The disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991 was a long drawn event starting from 1945. Examine the causes which were responsible for this and the events which occurred during this disintegration. What impact this disintegration made in the world order?

Model Answer

Brief introduction:

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a confederation of 15 republics with Russia as the leader before its disintegration in 1991. It was a powerful bloc with great control over global politics from 1922 to 1991. The following were the 15 republics:

1. Armenia
   2. Azerbaijan
   3. Belarus
   4. Estonia
   5. Georgia
   6. Kazakhstan
   7. Kyrgyzstan
   8. Latvia
   9. Lithuania
   10. Moldova
   11. Russia
   12. Tajikistan
   13. Turkmenistan
   14. Ukraine
   15. Uzbekistan

History of USSR:

Russian empire ended with the Russian Revolution of 1917. This was followed by Russian Civil War. It finally resulted in the formation of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1922.

Causes which led to disintegration of USSR:

1. Rise of nationalism:

Countries like Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Baltic republics (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) saw the rise of nationalism. This was the most important and immediate cause of disintegration of the USSR. In addition to this there was regional disparity in the extent of development. There was strong national feeling among the prosperous areas in USSR and not in not-so-prosperous Central Asian republics. Ordinary people among prosperous republics didn’t like to pay big price to uplift the backward Central Asian republics.

2. Economic Weakness:

The weakness of the economy was the major cause of dissatisfaction among the people in USSR. There was severe shortage of consumer items. There was very low investment in the infrastructure and technology upgrade. Besides there was high expenditure on the following:

1. Defense equipments- Economic planning failed to meet the needs of the state due to arms race with the US. The military buildup was done at the expense of domestic development.
2. Space missions
3. Maintenance of satellite states in Easter Europe.
4. Maintenance of the Central Asian Republics within the USSR.
5. One party system (communist party):

There was communist party regime, the only party ruling the confederation, for 70 years. The party also turned authoritarian. There was lack of democracy; the voice of the common people was not heard, opinion of the people was not taken before making the policies and taking decisions.

4. Bureaucratic and authoritarian system:

There was widespread corruption, nepotism and lack of transparency. There was dominance of Russia and neglect of the interests of other republics.

5. Gorbachev’s reforms and ambition of republics:

Gorbachev’s decision to allow elections with a multi-party system and create a presidency for the Soviet Union began a slow process of democratization that eventually destabilized Communist control and contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Once people started to enjoy freedom under Michael Gorbachev’s reforms, they demanded more. The demand grew into a big force which turned difficult to control. The people wanted to catch up with the west quickly.

Events which occurred during the process of disintegration:

1. The fall of Berlin Wall:
   1. The end of Second World War in 1945 saw the splitting of Germany into 4 Allied Occupation Zones with 3 zones under the rule of the capitalist countries – France, Britain and America and 1 zone (the eastern one) under the rule of Communist Soviet Union.
   2. In 1961, Communist government of East Germany began to build the Berlin Wall which acted as a barrier between oppressive communist regime and the freedom of liberal democracies.
   3. This Wall was made to prevent the massive emigration and defection from the East to the West.
   4. Due to lack of freedom and peace, there were many protests for radical political changes. These got intensified in 1989. Hence, the East German government on 9 November 1989 announced that all the people of East Germany could visit West Germany and the Berlin Wall was demolished after 28 years of separation and repression.
   5. This led to the reunification of the family members from the east and the west.
   6. It fulfilled the curiosity of the East Germans of seeing the West side of Berlin.
2. Crisis in the Socialist bloc: People in many east European countries started protest against their own governments and USSR. Due to the lack of appropriate intervention from USSR, communist governments in the second world collapsed one after the other.
3. Economic and political reforms in USSR: Gorbachev identified the economic and political problems of USSR and started a series of reforms with the intention to revive economy. This was a deviation from the communist policies, and was more closely associated with the market economy. Many communist leaders in USSR opposed reforms initiated by Gorbachev.  They encouraged a coup in 1991.
4. Opposition against the coup: Boris Yelsin who won popular election in Russian Republic, protested against the coup and central control of USSR. Freedom for republics became the slogan. Boris Yeltsin and the pluralist movement advocated democratization and rapid economic reforms while the hard-line Communist elite wanted to thwart Gorbachev’s reform agenda.
5. Power shift from Soviet center to republics:Republics like Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus emerged powerful. They declared that the Soviet Union was disbanded. The decision to split USSR into independent republics was not a joint one. Central Asian countries wanted to remain inside USSR. But decision was taken against their choice.

Consequences of the disintegration of the USSR:

1. On December 25, 1991, the Soviet hammer and sickle flag lowered for the last time over the Kremlin, thereafter replaced by the Russian tricolor. Earlier in the day, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned his post as president of the Soviet Union, leaving Boris Yeltsin as president of the newly independent Russian state.
2. With the dissolution of Soviet Union, the main goal of US was economic and political stability and security for Russia, the Baltics, and the states of the former Soviet Union. US recognized all 12 independent republics and established diplomatic relations with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.
3. Of paramount concern was securing the nuclear arsenal of the former Soviet Union and making certain nuclear weapons did not fall into the wrong hands. There was end of arms race, end of ideological confrontations and end of cold war.
4. The Nunn-Lugar Act established the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program in November 1991 to fund the dismantling of weapons in the former Soviet Union, in accordance with the START and INF Treaties and other agreements.
5. International organizations like the World Bank and IMF worked to provide financial assistance and hopefully prevent a humanitarian crisis in Russia.
6. There was emergence of new countries and new alliances – Eg: Baltic countries aligned with NATO.