Stagnation in the Soviet Bloc and the Revival of the Cold War: Brezhnev, Normalization, Solidarity and Reagan Housekeeping •Exam Study Guide • Concepts and items from whole semester • 20 Questions like the last quiz • One essay, but there are two here. • •Paper. Questions: I will be in my office Mon, Tues, Wedn. Between 10-12 next week. • • Looking for Primary Documents •What are they? Direct evidence from the period • Speeches, memos, etc. • •NSA: • •FRUS: Concepts For Today’s Lecture •Soviet stagnation (normalization) •Solidarity and its implications for the Soviet Bloc •Soviet decision-making, martial law and its implications for the Soviet Bloc •Reagan and the new Cold War •The End of the Brezhnev Era • A Soviet Joke from the Stagnation Period •Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev are riding on a train. The train stops unexpectedly. Lenin gets out and gives a speech that inspires the workers, and the train continues on. After a while, the train stops again, this time Stalin gets out, accuses a third of the workers of sabotage and shoots them. The others get scared, work furiously to get the problem fixed and the train continues on. The train stops again. This time Khrushchev gets out, insults the workers, fires the engineer and has the others use corn instead of coal to make the engine go. The train continues on for a little while and stops yet again. This time Brezhnev pulls down the window shades and starts moving up and down in his seat, saying, “Let’s pretend the train is moving.”\] • Stagnation •REVIEW: After Khrushchev, desire for reform, but also want to ensure stability within the nomenklatura (ruling elite) • In USSR: “Mature socialism,” “real existing socialism” •No real promises of a bright new future •Reform efforts die in bureaucracy: “Stability of cadres,” •The new “social contract”: a quiet life, slowly improving material standards, in return for compliance (Vodka) • • In ČSSR, ”normalization”: Emphasize the private life, consumerism Growing Problems with the Social Contract •The planned economy can’t deal with increasing complexity, slows down •Hard to motivate citizens to work harder • “They pretend to pay us; we pretend to work” •Soviet Union spending a lot on defense, must offer more goods to citizens •Soviet Union depending more and more on oil money, trade with West •Soviet Union must also subsidize Soviet bloc, Cuba with cheap oil, The Situation in Poland •Largest country in Soviet bloc in territory and population •Strong nationalist tradition steeped in Catholicism, directed against both Russia and Germany •History of unrest under communism • 1956, 1968 (intellectuals), 1970 (workers), 1976 (workers) •The new social contract not working in Poland • Borrowed heavily from West in early 1970s • Did not invest well, and West went into recession •They need to raise prices, but when they do, workers strike The Rise of Solidarity •1976: The Alliance of Workers and Intellectuals: KOR • Jacek Kuron, Adam Michnik •1980: Strikes: Information network • Demands clear: a separate trade union •The “limited revolution” gathers force • 10 million members • Demands grow •Pressures on leadership • The Soviet Leadership Debates •Divided Leadership • Leaders of GDR, Hungary, ČSSR, Romania demand intervention • Defense Ministry, Military also for it • Poland crucial to Warsaw Pact • Brezhnev, KGB leader Andropov, Foreign Minister Gromyko disagree • Poland is very large • Solidarity had organizational structure • Large amount of violence would be necessary • Occupation would be hugely expensive • Would damage any diplomatic influence Soviets had • Instead, put pressure on General Wojciech Jaruzelski to restore order • • Martial Law, December, 1981 •Solidarity leaders in jail •Repression is extremely expensive •But organization not completely destroyed •Great deal of samizdat • •Stalemate: Regime still nominally in control, • But can’t raise prices or would result in unrest • President Reagan, 1981 •Hardline Anti-Communist since 1950s • Seeks to overcome Vietnam Syndrome with something like Reagan Doctrine: Supports Mujahadeen in Afghanistan, guerrilla groups against Marxist government in Nicaragua, etc. • Begins terms with huge arms build-up • Suggests US must be able to win nuclear war, maneuvers • Pressures Saudi Arabia to reduce oil prices • Introduces Strategic Defense Initiative •Soviet regard this as dangerous, afraid Reagan thinking of war • • Soviet Leadership Aged, Die Off •Mikhail Suslov, Secretary of CC CPSU, head ideologist: January 1982 •Leonid Brezhnev: General Secretary of CC CPSU, November, 1982 •Yuri Andropov, Head of KGB, Gen. Sec. of CC CPSU, February, 1984 •Dmitri Ustinov, Defense Secretary, December 1984 •Konstantin Chernenko, General Secretary of CPSU, March 1985 •