THE END OF BIPOLARITY 

What was the Soviet System?

The USSR came into being after the socialist revolution in Russia in 1917 which was inspired by the ideals of socialism and the need for an egalitarian society. The Soviet political system centred around the communist party, and no other political party or opposition was allowed. The economy was planned and controlled by the state.

After the Second World War, the east European countries 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 ‘socialist bloc’. After the Second World War, the Soviet economy was more developed than the rest of the world except for the US. 

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. Land and productive assets were owned and controlled by the Soviet state.

However, the Soviet system became very bureaucratic and authoritarian. Lack of democracy and the absence of freedom of speech stifled people who expressed their dissent.

The Communist party refused to recognise the urge of people in the fifteen different republics that formed the Soviet Union to manage their own affairs. Russia dominated everything, and people from other regions felt neglected and suppressed. 

The Soviet Union lagged behind the West in technology, infrastructure and most importantly, in fulfilling the political or economic aspirations of citizens. The Soviet economy was faltering in the late 1970s and became stagnant.

Gorbachev and the Disintegration

Mikhail Gorbachev (became General Secretary in 1985) sought to reform the system to keep the USSR abreast of the information and technological revolutions taking place in the West.

When the people in the East European countries which were part of the Soviet bloc started to protest the Soviet Union, under Gorbachev, did not intervene and the communist regimes collapsed one after another.

Gorbachev initiated the policies of economic and political reform and democratisation within the country. The Russian Republic, where Yeltsin won a popular election, began to shake off centralised control.

In December 1991, under the leadership of Yeltsin, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, 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.

Russia was now accepted as the successor state of the Soviet Union and It inherited the Soviet seat in the UN Security Council.

Why did the Soviet Union Disintegrate?

While there are unique features of the Soviet collapse, there may be more general lessons to be drawn from this very important case. 

(i). Internal weaknesses of Soviet political and economic institutions. For eg. economic stagnation for many years led to severe consumer shortages.

(ii). 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).

(iii). Ordinary citizens became more knowledgeable about the economic advance of the West which came as a political and psychological shock.

(iv). Ordinary people were alienated by slow and stifling administration, rampant corruption, the inability of the system to correct mistakes it had made.

(v). Some sections felt that Gorbachev should have moved much faster in carrying out reforms and the members of the Communist Party that their power and privileges were eroding and Gorbachev was moving too quickly. 

(vi). In this way Gorbachev lost support on all sides and divided public opinion.

(vii). The rise of nationalism and the desire for sovereignty within various republics including Russia.

Consequences of Disintegration

It meant the end of Cold War confrontations. The ideological dispute was not an issue any more. The end of the confrontation demanded an end to this arms race and a possible new peace. 

The capitalist economy was now the dominant economic system internationally.

Institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund became powerful advisors since they gave loans to many countries for their transitions to capitalism. Liberal democracy emerged as the best way to organise political life.

End of the Soviet bloc meant the emergence of many new countries.

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.

Shock Therapy in Post Communist Regimes

The model of transition in Russia, Central Asia and east Europe that was influenced by the World Bank and the IMF came to be known as ‘shock therapy’. Each of these countries was required to make a total shift to a capitalist economy:

(i). Privatisation of state assets and corporate ownership patterns were to be immediately brought in. 

(ii). Collective farms were to be replaced by private farming and capitalism in agriculture.

(iii). The free trade regime and foreign direct investment (FDI) were to be the main engines of change.

(iv). The transition also involved a break up of the existing trade alliances among the countries of the Soviet bloc. 

Consequences of Shock Therapy

Generally, it brought ruin to the economies and disaster upon the people of the entire region. For example in Russia, it had following consequences:

(i). Valuable industries were undervalued and sold at throwaway prices which led to the virtual disappearance of entire industries.

(ii). The value of the ruble declined dramatically and a high rate of inflation led people to lose all their savings.

(iii). The collective farm system disintegrated leaving people without food security.

(iv). The real GDP of Russia in 1999 was below what it was in 1989.

(v). The withdrawal of government subsidies pushed large sections of the people into poverty.

(vi). Privatisation led to new disparities. Russia was divided between rich and poor regions and there was now great economic inequality.

The constitutions of all these countries were drafted in a hurry and most had a strong executive president with the widest possible powers. Thus, several of them became very authoritarian.

Most of these economies, especially Russia, started reviving in 2000. The reason for the revival were:

(i). Export of natural resources like oil, natural gas and minerals. For example Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are major oil and gas producers.

(ii). Other countries have gained because of the oil pipelines that cross their territories for which they get rent. 

(iii). Some amount of manufacturing has restarted.

Tensions and Conflicts

1. In Russia, two republics, Chechnya and Dagestan, have had violent secessionist movements.

2. Tajikistan witnessed a civil war that went on for ten years till 2001.

3. In Azerbaijan’s province of Nagorno-Karabakh, some local Armenians want to secede and join Armenia.

4. Countries and provinces are fighting over river waters.

5. Due to its vast resources, Central Asia has also become a zone of competition between outside powers and oil companies.

6. After the 9/11 USA wanted military bases in these countries for its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but Russia believes that they should be under Russian influence.

7. Czechoslovakia split peacefully into two countries: Czech Republic and Slovakia.

8. The most severe conflict took place in the Balkan republics of Yugoslavia, where, after 1991, several provinces like Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence. Ethnic Serbs opposed this, and a massacre of non-Serb Bosnians followed.

India and Post Communist Countries

1. India has maintained good relations with all the post-communist countries.

2. India’s relations with Russia are an important aspect of India’s foreign policy. The relationship is based on mutual trust and common interests.

3. Russia and India share a vision of a multipolar world order which means co-existence of several powers in the international system.

4. It also includes greater regionalism, negotiated settlements of international conflicts, an independent foreign policy for all countries, and decision making through bodies like the UN. They support the reforms in the UN system as well.

5. Russia is important for India as the following:

(i). Issues like Kashmir and sharing information on international terrorism.

(ii). Access to Central Asia, and balancing its relations with China. 

(iii). Energy supplies as it provides assistance to India during its oil crises. It helps in nuclear energy plans and assisted India’s space industry.

6. Russia benefits in the following ways:

(i). India is the second largest arms market for Russia.

(ii). Partnership and investment in oilfields.

(iii). Russia and India have collaborated on various scientific projects. 

Share

& Comment

Tweet