Soviet Union and China
Essential Idea
The Soviet Union and China
face internal and external
challenges as Communism
crumbles and world pressure
increases.
Gorbachev Moves Toward
Democracy
Brezhnev’s successor: Mikhail Gorbachev
How is he different:
Youngest Soviet leader since
Stalin
Decided to pursue new ideas
Glasnost
What it is: Gorbachev’s
policy of openness
(1985)
Changes:
 Churches opened
 Dissidents released
from prison
 Publication of books
previously banned
 Reporters do their
work
Gorbachev’s Reforms- Economy

Old: Central Planning
◦ Government controls production, wages, and
prices
◦ Little motive to improve efficiency

New: Perestroika
◦ Local managers given greater control
◦ Small businesses allowed to open
◦ Make the economic system more efficient and
productive
Gorbachev’s Reforms- Political
System
Old: Communism ONLY
 New: Democratization

◦ Gradual opening of the political system
◦ Voters could choose from a list of candidates
for each office (not just those picked by the
Communist Party)
◦ Many lesser-known candidates and reformers
were chosen
Gorbachev’s Reforms- Foreign
Policy

Old: Arms Race
◦ Expensive- hurts economy

New: Arms Control
◦ Became a top priority
◦ Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF)
Treaty (1987)
Reform Will Lead to Break-up
Imbalance:
 100 ethnic groups lived in the Soviet
Union (Russian majority)
 Non-Russian majority in the 14 Soviet
republics
 Ethnic tensions brew under the surface
Lithuania
The first challenge:
Lithuania
Action: Declares
independence (1990)
Reaction: Gorbachev uses
force against unarmed
civilians
Result: Gorbachev’s
popularity damaged
End of the Soviet Union
Event: failed coup in 1991
Result: Sparked anger at Communist Party
and accelerated the break up of the Soviet
Union
◦ Gorbachev resigns
◦ Soviet parliament stops all party activities
◦ Republics begin to declare independence
 By December, all 15 will have done so
Commonwealth of Independent
States
What: Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS)
Who: Former Soviet
Republics except Baltic
republics and Georgia
Significance: Death of the
Soviet Union
News Report: End of the
Soviet Union
Boris Yeltsin
Problems:
 Russian economy
 War in Chechnya
Outcomes:
 “Shock-Therapy”abrupt shift to freemarket economics
◦ 800% inflation, thousands
out of work

Brief cease-fire, but
fighting resumed
Vladimir Putin
Named acting
president upon
Yeltsin’s resignation
in 1999
Economic problemscontinue
Chechnya- continues
Vladimir Putin
Acting President- 1999
Won election- 2000
Reelected- 2004
*Constitutionally
mandated term limits*
Prime Minister- 2008
President- 2012
Domestically- high
approval ratings
Current issues:
 Annexation of Crimea
in 2014
 Involvement with Syria
Transcaucasian Republics
Central Asian Republics
Caucasian Mountains
between Black Sea and
Caspian Sea:
 Armenia
 Azerbaijan
 Georgia
East of the Caspian Sea:
 Uzbekistan
 Turkmenistan
 Tajikistan
 Kazakhstan
 Kyrgystan
Central Europe After the Soviet
Union
Problems
Economics- Some of the poorest states int
the world
◦ Dependence on Soviet Union, thus difficulty
standing alone
◦ Soviet economic policies (ex: dependence on
a single crop)
Ethnic and Religious Strife◦ Long simmering ethnic rivalries erupted into
fighting in absences of strong Soviet control
China
Background:
◦ Mao’s policies stifled economic growth
◦ Lack of modern technology damaged efforts
to increase agricultural and industrial output
◦ No role in world affairs
 Split with Soviet Union
 Anger at U.S. support of Tiawan
◦ 1970s- China enters a moderate period under
the leadership of premier Zhou Enlai
New Era of Chinese-American
Relations
Begins with: China
inviting an American
table tennis team to tour
China- first visit by an
American group since
1949
Led to:
 U.S. endorsing UN
membership for China
 President Nixon’s
state visit
 U.S.-China diplomatic
relations
Economic Reform
Four Modernizations:
call for progress in
agriculture, industry,
defense, and science
and technology
◦ Introduced by Mao’s
successor Deng
Xiaoping
◦ Produced striking
changes to Chinese
life
Tiananmen Square
Problems:
◦ Students learn
about democracy
(study abroad,
westernization),
want it
Reaction:
◦ Students lead
uprising
◦ 100,000 gather in
Tiananmen Square
◦ Win popular
support
Tiananmen Square
Government
Response: martial
law
◦ June 1989Thousands of
heavily armed
soldiers stormed
Tiananmen
Square with
tanks
◦ Hundreds killed,
thousands
wounded
Tank Man
Hong Kong
Hong Kong: Thriving
business center and
British colony
Transfer: (1997) China
promises to respect
Hong Kong’s economic
system and political
liberties for 50 years
What happened: Control
of mainland China over
Hong Kong tightened
China Enters the New Millennium
China’s Challenges
◦
◦
◦
◦
Poor human rights record
Occupation of Tibet
Relations with the U.S.
“Economically open, politically closed” =
TENSION