If in earlier years Soviet Union was able to aid economies of these countries in order to support communist regimes, then starting from the years fro stagnation in late 1970's the situation changed. Findings were shortening and the U.S.S.R. was not able to support unprofitable industries of its partners as its own economy was experiencing troubles:
The growth of the Soviet economy has been systematically decelerating since the 1950s as a consequence of dwindling supplies of new labor, the increasing cost of raw material inputs, and the constraints on factor productivity improvement imposed by the rigidities of the planning and management system. The average annual growth of Soviet GNP dropped from 5.3% in the late 1960s to 3.7% in the early 1970s, to 2.6% in the late 1970s. Soviet GNP grew by only 1.6% per annum in Brezhnev's last years (1979-82). After reaching a low in 1979, GNP growth averaged 2.3% from 1980 to 1984. Growth in 1985 will probably be in the range of 2.5 to 3.0%. These recent improvements have been the result largely of disciplinary and incentive measures introduced under Andropov and Gorbachev. It remains to be seen if the upturn in growth can be sustained...." (Berkowitz, 1995)
After the death of Leonid Brejnev it was clear that state and society demanded reforms in order to preserve the huge empire from collapse and catastrophe. Starting from 1985 new USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev took a new course directed on democratization and liberalization of society, he initiated economic reforms, shortened huge military budget and allowed small business activity. At the same time the leaders of Eastern European states demanded from Moscow approval on the changes in their economic policies and slow transition to market relations in order to stimulate national economies and prevent coming economical crisis:
combination of reasons ultimately persuaded the Soviet leadership to allow Eastern Europe to break free. They included: the enormous economic cost revolved in continuing to sustain unpopular regimes (it has emerged, for instance, that the military regime of General Jaruzelski in Poland was subsidised to the tune of $2 billion and many billions of roubles from Moscow); the impossibility of competing with the United States in a renewed arms race which now included 'Star Wars' technology unavailable to the Soviets; and the need to attract Western investment and high-tech equipment." (Morewood, 1998)
By the end of 1980's it was clear that USSR, which was often called in American and European press -- empire of evil --, was living in agony. It was a huge super power without order inside. Late 1980's with relative freedom initiated the raise of nationalism in all republics where Russian population was an ethnic minority. At the same time inequality of ethnic representation in different brunches of power, in distribution of goods, etc. led to the wave of ethnic conflicts countrywide in a short period of time. Local officials, army officers and directors of industrial objects were all involved in deep corruption, which started in Kremlin and went down to small state farms and workshops. Number of state officials of different ranks were involved in ties with organized crime and mafia. The negative changes were obvious not only for Soviet citizens but for foreign observers and world community in general.
In 1988 both Gorbachev and Honecker said that Berlin wall would stand some 150 years more, but in CIA they knew that it was bluff. Gorbachev would have never used tanks against demonstrations in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary or Eastern Germany. The level of relations with Western Europe and the U.S.A. was different, as it was becoming more and more clear that the U.S.S.R. was dependent upon export of oil and natural gas to Europe, it's own productive economy was not competitive. Even Soviet diplomatic manipulations with oil exporters of Middle East in 1970's didn't give positive results for Soviet geopolitics. Oil price growth only initiated technological modernization of European and American industry, while industry of the U.S.S.R. remained outdated, as...
Cold War began very shortly after the end of World War II when the Soviet Union built the Berlin Wall -- and made other moves in its campaign to spread communism -- and the United States and its allies worked to protect democratic states and to foster democratic advocacy in those states. It was called a "Cold War" because even though both super powers had ample nuclear capability to destroy
Nuclear confrontation between the two superpowers was profoundly frightening, not just for those who would have borne the full brunt of any nuclear exchange... But for the international community as a whole. Quite literally, the prospect of nuclear war constituted a threat of truly global dimensions. (O'Neil A. 2004) There are many other important aspects that mark the beginning of the Cold War Era. One was the formation of the
Cold War was a period of great danger and international tension, brought on by the power struggles between the United States and the Soviet Union. The communist ideology -- which the Soviets were aggressively trying to spread through Europe and elsewhere -- was seen as an enormous threat to the U.S., while the capitalist / democratic ideology was seen by the Soviets as a threat to their way of life
As counties in Europe began to align themselves behind the Soviet sphere of influence or the U.S. - Western influence each side looked to fortify their positions. For the U.S. this meant the development of the policy of containment of the Soviet advance. Containment developed along a number of varying lines including political diplomacy, military expansion, and economic aid. President Truman articulated an economic aid package, the Truman Doctrine which
Cold War Over the years, an intricate relationship of ideological, political and economic factors leading to changes between careful teamwork and frequent unpleasant superpower competition was driving the affairs between the Soviet Union and the United States. There was some opinion that the Cold War started even before the end of the World War II. When the atomic bombs were tested first in New Mexico and then on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
In fact, many people believe it was the final factor that led to disintegration of Soviet/U.S. relations, and directly led to the failure of the Moscow Conference of foreign ministers in March 1947. The conference had been convened in an attempt for the two powers to come to an agreement about situations in Europe, including whether or not to unify the German state, but with its failure, relations between
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