Chapter 19-3 and 19.4

1. Collapse of the Soviet Union I) Unrest in the Soviet Union II) The Yeltsin Era III) Yugoslavia Falls Apart IV) Eastern Europe Faces Problems Chapter 19-3 and 19.4

2. Gorbachev Moves Toward Democracy • Mikhail Gorbachev- young Soviet leader elected in 1985. • Pursued Glasnost, which means openness. Allowed churches to reopen, publish banned books, released dissidents from prison. • Perestroika : economic restructuring. Locals got more control over their farms, small private businesses allowed. • Democratization: opening up the political system. People actually got to vote for candidates other than the communist party picked candidates. • Foreign policy: Soviets could not compete with the arms race against the U.S. Signed a treaty reducing the intermediate range missiles (INF Treaty) 300-3400 miles

3. I) Unrest in the Soviet Union • As Eastern Europe gained freedom from Soviet control, various nationalities in the Soviet Union began to call for their own freedom. • While Russians were the most powerful ethnic group in the USSR, there were more than 100 ethnic groups living in the Soviet Union and they formed a majority in the 14 Soviet republics other than Russia. See pg. 615 Mikhail Gorbachev

5. The 1st challenge to the Soviet Union came from the Baltic nations when Lithuania declared its independence. • When Gorbachev ordered troops to attack, Boris Yeltsin criticized Gorbachev over the crackdown, promising quicker reforms, and in June 1991 became Russia's 1st directly elected president

6. I) Unrest in the Soviet Union • In August of 1991 hard line communists attempted a military coup, but troops refused to attack the parliament. • They detained Gorbachev at his vacation home on the Black Sea • The coup sparked anger against the communist party, and Gorbachev resigned • The communist party collapsed and all 15 republics declared their independence. • Yeltsin and leaders of the other republics met and agreed to from the Commonwealth of Independent States or CIS, which meant the end of the Soviet Union.

7. II) The Yeltsin Era • Boris Yeltsin take charge in Russia and began a process of “shock therapy” to move the economy towards capitalism • When his plan caused severe inflation and unemployment it caused a political crisis after Yeltsin ordered troops to bombard rebel legislators. • When Chechnya, a largely Muslim area in southwestern Russia declared its independence in 1994, Yeltsin ordered Russian 40000 troops to put down the uprising. • With the war still raging in 1999, Yeltsin resigned and named Vladimir Putin as acting president, who was elected in 2000 after quashing the rebellion.

8. 19-4 • Poland begins Soviet opposition in 1980. • Lech Walesa voted president 1990. Beats communists. • Hungary- radicals dissolve the communist party in 1989. 1990 elect a non communist government in power. • Germany Nov. 9, 1989 Germany opens the border and tears down Berlin wall. Germany unifies on Oct. 3 1990

9. III) Yugoslavia Falls Apart • Ethnic conflict had plagued Yugoslavia since it was formed after World War I, with six major groups vying for control. • Communist dictator Joseph Tito held the country together until his death in 1980, when Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic asserted Serbian leadership over Yugoslavia. • When Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina declared their independence in 1991, the Serbian used a policy of ethnic cleansing to rid the country of Muslims. • Violence erupted again in 1998 when ethnic Albanians demanded independence in Kosovo, a province in southern Serbia.

10. IV) Eastern Europe Faces Problems • Czechoslovakia’s economy also falters, and the country splits into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Jan 1, 1993.