1985 - present

Ideas, Events, Dates, and Dilemmas

Fall of the USSR - Week 11
see Soviet period
Coup of 1991 - Week 11
"In August, 1991, a group of hardline communists attempted a coup while Gorbachev was on vacation; while the coup was eventually put down, due in large part to the actions of Boris Yeltsin, who had been elected president of the Russian republic in June 1991, it was clear that Gorbachev was no longer in a position of power, and on December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned." Lecture #nl:p. Text: pp. 612
Prague Spring - Week 11
"The Soviets demonstrated their military prowess with their crushing of the Czech uprising (the "Prague Spring") in 1968 and the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979."Lecture #11b:p1. Text: pp.
Glasnost - Week 11
" ...glasnost meant the opening of society, which Gorbachev believed would strengthen communism." "In addition, glasnost had led to increased questioning of what the government was doing, not only within the Soviet Union but also in the satellite nations. Independence movements, and anti-communist movements, had become increasingly powerful throughout Eastern Europe (Solidarity, in Poland, led by Lech Walesa, is probably the most famous). In November, 1989, the Berlin Wall, which had been erected during Khrushchev's regime, was torn down by Germans on both sides of the wall. Communism collapsed in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and East Germany. Within the Soviet Union itself, many of the republics (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, for example) had a long tradition and history that had nothing to do with the Soviets, and as glasnost spread, they began to demand greater freedoms and recognition." Lecture #11b:p3. Text: pp 546-7, 574, 583, 585, 587, 599, 607, 344, 598, 600, 606.
Perestroika - Week 11
"Perestroika was designed to correct some of the worst abuses of the Brezhnev era. Both were intended to keep the communists firmly in power." Lecture #nl:p. Text: pp. 585
Gorbachev - Week 11
Lecture #nl:p. Text: pp. 537-8, 546, 555, 566, 573, 583, 584-93, 595-607, 610-12, 613, 618, 620; economy 585-9, 599-604; reforms 585-91; opposition 587; president 589, 600; nationalistic movements 595-7; eastern Europe, 597-9, 633; Nobel 599; final crisis 599-605; resignation 604-5; loss in election 622.
Boris Yeltsin - Week 11
Lecture #11c:p1. Text: pp. 599, 605, ( 612), 627, 629-33, 641, 648, 653-4; conflicts with Gorbachev 587, 589, 596, 606, 610-12; elected to Congress of People's Deputies 596-7; attempted coup and 604, 612, 620; on visit to US 609; character and background 610; drinking 610; presidency 610-25; health problems 613, 622, 624; varying levels of support 613, 619, 621; popular referendem held by 616017; attempted overthrow of 617, 620; heart surgery 623; resignation 625; foreign policy 634-7; religion and 655-6.