Class 12 - Political Science - The End of Bipolarity (Q & A) - Part 2
Q1: Explain the emergence of the Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR).
Answer:
1. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) came into being after the socialist revolution in Russia in 1917.
2. The revolution was inspired by the ideals of socialism as opposed to capitalism and the need for an egalitarian society. The course gave rise to a new type of political economic system in Russia.
3. After World War II the eastern European countries that the Soviet army liberated from the fascist forces came under the control of the USSR. The main aim of the USSR was to install a communist government in these countries. The political and economic system of all these countries was modelled after USSR.
4. In doing so, the makers of the Soviet System gave primacy to the state and the institutions of the party. They abolished the institution of private property and designed a society based on the principles of equality.
Q2. What was the impact of World War II on Russia?
Answer: World War II had a profound impact on Russia. The war claimed the lives of over 20 million Soviet citizens, including 10 million civilians. Millions of others were wounded or displaced. The war also caused extensive damage to Soviet infrastructure, including factories, roads, and bridges.
World War II had a profound impact on Russia. The war claimed the lives of over 20 million Soviet citizens, including 10 million civilians. Millions of others were wounded or displaced. The war also caused extensive damage to Soviet infrastructure, including factories, roads, and bridges.
The war had a significant impact on the Soviet economy. Industrial output fell by 34% between 1940 and 1942. The war also led to a shortage of food and other essential goods.
Despite the enormous losses and hardships, the Soviet Union emerged from the war as a global power. The Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany was a major turning point in the war, and it helped to solidify the Soviet Union's position as a superpower.
Here are some of the specific impacts of World War II on Russia:
Demographics: The war caused a significant decline in the Russian population. According to official figures, the Soviet Union lost 26.6 million people during the war, including 10.6 million civilians. This represented a loss of 13% of the pre-war population.
Economy: The war also had a devastating impact on the Soviet economy. Industrial output fell by 34% between 1940 and 1942. The war also led to a shortage of food and other essential goods.
Infrastructure: The war also caused extensive damage to Soviet infrastructure. Millions of buildings were destroyed, including factories, roads, and bridges.
Society: The war also had a profound impact on Soviet society. The war led to a decline in traditional values and a rise in social unrest. The war also created a sense of national pride and unity among the Soviet people.
The impact of World War II on Russia was profound and long-lasting. The war had a significant impact on the country's demographics, economy, infrastructure, and society. The war also helped to shape the course of Russian history for decades to come.
Q3: How did the Soviet Union become a Super Power?
Answer: The Soviet Union became a great power after the Second World War. Its economy was more developed than the rest of the world except for the USA.
There were many factors which made the Soviet economy a superpower:
1. It had a complex communications network, and vast energy resources including oil, iron and steel, machinery production and a transport sector that connected its most remote areas with efficiency.
2. It had a domestic consumer industry that produced everything from pins to cars.
3. The Soviet state ensured the minimum standard of living for all citizens and the government subsidized basic necessities including health, education, child care and other welfare schemes.
4. There was no unemployment, state ownership was the dominant form of ownership: land and productive assets owned and controlled by the Soviet state.
Q4: Explain the role of Gorbachev and the disintegration of the USSR.
Answer:
1. In 1985 Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party and in 1988 he became President of the country. He did not lack faith in Communist ideology but he wanted to introduce political and economic reforms in the Soviet system.
2. Gorbachev wanted to normalise relations with the West and democratise and reform the Soviet Union because he thought that it was necessary to keep USSR abreast of the information and technological revolutions taking place in the West.
3. Gorbachev initiated the policies of GLASNOST (openness) and PRESTROIKA (restructuring).
4. He carried out his reforms and loosened the system, setting in motion forces and expectations that few could have predicted.
5. There were sections of Soviet Society which felt that he moved much faster and were disappointed and impatient with his methods.
6. Others, especially members of the Communist Party felt that their power and privileges were eroding as Gorbachev was moving too quickly.
7. In this tug of war Gorbachev lost support on all sides and divided public opinion. Even those who were with him felt that he did not adequately defend his own policies.
8. His reforms were opposed by leaders within the Communist Party and it led to a coup in 1991. Boris Yeltsin emerged as a national hero in opposing this coup.
9. The people of the East European countries which were part of the Soviet bloc started to protest against their own government and Soviet control.
10. Power began to shift from the Soviet centre to the republics. In December 1991, under the leadership of Yeltsin, three major republics of the USSR, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus declared that the Soviet Union and Communist Party were disbanded. Capitalism and democracy were adopted as the bases of post-Soviet republics.
Q5. Explain the chronology of the democratisation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Answer:
1. It was the organisation of the newly independent countries formed post the disintegration of the USSR. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization established on 8 December 1991 when Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine signed a “Creation Agreement” on the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the creation of CIS as its successor entity.
2. At the same time they declared that the new organization would be open to all republics of the former Soviet Union, as well as other nations sharing the same goals.
3. The “Creation Agreement” abolished the USSR and stated that all the member states were sovereign and independent nations.
4. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan joined CIS on 21 December 1991.
5. Georgia joined two years later, in December 1993, while the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, chose not to take part.
6. Currently, the Commonwealth of Independent States has 9 members, plus two States Ukraine and Turkmenistan which are taking part in only a few activities of CIS.
7. The CIS aims to promote the coordination of its members in the realm of trade, finance, law-making, and security, and to support cooperation on democratization and cross-border crime prevention. It also participates in UN peacekeeping forces and operates through its Charter and Executive Bodies.
Q6. Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate?
Answer: The internal weaknesses of the Soviet economic and political institutions, economic stagnation and unaccountable and unresponsive political system lead to its downfall.
1. Negation of Political Democracy - The Soviet system became very bureaucratic and authoritarian making life very difficult for its citizens. The lack of democracy and absence of freedom of speech stifled people who often expressed their distance through jokes and cartoons.
2. Economic Failures - Economic stagnation for many years led to severe consumer shortages and a large section of the society begin to doubt and question the system.
3. Militarism - The Soviet economy used much of its resources in maintaining a nuclear and military arsenal and developing its satellite states in Eastern Europe and within the Soviet system. In the arms race Soviet Union managed to match the US from time to time but at a great cost.
4. Disparity between Western nations and the Soviet Union - Ordinary citizens became more knowledgeable about the economic advance of the West. They could see disparities between their system and the systems of the West. The Soviet Union lagged behind the West in technology, infrastructure and most importantly in fulfilling citizens' political and economic aspirations.
5. Administrative and Political Stagnation - The Soviet Union had become stagnant in administrative and political sense as well –
a) The Communist Party that had ruled the Soviet Union for over 70 years was not accountable to the people.
b) Most of the institutions of the Soviet State needed reform: the one-party system represented by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union had tight control over the institutions and was unaccountable to the people.
c) The party refused to recognise the demand of the people in fifteen different republics that form the Soviet Union to manage their own affairs including their personal affairs.
d) Although on paper Russia was only one of the 15 republics that together constituted the USSR in reality Russia dominated everything and people from other regions felt neglected and often suppressed.
6. Gorbachev’s Policies - Gorbachev promised to reform the economy, catch up with the West and loosen the administrative system. Gorbachev lost support on all sides and divided public opinion.
7. Rise of Nationalism - The rise of nationalism and desire for sovereignty within the various republics including Russian the Baltic Republics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) Ukraine, Georgia and others proved to be the final and most immediate cause for the disintegration of the USSR.
8. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 weakened the system even further.
9. Though wages continued to grow productivity and technology fell considerably behind the West. This led to shortages in all consumer goods. Food imports increased every year.
10. The Soviet economy was faltering in the late 1970s and became stagnant.
ЁЯСЙSee Also:
The End of Bipolarity - Part 1 - Important Keywords
Arihant All In One Class 12th Political Science for CBSE Exam 2024
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