HIST 103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Moscow Kremlin Wall, Nikita Khrushchev, Mikhail Gorbachev
Document Summary
1980s fully 50% of gdp of soviet union was going to military spending. Chronic shortages by 1980s of everything food, drink, virtually every consumer product. Poland, jan 1989, free elections for the first time in 30 years: candidates for the independent trade union movement (aka solidarity) won more than 90% in the seats. Soviets intervene militarily when soviet interests/ power was challenged since 1945: berlin, 1953, hungary, 1956, czecho, 1968. The head of polish communist party (jarulzelski) telephoned gorbachev when non- commies won: gorbachev did not do anything except the result of the election. Within one year of the phone call, the berlin wall fell. Within two year, su ceased to exist. 10s, 1000s of involence people survived the war but lost their lives back home. 1945 only western film available was tarzan. Labor camps continued to flourish, full of non-communist but communist as well.
