WHY DID THE SOVIET UNION DISINTEGRATE

It was not the first and may not be the last political system to collapse.

• Internal weaknesses: Soviet political and economic institutions, which failed to meet the aspirations of the people, were responsible for the collapse of the system. Because:

a) Used much of its resources in maintaining a nuclear and military arsenal.

b) Development of its satellite states in Eastern Europe and within the Central Asia.

This led to:

i. A huge economic burden that the system could not cope with.

ii. Economic stagnation for many years led to severe consumer shortages.

• People doubt and questioning the system openly: Large section of Soviet society began to do so openly. Because:

a) Ordinary citizens became more knowledgeable about the economic advance of the West

b) They could see the disparities between their system and the systems of the West.

c) The reality of backwardness came as a political and psychological shock.

• Stagnant in an administrative and political sense:
• The Communist Party that had ruled the Soviet Union for over 70 years was not accountable to the people.
• Slow and stifling administration, Rampant corruption, the inability of the system to correct mistakes, unwillingness to allow more openness in government, Centralisation of authority in a vast land, party bureaucrats privileges > ordinary citizens. So People did not identify with the system and rulers.

• Gorbachev’s reforms promised to deal with these problems.
• He promised to:

1. Reform the economy,
2. Catch up with the West.
3. Loosen the administrative system.

USSR collapsed in spite of Gorbachev’s accurate diagnosis of the problem and his attempt to implement reforms, Why?

Cause 1. when Gorbachev carried out his reforms and loosened the system, General public was disappointed and impatient with his methods. Because he set in motion forces and expectations that few could have predicted and became virtually impossible to control.

Others, especially members of the Communist Party and those who were served by the system, took exactly the opposite view. They felt that their power and privileges were eroding and Gorbachev was moving too quickly.

In this ‘tug of war’, Gorbachev lost support on all sides and divided public opinion. Even those who were with him became disillusioned as they felt that he did not adequately defend his own policies.

Cause 2. The rise of nationalism and the desire for sovereignty: Most immediate cause for the disintegration. Even nationalist urges and feelings were very much at work throughout the history of the Soviet Union and that whether or not the reforms had occurred there would have been an internal struggle within the Soviet Union.

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