1. The Soviet system
After the 1917 revolution the Soviet Union (formed in 1922) built a socialist state. After the Second World War it led the second world of East European socialist states, bound by the Warsaw Pact (1955).
Features: rule by one party, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; a planned economy with state ownership of land and industry; a large bureaucracy and limited freedom of expression.
Achievements: near-full employment; subsidised health care, schooling and housing; a strong industrial base, energy resources, and leadership in space and arms.
Problems: consumer goods were scarce and often of low quality; enterprises had little reason to innovate; heavy defence spending in the arms race; the costly intervention in Afghanistan from 1979; citizens could not hold the party to account.
| Area | Soviet system |
|---|---|
| Party | One party, the Communist Party, controlled the state |
| Economy | Central planning; state ownership of land and industry |
| Society | Jobs, health care, schooling and housing provided or subsidised by the state |
| Power | Large bureaucracy; decisions from the top; little room for dissent |
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Almost no unemployment | Shortages and long queues for consumer goods |
| Subsidised health, education and housing | Poor quality; little innovation |
| Strong heavy industry, energy, space and defence | Huge defence spending in the arms race |
| Superpower status | No free elections; party not accountable to people |
Key terms
- Bipolarity
A world order with two dominant centres of power, here the United States and the Soviet Union.
- Second world
The group of East European socialist states allied with the Soviet Union.
- Planned economy
An economy where the state owns productive assets and planners decide what to produce.
2. Gorbachev's reforms
Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the party in 1985.
- Perestroika (restructuring): looser central control of the economy, some private enterprise.
- Glasnost (openness): freer press, open debate, re-examination of the past.
- He chose not to use force in Eastern Europe; communist governments there fell in 1989, the Berlin Wall was opened in November 1989, and Germany was unified in 1990.
The reforms raised hopes that the system could not meet quickly, and alarmed party conservatives.
| Reform | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Perestroika | Restructuring of the economy | More freedom for factories; some private businesses |
| Glasnost | Openness | Freer press and public debate about the past and present |
Key terms
- Perestroika
Gorbachev's policy of restructuring the Soviet economy.
- Glasnost
Gorbachev's policy of openness in public life and information.
3. The disintegration of the Soviet Union
Sequence: the Baltic republics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) pressed for independence; Russia under Boris Yeltsin asserted its own sovereignty; a coup by hardliners in August 1991 failed; in December 1991 Russia, Ukraine and Belarus declared the Union ended and formed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS); Gorbachev resigned. Russia became the successor state and took the permanent seat in the UN Security Council.
Causes: a stagnant economy; the burden of the arms race and Afghanistan; loss of faith in one-party rule; reforms that unleashed expectations; and, most immediately, nationalism in the republics.
Consequences: end of the Cold War; the United States as sole superpower (a unipolar moment); capitalism and the IMF and World Bank as dominant influences; fifteen new states, with the Baltic states joining the EU and NATO in 2004.
| Consequence | What changed |
|---|---|
| End of the Cold War | The bloc rivalry and the arms race ended |
| Unipolar moment | The United States became the only superpower |
| Capitalism dominant | IMF and World Bank shaped economic policy in many states |
| New countries | Fifteen states emerged; the Baltic states later joined the EU and NATO |
Key terms
- CIS
Commonwealth of Independent States: a loose association of former Soviet republics formed in December 1991.
- Successor state
The state that takes over the international rights and obligations of a dissolved state; for the Soviet Union, Russia.
- Unipolar
A world order with one dominant power.
4. Shock therapy
The rapid, all-at-once move from a state-controlled to a capitalist economy, backed by the World Bank and the IMF.
Measures: privatisation of state assets; market prices; free trade and foreign investment; a convertible currency; private farms in place of collective farms.
Consequences:
- Industries sold below value or closed; output fell.
- High inflation; the rouble lost value and savings vanished.
- Collective farms broke up, hurting food security.
- Welfare dismantled; inequality and a criminal economy grew.
- Elections and constitutions arrived, but institutions stayed weak and the executive strong.
- Later recovery in Russia relied largely on oil and gas exports.
| Measure | What it meant |
|---|---|
| Privatisation | State factories and farms sold to private owners |
| Free prices | Prices set by the market, not the plan |
| Free trade | Borders opened to foreign goods and investment |
| Convertible currency | The currency could be exchanged freely |
| Area | Effect |
|---|---|
| Welfare | Old system of social protection dismantled |
| Farming | Collective farms broke up; food supply suffered |
| Society | A small rich group; many poor; a criminal economy |
| Politics | Elections and constitutions, but weak parliaments and strong executives |
Key terms
- Shock therapy
A sudden transition from a socialist planned economy to a market economy.
- Privatisation
Transfer of state-owned enterprises and assets to private owners.
5. New entities and tensions
- Russia: violent secessionist movements in Chechnya and Dagestan in the 1990s.
- Central Asia: five new republics with large oil and gas reserves, attracting outside powers; Tajikistan went through a civil war in the 1990s.
- Caucasus: two regions of Georgia sought to break away.
- Balkans: Yugoslavia broke into several states along ethnic lines; the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina led to international intervention.
- Baltic states: joined the EU and NATO in 2004.
Write about these events factually and neutrally; questions test what happened and why, not which side was right.
| Where | Tension after 1991 |
|---|---|
| Chechnya, Dagestan (in Russia) | Violent secessionist movements |
| Tajikistan | Civil war in the 1990s |
| Georgia | Two regions sought to break away |
| Baltic states | Left early; joined the EU and NATO in 2004 |
| Feature | Central Asian republics |
|---|---|
| Resources | Large reserves of oil and natural gas |
| Location | Between Russia, China, South Asia and West Asia |
| Outside interest | Several powers compete and cooperate for access |
| Challenges | Civil war in Tajikistan; hardship in the transition |
Key terms
- Secessionist movement
A movement seeking to separate a region from a state.
- Balkans
A region of south-eastern Europe, including the states that emerged from Yugoslavia.
6. India and Russia
India and the Soviet Union were close partners, marked by the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation (1971). After 1991, India continued the relationship with Russia.
- Shared vision: a multipolar world, collective security, a strong role for the UN.
- Defence: Russia has long been a major supplier of India's military equipment, with joint production.
- Energy: cooperation in nuclear power, and in oil and gas.
- Science and space: joint projects and training.
- Partnership: a declaration on strategic partnership in 2000; annual summits; both are members of BRICS and the SCO (India a full member since 2017).
India also diversifies its partners, keeping its foreign policy independent.
| Field | India and Russia |
|---|---|
| World order | Both prefer a multipolar world |
| Defence | Long-standing supplier of military equipment |
| Energy | Nuclear power, oil and gas |
| Space and science | Joint projects and training |
| Forums | BRICS and the SCO |
Key terms
- Multipolar world
A world order with several centres of power rather than one or two.
- Strategic partnership
A long-term framework for cooperation across many fields between two countries.
Exam tips
Common mistakes
- Swapping perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness).
- Saying Gorbachev set out to end the Union: he set out to reform it.
- Writing that Ukraine took the Soviet seat in the Security Council: it was Russia.
- Calling shock therapy gradual: it was sudden.
- Placing Chechnya in Central Asia: it is a region within Russia.
How marks are usually awarded
- 1 mark: one correct option, date or term.
- 2 marks: two points, about 30–50 words.
- 3 marks: three distinct points, about 50–80 words.
- 5 marks: five points, about 80–120 words; for evaluate or examine, end with a judgement.
- Source-based (4 marks): read the heading first; quote lines when asked to identify; link each line to a concept.