Who or what what the primary contributor to the fall of communism? I've been trying to determine how after decades of suppressive regimes, nonviolent protests and peaceful opposition were able to overthrow such a strict and powerful government. To me, it seems that the only reason that nonviolent opposition was able to be effective in reforming the USSR was a process of liberalization of the Soviet government that started in 1985 with the election of Mikhail Gorbachev. In his speech to the United Nations on December 7, 1988, Gorbachev said, "The compelling necessity of the principle of freedom of choice is also clear to us. The failure to recognize this, to recognize it, is fraught with very dire consequences, consequences for world peace. Denying that right to the peoples, no matter what the pretext, no matter what the words are used to conceal it, means infringing upon even the unstable balance that is, has been possible to achieve." To me, this seems to be the turning point in the fall of communism. After years of strict governments, Gorbachev suddenly realized the importance of granting his citizens freedom of choice. What prevented any major reform prior to the Gorbachev era was the people's inability to make their own decisions. The year after Gorbachev decided to respect his citizens right to freedom of choice was the year during which everything changed for the USSR. In 1989, Solidarity won elections, borders were opened to the West, the the Soviet Union began to crumble. Mikhail Gorbachev allowed nature to take its course, and let his people decide their fate. By granting freedom of choice to citizens and allowing internal to reform to occur naturally, Mikhail Gorbachev both stimulated and allowed the natural reform that led to the fall of the USSR, and was the primary reason for its eventual collapse.
*image of Gorbachev during 1988 U.N. speech-
http://www.emersonkent.com/speeches/freedom_of_choice.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment