Communism in Crisis:
1976 – 1991
IB Paper One
Document Analysis
Topics to be covered, China:
• Power struggle after Mao’s death and the
defeat of the Gang of Four
• China under Deng Xiaoping and 4
Modernizations
• Political changes/ Tiananmen Square
Topics to be covered: USSR
• Domestic and foreign problems of
Brezhnev era
• Economic and political stagnation
• Afghanistan
• Gorbachev’s aims, perestroika and
glasnost
• Consequences of 1980s policies for
Eastern Europe (Poland and
Czechoslovakia)
Things to remember…
• OPVL…always…
• We have access to documents from
USSR, which has allowed some objective
secondary research in recent years
• Accounts from China outside the official
view are hard to come by, and largely
anecdotal
• Question inherent assumptions in prompts
and sources (IB really likes this)
China
• 1976: Mao dies
• Hua Guofeng is designated successor
• Gang of Four (led by Jiang Qing) jockey
for power
• Struggle ensues between Right and Left
• Hua Guofeng is neutral
– “Two Whatevers”
Gang of Four
• Led by Jiang Qing
• Radical Leftists, drivers of Cultural
Revolution
• Power in media, urban militia, universities
• Eliminate revisionism and Four Olds
• Allied with Mao’s nephew – Mao Yuanxin
• Cut short mourning period for Zhou Enlai
– Qingming Festival turns into a protest, riot,
crackdown
Gang of Four Bid for Power
• Gang of Four see Hua as weak and
malleable
• Losing base of support, plan a coup
• Includes assassinations of Hua and other
party officials
• General Chen and Su report plans to Hua
• Gang of Four arrested and denounced
End of Gang of Four
• Years in prison before trial
• Celebrations and denounced as enemies
of the people
• Show trial
• Death sentences and long prison
sentences
• Blamed for excesses of Cultural
Revolution
• “10 Lost Years”
Pragmatists
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Led by Deng Xiaoping
Support in moderates, rightists, military
Deng rehabilitated after 3rd purge
Four Modernizations
Soon moved away from Hua’s “2
whatevers”
10 Year Plan (way better than 5)
• Driven by incentives and catching up
• Military:
– Modernize technology
• Science and Technology:
– Reform education, send students overseas
• Industry:
– Heavy industry, SOE’s, limited autonomy
• Agriculture:
– Mechanize, Household Responsibility System
Adding foreign capital
• Open Door Policy
– Nixon visits in 1972
– Diverisfy
– Need managerial and technical training
• Special Economic Zones
– Special zones for foreign investment to limit
exposure to west
– Lenient economic policies
Results?
• Huge economic growth (11%)
• Specialists training abroad had to adjust to
outdated systems at home
• Consumer choice grew
• Pollution and deforestation
• Party members still privileged
• Resentment growing…
Political Reforms
• Criticism of Gang of Four led to greater
criticism
• Democracy Wall becomes a forum for
public dissent
• Pro-democracy advocates growing
• “5th Modernization”
– Wei Jingsheng (show trial, 15 years)
More Political Reforms
• Deng travels, seeking new markets and
allies
• Foreign journalists (like Jan Wong)
allowed to report from within China
• Intellectuals allowed some criticism
• 1986: students encouraged to participate
in government
– Demonstrate for better conditions and
freedoms
Lead-up to Tiananmen Square
• Hu Yaobang dies (General Secretary) in
April
• Mourning turns into criticism and calls for
social change
• Students lead demonstrations in
Tiananmen Square
• Includes pro-democracy movement and
“Goddess of Democracy” statue
Tiananmen Square, June 1989
• Zhao Ziyang (new Gen. Sec) tries to work
with protesters
• Students intensify protest, hunger strikes
• Global attention due to Gorbachev’s visit
– Foreign press in town
• Deng orders military to seize control
• 100s killed, riots suppressed
– “Tank Man”
Reaction?
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World supported protestors
Very little official response to repression
Leaders rounded up and arrested
“Most Favored Nation” status renewed in
US
• Zhang purged
• Economic liberalization NOT political
USSR: Brezhnev Era
• Economic Stagnation
• Years of poor harvests lead to morale and
productivity declines
• Consumer goods limited and poor quality
• Thriving ‘black market’
• 25% GNP spent on military (missile gap)
Dissent in USSR
• Samizdat
– Self-published illegal pamphlets distributed in
USSR
• Tamizdat
– Smuggled illegal pamphlets published abroad
• Minorities and non-Russians
– Using Helsinki Accords 1975 to advocate for
equal treatment
Political Stagnation
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Gerontocracy: rule by elderly
Very conservative
No new ideas or leaders
“stability” meant stagnation
Foreign Policy Challenges
• Brezhnev Doctrine – limited sovereignty
• Keep communist regimes in place, protect
from internal and external threats
• Détente: SALT
• Arms limitation
• Role in Angolan revolution, Somalia,
Mozambique
Afghanistan 1979 - 1989
• Rebel forces, Mujahideen, oppose PDPA
• Mujahideen assassinate PDPA leaders,
Soviet advisors…civil war brewing
• Invasion to support PDPA, invoking
Brezhnev Doctrine
• 10 year intervention, 10,000s lives lost
• “USSR’s Vietnam”
• CIA supported Mujahadeen
Andropov and Chernenko
• Brezhnev dies 1982
• Continuation of much the same policies
• Supported suppression of Polish Solidarity
movement
• Poor relations with USA
• Gorbachev takes power in 1985
Gorbachev, 1985-1989
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54 = young and vital!
Reformer
Sought to repair an ailing system
“the worst time for a regime to reform is
when it is in crisis”
Gorbachev’s Reforms
• Decreased alcohol consumption (lost tax
revenue)
• Perestroika: Economy
– Decentralize planning, end price controls
• Glasnost: Politics
– Open to criticism, dissidents rehabilitated
• Demokratiztsiya
Gorbachev’s Foreign Policy
• Satellites expensive!
– Renounce Brezhnev Doctrine
• Withdraw from Afghanistan
– Too costly, no clear objective
• Meet with Reagan
– Ease strain of confrontation
• INF and START treaties
– Reduce stockpiles and cost of maintaining
arsenal
Consequences in Eastern
Europe
• Satellites facing same problems
• Dissent, economic instability, shortage of
consumer goods
• Local party officials (apparatchiks)
concerned with Gorbachev’s reforms
• Fear losing control
• Nationalist movements gain momentum
Poland - Solidarity
• Origins 1970 strike in Gdansk shipyard
• Lech Walesa and others strike for better
conditions
• “consumer socialism”
• Rent controls, food prices controlled
• Riot in 1976 to protest food prices
• Leads to dissent movement and
underground newspaper “Robotnik”
Poland cont…
• Pope John Paul II visits 1980, encourages
dissent on religious grounds
• National debt rising, food prices again
• 21 demands, including legalize unions,
pay and working conditions, religion
• Allowed to exist for 469 days
• Leader imprisoned, martial law
Poland Cont…
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Created atmosphere of pluralism
Moral revolution
Peaceful focus, anti-political
1981 October Program challenged
Communist Party
• Martial Law imposed, Walesa imprisoned
Poland Cont…
• Jaruzelski (Polish leader) imposes control
• Allows media and religious freedom as
long as distanced from Solidarity
• Weakness of economy difficult to address
– “Fondest dream is of a roll of toilet paper”
• Solidarity legalized and invited to
government meetings in Feb 1989
• Sweep elections
East Germany – Berlin Wall
• GDR loyal hardliners, Stasi feared
• “Ostpolitik” built a bridge between east and
west
• Open borders in Hungary and
Czechoslovakia lead to alarming exodus
to west
• Dissent and protests abound
• Travel laws relaxed, wall opens Nov 9,
1989
Czechoslovakia – Velvet
Revolution
• Resisted de-Stalinization
• Economic decline in 1950s lead to reforms
• Dubcek as leader: “Socialism with a
human face”
– Open debate, relax censorship and travel
rules, greater autonomy for Slovakia
• Reforms concern hardliners
Czechoslovakia
• Students get involved, start noncommunist parties
• Leader Vaclav Havel, writer and dissident
• Genuine democracy seems attainable
• Neighboring regimes get concerned by
reforms
• Hardliners appeal to Moscow
Prague Spring 1968
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Warsaw Pact forces invade in August
First exercise of “Brezhnev Doctrine”
Likened to Nazi invasion in 1939
Disillusioning to students and leaders
Confusion as to who was ‘helping’ who
Dubcek forced to capitulate at gunpoint in
Moscow
“Normalization”
• Gustav Husak hardliner
• Purge party of reformers, censorship
restored, etc
• Roll-back of reforms
• State provided basic standard of living,
better than most Soviet bloc states
• Charter 77 issued as opposition, gained
global publicity
Czechoslovakia 1981-1989
• Perestroika and Glasnost exciting ideas in
Prague
• Even more exciting: rejection of Brezhnev
Doctrine
• Dissidents cautious…
• Economic decline leads to greater dissent
• Opportunities for young limited
Velvet Revolution 1989
• Opposition coming from environmental
groups, political groups, rock and roll, etc
• Religious freedom demands growing (like
Poland)
• May: borders open, June: Solidarity wins,
Nov. 9: Berlin Wall down
• Nov 17 commemoration turns into antigovernment riot
Velvet Revolution cont…
• Riot dealt with violently, leading to more
protest and outrage
• Civic Forum created by Havel to articulate
demands
• Communist party can’t hold on – no new
ideas
• Police and military can’t be relied on to
crackdown
• President resigns, Dubcek and Havel appear
triumphant
• Havel new president by the end of 1989
Issues for post-Soviet control
• Lack of democratic traditions
– United by opposition, now what do we want?
• Remnants of old regime
– Old party admins needed to create structure
• Economic disasters
– Harsh realities of global markets and
capitalism
• Socio-cultural
– Economic crisis, fear and nationalism