Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes

Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe

In October 1989, Soviet government spokesman Gennadi Gerasimov declared that "the Brezhnev Doctrine is dead ... You know the Frank Sinatra song 'My Way'? Hungary and Poland are doing it their way. We now have the Sinatra Doctrine." This statement marked a turning point in Eastern European history, acknowledging that Soviet satellite states were charting their own courses away from communism.

Context and the Brezhnev Doctrine

The Brezhnev Doctrine was the USSR's commitment to maintaining the unity of the Eastern European communist bloc through force if necessary. It declared Moscow's right to intervene militarily in any communist country that attempted to leave the Eastern Bloc. This doctrine had persisted throughout the 1980s, but when Mikhail Gorbachev assumed power in 1985, change became inevitable across Eastern Europe.

The satellite states faced problems mirroring those of the Soviet Union itself: economic instability and lack of consumer goods. Gorbachev sought ways to reduce the USSR's financial burden of supporting communist countries, which had cost tremendous sums and turned the USSR into a debtor nation. His promised reforms and rejection of the Brezhnev Doctrine were not welcomed by Eastern European leaders, who had relied on Moscow's support and the knowledge their regimes would continue. Gorbachev's changes threatened the stability of apparatchiks (members of the communist party apparatus) in Soviet satellite states throughout Eastern Europe.

The end of communism in Eastern Europe developed from the Soviet Union, but the reasons and processes were individual for each country. By the end of 1989, only Albania remained communist among Eastern European countries.

Poland

After suppressing the Solidarity trade union movement in 1981, Polish leader Wojciech Jaruzelski recognised the need to reconcile with Solidarity's members. In September 1986, he enforced a general amnesty for all political prisoners. Confident that Solidarity's popularity had declined since 1981, Jaruzelski ended martial law and made the reconstitution of Solidarity legal.

Jaruzelski's actions coincided with an economic downturn. To cope with the problems, the government raised food prices in February 1988. This provoked strikes and demands for changes in the system, but the workers and protesters remained peaceful and used Gorbachev's policy of glasnost (openness) as justification for expressing dissent. Without Soviet support, the government had to work with dissenters rather than suppress them as in 1981.

In February 1989, the government agreed to talk to Solidarity leaders and other opposition groups in an attempt to maintain power over Poland. Overall, the new structure pleased the USSR as it represented a step towards socialist rather than capitalist democracy. However, in the June elections, Solidarity achieved overwhelming victory: 92 of the 100 Senate seats and 160 of the 161 seats it was allowed to compete for in the Diet (parliament). Many Poles simply refused to vote for Communist Party candidates in the Diet. The satellite socialist groups that had been traditional allies of the Polish Communist Party refused to join a coalition unless Solidarity was represented.

On 7 August 1989, Lech Walesa demanded a government led by Solidarity. Within a fortnight, and with Soviet agreement, a new pro-Solidarity government led by Tadeusz Mazowiecki was formed. Whilst communists retained positions in an attempt to maintain peace and achieve reconciliation, by the end of 1989 Poland had become a multi-party state with a coalition government dominated by Solidarity. Poland's successful transition to democracy was soon replicated in other Eastern European countries.

Hungary

It was the Communist Party itself in Hungary that initiated reforms. The Hungarian Socialist Workers Party (HSWP) leader, János Kádár, had overseen the brutal suppression of the 1956 uprising and refused to extend any reform programmes. Worsening economic conditions led to general dissatisfaction, and even dedicated communists looked for alternative routes to strengthen the local economy. Economic advisers were especially interested in engaging in trade with Western Europe.

In 1988, Kádár resigned as Secretary-General. A young Politburo (the principal policy-making committee of a communist party) member, Miklós Németh, negotiated a one billion Deutsch Mark loan from West German banks. On the strength of his economic acumen, he was named prime minister and followed economic reforms with political ones. The government adopted basic freedoms, civil rights, and electoral reforms. The communist government was ready to adopt a multi-party system. The government also initiated roundtable discussions to change the constitution that included reconstituting pre-communism political parties.

In April 1989, the Soviets agreed to withdraw all military forces from Hungary by 1991. In June 1989, the HSWP's leadership agreed that free elections should take place in 1990. This decision was based on the belief that the HSWP held the strongest support among Hungarians and as such would remain the leading party. This also seemed to confirm the Soviet view that reforms could enable a Communist Party to legitimately lead a government with a majority.

To the amazement of the world, Hungary's movement away from communism was peaceful and served as a model for other Eastern European countries. The 1990 elections peacefully moved Hungary from communism to democracy.

East Germany and the Berlin Wall

East Germany had a reputation for being the most loyal of all the USSR's satellite states. Its leaders were communist hardliners and its secret police, the Stasi, was feared above all other Eastern European political police. However, it received benefits from West Germany through Willy Brandt's policy of Ostpolitik (assisting East Germany and normalising political relations). Ostpolitik was meant to build a bridge between the democratic, capitalist West and its communist counterpart. Whilst Berlin remained a sticking point for the East Germans, they received benefits from the city's location, as Moscow saw it as a place to showcase the benefits of communism to the outside world. In 1984, the two German states reached agreements for cultural exchanges and the removal of land mines on their frontier, signalling a commitment to the status quo for both.

It seemed that the East German regime was accepted as late as 1988, and no one foresaw the changes that would take place in the coming year. East German leader Eric Honecker ignored the calls for reform embedded in perestroika (restructuring) and the dissent at home and in other Eastern European states. Aged 77, Honecker was the last of the communist leaders who had come of age at the same time as Leonid Brezhnev. He remained firmly loyal to the Communist Party and was determined to keep East Germany as a single party state.

However, events in Hungary had an effect on the situation in East Germany. On 2 May 1989, the Hungarian government removed the fence on its border with East Germany, and whilst travel between the two countries was technically still illegal, in practice anyone dissatisfied in either country could cross the border. By September 1989, it is estimated that 60,000 East Germans had left for Hungary to seek asylum in the West German embassies there. Budapest was overcrowded due to these refugees, and when the Hungarian foreign minister announced that East Germans would not be stopped if they sought to travel west to Austria, 22,000 East Germans crossed over.

In October, opposition could be seen in the streets of every city in East Germany. Encouraged by the actions of opposition groups in other Eastern European countries, East Germans protested at the lack of reforms and the repression that Honecker embodied. At this point, other members of the Party leadership felt that they needed to make changes or face revolution.

With such opposition to the regime, the Politburo forced Honecker's resignation, and fellow member Egon Krenz became the General Secretary of the Party and Chairman of the Council of State on 18 October. Krenz immediately announced that East Germany was going to implement democratic reforms, and endorsed Gorbachev's ideas of perestroika, glasnost, and the end of the Brezhnev Doctrine.

In November 1989, Krenz visited Gorbachev on an economic mission. The USSR did not offer economic aid to the struggling East Germany. Even with assistance from West Germany, the country had experienced a disastrous collapse in its economy. In 1985, growth stood at 5.2 per cent, but by 1989 it was only 2.8 per cent. This meant that the East German government had little to offer its citizens, so on 5 November it proposed relaxing its travel laws. Rather than calm the public, the new laws attracted criticism for being too limited. The government lost control over a public that was demanding fast change. The entire Politburo resigned, leaving Krenz and his colleagues in the government to respond to the population.

On 1 December, facing increased calls for reforms, the government changed the constitution, eliminating the clause that gave the Communist Party a dominant role in the government. Two days later, Krenz and the Central Committee resigned. In place of the government, a coalition government was put in place, but it became clear very quickly that this was a provisional government. Most Germans wanted the reunification of the country, and negotiations began almost immediately.

The revolution in East Germany then was the most dramatic of the revolutions of 1989. Not only did communism collapse in East Germany, but the map of Europe was redrawn as a result of the revolution. After 41 years as a separate state, East Germany ceased to exist and was incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990.

Czechoslovakia

In Czechoslovakia, the rise of Gorbachev and his policies of glasnost and perestroika opened the country to further discussion and open opposition to the regime. Communists maintained control until the collapse at the very end of 1989, even going so far as to arrest demonstrators in Prague who came to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. Soviet troops remained in the country, but Gorbachev said that the USSR would uphold a policy of nonintervention in Warsaw Pact countries.

One of the main reasons that the communists maintained control was that, unlike in Poland, Hungary, and East Germany, the Czechoslovak economy was thriving and the working classes had little reason to oppose the regime.

The opposition that did exist came from a small group of intellectuals led by Václav Havel. In the 1970s, he had organised opposition to the communist government and was jailed for his efforts. After his release, he and his colleagues (signatories of the democratic Charter 77) remained active, but it was only in 1989 that they began to gain support from the wider public.

By then, the population was tired of hearing and seeing Western prosperity while they still remained behind the Iron Curtain with limited fashion and cultural developments. Czechoslovakia did well when compared to other communist countries, but they were comparing themselves to Western Europe and felt they had fallen too far behind.

In January 1989, there was a demonstration in Wenceslas Square in memory of the suicide of a Czech student. Havel and 13 other members were arrested and jailed for organising this commemoration. Rather than suppress further opposition movements, it seemed to lead to their creation. In addition to protesting against political policies of the government, there were numerous protests regarding environmental policies. It had been estimated that nearly half of the rivers in Slovakia were polluted and over three quarters of well water was unsuitable for human consumption. As early as 1983, substantial amounts of Czechoslovak forests were dying, and a children's hospital in Prague had been built for the sole task of treating respiratory ailments in children.

In July, the government announced a programme of limited economic reforms, but the population didn't feel it was sufficient. On 21 August, a mass demonstration took place in Prague. Chants such as 'long live Poland' and 'long live Dubček' resonated around the city.

The collapse of the Berlin Wall further encouraged people, especially students, to speak out, but the real end of the communist regime began on 17 November with yet another demonstration. This time, police attacked and beat students, prompting a popular outcry against the police and the government. On 19 November, led by Havel, a united opposition group, the Civic Forum, was formed. The demonstrations got larger as the days progressed. The communist regime made no attempts to arrest the leaders, believing that if it instituted some reforms in response to the crisis, it would remain in power.

At the same time, the Civic Forum put together the 'Programmatic Principles of the Civic Forum', which stated its goals:

• State of law
• Free elections
• Social justice
• Clean environment
• Educated people
• A return to Europe and prosperity

In response, the constitution was amended and the phrase that gave the Communist Party the lead role in the government was removed. The Party suggested the idea of a coalition government, but this was rejected by the Civic Forum, and the communist leadership resigned. The Civic Forum then agreed to join a cabinet in which the majority of ministers were not communists. At this point, elections were called. On 28 December, Havel was elected as president and the political change was complete.

The year that began with demonstrations and arrests of the opposition ended with the re-emergence of a democratic, multi-party state in Central Europe. The events of 1989 were known as the Velvet Revolution. Change had happened peacefully.

End of the Brezhnev Doctrine

Mikhail Gorbachev took the decision, almost from the point he took office in 1985, to abandon this commitment to communist control by the threat of force.

Gorbachev was committed to the idea that communism could only survive if people were willing to accept it rather than be forced to live under it. The Brezhnev Doctrine was also inconsistent with Gorbachev's survival strategy for communism, particularly as the Cold War embarked on the process of winding down after 1985.

Gorbachev's decision to reject the Brezhnev Doctrine showed individual populations that they no longer had to fear the influx of troops from Moscow or other Warsaw Pact countries if they rose up against their governments. Even in Czechoslovakia, where Soviet troops remained until 1990, the citizenry did not fear external intervention.