Reform and Collapse
This domain covers 1982–1991: the late succession, Gorbachev's interlocking reforms, the nationalities question, and the sequence that ended the USSR in December 1991.
From Andropov to Gorbachev
Andropov (November 1982 – February 1984) ran a discipline and anti-corruption campaign drawing on his KGB background; Chernenko (1984–85) reversed little and died in March 1985, bringing Gorbachev to the general secretaryship. Gorbachev began with "acceleration" of machine-building and an anti-alcohol campaign in 1985 that cut state revenue. Chernobyl in April 1986 exposed the gap between official reassurance and reality and pushed openness forward.
Glasnost and perestroika
Glasnost loosened press, history, and criticism from 1986–87. The Nineteenth Party Conference in 1988 endorsed political reform; competitive elections to the Congress of People's Deputies in March 1989 produced real defeats for party officials. Article 6 was removed in March 1990 and Gorbachev created a presidency. Economic reform lagged: the Law on State Enterprises (1987) and the cooperative law (1988) disrupted planning without creating a market, and the "500 Days" Shatalin program was abandoned in late 1990.
Nationalities and collapse
Baltic republics declared sovereignty and then independence; Nagorno-Karabakh escalated into ethnic war. The August 1991 coup by the State Committee on the Emergency Situation failed against Boris Yeltsin's resistance. The Belovezha Accords of 8 December 1991, the Alma-Ata meeting on 21 December, and Gorbachev's resignation on 25 December 1991 dissolved the union.
Worked example
Question: why did glasnost outrun perestroika? Reasoning: glasnost cost the leadership nothing material and was popular, so it advanced fast and revealed failures. Economic perestroika required price reform, subsidy cuts, and closures that threatened workers and managers, so it was postponed and half-built. Political opening before economic restructuring eroded the party's authority before any market mechanism could replace planning.
Traps
- Article 6 was removed in March 1990, not at the 1989 elections.
- Chernobyl is April 1986; the anti-alcohol campaign is 1985.
- The coup is August 1991, before Belovezha in December.
- Gorbachev resigned on 25 December 1991, after the union had effectively dissolved; he did not abolish the USSR by decree.