Question

Discuss the developments that escalated the crisis within the USSR that hastened its Disintegration.

Answer 1

1. Gorbachev initiated the policies of economic and political reforms (perestroika and glasnost) and democratization within the country. Leaders within the Communist Party opposed the reforms.
2. A coup took place in 1991 which was encouraged by Communist Party hardliners. The people had tasted freedom by then and did not want the old-style rule of the Communist Party. Power began to shift from the Soviet centre to the republics, especially in the more Europeanized part of the Soviet Union, which saw them as Sovereign states.
3. The administration and political system of the Soviet Union became stagnant. The Communist Party that ruled the Soviet Union for over 70 years was not accountable to the people. Rampant corruption, unwillingness to allow more openness in government led to the collapse of the system.
4. Gorbachev's ignorance and his liberal outlook, in turn, strengthened the anti-communal forces in Eastern Europe. Consequently, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria and East Germany witnessed the downfall of the communist regimes. These sudden developments paved the way for the disintegration of the USSR.