Crop failures, food shortages, large amount of money spent on military programme. Approx 25% of Soviet GNP from '64-'82 was spent on Soviet military supplies.
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How did Brezhnev try to deal with the agricultural problems?
Introduced reforms to reverse some of the effects of collectivisation - allowed farmers to work on state-owned plots.
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How did Brezhnev try to deal with the stagnation of living standards?
Tried to increase production of consumer goods but the availability of them remained limited, except on the black market which flourished
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How did Brezhnev deal with lack of food?
Increased imports, while the rest of the world had an oil shortage, the USSR failed to take advantage of the demand+the resultant high prices of oil.
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When did BV die?
1982: Succeeded by Andropov (died 1984) , then Chernenko. In 1985, Gorbachev came into power.
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Gorbachev's initial aims regarding the economic problems in the Soviet Union?
Linked economic growth to political, ideological and FP problems: linked USSR's economy to its superpower position globally, wanted Cold War to end.
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What factors undermined economic growth in the USSR?
Alcoholism, lack of foreign investment, state controlled businesses, inflation and worker discontent
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New thinking?
Targeted alcoholism, Perestroika, Glasnost.
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How did GV target alcoholism?
Prices raised on price of wine, beer and vodka, arrests for public drunkeness + being intoxicated at work, places+times for selling alcohol = restricted.
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What was Perestroika?
Planning=decentralised, some degree of self management=allowed w/o the loss of state ownership, State price controls=ended.
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What was Glasnost?
1988: 'Openness', led to reexamination of soviet history+open debate on past gov actions.
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What nuclear event led to Glasnost?
1986: Chernobyl, initially suppressed (according to traditional Soviet censorship policies). The scale of the disaster+Swedish reports of high radiation from Ukraine led the USSR to make the accident public.
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What other event led to Glasnost?
Release of Sakharov: travelled throughout the USSR + the world, presenting info on the repression of Soviet citizens + conditions of Soviet prison camps.
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Oil crisis?
In the 1980s, the price of oil dropped due to OPEC policies. Oil=main export of USSR so they felt this strongly.
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
How did Brezhnev try to deal with the agricultural problems?
Back
Introduced reforms to reverse some of the effects of collectivisation - allowed farmers to work on state-owned plots.
Card 3
Front
How did Brezhnev try to deal with the stagnation of living standards?
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