The End of Bipolarity

BERLIN WALL
● When was it destroyed?- The Berlin Wall, which had been built at the height of the Cold War
and was its greatest symbol, was toppled by the people in 1989.
● What does it symbolise?- The Berlin Wall symbolised the division between the capitalist and
the communist world.
● When was it built?- Built in 1961 to separate East Berlin from West Berlin, this more than 150
kilometre long wall stood for 28 years and was finally broken by the people on 9 November
1989.
● This marked the unification of the two parts of Germany and the beginning of the end of the
communist bloc.
● The pictures here depict:
1. People making a tiny hole in the wall
2. A section of the wall opened to allow free movement
3. The Berlin Wall as it stood before 1989
WHAT WAS THE SOVIET SYSTEM?
Explain the socialist revolution in russia 1917
1. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) came into being after the socialist revolution in
Russia in 1917.
2. INSPIRATION- The revolution was inspired by the ideals of socialism, as opposed to capitalism,
and the need for an egalitarian society.
3. This was perhaps the biggest attempt in human history to abolish the institution of private
property and consciously design a society based on principles of equality.
4. In doing so, the makers of the Soviet system gave primacy to the state and the institution of
the party.
What was the political and economic structure of the USSR?
5. The Soviet political system centred around the communist party, and no other political party
or opposition was allowed.
6. The economy was planned and controlled by the state.
What is known as the soviet bloc or second world?
● After the Second World War, the east European countries that the Soviet army had liberated
from the fascist forces came under the control of the USSR.
● The political and the economic systems of all these countries were modelled after the USSR.
This group of countries was called the Second World or the ‘socialist bloc’.
● The Warsaw Pact, a military alliance, held them together. The USSR was the leader of the
bloc.
Explain the features of the Soviet economy/The Soviet Union became a great power
after the Second World War.Explain/The Soviet economy was then more developed than
the rest of the world except for the US.Explain./positive aspects
Reasons:
1. It had a complex communications network (CCN), vast energy resources (VER) including oil,
iron and steel, machinery production (MP), and a transport sector (TS) that connected its
remotest areas with efficiency.
2. It had a domestic consumer industry (DCI) that produced everything from pins to cars,
though their quality did not match that of the Western capitalist countries.
3. The Soviet state ensured a minimum standard of living for all citizens, and the government
subsidised basic necessities including health, education, childcare and other welfare schemes.
There was no unemployment.
4. State ownership was the dominant form of ownership: land and productive assets were
owned and controlled by the Soviet state.

Highlight the causes of destruction in political- economics and social structure of soviet
union/Negative aspects
1. BUREAUCRATIC AND AUTHORITARIAN SYSTEM
● The Soviet system became very bureaucratic and authoritarian, making life
very difficult for its citizens.
 ● Lack of democracy and the absence of freedom of speech stifled people who
often expressed their dissent in jokes and cartoons.
2. ONE-PARTY SYSTEM-
● The one-party system represented by the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union had tight control over all institutions and was unaccountable to the
people.
● The party refused to recognise the urge of people in the fifteen different
republics that formed the Soviet Union to manage their own affairs including
their cultural affairs.
3. DOMINANCE OF RUSSIA-
● Although, on paper, Russia was only one of the fifteen republics that together
constituted the USSR, in reality Russia dominated everything, and people from
other regions felt neglected and often suppressed.
4. LACK OF TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCTIVITY/ HIGH EXPENDITURE ON DEFENCE,
LOW ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND TECHNOLOGY
● In the arms race, the Soviet Union managed to match the US from time to
time, but at great cost.
● The Soviet Union lagged behind the West in technology, infrastructure (e.g.,
transport, power), and most importantly, in fulfilling the political or economic
aspirations of citizens.
5. ECONOMIC STAGNATION-
● Though wages continued to grow, productivity and technology fell
considerably behind that of the West.
● This led to shortages in all consumer goods. Food imports increased every year.
● The Soviet economy was faltering in the late 1970s and became stagnant
GORBACHEV AND THE DISINTEGRATION
Describe the role of mikhail in reforming the soviet system/ what were the reforms
brought by mikhail gorbachev in soviet system?
 ● Mikhail Gorbachev, who had become General Secretary of the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union in 1985, sought to reform this system.
● Reforms were necessary to keep the USSR abreast of the information and
technological revolutions taking place in the West.
REFORMS: However, Gorbachev’s decision-
1. to normalise relations with the West and
2. democratise and reform the Soviet Union (had some other effects that neither
he nor anyone else intended or anticipated.)
3. Gorbachev initiated the policies of economic and political reform and
democratisation within the country.
How did the reforms brought by Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet system become the
reasons for the collapse of the Soviet system?
The consequences of the reforms brought by mikhail are:
1. The people in the East European countries which were part of the Soviet bloc started to
protest against their own governments and Soviet control.
2. Unlike in the past, the Soviet Union, under Gorbachev, did not intervene when the
disturbances occurred, and the communist regimes collapsed one after another.
3. These developments were accompanied by a rapidly escalating crisis within the USSR that
hastened its disintegration.
4. Gorbachev initiated the policies of economic and political reform and democratisation within
the country. The reforms were opposed by leaders within the Communist Party.
5. A coup took place in 1991 that was encouraged by Communist Party hardliners.
6. The people had tasted freedom by then and did not want the old-style rule of the Communist
Party.
Aftermath of the coup
● Boris Yeltsin emerged as a national hero in opposing this coup.
● The Russian Republic, where Yeltsin won a popular election, began to shake off
centralised control.
 ● Power began to shift from the Soviet centre to the republics, especially in the more
Europeanised part of the Soviet Union, which saw themselves as sovereign states.
● The Central Asian republics did not ask for independence and wanted to remain with
the Soviet Federation.
● In December 1991, under the leadership of Yeltsin, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus (RUB)
three major republics of the USSR, declared that the Soviet Union was disbanded.
● The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was banned. Capitalism and democracy
were adopted as the bases for the post-Soviet republics.
● The declaration on the disintegration of the USSR and the formation of the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) came as a surprise to the other
republics, especially to the Central Asian ones.
● The exclusion of these republics was an issue that was quickly solved by making them
founding members of the CIS
What role was played by Russia after the collapse of the USSR?
➔ Russia was now accepted as the successor state of the Soviet Union.
➔ It inherited the Soviet seat in the UN Security Council.
➔ Russia accepted all the international treaties and commitments of the Soviet Union.
➔ It took over as the only nuclear state of the post Soviet space and carried out some nuclear
disarmament measures with the US.

WHY DID THE SOVIET UNION DISINTEGRATE?/explain any six factors responsible for the
disintegration of ussr
1. Failed to meet the aspirations of the people-
There is no doubt that the internal weaknesses of Soviet political and economic institutions,
which failed to meet the aspirations of the people, were responsible for the collapse of the
system.
2. Economic stagnation-
➔ Economic stagnation for many years led to severe consumer shortages and a large section of
Soviet society began to doubt and question the system and to do so openly.
➔ Why did the system become so weak and why did the economy stagnate?
➔ The Soviet economy used much of its resources in maintaining a nuclear and military arsenal
and the development of its satellite states in Eastern Europe and within the Soviet system
(the five Central Asian Republics in particular). This led to a huge economic burden that the
system could not cope with.
3. Citizens became more knowledgeable-
At the same time, ordinary citizens became more knowledgeable about the economic
advance of the West. They could see the disparities between their system and the systems of
the West.
4. Political stagnation-
The Soviet Union had become stagnant in an administrative and political sense as well. The
Communist Party that had ruled the Soviet Union for over 70 years was not accountable to
the people.
5. Administrative stagnation-
Ordinary people were alienated by:
A. slow and stifling administration,
B. rampant corruption,
C. the inability of the system to correct mistakes it had made,
D. the unwillingness to allow more openness in government, and
E. the centralisation of authority in a vast land.
Worse still, the party bureaucrats gained more privileges than ordinary citizens. People did
not identify with the system and with the rulers, and the government increasingly lost
popular backing.
6. Gorbachev’s reforms
(What were the diverse thoughts of people of the USSR regarding reforms brought by
mikhail/how people of USSR revolted against reforms brought by mikhail?)
➔ Gorbachev promised (RCL) :
A. to reform the economy,
B. catch up with the West, and
C. loosen the administrative system.
➔ There were sections of Soviet society which felt that Gorbachev should have moved much
faster and were disappointed and impatient with his methods. They did not benefit in the
way they had hoped, or they benefited too slowly.
➔ Others, especially members of the Communist Party and those who were served by the
system, took exactly the opposite view. They felt that their power and privileges were
eroding and Gorbachev was moving too quickly.
➔ In this ‘tug of war’, Gorbachev lost support on all sides and divided public opinion. Even
those who were with him became disillusioned as they felt that he did not adequately
defend his own policies.
7. Rise of nationalism and desire for sovereignty- (question)
The rise of nationalism and the desire for sovereignty within various republics including
(RUBG) Russia and the Baltic Republics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), Ukraine, Georgia, and
others proved to be the final and most immediate cause for the disintegration of the USSR.
Here again there are differing views.
1. One view is that nationalist urges and feelings were very much at work throughout
the history of the Soviet Union and that whether or not the reforms had occurred
there would have been an internal struggle within the Soviet Union.
This is a ‘what-if’ of history, but surely it is not an unreasonable view given the size
and diversity of the Soviet Union and its growing internal problems.
2. Others think that Gorbachev’s reforms speeded up and increased nationalist
dissatisfaction to the point that the government and rulers could not control it.

Ironical point to be notes-

 ● Ironically, during the Cold War many thought that nationalist unrest would be
strongest in the Central Asian republics given their ethnic and religious differences
with the rest of the Soviet Union and their economic backwardness.
● However, as things turned out, nationalist dissatisfaction with the Soviet Union was
strongest in the more “European” and prosperous part – in Russia and the Baltic
areas as well as Ukraine and Georgia.
● Ordinary people here felt alienated from the Central Asians and from each other and
concluded also that they were paying too high an economic price to keep the more
backward areas within the Soviet Union.

CONSEQUENCES OF DISINTEGRATION
1. END OF COLD WAR CONFRONTATIONS- The ideological dispute over whether the
socialist system would beat the capitalist system was not an issue any more.
2. UNIPOLAR OR MULTIPOLAR SYSTEM/ RISE OF UNIPOLAR WORLD WITH HEGEMONY
OF US-
● Second, power relations in world politics changed and, therefore, the relative
influence of ideas and institutions also changed.
● The end of the Cold War left open only two possibilities: either the remaining
superpower would dominate and create a unipolar system,
● or different countries or groups of countries could become important players
in the international system, thereby bringing in a multipolar system where no
one power could dominate.
● As it turned out, the US became the sole superpower.
3. CAPITALISM EMERGED AS A DOMINANT IDEOLOGY- The collapse of the soviet union
also revealed the weakness of the communist system. Backed by the power and
prestige of the US, the capitalist economy was now the dominant economic system
internationally.
 4. Institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund became POWERFUL
ADVISORS to all these countries since they gave them loans for their transitions to
capitalism.
5. Politically, the notion of LIBERAL DEMOCRACY emerged as the best way to organise
political life.
6. END OF ARMS RACE- Since the cold war had engaged the military of the two blocs,
had triggered a massive arms race and accumulation of nuclear weapons, and had led
to the existence of military blocs, the end of the confrontation demanded an end to
this arms race and a possible new peace. (part of first reason)
7. EMERGENCE OF NEW COUNTRIES-
● Third, the end of the Soviet bloc meant the emergence of many new countries.
● All these countries had their own independent aspirations and choices.
● Some of them, especially the Baltic and east European states, wanted to join the
European Union and become part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
● The Central Asian countries wanted to take advantage of their geographical
location and continue their close ties with Russia and also to establish ties with the
West, the US, China and others.
● Thus, the international system saw many new players emerge, each with its own
identity, interests, and economic and political difficulties.

SHOCK THERAPY IN POST-COMMUNIST REGIMES

(how states of the USSR transit from authoritarian socialist system to a democratic
capitalist system?)
● Finally, the transition also involved a break up of the existing trade alliances among
the countries of the Soviet bloc.
● Each state from this bloc was now linked directly to the West and not to each other in
the region. These states were thus to be gradually absorbed into the Western
economic system.
 ● The collapse of Communism led to the process of transition from an authoritarian
socialist system to a democratic capitalist system in many countries.
● The model of transition, influenced by the World Bank and the IMF, came to be known
as the 'Shock Therapy'.
● The adoption of The Shock Therapy required total shift to capitalist economy which
led to the complete rooting of any structure evolved during the Soviet period.
● The Shock Therapy also involved drastic change in the external orientation of
economies.
CONSEQUENCES OF SHOCK THERAPY
1) In Russia, the large state-controlled industrial complex almost collapsed, as about 90 per
cent of its industries were put up for sale to private individuals and companies.
2) Since the restructuring was carried out through market forces and not by
government-directed industrial policies, it led to the virtual disappearance of entire
industries. This was called ‘the largest garage sale in history’, as valuable industries were
undervalued and sold at throwaway prices.
3) The value of the ruble, the Russian currency, declined dramatically.
4) The rate of inflation was so high that people lost all their savings.
5) The collective farm system disintegrated leaving people without food security, and Russia
started to import food.
6) The real GDP of Russia in 1999 was below what it was in 1989.
7) The old trading structure broke down with no alternative in its place.
8) The old system of social welfare was systematically destroyed. The withdrawal of
government subsidies pushed large sections of the people into poverty. The middle classes
were pushed to the periphery of society, and the academic and intellectual manpower
disintegrated or migrated
9) A mafia emerged in most of these countries and started controlling many economic
activities.
10) Privatisation led to new disparities. Post-Soviet states, especially Russia, were divided
between rich and poor regions. Unlike the earlier system, there was now great economic
inequality between people
11) The construction of democratic institutions was not given the same attention and priority as
the demands of economic transformation.
12) The constitutions of all these countries were drafted in a hurry and most, including Russia,
had a strong executive president with the widest possible powers that rendered elected
parliaments relatively weak.
13) In Central Asia, the presidents had great powers, and several of them became very
authoritarian. For example, the presidents of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan appointed
themselves to power first for ten years and then extended it for another ten years. They
allowed no dissent or opposition.
14) A judicial culture and independence of the judiciary was yet to be established in most of
these countries.
15) Most of these economies, especially Russia, started reviving in 2000, ten years after their
independence. The reason for the revival for most of their economies was the export of
natural resources like oil, natural gas and minerals.

TENSIONS AND CONFLICTS

1. In Russia, two republics, Chechnya and Dagestan, have had violent secessionist movements.
Moscow’s method of dealing with the Chechen rebels and indiscriminate military bombings
have led to many human rights violations but failed to deter the aspirations for
independence.
2. In Central Asia, Tajikistan witnessed a civil war that went on for ten years till 2001. The
region as a whole has many sectarian conflicts.
3. In Azerbaijan’s province of Nagorno-Karabakh, some local Armenians want to secede and join
Armenia.
4. In Georgia, the demand for independence has come from two provinces, resulting in a civil
war.
5. The Central Asian Republics are areas with vast hydrocarbon resources, which have brought
them economic benefit. Central Asia has also become a zone of competition between outside
powers and oil companies.
6. The region is next to Russia, China, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and close to West Asia.
7. After 11 September 2001, the US wanted military bases in the region and paid the
governments of all Central Asian states to hire bases and to allow airplanes to fly over their
territory during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
8. However, Russia perceives these states as its ‘Near Abroad’ and believes that they should be
under Russian influence.
9. China has interests here because of the oil resources, and the Chinese have begun to settle
around the borders and conduct trade.
10. In eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia split peacefully into two, with the Czechs and the Slovaks
forming independent countries.
11. But the most severe conflict took place in the Balkan republics of Yugoslavia. After 1991, it
broke apart with several provinces like Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
declaring independence.
12. Ethnic Serbs opposed this, and a massacre of non-Serb Bosnians followed. The NATO
intervention and the bombing of Yugoslavia followed the inter-ethnic civil war.

INDIA AND POST-COMMUNIST COUNTRIES

India has maintained good relations with all the postcommunist countries. But the strongest
relations are still those between Russia and India.
1. Indo-Russian relations are embedded in a history of trust and common interests and are
matched by popular perceptions.
2. Indian heroes from Raj Kapoor to Amitabh Bachchan are household names in Russia and
many postSoviet countries. One can hear Hindi film songs all over the region, and India is part
of the popular memory.
3. Russia and India share a vision of a multipolar world order. MULTIPOLAR WORLD order is the
coexistence of several powers in the
● international system,
● collective security (in which an attack on any country is regarded as a threat to all
countries and requires a collective response),
● greater regionalism,
● negotiated settlements of international conflicts,
● an independent foreign policy for all countries, and
● decision making through bodies like the UN that should be strengthened, democratised,
and empowered.
4. More than 80 bilateral agreements have been signed between India and Russia as part of
the Indo-Russian Strategic Agreement of 2001.
5. India stands to benefit from its relationship with Russia on issues like
01. Kashmir,
02. energy supplies,
03. sharing information on international terrorism,
04. access to Central Asia, and
05. balancing its relations with China.
1. Russia stands to benefit from this relationship because India is the second largest arms
market for Russia. The Indian military gets most of its hardware from Russia.
2. Since India is an oil importing nation, Russia is important to India and has repeatedly come to
the assistance of India during its oil crises
3. Russia is important for India’s nuclear energy plans and assisted India’s space industry by
giving, for example, the cryogenic rocket when India needed it. Russia and India have
collaborated on various scientific projects.
● ARAB SPRING
1. The 21st century witnessed the emergence of new developments for democracies and
democratization in West Asian countries,one such event is characterized as the Arab Spring
that began in 2010.
2. Located in Tunisia, the Arab Spring took its roots where the struggle against corruption,
unemployment and poverty was started by the public which turned into a political
movement because the people considered the existing problems as the outcome of
autocratic dictatorship.
3. The demand for democracy that started in Tunisia spread throughout the Muslim dominated
Arab countries in West Asia.
4. Hosni Mubarak, who had been in power in Egypt since 1979, also collapsed as a result of the
massive democratic protests.

5. In addition, the influence of the Arab Spring could also be seen in Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and
Syria (SLBY) where similar protests by the people led to democratic awakening throughout
the region.