What this lesson teaches
I can explain the reasons the Cold War came to an end in 1989 to 1991.
Syllabus K227, End of the Cold War, Learning Outcomes. Explain the reasons for the end of the Cold War.
I can explain the reasons the Soviet Union grew weaker in the 1970s and 1980s.
Syllabus K227, End of the Cold War, Learning Outcomes. Explain the reasons that led to the decline of the USSR.
Make a guess
Gorbachev cut censorship in the late 1980s so problems could be discussed openly. What do you think people did with this freedom?
- Praised the Communist Party for its past achievements.
- Criticised the system itself, not just its mistakes.
- Ignored it, because daily life had not really changed.
Show the answer
Criticised the system itself, not just its mistakes.
Glasnost let people expose past repression and failures. With the economy still failing, faith in the system fell.
Gorbachev's reforms did not fix the economy quickly, and new freedom to speak let people attack the system itself.
Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader in 1985. He wanted to improve the socialist system, not abolish it. Perestroika means restructuring. Factories got more freedom to make decisions, and some cooperatives, businesses run jointly by their members, were allowed in areas like shops and services. The aim was to encourage initiative and raise production.
But some controls loosened while other rules stayed confusing, officials resisted change, and shortages continued. More freedom on paper did not quickly put better goods in shops.
Glasnost means openness. Censorship, government control over what could be published and discussed, was reduced. People could now criticise past repression, corruption and current failures. Political reforms also weakened the Communist Party's monopoly, its sole hold on power. Gorbachev hoped criticism would help fix problems. Instead, it also helped people organise demands to change the whole system. In republics such as Ukraine, movements for more self-rule gained a wider hearing.
The two policies fed each other. Shortages gave people reasons to complain; openness let them complain publicly and organise. Hardliners who wanted strong central control accused Gorbachev of weakening socialism. Reformers who wanted faster change said he was achieving too little. Attacked from both sides, he lost authority. So a planned rescue helped cause a breakdown, even though that was never his aim.
- 1985
- Gorbachev becomes Soviet leader.
- Perestroika
- Restructuring the economy.
- Glasnost
- Openness and less censorship.
Worked example: Link the reforms, do not just list them
Why did shortages become more damaging under glasnost?
- Perestroika fails to fill the shops, so people stay angry.
- Glasnost lets them criticise openly and organise.
- So the same shortages now create public pressure on the system.
Watch out for this
Gorbachev planned to end the USSR.
He wanted to save the Soviet system. His reforms weakened it without that being his aim.
Check your understanding
How did glasnost make economic problems more dangerous for the government?
- It increased censorship, so public anger stayed hidden for years.
- People could openly criticise shortages and organise demands for change.
- It ended the shortages, so people turned to demanding more freedom.
Show the answer
People could openly criticise shortages and organise demands for change.
Yes. Openness turned private complaints into public pressure.