1. Day 10
The Fall of Communism

2. Helsinki Accords
1975 accords finally recognized the borders that had existed since WWII
Communists agreed to respect human rights

3. Break up of Eastern Europe

4. Prague Spring and Brezhnev Doctrine
The Czechs attempted to open communism in 1968 in the Prague Spring as Hungary did in 56, but Soviet tanks ended the spring
This will be the last straw for western communist parties and they begin to call themselves socialists or “Euro Communists” distancing themselves from the soviets
The Brezhnev Doctrine was developed which declared that the soviets could intervene in any satellite state
This ends the hope for the reform of communism in Eastern states

5. Solidarity
Eastern European states had overborrowed to prop up communism
This led to hardship in Eastern Europe and resentment among the people
Membership in the communist party declined throughout Eastern Europe
In Poland Solidarity formed, a non-communist labor union
Eventually Solidarity became a political movement as well, this led to a crackdown and martial law

6. Romania and Yugoslavia
Romania was different from other communist nations in that its dictator Ceausescu believed in his own cult of personality
He tore down villages of Hungarians, reshaped Budapest for better parades, and tried to forge a command economy to make Romania an industrial center
These all failed and left Romania the second poorest country in Europe and turned many against him
Yugoslavia was the only independent communist nation with Tito resisting control from Russia
Although Tito will hold his polyglot country together, this will lead to disaster in the 90’s

7. Gorbachev: Glasnost and Perestroika
Gorby will try and liberalize the Soviet Union somewhat after 1985
Seeing the spending for the military, expanding of the KGB and cooling of relations during Brezhnev’s tenure, Gorbachev will try to make communism more tolerable to the average person
Glasnost (openness) will open the government some and allow for free expression
Perestroika (restructuring) will try and make the Soviet system more efficient
Perestroika looks like Lenin’s New Economic policy and in many way Gorby will reject Stalinism in favor of Leninism as more free market ideas are allowed such as the end of farm collectivism

8. Reasons for the Fall of Communism
1. Nationalist movements gained momentum within the Soviet Union in the Baltic States (Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania), Caucuses (Georgia and Armenia), Ukraine, and Moldovia
2. Glasnost led authors like Andrey Sakharov and Alexander Solzhenitsyn displaying the issues of the Stalinist regimes. This led to widespread dissatisfaction with communism
3. The Soviet Union could no longer keep up an arms race with the U.S. or afford interventions in Europe to maintain the status quo
This led to a major arms reduction treaty, and the rejection of the Brezhnev Doctrine
Eastern European countries attempt to hold on to power by force
Gorbachev refused to intervene ending the Brezhnev doctrine, this will be the beginning of the end