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Explore comprehensive and easy-to-understand notes on The End of Bipolarity from Class 12 NCERT Political Science. These notes cover the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, emergence of unipolarity, and the rise of new international relations in the post-Cold War era. Perfect for quick revision, exam preparation, and understanding key concepts such as shock therapy, CIS, and democratic transition in former Soviet states. Includes summary, key terms, important questions, and case studies based on the CBSE syllabus.
OVERVIEW
The Berlin Wall
End Of Bipolarity Notes - Download
Sample Notes
INTRODUCTION
- Symbolized the division between the capitalist and the communist world.
Built in 1961 to separate East Berlin from West Berlin,
this more than 150 kilometer long wall
s tood for 28 years and was finally broken by the people on 9 November 1989.
This marked the unification of the two parts of Germany and
The beginning of the end of the communist bloc.
The pictures here depict:
1. People making a tiny hole in the wall
2. A section of the wall opened to allow free movement
3. The Berlin Wall as it stood before 1989
1. The Berlin Wall, which had been built at the height of the Cold War and was its greatest symbol, was toppled by the people in 1989.
2. This dramatic event was followed by an equally dramatic and historic chain of events that led to the collapse of:
the ‘second world’ and
the end of the Cold War.
3. Germany, divided after the Second World War, was unified.
4. One after another, the eight East European countries that were part of the Soviet bloc replaced their communist governments in response to mass demonstrations.
5. The Soviet Union stood by as the Cold War began to end,
not by military means but as a result of mass actions by ordinary men and women.
6. Eventually the Soviet Union itself disintegrated.
7. In this chapter, we discuss:
the meaning,
the causes and
the consequences of the disintegration of the ‘second world’.
8. We also discuss what happened to that part of the world after the collapse of communist regimes and how India relates to these countries now.
LEADERS OF THE SOVIET UNION
Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924)
Founder of the Bolshevik Communist party;
leader of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and
the founder-head of the USSR during the most difficult period following the revolution (1917-1924);
an outstanding theoretician and
practitioner of Marxism and
a source of inspiration for communists all over the world.
Joseph Stalin (1879-1953)
Successor to Lenin and
led the Soviet Union during its consolidation (1924-53);
began rapid industrialisation and
forcible collectivisation of agriculture;
credited with Soviet victory in the Second World War;
held responsible for the Great Terror of the 1930s,
authoritarian functioning and
elimination of rivals within the party.
Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971)
Leader of the Soviet Union (1953-64);
denounced Stalin’s leadership style and
introduced some reforms in 1956;
suggested “peaceful coexistence” with the West;
Involved in suppressing popular rebellion in Hungary and in the Cuban missile crisis.
Leonid Brezhnev (1906-82)
Leader of the Soviet Union (1964- 82);
proposed Asian Collective Security system;
associated with the détente phase in relations with the US; involved in suppressing a popular rebellion in Czechoslovakia and in invading Afghanistan.
Mikhail Gorbachev (Born 1931)
1. Last leader of the Soviet Union (1985-91);
2. Introduced economic and political reform policies of:
perestroika (restructuring) and
glasnost (openness);
3. stopped the arms race with the US;
4. withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan and eastern Europe
5. Helped in the unification of Germany;
6. Ended the Cold War;
7. Blamed for the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
Boris Yeltsin (1931-2007)
The first elected President of Russia (1991- 1999);
rose to power in the Communist Party and was made the Mayor of Moscow by Gorbachev;
later joined the critics of Gorbachev and left the Communist Party;
led the protests against the Soviet regime in 1991;
played a key role in dissolving the Soviet Union;
blamed for hardships suffered by Russians in their transition from communism to capitalism.
WHAT WAS THE SOVIET SYSTEM?
1. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) came into being:
after the socialist revolution in Russia in 1917.
2. The revolution was inspired by:
The ideals of socialism, as opposed to capitalism, and
the need for an egalitarian society.
3. This was perhaps the biggest attempt in human history to:
abolish the institution of private property and
consciously design a society based on principles of equality.
4. In doing so, the makers of the Soviet system gave primacy:
To the state and
The institution of the party.
5. The Soviet political system centered around the communist party, and no other political party or opposition was allowed.
6. The economy was planned and controlled by the state.
7. After the Second World War,
the east European countries that the Soviet army had liberated from the fascist forces came under the control of the USSR.
The political and the economic systems of all these countries were modelled after the USSR.
This group of countries was called the Second World or the ‘socialist bloc’.
The Warsaw Pact, a military alliance, held them together.
The USSR was the leader of the bloc.
8. The Soviet Union became a great power after the Second World War.
9. Features Of Soviet System
The Soviet economy was then more 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.
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.
There was no unemployment.
State ownership was the dominant form of ownership:
land and productive assets were owned and controlled by the Soviet state.
Answer: a) Basic amenities
10. Challenges Of Soviet System:
The Soviet system, however, became very:
Bureaucratic and Authoritarian,
Making life very difficult for its citizens.
Lack of democracy and
The absence of freedom of speech stifled people who often expressed their dissent in jokes and cartoons.
Most of the institutions of the Soviet state needed reform: Answer: c) They were unable to express
11. one-party system
The one-party system represented by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union had tight control over all institutions and was unaccountable to the people.
The party refused to recognise the urge of people in the fifteen different republics that formed the Soviet Union to manage their own affairs including their cultural affairs.
12. Although, on paper, Russia was only one of the fifteen republics that together constituted the USSR,
In reality Russia dominated everything, and
People from other regions felt neglected and often suppressed.
13. In the arms race, the Soviet Union managed to:
match the US from time to time,
but at great cost.
14. The Soviet Union lagged behind the West in:
Technology,
Infrastructure (e.g., transport, power), and
Most importantly, in fulfilling the political or economic aspirations of citizens.
15. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 weakened the system even further.
16. Though wages continued to grow,
productivity and technology fell considerably behind that of the West.
17. This led to shortages in all consumer goods.
18. Food imports increased every year.
19. The Soviet economy was faltering in the late 1970s and became stagnant.
GORBACHEV AND THE DISINTEGRATION
1. Mikhail Gorbachev, who had become General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985, sought to reform this system.
2. Reforms were necessary to keep the USSR abreast of the:
information and technological revolutions taking place in the West.
3. However, Gorbachev’s decision to:
Normalise relations with the West and
Democratise and Reform the Soviet Union
4. Had some other effects that neither he nor anyone else intended or anticipated.
5. The people in the East European countries which were part of the Soviet bloc started to:
protest against their own governments and Soviet control.
6. Unlike in the past, the Soviet Union, under Gorbachev:
Did not intervene when the disturbances occurred, and
The communist regimes collapsed one after another.
7. These developments were accompanied by:
a rapidly escalating crisis within the USSR that hastened its disintegration.
8. Gorbachev initiated:
The policies of economic and political reform and
Democratisation within the country.
9. The reforms were opposed by leaders within the Communist Party.
10. 1991 Coup
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.
Boris Yeltsin emerged as a national hero in opposing this coup.
The Russian Republic, where Yeltsin won a popular election, began to shake off centralised control.
Power began to shift from the Soviet centre to the republics, especially in the more Europeanised part of the Soviet Union, which saw themselves as sovereign states.
The Central Asian republics did not ask for independence and wanted to remain with the Soviet Federation.
In December 1991, under the leadership of Yeltsin,
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, three major republics 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.
Box
A Communist Party bureaucrat drives down from Moscow to a collective farm to register a potato harvest.
“Comrade farmer, how has the harvest been this year?” the official asks.
“Oh, by the grace of God, we had mountains of potatoes,” answers the farmer.
“But there is no God,” counters the official.
“Huh”, says the farmer, “And there are no mountains of potatoes either.”
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