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Struggle for power following the death of Mao China under Deng Struggle for democracy/Tiananmen Square Brezhnev Gorbachevs policies Consequences
Lets start with Brezhnev. Notice that the Paper starts from 1976 i.e. an indication that Afghanistan is the by far most important topic concerning Brezhnev. But lets just mention some of the more important events that happened after Stalin passed away in 1953. 1. For a short while there was a collective leadership in the USSR after Stalins death. But soon Khrushchev emerged as the real leader. What can we say about his early policies?
2.
What happened in Hungary in 1956 and why was this a result of Khrushchevs policies?
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5.
What were the problems with the Soviet economy in the early 70s?
6.
Why was there growing opposition in the mid 1970s? Give some examples.
7.
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Why was the USSR willing to participate in the dtente process in the early 70s?
10. What did the Soviets do in Africa in the mid 70s and why do you think the Americans remained inactive at this time?
16. In 1982 Brezhnev passed away. Describe the situation in Afghanistan at that time?
17. From lessons: what were the effects of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to the USSR?
18. What happened politically in the USSR from 1982 when Brezhned passed away until Gorbachev came to power in 1985?
19. Describe the Soviet problems when Gorbachev came to power in 1985?
Gorbachev 1. Describe his idea or plan how to reconstruct the Soviet society.
2.
3.
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What happened at the summit meeting in Reykjavik in 1986? (see text numbered 95)
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What happened at the summit meeting in Washington in 1987? (see page 96)
7.
What happened in 1988 concerning Afghanistan, the Red Army and the satellites in Eastern Europe? (p 96)
In 1989 the Soviet empire collapsed which was symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall (the Soviet Union lasted until 1991 however). We are going to read about three countries later, Poland, Czechoslovakia and East Germany. But let us just list some events from 1989:
Solidarity was legalized in Poland and there were free elections which brought a non-communist to power. In May Gorbachev visited China. Students were demonstrating for democracy. After he had left the regime ordered the massacre at Tiananman square, The Chinese were not going to follow the USSR. The Hungarian border to Austria was opened i.e. the Iron Curtain was falling apart The USSR left Afghanistan. Communist parties lost power in the satellites like Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Poland, Hungary and Romania. In November the symbol of the Cold War, the Berlin Wall, came down.
(During that year your history teacher was teaching a year a grade 7 pupil in history who was so interested in the subject. His name was Fredrik and he was constantly reading in his historybook about events in the past. One day he looked at me and said: Why does nothing happen in our time?) 8. a) Lets finally analyze the reasons for the fall of communism and start with external factors. How did the following external factors affect the Soviet union (p 97): Military reasons
b) Nationalism
c)
9. a)
Political changes
10. So a difficult but interesting question: How do you explain the fall of communism (quite possible as question 4 in a documentary)
11. Read his own judgment (p102). Do you admire him or was he too nave and caused the fall of the empire? (we shall soon study Deng Xiaoping who only reformed the economy but kept the single party communist rule. China is today stronger than ever while the USSR has ceased to exist)
12. You can of course find support for all explanations by different historians. Try to remember one who supports Internal factors External factors What is Bell writing in the end
Development in three satellites between 76-89 Czechoslovakia 1. What happened in Czechoslovakia in 1968 and what was the Brezhnev doctrine?
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What was the Sinatra doctrine (the text about Czechoslovakia continues on p 25)
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Describe the fall of the regime and explain why its called velvet revolution.
7. Poland
How important do you think internal and exernal factors were in this development
9.
12. Why was it embarrassing in a communist country with a free trade union?
20. How did Jaruzelski react when Gorbachev introduced his reforms in the mid 1980?
22. What did Jaruzelski offer Walesa in 1988 and how did he manage to make the communist party to accept it`?
23. Who participated in the round table discussions in Feb 1989 and what was the outcome?
24. In June 1989 there were free elections for the first time in a communist country what were the results?
25. So how shall we summarize the reasons for the fall of communism in Poland?
East Germany 26. How shall we describe East Germany as a communist state?
27. Why was the development in Hungary in the summer of 1989 so important?
28. What was the difference between Honecker and Jaruzelski concerning the development in the eastern bloc?
31. Krentz the new leader who succeeded Hoenecker could never establish real political control since everything collapsed. What question was most important to the population?
32. Study the reasons for the sudden collapse of the communist regimes on p 29: rank what you think are the three most important reasons.
China
Our studies are supposed to start 1976 i.e. when Chairman Mao passed away. You do however need some background knowledge what happened before 1976. 1. In 1911 the Chinese empire collapsed which led to that central government lost power. The period after 1911 is called the War Lord Period The Goumingtang or nationalist made attempt to unify China in the 1920s In 1927 a civil war between the Goumingtang or the Nationalists against the communists started In 1937 Japan occupied China After World War II ended in 1945 the civil war started again In 1949 Mao and the communists finally defeated the nationalists and the most populous state in the world was a communist state Between 1949-1958 China was weak and was leaning towards the USSR In 1958 Mao thought he was strong enough to introduce a new form of policy which was a clear brake with the USSR. It was called the Great Leap forward. Explain this policy and the results
2.
What kind of policy did Liu and Deng Xiaoping introduce after the failure of the GLF?
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Explain the stand of the pragmatists in the early 70s and explain their thoughts.
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What was the Gang of Four and why do they represent the opposite side in the ideological field (compared to the pragmatists)
8.
Prime minister Zhou Enlai passed away in. He had wanted Deng as his successor after Deng had been allowed to return as a top leader in 1973. But Mao appointed Hua Goufeng who was largely unknown. Where can we place Hua in the power struggle that was going on?
9.
How did the Qingming revolt in 1976 start and who was attacked (and who got the support from the demonstrators)?
12. Mao passed away short after the Qingming festival in 1976. What happened to his body?
13. Remember how important it had been to Stalin to deliver the main speech at Lenins funeral. Who did it at Maos funeral?
14. How did Mao appoint his successor (and notice that it was the senile Mao who did it and not the party?
15. Who controlled the sixteen member Politburo after Mao had passed away?
16. Who held the key in the power struggle between Hua and the Gang of Four and how were they finally deteated?
17. Describe Huas authority after the Gang of Four had been arrested.
19. Step by step Deng gained power. Describe what you think were the strengths of Deng.
21. Khrushchev had in 1956 denounced Stalin in the secret speech. But Mao was both Lenin and Stalin in China. What does this mean and how did Deng solve the dilemma with Maos legacy?
25. Explain Dengs economic policy: It doesnr matter if the wheter a cat is white or black as long as it catches mice. Was he a communist?
26. Explain Dengs xiang reforms or household responsibility system i.e. how agriculture was reformed.
Phase 2:
32. The reforms were delayed to some extent because works were unwilling to give up their iron rice bowl. What does it mean?
34. The third area in the Four Modernisations was education. What happened?
35. The fifth area was the army. What happened after the was against Vietnam in 1979?
38. What was the Fifth Modernisation? 39. There were many student demonstrations especially against corruption. How did Deng respond?
40. In what way can the economy be seen as a background to the Tiananmen square massacre?
41. What happened on 15th of April 1989 and what are the similarities to the Qingming festival in 1976?
43. Who came to Beijing in May 1989 and why was it significant?
46. Some argue that Deng wanted the army, and not the police, to take actions. Why?