NCERT Class 12 Political Science The End of Bipolarity

Chapter 2

The End of Bipolarity

WHAT WAS THE SOVIET SYSTEM?

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) came into being after the socialist revolution in Russia in 1917. The revolution was inspired by the ideals of socialism, as opposed to capitalism, and the need for an egalitarian society. This was perhaps the biggest attempt in human history to abolish the institution of private property and consciously design a society based on principles of equality. In doing  so, the makers of the Soviet systemgave primacy to the state and the institution of the party. The Soviet political system centred around the communist party, and no other political party or opposition was allowed. The economy was planned and controlled by the state. After the Second World War, the east European countries that the Soviet army had liberated from the fascist forces came under the control of the USSR. The political and the economic systems of all these countries were modelled after the USSR. This group of countries was called the Second World or the ‘socialist bloc’. The Warsaw Pact, a military alliance,  held them together. The USSR wasthe leader of the bloc.

The Soviet Union became a great power after the Second World War. The Soviet economy was then more developed than the rest of the world except for the US. It had a complex communications network, vast energy resources including oil, iron and steel, machinery production, and a transport sector that connected its remotest areas with efficiency. It had a domestic consumer industry that produced everything from pins to cars, though their quality did not match that of the Western capitalist countries. The Soviet state ensured a minimum standard of living for all citizens, and the government subsidised basic necessities including health, education, childcare and other welfare schemes. There was no unemployment. State ownership was the dominant form of ownership: land and productive assets were owned and controlled by the Soviet state.

The Soviet system, however, became very bureaucratic and authoritarian, making life very difficult for its citizens. Lack of democracy and the absence of freedom of speech stifled people who often expressed their dissent in jokes and cartoons. 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 all institutions and was unaccountable to the people. The party refused to recognise the urge of people in the fifteen different republics that formed the Soviet Union to manage their own affairs including their cultural affairs. Although, on paper, Russia was only one of the fifteen republics that together constituted the USSR, in reality Russia dominated everything, and people from other regions felt neglected and often suppressed.

GORBACHEV AND THE DISINTEGRATION

Mikhail Gorbachev, who had become General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985, sought to reform this system. Reforms were necessary to keep the USSR abreast of the information and technological revolutions taking place in the West. However, Gorbachev’s decision to normalise relations with the West and democratise and reform the Soviet Union had some other effects that neither he nor anyone else intended or anticipated. The people in the East European countries which were part of the Soviet bloc started to protest against their own governments and Soviet control. Unlike in the past, the Soviet Union, under.

QUESTION

1. Which among the following statements that describe the nature of Soviet economy is wrong?

a. Socialism was the dominant ideology

b. State ownership/control existed over the factors of production

c. People enjoyed economic freedom

d. Every aspect of the economy was planned and controlled by the State

2. Arrange the following in chronological order:

a. Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

b. Fall of the Berlin Wall

c. Disintegration of the Soviet Union

d. Russian Revolution

3. Which among the following is NOT an outcome of the disintegration of the USSR?

a. End of the ideological war between the US and USSR

b. Birth of CIS

c. Change in the balance of power in the world order

d. Crises in the Middle East

4. Fill in the blanks.

a. The Soviet political system was based on ___________________ ideology.

b. _________________ was the military alliance started by the USSR.

c. ____________________ party dominated the Soviet Union’s political system .

d. ______________________ initiated the reforms in the USSR in 1985.

e. The fall of the ____________________ symbolised the end of the Cold War.

5. Mention any three features that distinguish the Soviet economy fro  that of a capitalist country like the US?

6. What were the factors that forced Gorbachev to initiate the reforms in the USSR?

7. What were the major consequences of the disintegration of the Soviet Union for countries like India?

8. What was Shock Therapy? Was this the best way to make a transition from communism to capitalism?

9. Write an essay for or against the following proposition: “With the disintegration of the second world, India should change its foreign policy and focus more on friendship with the US rather than with traditional friends like Russia”.

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