The Great Fall: Part 2

Some historians argue that Gorbachev's reforms were meant to ease state control on the economy and therefore, reduce spending. Others feel that he had long ago concluded, privately, that the Soviet Union could not continue.Whatever it may be, history went to prove that his actions sparked off a wave of consequences.

The Republics
The Soviet Union was a Union of several Republics distributed around Eurasia, going from the Nordic to the Baltic to the East Asia and to the Islamic. Under the Soviet Union, the idea was always that these varied cultures were part of one Union. This was enforced through repression of cultural differences. Unlike India, whose ancient civilization allowed the mixing and co-existence of numerous cultures, the Soviet Union was a more top-down affair.

But the policy of glasnost changed all that. Increasingly, the newly-freed media focused on the excesses of the Soviet system and the negative aspects that had been ignored till then. Information led to political awakening and eventually, Moscow's ability to control dissent began to weaken. 

At the same time, winds of change were blowing across the Warsaw Pact states, which had been Soviet satellites till then. The most dramatic example of this was the unification of Germany in 1989 following the destruction of the Berlin Wall. One by one, democratic forces rose to power in all of the Soviet Union's former allies. 

While Gorbachev's political reforms gathered steam, his economic reforms began to fizzle out, largely because he left most things untouched. State controls over production and prices along with emboldened regional Republics refusing to share tax monies with the Central Government saw the Union fall into bankruptcy. 

The Last Days

By now, another significant event had taken place: Boris Yeltsin had become President of the Russian Soviet Republic and was fiercely opposed to Gorbachev. Yeltsin had no illusions of a mighty Soviet Union - he championed the cause of Independence for its Republics, Russia in particular. 

August 15, 1991. Having been reassured by Gorbachev that all was under control, the Soviet Cabinet had gone on holiday. But then, Prime Minister Pavlov saw the text of a new treaty that would change the federal structure of the Union and pave the way for decentralization, meaning death for the Communist Party. Stunned, the hurriedly-reconvened Cabinet decided to sent a delegation to the President, who was relaxing in the Crimea. That delegation ended in failure, although it managed to prevent Gorbachev from returning to Moscow to sign the treaty. Desperate measures were needed as the treaty leaked to the media.

On Aug. 19, the Cabinet, without the President, declared a state of emergency. Tanks rolled into major cities and the Stalin-era repression was back with a vengeance. The Emergency Committee tried to win over Yeltsin, but for reasons unknown, failed. Instead, he organized his nationalists to oppose the Committee's strong-arm tactics, calling the emergency unconstitutional, as it was not approved by the President. The Russian regional Parliament became the centre of anti-Communist activity, something that even the KGB was unable to stop, mainly because of they feared killing so many of their countrymen in the process.

On Aug. 21, the Emergency was called off. Gorbachev returned and met Yeltsin, hoping to ally with him. The Emergency Committee had composed largely of his own appointees and was backed by the Communist Party, both of which stood discredited, its leadership arrested. Thus, On Aug. 22, Gorbachev walked with Yeltsin to the Russian Republic Parliament, hoping to make new friends. Unknown to him, he had walked into a trap. 

The Final Coup

Instead of listening to what the President had to say, Yeltsin read out a series of 'crimes' committed by the Communist Party and ordered a ban on its activities in the Russian Republic. Effectively, he had announced a coup and had overthrown the Party in Russia. Remember, Gorbachev was still the General Secretary of the Party and did not want its control to end, not yet at least. Therefore, the Party's abolition in the Union's single-most important Republic came as a rude shock to him.

Gorbachev had a choice. He, as President, still controlled the Army and could use that to retake control. His absence to the Crimea meant that he did not know that the Army had previously refused to take so many Soviet lives, something that would be necessary in any attempt to foil Yeltsin. 

Or, he could resign from the Party, effectively winding it up and ensure the disintegration of the Soviet Union. His mind must have gone through these two choices - his final choice would end up changing history. In the end, he chose the latter. On Aug. 24, he resigned as General Secretary, but held on to the Presidency. Yeltsin was allowed to wind up the Party's assets in Russia, the Party itself being in disarray.

One by one, Soviet Republics began to declare their Independence, beginning with Ukraine. Moldova followed. Soon, a wave turned into a flood. By Nov., 1991, only Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan were left. On Dec. 8, heads of these Republics created the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as a new Union and annulled the treaty that had created the Soviet Union 74 years ago. The CIS was enlarged later. 

On Dec. 24, the Russian Federation informed the United Nations that it would succeed the Soviet Union's membership, including its permanent membership of the Security Council. No country objected to this. The next day, Christmas of 1991, Gorbachev formally resigned from the Presidency and the Soviet flag was lowered from atop the Kremlin, to be replaced by the new Russian tricolour.

Finally, the Soviet Union has ceased to exist, perhaps the greatest geopolitical event of our times. 

(Concluded)