Collapse of the Soviet Union

Chapter 19 Section 4By: Axel Reed and Ellyn Moll

Unrest in the Soviet Union

0 Nationalists in the Soviet Union wanted freedom after Eastern Europe gained freedom from the Soviet

0 Russians were the largest and most powerful ethnic group out of the one- hundred ethnic groups within the Soviet

0 Non-Russians formed the majority of the one-hundred ethnic groups

0 Tensions between ethnic groups increased as reforms gave more freedom from central control

0 Unrest starts to spread0 Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldavia called for self-rule, while

Muslims of the Soviet Central Asia petitioned for religious freedom

LOL

0 1940 Soviet Union annexed the Baltic Nations (Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia) after they had been independent states throughout the world wars

0 Gorbachev directed a blockade of the Republic of Lithuania after they declared their independence in 1990

0 1991 Soviet army attacks civilians at Lithuania’s capital killing 14 and wounding 150+

0 Gorbachev ordered the attack in fear that other nations would want independence if Lithuania gained theirs

0 Gorbachev’s popularity decreased as the economy didn’t progress and because of the attack on Lithuania

0 Boris Yeltsin gained popularity 0 Was a member of parliament0 Former mayor of Moscow0 Yeltsin was Russian Republic’s first directly elected

president

0 Hard Liners (conservatives who opposed reform) 0 Were angry at Gorbachev for pulling out as Eastern

Europe’s dominant force0 Were scared of losing their power and privilages0 Wanted to overthrow Gorbachev and undo all of his

reforms0 Yeltsin and Gorbachev were enemies, but had common

goal of suppressing hard liners0 While at his vacation home on the Black Sea, hard

liners detained Gorbachev and demanded that he resign as the president of the Soviet Union

0 The next day hard liners, who called themselves the State Committee, drove tanks through the city in hopes that fear would great further obedience to them

0 The people rose above their fear and were willing to stand in the way of the State Committee for their freedom

0 Protesters gathered at Yeltsin’s office

0Yeltsin climbed on a tank and spoke to the protesters demanding the country be returned

0The State Committee ordered their army to attack parliament, but instead withdrew and Gorbachev regained office

0Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)0 Loose federation of former soviet territories0 Yeltsin met with leaders of other republics to

form the CIS0 Baltic Republics and Georgia did not join0 CIS=“good-bye” to the Soviet Union0 Christmas 1991, Gorbachev resigns as

president of the Soviet Union

The Yeltsin Era0 Gorbachev’s resignation made Boris Yeltsin president of the

Russian Republic and the most powerful person within the CIS0 “Shock Therapy”: an abrupt shift to free-market economics0 Eliminated government involvement in the economy

0 Trade barriers0 Price controls0 State-owned industries

0 Inflation rate averaged 800%0 Factories cut down production or shut down0 Thousands of people were out of work0 Economic problems fueled a political crisis0 Yeltsin is accused of being a dictator

0 Legislators who opposed Yeltsin’s economic policies locked themselves into the parliament building.

0 Yeltsin sent troops into the building forcing them to surrender and some were killed.

0 War in Chechnya0 Muslim area in SW Russia0 Declared their independence, but Yeltsin declined0 40,000 troops sent to Chechnya and destroyed the capital,

Grozny0 With re-election approaching, Russia’s people were angered

with Yeltsin, and Yeltsin knew the war would have to come to an end

0 Yeltsin signed a peace treaty and was re-elected by the people0 Right after elections Yeltsin went back to war with Chechnya

and as fighting intensified resigned office0 Premier Vladamir Putin named president by Yeltsin, who

forcefully stopped the rebellion in Chechnya0 Gained popularity from Russian citizens and was reelected in

2000.0 Economy continued through slump even with a president

approved by the people

FORMER YUGOSLAVIA1989-2000

Yugoslavia Falls Apart0 Ethnic Conflicts; Serbs, Croats, Muslims, Slovenes, Macedonians, and

Montenegrins0 Yugoslavia formed after WWI0 Federation of 6 Republics, each with a mixed population0 Josip Tito led Yugoslavia for 35 years until his death when Serbian

leader Slobodan Milosevic took control.0 Ethnic resentments rose0 Slovakia and Croatia became republics and declared independence0 Yugoslav army invaded both nations and after bloody fighting, both

nations won and gained independence0 Feb. 1992 Bosnia-Herzegovina declared their independence0 April, Serbia and Montenegro formed new Yugoslavia0 Bosnia’s population contained

0 Muslims 44%0 Serbs 31%0 Croats 17%

0 Bosnia’s Muslims and Croats were for independence, while Bosnian Serbs were strongly against it

0 March 1992, Bosnian Serbs, supported by Serbia, launched war0 Ethnic Cleansing: policy intended to rid Bosnia of its Muslim

population0 Used by Serbs for murder and other forms of brutality0 By 1995 Serbs controlled 70% of Bosnia

0 December 1995 Brokered Peace Treaty signed by leaders involved in the war with U.S. and UN

0 September, Bosnia elected a three-person presidency, one for each ethnic group

0 Nation continues to experience unrest0 Kosovo, made up of almost entirely Albanians, experiences major

violence as independence movements escalate0 Serbian forces move in with major bloodshed as well0 Spring of 1999 NATO begins bombing campaign of Yugoslavia0 Yugoslav leaders removed their troops from Kosovo after two

months of constant bombing

Eastern Europe Faces Problems

SANTA?

Eastern Europe Faces Problems

0 During the 90’s nations of Easter Europe were relatively peaceful compared to Yugoslavia, but faced other problems

0 Lech Walesa, elected president of Poland in ‘91, attempted to use shock therapy, like Yeltsin, to revive Poland’s bankrupt economy

0 1995 former Communist, Aleksandr Kwasniewski, elected president after the Polish people were impatient of waiting for Walesa’s plans

0 Kwasniewski wanted to combine free market policies with greater social benefits, despite his communist background

0 Czechoslovakian reformers launch their own shock therapy plan

0 Unemployment rose, hurting Slovakia more than the other 2/3 of the country

0 Differences in economic policy led to divisions between Czech republic and Slovakia

0 President Havel tried to promote unity, but splitting the nation gained too much support

0 President Havel resigned, Czechoslovakia split into two countries on January 1, 1993

0 Havel was elected president of Czech republic and re-elected in 1998 as well.

0 Each nation had many gains after separation, but still faced obstacles to democracy

0 Ethnic conflicts and economic progress still needed crucial resolving

KEY TERMS & THEMES

Yeltsin

CIS

Shock Therapy

Ethnic Cleansing

0 Boris Yeltsin0 Member of parliament and former mayor of Moscow0 Russian Republic’s first directly elected president

0 CIS0 COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES0 Loose federation of former Soviet territories0 Lead to death of Soviet Union

0 “Shock Therapy”0 Abrupt shift to free-market economies0 First used by Yeltsin

0 Ethnic Cleansing0 Policy using murder and other forms of brutality against

an ethnic group0 Serbs used it against Bosnian Muslims to rid Bosnia of its

Muslim population0 Changes in government and political process0 Losing and gaining of power

Questions!1. Who were the largest and most powerful ethnic group within the

Soviet Union?2. Who was Boris Yeltsin?3. What were hard liners?4. What was the CIS and which nations did not want to be apart of it?5. What were the effects of Yeltsin’s “shock therapy” plan?6. How many republics did Yugoslavia consist of?7. Who did the Serbs murder to eliminate their presence in Bosnia?8. Which nation was bombed constantly for two months and by

whom?9. What was the mood like in the ‘90’s in Eastern Europe compared

to Yugoslavia?10. Why did Czechoslovakia split and who became president of the

Czech Republic?

1. Who were the largest and most powerful ethnic group within the Soviet Union?

1. Russians

2. Who was Boris Yeltsin?1. Member of parliament and former mayor of Moscow2. First directly elected president of Russian Republic3. First to use “shock therapy”

3. What were hard liners?1. Conservatives who opposed reform

4. What was the CIS and which nations did not want to be apart of it?

1. (Commonwealth of Independent States) Loose federation of former Soviet Territories

2. Baltic Republics and Georgia

5. What were the effects of Yeltsin’s “shock therapy” plan?1. Inflation rate averaged 800%2. Factories cut down production or shut down3. Thousands of people were out of work4. Economic problems fueled a political crisis5. Yeltsin is accused of being a dictator

1. How many republics did Yugoslavia consist of?1. Six

2. Who did the Serbs murder to eliminate their presence in Bosnia?

1. Bosnian Muslims

3. Which nation was bombed constantly for two months and by whom?

1. Yugoslavia by NATO

4. What was the mood like in the ‘90’s in Eastern Europe compared to Yugoslavia?

1. Nations were relatively stable and did not experience widespread violence

5. Why did Czechoslovakia split and who became president of the Czech Republic?

1. Slovakia was hit harder by unemployment and could not agree on economic policy

2. Václav Havel

Works Cited

0 Beck, Roger B. Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2005. Print.

0 United States of America. The White House. The President. System II. By Ronald Reagan. Web. 17 May 2012. <http://www.gwu.edu/%7Ensarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB238/usdocs/Doc%201a%20(letter%20Reagan-Gorby%2004.10.87).pdf>.