Garcia, Gabriel

English

ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University

Influence of Mikhail Gorbachev’s Non-military-intervention Policy in the 1989 Liberation of Eastern Europe. Gabriel Garcia History Faculty Sponsor: Jeffrey Robert Young, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer, Department of History. 1989 was a crucial year in the developments that brought the end of the Cold War. As 1989 began, nobody suspected that by year’s end the socialist dictators of Eastern Europe would fall along with the Berlin Wall, the Cold War would be over, and within a couple of years the Soviet Union would cease to exist. The present essay examines the role Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of non-military intervention in the domestic affairs of Eastern European countries had in the events that took place in 1989. For forty years the Soviet Union had exerted a tight control over several countries in Eastern Europe. After World War II, Joseph Stalin used force and repression to install communist governments in Eastern Europe that would follow the Kremlin’s directives without questions. During the following decades, the Kremlin continued to use military force to maintain the status quo in Eastern Europe. Gorbachev’s policy represented a departure from previous Soviet policies. As events began to unfold in the summer of 1989, Gorbachev adhered to his non-military intervention policy giving additional stimulus to other uprisings throughout the region. Gorbachev’s policy alone did not bring an end to Soviet domination; instead, it served as a catalyst for the liberation movements that brought the end of communism in Eastern Europe. The study of the influence Gorbachev’s policy had in these historical events can bring light to one—often overlooked—aspect of the complex history of the Cold War. Primary sources such as Gorbachev’s writings—including his 1996 Memoirs—and memoirs by members of Gorbachev’s inner circle during the period in question were used for this essay. Secondary sources included books and articles by historians and political scientists.  

Influence of Mikhail Gorbachev’s Non-military-intervention Policy in the 1989 Liberation of Eastern Europe.

Georgia State University

Influence of Mikhail Gorbachev’s Non-military-intervention Policy in the 1989 Liberation of 
Eastern Europe. 
Gabriel Garcia 
History 
Faculty Sponsor: Jeffrey Robert Young, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer, Department of History. 
1989 was a crucial year in the developments that brought the end of the Cold War. As 
1989 began, nobody suspected that by year’s end the socialist dictators of Eastern Europe would 
fall along with the Berlin Wall, the Cold War would be over, and within a couple of years the 
Soviet Union would cease to exist. The present essay examines the role Mikhail Gorbachev’s 
policy of non-military intervention in the domestic affairs of Eastern European countries had in 
the events that took place in 1989. For forty years the Soviet Union had exerted a tight control 
over several countries in Eastern Europe. After World War II, Joseph Stalin used force and 
repression to install communist governments in Eastern Europe that would follow the Kremlin’s 
directives without questions. During the following decades, the Kremlin continued to use 
military force to maintain the status quo in Eastern Europe. Gorbachev’s policy represented a 
departure from previous Soviet policies. As events began to unfold in the summer of 1989, 
Gorbachev adhered to his non-military intervention policy giving additional stimulus to other 
uprisings throughout the region. Gorbachev’s policy alone did not bring an end to Soviet 
domination; instead, it served as a catalyst for the liberation movements that brought the end of 
communism in Eastern Europe. The study of the influence Gorbachev’s policy had in these 
historical events can bring light to one—often overlooked—aspect of the complex history of the 
Cold War. 
Primary sources such as Gorbachev’s writings—including his 1996 Memoirs—and 
memoirs by members of Gorbachev’s inner circle during the period in question were used for 
this essay. Secondary sources included books and articles by historians and political scientists.  


https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1080&amp;context=gsurc

Influence of Mikhail Gorbachev’s Non-military-intervention Policy in the 1989 Liberation of Eastern Europe.

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University

Georgia State University