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What does glasnost mean and when did Gorbachev launch it?
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All Flashcards in Topic 3.2
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3.2.112 cards
What does glasnost mean and when did Gorbachev launch it?
'Openness' — loosened censorship from 1985, letting citizens and the press criticise Party failures openly.
What does perestroika mean and when was it launched?
'Restructuring' — economic reform from 1987 allowing small private cooperatives and more factory control over production.
Why is the Soviet Union before 1985 called a one-party state?
Only the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was legally allowed to hold power — no opposition parties or free elections existed.
What is the nomenklatura?
The privileged class of Communist Party officials who received better jobs, housing, and access to goods than ordinary Soviet citizens.
What is 'the era of stagnation'?
The period of slowing Soviet economic growth under Brezhnev, roughly 1964–1982, which Gorbachev inherited in 1985.
What was the Brezhnev Doctrine, and what changed in 1989?
The old policy of using Soviet force to keep Eastern Europe communist; Gorbachev ended it in 1989 by refusing to intervene.
List three Eastern European countries that left communism in 1989.
Any three of: Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania — all left communist rule in 1989.
When did the Berlin Wall fall, and why does it matter?
9 November 1989 — the most symbolic single moment showing communism's visible collapse in Eastern Europe.
What is the key irony of Gorbachev's reforms?
Glasnost and perestroika were meant to save communism by fixing its problems, but instead they exposed failures and accelerated collapse.
Compare glasnost and perestroika.
Glasnost opened political/media freedom (1985); perestroika restructured the economy (1987) — together they revealed problems faster than they solved them.
For Paper 1 Q1, what should you do with source content?
State specific details from the source and explicitly link them to the inquiry question, not just describe the source generally.
Which country's 1989 transition was the only violent one, and what happened?
Romania — communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu was overthrown and executed in December 1989.
3.2.212 cards
What were Gorbachev's two key reforms from 1985?
Glasnost (openness/free speech) and perestroika (restructuring the economy) — meant to save communism, not end it.
What happened in August 1991?
Hardline communists staged a coup against Gorbachev; Yeltsin resisted from atop a tank in Moscow; the coup collapsed within three days.
When did the USSR formally end?
25 December 1991, when Gorbachev resigned as Soviet president after the Belavezha Accords (8 December) dissolved the union.
What was the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)?
A loose association of 11 former Soviet republics formed on 21 December 1991 to replace the USSR.
What caused the September–October 1993 constitutional crisis?
Yeltsin dissolved Russia's Soviet-era parliament without clear legal power; parliament refused to leave and declared him removed, leading to armed conflict.
What did the Constitution of 1993 create?
A strong presidency able to appoint the PM, dissolve parliament, and rule by decree, with a weaker two-chamber parliament (Duma + Federation Council).
Define 'shock therapy' in the Russian context.
Rapidly switching from a state-controlled economy to a free market all at once, led by Yegor Gaidar from January 1992.
What was the immediate effect of price liberalization in January 1992?
Hyperinflation — prices spiked almost overnight and wiped out the value of citizens' savings.
How did mass privatization (1992–94) work, and what went wrong?
Every citizen got a voucher to buy shares in state firms; most people sold cheaply out of need, so ownership concentrated in a few hands.
What was 'loans-for-shares' and who benefited?
A 1995–96 scheme where bankers gave the government loans in exchange for shares in valuable state industries at low prices — it created the wealthy 'oligarch' class.
Compare Gorbachev's and Yeltsin's goals.
Gorbachev wanted to reform and preserve the Soviet Union; Yeltsin wanted a fully independent, market-based Russia outside the USSR.
What happened to Russia's economy in 1998?
The rouble collapsed and the government defaulted on its debt, exposing the fragility built up by weak tax collection during shock therapy.
3.2.312 cards
When did the Soviet coup attempt happen, and who led it?
August 1991. Hardline Communist officials (the 'Gang of Eight') tried to remove Gorbachev and stop his reforms.
Who stopped the August 1991 coup?
Boris Yeltsin, standing on a tank outside the Russian parliament building, rallied crowds and troops against the plotters. The coup collapsed within three days.
What was the constitutional crisis of September–October 1993?
A power struggle between President Yeltsin and Russia's parliament over how much authority the president should have. Yeltsin dissolved parliament; deputies barricaded themselves inside; Yeltsin sent tanks to shell the building on 4 October 1993.
Define: shock therapy
Sudden removal of Soviet price controls and rapid privatization of state industry, applied almost overnight from January 1992.
What is hyperinflation, and how bad was Russia's?
Extremely fast, out-of-control price rises. Prices in Russia jumped by around 2,500% in 1992 alone, wiping out ordinary people's savings.
Who were the oligarchs?
A small group of businessmen who bought former state industries (oil, metals, media) cheaply during 1990s privatization and became extremely wealthy and politically powerful.
Why did organized crime grow so fast in 1990s Russia?
Weak policing, a collapsing economy, and vast state assets up for grabs let criminal gangs move into business, extortion and even banking largely unchecked.
What was the First Chechen War (1994–1996)?
A war between Russian forces and separatists in Chechnya, a republic seeking independence. It ended in a humiliating Russian withdrawal and a badly damaged army reputation.
Content vs. context in Paper 1 source work — what's the difference?
Content = what the source actually says or shows. Context = who made it, when, why and for whom — which shapes how reliable or useful it is.
Why might a 1993 Western newspaper cartoon and a Yeltsin government press release disagree about the same event?
Perspectives differ by origin and purpose: the cartoon may criticize Yeltsin for a Western audience, while the press release defends government action for domestic reassurance.
How does 'significance' apply to the October 1993 crisis?
It marked the moment Russia's power struggle turned violent and directly shaped the more authoritarian 1993 Constitution — a turning point, not just an event.
What overall picture do strikes, hyperinflation, crime and the Chechen war build for Q3 (perspectives)?
Together they show how differently people experienced the transition — some sources stress economic collapse, others state weakness, others national humiliation — useful for a perspectives answer.
Topic 3.2 study notes
Full notes & explanations for The Russian Federation (1985–1999)
History (2028+) exam skills
Paper structures, command terms & tips
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