I.               The Collapse of European Communism

A.     Gorbachev’s Reforms

1.     In March 1985, members of the Politburo, the Communist Party’s top decision-making group, selected Mikhail Gorbachev as the new leader of the Soviet Union.

2.     When Gorbachev took power, the Soviet Union was still the world’s most feared totalitarian dictatorship. But Gorbachev recognized that “something was wrong.” Blaming poor living conditions on the country’s rigid political system and stagnant economy, he launched an unprecedented program of reforms.

3.     Glasnost

a.     Soviet leaders from Vladimir Lenin to Brezhnev created a totalitarian state that controlled the mass media and restricted human rights.

b.     In 1986, Gorbachev introduced a new policy known as glasnost, or openness, which encouraged Soviet citizens to discuss ways to reform their society.

4.     Perestroika

a.     Glasnost gave Soviet citizens (subjects) an opportunity to complain publicly about their economic problems.

b.     In 1986, Gorbachev launched a program called perestroika, or economic restructuring, to revitalize the Soviet economy.

5.     Demokratizatsiya

a.     Gorbachev understood that in order for the economy to thrive, the Communist Party would have to loosen its grip on Soviet society.

b.     In 1989, Gorbachev unveiled a third new policy called demokratizatsiya, or democratization. The plan called for the election of a new legislature, the 2,250-member Congress of People’s Deputies.

B.     Making Comparisons: Stalin and Gorbachev

1.     Stalin

a.     Rejected the relatively free markets created by Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP).

b.     Implemented a series of Five-Year Plans that promoted state planning and industrialization.

c.      Forced peasant leaders who showed the slightest degree of dissent from his policies.

d.     Imprisoned and executed millions of Soviet citizens

e.     Created a rigid totalitarian state

f.      Imposed Soviet control over Eastern Europe

2.     Gorbachev

a.     Advocated private ownership of property and free markets

b.     Allowed public discussion and criticism of Communist Party policies

c.      Permitted openly contested elections

d.     Allowed national minorities within the Soviet Union to express pent-up grievances

e.     Encouraged East Europeans to reform their political systems without fear of Soviet armed intervention

f.      Raised expectations in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe for greater freedom

A.     Poland and Solidarity

1.     The people of Poland were the first to test Gorbachev’s new policies.

2.     Led by Lech Walesa, Polish workers formed a democratic trade union called Solidarity.

3.     Pope John Paul II provided crucial support for the Solidarity labor movement in Poland.

4.     In 1989, Polish voters overwhelmingly rejected the Communist Party and elected Solidarity candidates. This marked the first time the people of a nation peacefully turned a Communist regime out of power.

A.     The Fall of the Berlin Wall

1.     Inspired by the events in Poland, the people of East Germany demanded change in their government.

2.     On November 9, 1989, a new East German leader opened the Berlin Wall. The reunification of Germany occurred less than one year later. These watershed events marked the end of the Cold War in Eastern Europe.