The Soviet System

The Soviet System

• After Russia’s socialist revolution in 1917, the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was formed
• The ideals of socialism, opposite to capitalism, and the necessity for an egalitarian society drove the socialist revolution
•  This was possibly the most significant movement in human history ever to end private property and purposefully construct a society based on equality ideals
• To achieve a socialist revolution, the Soviet system’s creators prioritized the state and the party’s institution
• No other political party or opposition was allowed in the Soviet political system, based on the communist party
• The government planned and controlled the economy

Evolution of USSR 

• Eastern European countries the Soviet Union freed during World War II are currently under its control
• The Second World or ‘Socialist Bloc’ was the name given to this group of countries (with the USSR as the leader)
• They were held together by the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance. Following World War II, the Soviet Union became very powerful

Strengths of the Soviet System 

• Strengths of the Soviet System: Except for the United States, the Soviet economy was more developed than the rest of the world
• There was a developed transportation industry, a complex communications network, and massive energy resources such as oil, iron, and steel that added to the Strengths of the Soviet System
• There was a large and well-diversified consumer goods business
• The Soviet state-guaranteed all citizens a minimum standard of living and the government-financed essentials such as health, education, childcare, and other social programmes
• Unemployment didn’t exist anymore
• The Soviets state-owned and controlled land and productive assets

Weakness of Soviet System 

• The Soviet system’s flaws were that it became very bureaucratic and authoritarian
• There is a lack of democracy and freedom of expression
• The Communist Party of the Soviet Union represented a one-party regime that had tight control over all institutions and was unaccountable to the people
• The party ignored citizens’ desire from the 15 republics that made up the Soviet Union to run their affairs. Russia dominated everything under the USSR, while citizens from other regions felt forgotten and oppressed
• The Soviet economy suffered greatly due to the weapons race between the United States and the Soviet Union
• It lagged behind the West in terms of technology, infrastructure (e.g., transportation, power), and, most crucially, meeting citizens political and economic goals
• The invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 further damaged their system
• Despite ongoing salary growth, productivity and technology lagged compared to the West. As a result, all consumer products were in limited supply. Imports of food were rising year after year
• In the late 1970s, the Soviet economy began to fail and stagnate

Disintegration of Soviet Union

• The Soviet Union began to disintegrate in 1985, when Mikhail Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He wanted to reform the system
• He began normalising relations with the West and democratising the Soviet Union
• The central government did not intervene when citizens of numerous Eastern European countries started to protest against their own governments
• The central government did not intervene when citizens of numerous Eastern European countries started to protest against their own governments
• Gorbachev started economic and political changes with the goal of democracy. This started an internal opposition among party leaders, leading to a coup in 1991
• People had learned about democracy and freedom, and, as a result, they opposed the coup and the old-style communist party’s authority
• In opposing the coup, Boris Yeltsin became a national hero. His victory in a popular election in his republic resulted in the decentralisation of power
• The Soviet centre began to lose power to the republics, particularly in the more Europeanized parts of the Soviet Union, which considered themselves as autonomous governments
• Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, the USSR’s three biggest republics, declared the Soviet Union defunct in December 1991, led by Boris Yeltsin
• The Soviet Union’s Communist Party was outlawed. The post-Soviet countries accepted capitalism and democracy as their foundations
• CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) was established
• Russia was recognized as the Soviet Union’s successor state. It took up the Soviet seat on the United Nations Security Council
• All the Soviet Union’s diplomatic accords and commitments were recognized by Russia. Russia took over as the only nuclear power in the post-Soviet space and worked with the US on nuclear disarmament

Conclusion 

The Soviet Union was disbanded in 1991, and the successor governments are known as “the former Soviet Union,” a group of 15 countries. The Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose confederation of eleven of these countries, connects them (CIS). Turkmenistan is now an associate member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, after previously being a full member. Instead of joining the Commonwealth, the three Baltic republics (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) joined the European Union and NATO in 2004. The Russian-Belarusian Union also includes Russia and Belarus.