3-GORBACHEV+Chennupati,+Karteek


 * The Soviet Military**


 * What was the situation for that group/institution before Gorbachev became Premier?**

Before Gorbachav, Brezhnev controlled the Soviet Union. “Under Brezhnev the influence and power of the military had significantly increased”(Larrabee 1). As the Soviet Union’s economy started to decline, resources were in high demand and defense spending was repeatedly cut. “Alarmed by the U.S. buildup, the Soviet military sought to exploit the political uncertainties surrounding Brezhnev’s failing health to press for a greater share for the defense budget”(Larrabee 1). After his death, the military leaders still pushed for more defense spending while the economy continued to falter. As they were fighting for a larger share of the defense budget, the military was making serious blunders including the invasion of Afghanistan, the deployment of the intermediate-range SS-20 missile, and the shooting down of the Korean Air Lines passenger jet. “Taken together with the conflict over defense spending, these three incidents appear to have prompted an effort by the party to reassert greater control over the military and defense matters”(Larrabee 1). Overall, before Gorbachev became Premier the military was given much influence, deteriorating, and causing economic problems with its exorbitant spending.


 * How did that group/institution interpret the application of those policies to it?**

The military interpreted these four policies in ways that mostly harmed their effectiveness. At first they did not think some of these policies would even affect them like when “the military appears to have regarded the idea of perestroika as something that applied to the rest of society”(Larrabee 1). These policies got in the way of their goals. They were constantly trying to beat America’s military escalation but could not because of Russia’s weakening economy. These policies affected the Soviet militaries effectiveness, its goals, and its overall decline.


 * How did the Soviet state apply those policies to that group/institution, and what were the effects?**

The idea of a more open media was allowed under the reform policy of glasnost, which did more harm than help to the Soviet Union and military. “Journalists began to write about the widespread problems in the military, such as the poor discipline in the units fighting in Afghanistan”(Barany 62) and this increased media criticism hurt the Soviet Union’s military credibility. As part of the perestroika (restructuring), uskoreniye (economic) policies, the military went through huge changes. The reconstruction of the Soviet military’s “ main emphasis has been on increasing discipline and raising troop morale, the military has also been called upon to admit previous shortcomings”(Larrabee 1). However another part of it came when Gorbachav fired much of the military leadership. The economic policies that applied to the Soviet military were the decreased defense spending throughout most of Gorbachavs rule. The Soviet military was also cut by almost 500,000 men, given less weaponry, and given less ability to pursue long conflicts. Under the democratizatsiya policies, Gorbachav tried to go from the major influence of the military into one that was more controlled by the civilian population and Soviet Government. “Under communism, the soviet military was always subordinate to civilian control; there was never any question of its having an independent power base of its own”(Sayari 4).


 * What was the significance of Gorbachev’s reforms as it pertained to that group/institution?**

Thereform policy of glasnost created lots of problems for the Soviet military. It allowed for the media to have more freedom to criticize the military and its actions which raised questions about the effectiveness of the Soviet military. The civilians saw coverage of military mistakes and the militaries credibility was severely hurt. The Perestroika made the military less capable of asserting its force because of the constant firings from Gorbachav and his attempts to restructure it. This created an atmosphere of chaos as the military bureaucracy was continuously switched around. The economic policies were significant to the military because it greatly decreased its effectiveness. “A major decline in the priority of the military”(Rowen 10) led to the decrease in its ability to create new weaponry, technology, and decreased its influence. The democratizatsiya policies made the problem worse. The military which was a huge part of Russian society was not willing tot let go of its power. “The attempted coup in the former Soviet Union in 1991, is an important example of the pivotal role the military has acquired in a country”(Sayari 4). The political system that was weakened by these democratic policies could not control the military or stop the collapse of the Soviet Union.


 * Bibliography**

Barany, Zolton. //Http://www.questiaschool.com/read/118115419/democratic-breakdown-and-the-decline-of-the-russian//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. //Questiaschool.com//. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. .

Larrabee, Stephen F. "Gorbachev and the Soviet Military." //Global//. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014. .

Rowen, Henry S. "The Soviet Union as Military Giant and Economic Weakling." //Google Books//. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. .

Sayari, Sabri. "Civil-military Relations and Democratization: Summary of a Workshop."//Google Books//. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. .