The Collapse of the Soviet Union

a. Politburo -The Politburo was the ruling committee of the communist party.
b. Soviet hardliners The Soviet hardliners are old Bolsheviks who did not want changes, and
because Gorbachev was making changes to the government, they wanted to get rid of him.
c. coup A coup is a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.
d. CIS CIS stands for Commonwealth of Independent States.
e. shock therapy Shock therapy was an abrupt shift to free-market economics.

1. Identify and define two early changes that Gorbachev made? How were these changes different from
previous Soviet leaders?
Two early changes that Gorbachev made were adding the idea of Glasnost, or openness, and
Perestroika, economic restructuring. These changes were different compared to previous Soviet leaders
because Gorbachevs goal was to keep communism but help make it better with new reforms.
2. Why would it be ineffective for the central government to decide what should be produced all over
the country?
It would be ineffective for the central government to decide what should be produced all over the
country because many factories are dependent on government money. If the government could not
handle this, then factories would then shut down, leaving thousands of people unemployed.
3. Explain Gorbachevs third reform and how it would help to move the country toward democracy.
Gorbachevs third reform was democratization. This plan helped move the country toward democracy
because he gave voters the opportunity to choose from a list of candidates in each office.
4. What was the INF Treaty? Why did Gorbachev agree to sign it? What effect do you think this Treaty
had on the Cold War?
The INF treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) banned nuclear missiles within ranges of 300 to
3,400 miles. Gorbachev singed the treaty because he realized that the Soviet economy could not afford
the costly arms race. This affected the U.S.S.R.s advantage in the cold war; they would not have as
many strong weapons compared to the United States.
5. What effect did Gorbachevs reforms have on Russian ethnic minorities?
Various nationalities were now demanding their freedom, and there were more than one hundred
ethnic groups in the Soviet Union. Non-Russians made up fourteen of the fifteen Republics in the Soviet
Union at the time.

6. Which satellite nation was first to defy Gorbachev? How did Gorbachev respond?
The first satellite nation to defy Gorbachev was Lithuania. Gorbachev responded by ordering the
economic blockade of the republic; he ordered Soviet troops to attack unarmed civilians, resulting in
fourteen people dead and hundreds injured.
7. What was Boris Yeltsins position in Soviet government? Why did he oppose Gorbachev?
Yeltsin was a member of the parliament, as well as the mayor of Moscow. He criticized Gorbachev on
his slow pace of reforms.
8. What name was given to the older communist members in parliament? What opinion did they have
regarding both Gorbachev and Yeltsin? Explain your answer.
The older communist members in parliament were called hard-liners. They did not agree with
Gorbachev or Yeltsins ideas for the country because they went against the original ideas of
communism. The hard-liners did not like any ideas of change.
9. What was the August Coup? Who orchestrated it?
The August Coup occurred on August 18, 1991, when the hard-liners detained Gorbachev at his vacation
home at the Black Sea, and demanded his resignation as Soviet president, because they did not like the
changes that he was making.
10. What were the most important reasons for the failure of the Coup?
The coup attempt sparked anger against the communist party, resulting in Gorbachevs resigning as
general secretary. The communist party then collapsed because of the coups failure.
11. How did the 15 soviet Republics respond to the failed Coup?
Although Gorbachev begged for unity, nobody listened; the following December, all fifteen republics
declared independence.
12. When Gorbachev stepped down as president, who became the next president?
Boris Yeltsin was then elected as president after Gorbachev stepped down.
13. What was the new name of the Soviet Union after this coup?
The Soviet Union then became known as Russia.
14. What was Yeltsin attempting to do by forming the CIS? What effect would it have on the traditional
Soviet Union?
The Commonwealth of Independent States was a loose federation of former Soviet Territories. Yeltsin
wanted to chart a new course for the face of the Russian government.
15. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin was faced with economic issues. What did he do to
attempt to solve these issues? Did it work? Why or why not?

Yeltsin proposed the idea of shock therapy, an abrupt shift to free market economics in order to
improve the Russian economic situation. At first, the plan did more than expected; prices soared from
1992 to 1994, and the inflation rate averaged 800 percent.
16. When Yeltsin stepped down, a new leader was elected. What are some of the problems that faced
this new leader, Vladimir Putin?
As soon as Yeltsin stepped down, Putin was left to take care of the war between Russia and Chechnya
that restarted, even after the signing to cease-fire.
17. What was the Chechnya issue? How did Putin deal with it? Was he able to end this issue for the new
Federation? Explain.
In Chechnya, the war was supposedly coming to an end, when 80,000 troops were pulled out of
Chechnya. In October 2002, Chechen rebels seized a theater in Moscow, and more than 150 people died
in the rescue attempt by Russian forces. Putin did show some signs of improvement for the Russian
democracy; he stated that he favored a free market economy, but one that would adjust gradually to
the circumstances Russia was undergoing.
18. In what ways were the policies of Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Putin similar?
Between the three leaders, they all shared one thing in common; they all wanted to get some sort
democracy in Russia. Although, it wasnt until Gorbachev resigned when it could actually be
implemented properly.