Big picture
For over four decades after World War II, world politics was bipolar: divided between two superpowers, the USA and the USSR, and their blocs. In 1991, the Soviet Union disintegrated, ending the Cold War and the bipolar world.
This chapter asks what the Soviet system was, why it collapsed, what happened to the countries that emerged from it, and how the end of bipolarity changed world politics and India's foreign relations.
Learning goals
Describe the features of the Soviet system and the Second World.
Explain Gorbachev's reforms and the disintegration of the USSR.
Explain the causes of the Soviet collapse.
Explain the consequences of the end of bipolarity.
Explain shock therapy and its results in post-communist states.
Describe new tensions in the former Soviet region.
Explain India's relations with Russia and post-communist countries.
Core ideas
1. The Soviet system
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) came into being after the socialist revolution in Russia in 1917, inspired by the ideals of socialism and the need for an egalitarian society.
Features:
Planned economy controlled by the state: the state owned and controlled industries, agriculture (collective farms) and resources, and decided production and distribution.
One-party rule: the Communist Party dominated; there was no space for opposition or criticism.
Achievements: a complex communications network, vast energy resources (oil, iron, steel), a domestic consumer industry, guaranteed minimum standards of living (healthcare, education, housing, employment) for all citizens, and military strength (nuclear arsenal, space programme). There was no unemployment.
Problems: a heavy bureaucracy, lack of democracy and freedom of speech, centralised decision-making, and dominance of Russia over other republics. The arms race with the USA drained resources, and the Soviet economy stagnated in the 1970s–80s, falling behind the West in technology and consumer goods. The invasion of Afghanistan (1979) further weakened it.
The Second World: the countries of Eastern Europe that the Soviet army had freed from fascism came under its control; their political and economic systems were modelled on the USSR. This group of countries was called the Second World or socialist bloc, and their military alliance was the Warsaw Pact (1955).
2. Gorbachev and the disintegration
Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1985. He introduced reforms:
Perestroika (restructuring) to reform the economy.
Glasnost (openness) to allow freedom of expression and information.
He also sought to normalise relations with the West and withdrew from Afghanistan.
Eastern Europe: with Soviet control loosening, people in Eastern Europe protested against their communist governments; one after another, they collapsed. The Berlin Wall, built in 1961 to divide East and West Berlin, fell in November 1989, and Germany reunified in 1990.
Within the USSR: reforms raised expectations but also unleashed demands for independence, especially from the Baltic republics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Ukraine and Georgia. In August 1991, a coup by Communist hardliners failed; Boris Yeltsin, President of the Russian Republic, emerged as a hero for resisting it.
In December 1991, under Yeltsin's leadership, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus declared that the USSR had been dissolved. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was formed. The USSR split into 15 independent republics, and Russia was accepted as the successor state, inheriting the Soviet seat in the UN Security Council.
3. Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate?
Internal weaknesses of the political and economic system: inefficient, stagnant economy unable to meet people's aspirations; lack of political freedom.
Heavy spending on nuclear and military arsenals and on its satellite states, at the cost of the welfare of its people.
Information about the West: people became aware of the economic advancement of the West and the gap with their own lives.
Gorbachev's reforms created expectations that were not met; people were dissatisfied with slow reforms, while hardliners felt they went too far.
Rise of nationalism and the desire for sovereignty in republics such as the Baltic states, Ukraine and Georgia.
4. Consequences of the end of bipolarity
End of the Cold War confrontations and the arms race; the ideological dispute over whether socialism or capitalism was better came to an end.
Change in the balance of power: the world became unipolar, with the USA as the sole superpower, and capitalism became the dominant economic system. Institutions like the World Bank and IMF became powerful advisers to these countries.
Emergence of new countries: 15 new states, many of which joined the European Union or NATO, such as the Baltic states, while others joined the CIS.
The liberal democratic model was promoted as the best way to organise political life.
5. Shock therapy
Shock therapy was the model of transition from an authoritarian socialist system to a democratic capitalist system, influenced by the World Bank and IMF, in Russia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
Features: privatisation of state assets (property ownership was transformed); collective farms replaced by private farming; free trade and foreign investment; currency convertibility and opening up to the world economy; abrupt dismantling of state control.
Consequences:
The economy was ruined: about 90% of Russian industries were sold to private companies at very low prices, which has been called "the largest garage sale in history".
The value of the rouble declined dramatically; inflation soared and people lost their savings.
The collective farm system disintegrated, ending food security; Russia began to import food.
GDP fell; the old system of social welfare was destroyed, and the withdrawal of subsidies pushed many people into poverty. Economic inequality grew, and a mafia emerged controlling many economic activities.
Democratic institutions were built hastily; parliaments were weak, and many countries had strong executive presidents and authoritarian tendencies.
6. Tensions and conflicts
Many former Soviet republics faced conflicts and civil wars: Chechnya and Dagestan sought independence from Russia; Tajikistan suffered a civil war; Azerbaijan and Armenia fought over Nagorno-Karabakh; Georgia faced secessionist movements.
Central Asian republics with rich oil and gas resources attracted competition among outside powers.
In Eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia split peacefully into the Czech Republic and Slovakia (1993), but Yugoslavia broke apart violently, with ethnic conflicts in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo; NATO intervened in Kosovo in 1999.
7. India and the post-communist countries
India maintained good relations with all post-communist countries, and especially strong ties with Russia, an important aspect of its foreign policy.
Shared vision: both believe in a multipolar world order, the collective security, a greater role for the UN, and peaceful resolution of conflicts.
Cooperation: India and Russia have signed many agreements under the Indo-Russian Strategic Agreement (2001). Russia has been a major supplier of military hardware to India; cooperation also covers nuclear energy (for example, Kudankulam), space, and oil and gas. Russia has supported India on Kashmir and its aspirations for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.
India also cooperates with Central Asian republics, especially on energy.
A reliable approach to questions
For the Soviet system, give features, achievements and weaknesses.
For disintegration, describe Gorbachev's reforms, Eastern Europe, the 1991 coup and the CIS, and list causes.
For consequences, explain unipolarity, the spread of capitalism and new states.
For shock therapy, explain its features and harmful consequences.
For India–Russia, give the shared vision and areas of cooperation.
Connections that matter
Contemporary centres of power discusses the EU, ASEAN and China in the post-Cold War world.
International organisations explains the UN's role.
India's external relations places India–Russia ties in India's broader foreign policy.
Common mistakes
Mixing up perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness).
Dating the fall of the Berlin Wall to 1991. It fell in November 1989; the USSR dissolved in December 1991.
Saying shock therapy improved living standards immediately. It caused severe economic hardship.
Saying Ukraine was the successor state of the USSR. Russia was.
Revision checklist
I can describe the Soviet system and the Second World.
I can explain Gorbachev's reforms and the events of 1989–91.
I can explain the causes and consequences of the Soviet collapse.
I can explain shock therapy and its consequences.
I can describe new conflicts and India's relations with Russia.