal groups and movements were created. In the non-Slav republics ‘circles’ coagulated into ‘popular fronts’ that united all those opposed to Moscow’s rule; hugely aggressive movements appeared in the Baltic republics. Glasnost was put to test on 26th April 1986 when a reactor at the nuclear power station Chernobyl exploded. It took Gorbachev eighteen days to appear on television to give an account of the worst nuclear disaster ever. The disaster sparked the emergence of a ‘green’ movement but in the long term drove the regime to become much more open. Glasnost essentially only allowed the public to openly show their distaste for the government.

[1] Dmitri Volkogonov; edited and translated by Harold Shukmam (1998). //The rise and fall of the Soviet empire//. London: HarperCollins (ISBN: 0006388183). [2]Dmitri Volkogonov; edited and translated by Harold Shukmam (1998). //The rise and fall of the Soviet empire//. London: HarperCollins (ISBN: 0006388183). [3] edited by Gregory L. Freeze (1997). //Russia//. Oxford; Oxford University Press (ISBN: 0192158996). [4] Mark Kishlansky, Patrick Geary, Patricia O'Brien (2002). //A brief history of western civilization//. New York; Longman, (ISBN: 0321097009). [5]Dmitri Volkogonov; edited and translated by Harold Shukmam (1998). //The rise and fall of the Soviet empire//. London: HarperCollins (ISBN: 0006388183). [6]Mikhail Gorbachev (1987). //Perestroika//. New York: Harper & Row, (ISBN: 0060390859). Site Visited 09/10/09. [7] edited by Gregory L. Freeze (1997). //Russia//. Oxford; Oxford University Press (ISBN: 0192158996).


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