3-GORBACHEV+Sonti,+Sai

Before Gorbachev-

After Gorbachev gained power in 1985 his program for economic and social reform affected the military policies to a heavy extent. The military was the countries main source of control and power during the time period, with access to many natural resources and qualified workers. Under Brezhnev's rule or "the "golden age" of the high command. During this period (until about 1975) the concerns of the armed forces were given precedence and requests for resources were rarely challenged. The presence of the military was also institutionalized in the Politburo in 1973". However during the later half of his rule due to the four percent economic decline which led to defense spending decrease and US defuse spending increased after Regan's election in 1980. The affect of military power raining upon political areas seemed to take affect upon the country and the fallowing towards the system put into place."the political uncertainties surrounding Brezhnev’s failing health to press for a greater share for the defense budget." Leader after leader until Grobachavs entry held positions of military wane upon the people. The quote "Ogarkov’s dismissal appears to have been designed to remove him as contender for the post of defense minister (the minister, Dimitri Ustinov, was known to be ill). Parallels to the case of Marshal Georgii K. Zhukov, who was dropped from the Politburo and lost his position as defense minister in 1957" shows the stress.

how did the policies apply to the military and what were the effects-

The implication of Gorbachev into power led to new conflicts over defense spending due to incidences such as the "the shooting down of the Korean Air Lines passenger jet in September 1983.the shooting down of the Korean Air Lines passenger jet in September 1983. " The soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the "emergence of a new nuclear threat to Soviet territory—the deployment of NATO’s Pershing 2 and cruise missiles—and led to a serious deterioration of Moscow’s relations with the West." All of the incidents accumulated to decreased support towards the military and the people 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. The dismissal of Ogarkov appears to have been the first concrete step in this process. It is highly likely that these incidents contributed to Gorbachev’s general belief that the military factor had been given disproportionate weight in Soviet affairs, and that Moscow needed a more flexible foreign policy that relied more heavily on political-diplomatic means—two central tenets of Gorbachev’s "new thinking." The party policy in the area of defense was later directed towards development and implementations of new economic goals were made. the new program states the CPSU considers the future to influence over the influence of armed forces. These incidents contributed to belief in removing the additional military support in political affairs and more flexible foreign plicies with diplomatic ideals with Gorbachev's "new thinking" incorporated within them.

What was the significance of Gorbachev's reforms as it pertained to the military-

Under Gorbachev, moreover, the military has continued to be excluded from the top ranks of the Politburo. Like his predecessor Sergei Sokolov, the new defense minister, General Dimitri Yazov, remains only a candidate member of that body. Romanov Ustinov and Grigori were dismissed from the Politburo in 1985. Important allies and leaders lack had lack of military representation and the Gorbachev began to make important changes in the top ranks. "Two of the most important changes were the retirement in 1985 of General Alexei Yepishev, head of the Main Political Administration, and Admiral Sergei Gorshkov, commander in chief of the navy" A new generation of officers and the changes implemented led to Major reshuffling of the top leaders and "replaced the chief of the Strategic Rocket Forces, the heads of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, Poland and Hungary, as well as the commanders of the Moscow and Byelorussian military districts." Indeed Gorbachev accelerated the reconstruction and shift of armed forces within the political policies and led to shifting interests in the eyes of the people.

How did the military interpret the application of those policies-

Indications that the effort to reassert party control over the military would continue or even intensify were visible almost from the moment Gorbachev took over as general secretary. During Chernenko’s funeral in March 1985. The new party program adopted at the 27th Party Congress in February 1986 considerably strengthens the role of the party in military affairs. The increased role of the party in military affairs has been emphasized by military leaders as well. Writing in the party’s theoretical journal Kommunist, for instance, Army General Alexei Lizichev pointed to the "natural increase under the new historical conditions of the party’s leading role in the life of Soviet society." Under the new political order arms control had struck a major instrument for enhancing security and reduing economic burden. He has thus been willing to adopt a more flexible position compared to previous political control..If Gorbachev can succeed in fallowing the INF agreement and constraints on SDI he will be able to achieve his domestic agenda. This also had a huge affect on the western relationships towards the soviet union.

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