End Of Bipolarity - Political Science-Part A Unit-II
1. Write a short note on Berlin wall?
Ans:-
1.The Berlin Wall symbolized the division between the Capitalist and
the Communist world. So its fall is treated as the end of bipolarity as
it was the beginning of the end of the communist bloc.
2.Built In 1961 to separate East Berlin From West Berlin.
3.The 150 km long wall stood for 28 years& was finally broken on 9th November, 1989.
4.This marked the unification of the 2 parts of Germany & the beginning of the end of the communist bloc.
2.When did Socialist Revolution take place in Russia ?
Ans:- 1917
3. What is Shock Therapy?
Ans:-
A painful process of transition from an authoritarian socialist system
to a democratic Capitalist system.The model of transition in Russia,
central Asia and east Europe that was influenced by the World Bank and
the IMF is known as ‘Shock Therapy’.
4. What was Socialist Bloc ?
Ans:-
The second world countries or the group of east European countries who
were liberated from fascist forces, followed the model of the USSR known
as Socialist Bloc.
5. What are the features of USSR that distinguish it from U.S.?
Ans:-
1) One Party System : The makers of the Soviet System gave primacy to
the state and the institution of the party. The Soviet political system
centered around the communist party, and no other political party or
opposition was allowed. The economy was planned and controlled by the
state.
2) Developed Economy :The soviet economy was more then mere
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.
3) Minimum standard
of living : The Soviet state ensured a minimum standard of living for
all citizens, and the government subsidized basic necessities including
health, education, childcare and other welfare schemes.
4) Absence of
Unemployment : There was no unemployment. State ownership was the
dominant form of ownership : land and productive assets were owned and
controlled by the Soviet state.
5)Lack Of Democracy & Absence Of
Freedom Of Speech :The Soviet system however became very bureaucratic
& authoritarian,making life very difficult for its citizens.People
often their dissent in jokes & cartoons.
6. Who was Mikhail Gorbachev ? Why did he wanted to reform USSR system ?
Ans:-
Mikhail Gorbachev was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of
the Soviet Union in 1985, he wanted to reform USSR System Because-
1.Reforms were necessary to keep the USSR abreast of the information & technological revolutions taking place in the west.
2.To democratize Soviet System & to normalize relations with the west.
3.To Loosen the administrative system.
3.The
people in the East European countries which were part of the Soviet
bloc started to protest against their own governments & soviet
control.
7. Mention the role of Boris Yelstin in the disintegration of the USSR ?
Ans:-
A coup took place in 1991 that was encouraged by communist party
hardliners. The people had tasted freedom by then and did not want the
old-style rule of the Communist Party. Boric Yeltsin emerged as a
national hero in opposing this coup.
1. The Russian Republic, where
Yeltsin won a popular election, began to shake off centralized control.
Power began to shift from the soviet center to the republic, especially
in the more Europeanised part of the Soviet Union, which saw themselves
as sovereign states.
2. The Central Asian republic did not ask for remain with the Soviet Federation.
3.
In December 1991,under the leadership of Yeltsin, Russia, Ukraine and
Belarus, three major republic of the USSR, declared that the Soviet
Union was disbanded. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was banned.
Capitalism and democracy were adopted as the bases for the post-Soviet
republics.
8. Write a note on Formation of Commonwealth of Independent States .
Ans:-
1.Disintegration of the USSR gave birth to Commonwealth of Independent
States came as a surprise to the other republics,especially to the
Central Asian Ones.
2.The Exclusion of these republics was as issue that was quickly solved by making them founding members of the CIS.
3.Russia
was now accepted as the successor state of the Soviet Union.It
Inherited the Soviet Seat In the UN Security Council.The old Soviet
Union was thus dead & buried.
9. Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate ?
OR
Describe the causes/reasons for the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991?
Ans:-1)
Internal weakness of economy and political institution : Soviet
political and economic institutions, which failed to meet the
aspirations of the people, were responsible for the collapse of the
system. Economic stagnation for many years led to severe consumer
shortage.
2) Expenses on military : The answer is partially
clear. The Soviet economy used much of its resources in maintaining a
nuclear and military arsenal and the development of its satellite states
in Eastern Europe and within the Soviet system (the five central Asian
Republics in Particular). This led to a huge economic burden that the
system could not cope with.
3) Awareness among citizens :
Ordinary citizen became more knowledgeable about the west. They could
see the disparities between their system and the systems of the west.
After years of being told that the Soviet system was better than Western
capitalism, the reality of its backwardness came as a political and
psychological shock.
4) Unaccountably of the government : The
Soviet Union had become stagnant in an administrative and political
sense as well. The communist party that had ruled the Soviet Union for
over 70 years was not accountable to the people. Ordinary people were
alienated by slow and stifling administration, rampant corruption, the
inability of the system to correct mistakes it had made, the
unwillingness to allow more openness in government, and the
centralization of authority in a vast land.
5) Rise of Nationalism
& Desire for Sovereignty :The rise of nationalism and the desire for
sovereignty within various republic including Russia and the Baltic
Republic (Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania), Ukraine, Georgia, and others
proved to be the final and most immediate cause for the disintegration
of the USSR.
10. Why the Soviet Union collapsed in spite of Gorbachev’s accurate diagnosis of the problem?
Ans:-
1) The most basic answer seems to be that where Gorbachev carried out
his reforms and loosened the system, he set in motion forces and
expectations that few could have predicted and become virtually
impossible to control.
2) There were sections of the Soviet society
which felt that Gorbachev should have moved much faster and were
disappointed and impatient with his method. They did not benefit in the
way they had hoped or they benefitted too slowly.
3) Others,
especially members of the communist party and those who were served by
this system, took exactly the opposite view. They felt that their power
and privileges were eroding and Gorbachev was moving too quickly.
11. What are the consequences of disintegration of USSR?
Ans:-
1) End of Cold War confrontations : First of all, it meant the end of
cold war confrontations. The ideological dispute over whether the
Socialist system would beat the capitalist system was not an issue any
more.
2) Power relations in World politics : Second, power
relations in world politics changed and, therefore, the relative
influence of ideas and institutions also changed. The end of the cold
war left open two possibilities; either the remaining superpower would
dominate and create a unipolar system, or different countries or groups
of countries could become important players in the international
system, thereby bringing in a multipolar system where no one power could
dominate. As it turned out, the US became the sole superpower. Backed
by the power and prestige of the US, the capitalist economy was now the
dominant economic system internationally.
3) The emergence of new
independent countries : The end of the “Soviet Bloc” meant the emergence
of many new countries because at the down of the disintegration of USSR
Soviet Union divided into 15 independent countries. All these countries
had their own independent aspirations and choices. Some of them,
especially the Baltic and East European states wanted to join the
European Union and became part of the “North Atlantic Treaty
Organization”. The central Asia countries wanted to take advantage to
their geographical location and continue their close ties with Russia
and also to establish ties with the west, the US, China and others.
12. Examine the nature and features of Shock Therapy?
Ans:
1) Capitalist Economy : The Shock therapy advocated that every country
was required to make a total shift to capitalist economy i.e. the
private ownership became dominant pattern of ownership of property.
2)Private Farming : Shock therapy involved the replacements of the
collective farming to private farming and capitalism in agriculture.
3) Free Trade : Shock therapy stressed on the external orientation of
the economy with the free trade as the essential condition. The free
trade regime and foreign direct investment (FDI) become the main engines
of change.
4) Trade alliances with West : In Shock therapy
transition also involved a breakup of the existing trade alliances among
the countries of the Soviet Bloc. Each state from the bloc was supposed
to be directly linked to the west instead of the inter trade alliance
among the regions.
13.. What was Shock Therapy? Was this the best way to make a transition from communism to capitalism?
A.
1) Russia, the large state controlled industrial complex almost
collapsed, as “about 90 per cent of its individuals and companies”.
2) Since, the restructuring was carried out through market forces and
not by government directed industrial policies, it led to the virtual
disappearance of entire industries. This was called “the largest garage
sale in history” as valuable industries were undervalued and sold at
throw away prices.
Under the influence of Shock therapy the Old system of social welfare was systematically destroyed:-
3)The rate of inflation was so high that people lost all their savings
4)
The withdrawal of government subsidies pushed large sections of the
people into poverty. The middle sections of the periphery of society and
academic and intellectual manpower disintegrated or migrated.
5) Mafia emerged in most of the countries and started controlling many economic activities.
6)
Privatization led to new disparities post Soviet states, especially
Russia, were divided in rich and poor regions. Hence, in the post Cold
war era unlike in earlier system, there was now great economic
inequality between people. Under the transaction period with the effect
of the “Shock Therapy” the old trading structure of Russia broke down
with no alternative in its place
7) The value of the ruble, the
Russian currency declined dramatically. The rate of inflation was so
high that people lost all their savings.
14. During the cold war era India and the USSR enjoyed a multi-dimensional relationship? Discuss.
Ans:-
During the cold war era India and the USSR enjoyed a multi-dimensional
relationship. The relation between the two can be analysed under four
areas like:-
1) Economic : In the economic arena Soviet Union
provided extraordinary assistance to India’s technical and economic
developments like:
• The Soviet Union assisted India’s public
sector companies and gave aid and technical assistance for steel plants
like, Bhilai, Bakaro, Vishakhapatnam and Machinery plants like Bharat
Heavy Electricals Ltd.
• The Soviet Union provided a positive
attitude towards India when India was suffering from financial crisis
like short of foreign exchange. The Soviet Union accepted Indian
currency for trade.
2) Political : In the political spheres Soviet Union supported India’s position on the Kashmir issue in the UN.
• It also supported India during the war with China in 1962 and Pakistan in 1971.
• To reciprocate India too supported Soviet foreign policy in some crucial but indirect ways.
3)
Military : In military sphere also India got a very friendly support
from Soviet Union. It received most of its military hardware from Soviet
Union and got the technological knowledge regarding military arsenals.
India and Soviet Union also set up a joint venture to produce military
equipment.
4) Cultural : India. Hindi films and Indian culture were
very popular in the Soviet Union. and Soviet Union has cultural ties to
the promotion and enrichment of India’s culture Indian heroes; from Raj
Kapoor to Amitabh Bachhan are household names in Russia and many
post-Soviet countries.
Besides, Hindi film songs are very famous in all over the Soviet Region and India is part of the popular memory.
15. Discuss briefly the tensions & conflicts in Soviet Republics ? Explain.
Ans:-
In Russia :
1.Chechnya and Dagestan had violent secessionist movements.
2.Moscow’s
method to deal with Chechen rebels and indiscriminate military bombings
led to many human rights violation but for deter aspirations for
independence.
-In Central Asia
1.Tajikistan witnessed a civil war that went on for ten years till 2001.
2.In Azerbaijan’s provinces of Nagorno-Karobakh, some local Armenians want to secede and join Armenia.
3.In Georgia, the demand for independence came from two provinces resulting in a civil war.
4.There are still movements against the existing regimes in Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Georgia.
5.Even countries and provinces are fighting over river water.
-In Eastern Europe.
1.Czechoslovakia split peacefully into two with the Czechs and Slovaks, forming independent countries.
2.The severe conflict took place in the Balkan republics of Yugoslavia.
3.After
1991, Yugoslavia broke apart with several provinces like Croatia,
Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina declaring independence.
4.Ethnic Serbs opposed this and a massacre of non-Serbs Bosnians followed.
5.The NATO intervention and the bombing of Yugoslavia followed inter-ethnic Civil war.
Post Graduate Teacher (Political Science)
H.N.Seminary Model HS School, Bagribari, Dhubri,Assam
Email : brahmaratan@gmail.com
Mobile : 7020477396
Contact us for pdf notes of Political Science, English, Logic & Philosophy
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon