In the initial two years of his power, the first and last president of the USSR, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, based foreign policy on traditional ideology. But in 1987-1988, the priorities were tightly adjusted. The president insisted on new political thinking. It significantly reduced the tension in the world. But Soviet politicians made certain miscalculations that led to the victory of the West.
Key dates
In the foreign policy of the USSR in 1985-1991. The main dates are:
- 1985 - the debut meeting of the presidents of two world powers.
- 1987 - Gorbachev proposes to follow a new concept.
- The same year. An agreement has been drawn up to eliminate certain types of missiles.
- 1989 - troops are withdrawn from Afghan territory.
- 1991 - the USSR and the USA sign an agreement obliging to reduce and limit attacking weapons.
Prerequisites for Change
The beginning of the 80s was a failure for international politics led by the USSR. This was expressed in the following points:
- The potential development of the Cold War in a new round. This would only increase the tension prevailing in the world.
- The country's economy, which was in a deep crisis, could finally collapse.
- The USSR was no longer able to help friendly countries. This would lead to his ruin.
- Due to ideological foundations, the external economy was limited, and the whole country could not fully develop.
Gorbachev's appearance in power
At first, he did not portend any particular reforms. The president was determined to combat military danger, strengthen ties with friendly countries and support national liberation movements.
Changes in the foreign policy of the USSR in 1985-1991 began to happen after castling in the leadership of the Foreign Ministry: A. A. Gromyko was fired, his post was taken by Eduard Shevarnadze.
The key tasks were immediately identified:
- Normalize relations with the West, especially with the USA.
- Start mutual elimination of weapons.
- End armed conflicts with US allies on three continents: South America, Asia and Africa.
- Establishment of economic and political relations with states regardless of their political status.
New postulates
In 1987, an innovative (at that time) concept began to be implemented. Its main postulates are:
- Maintaining the integrity of the world, preventing its split into two political bases.
- Refusal to connect armies to solve key problems. So the powers could stop measuring arms. And universal confidence would reign in the world.
- The total human values should surpass the ideas of class, ideologies, religions, etc. Thus, the USSR rejected international socialist unity, putting the interests of the whole world over it.
Relations with America
The new concept implied constant contacts between the heads of two powers: the USA and the USSR. In 1985, the debut meeting of Gorbachev and Reagan took place.
It became a prerequisite for reducing tension between their states. Their meetings then became annual. In 1987, December 8, the presidents signed a landmark agreement. It went down in history under the name “INF Treaty” (more about this in a separate paragraph).
Over the next two years, the economic situation has seriously worsened. And ideology receded into the background. Gorbachev counted on Western assistance; he often had to make concessions to him.
The turning point in relations with the United States is the meeting of Mikhail Gorbachev and George W. Bush at the end of 1989. At it, the Soviet president recognized the concept of Brezhnev dead. This obliged the USSR not to interfere with the ongoing reforms in Eastern Europe and in the internal union republics. In other words, it was forbidden to send military forces there.
In the summer of 1991, the signing of OSNV-1 took place. According to this pact, the USA and the USSR were to significantly limit their strategic attack weapons. And both countries pledged to reduce by 40% the most powerful variations of such weapons.
Trap - Afghanistan
The war began here in December 1979, and ended in February 1989. The Mujahideen and the allied armies of the Afghan government opposed the Soviet troops.
In 1978, Afghanistan was torn apart by internal unrest, a change of power took place. In 1979, the first Soviet military forces arrived there. They managed to successfully complete important operations, for example, to eliminate the aggressor Amin.
In 1980, a resolution was adopted at the UN assembly, according to which the Soviet armies were to immediately leave Afghanistan. The United States boycotted OI-1980 and provided considerable financial assistance to Afghan militants. Help came from Pakistan and the Gulf kingdoms.
This alignment significantly complicated the position of the USSR troops. By the mid-80s, their numbers had to be developed. And she exceeded 108,700 soldiers. All this was accompanied by enormous expenses.
In the USSR itself, perestroika was taking place at the initiative of a new reformer, Mikhail Gorbachev. She raised many questions in society. The politician saw in her a way out of a difficult situation. And one of the priorities of the foreign policy of the USSR during perestroika was the completion of the Afghan campaign.
A key event in resolving this problem occurred in 1988, April 14th. In Geneva, an emergency meeting was held of representatives of the governments of four countries: the Soviet Union, the USA, Afghanistan and Pakistan. An agreement was concluded on an early settlement of the situation in the designated country.
A schedule was formed for the withdrawal of forces of the USSR. Its extreme points are as follows:
- 05/15/1988 (Beginning).
- 02/15/1989 (Ending).
The Mujahideen did not participate in the Geneva meeting and did not share many points of that agreement. And after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1989, the country was still tormented by civilian military confrontation for several years.
This war was a deft move of American politicians. It was a skillful trap for the USSR, which became one of the foundations of its collapse.
Other military directions
In 1989, Soviet troops left not only Afghanistan, but also Mongolia. In parallel, the USSR helped withdraw the Vietnamese armies from Cambodia. All of these actions have improved ties with China. Collaboration was established with him in many areas: trade, politics, culture, sports, etc.
An important feature of the foreign policy of the USSR in 1985-1991. there was a rejection of direct participation in military conflicts in countries such as Angola, Ethiopia and Nicaragua. As a result, civil armed clashes ended there and coalition authorities were formed.
Other important decisions to reduce tension in the world on the part of the USSR were as follows:
- A drastic reduction in gratuitous assistance to Libya and Iraq. Support of the West in the Persian Gulf War (1990).
- Establishing Israeli relations with Arab neighbors (1991).
The USSR helped to improve the international atmosphere, but failed to take advantage of the fruits of its work.
The situation with the socialist countries
Foreign policy of the USSR in 1985-1991 implied the withdrawal of troops not only from the above countries, but also from states located in the East and center of Europe, and included in the socialist bloc.
In 1989-90, “soft” revolutions took place in them. There was a peaceful change of power. The only exception was Romania, where there were some bloody conflicts.
In Europe, there has been a tendency towards the decline of the socialist camp. The following prerequisites served this:
- The cessation of hostilities on the part of the USSR.
- The collapse of Yugoslavia.
- The union of the GDR and the FRG.
- The entry into NATO of many countries included in this camp.
- The disappearance of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.
- The collapse of the socialist coalition formed on the basis of the Warsaw Pact.
The USSR did not intervene in many processes that significantly changed the European political map. These were forced measures due to the notorious new political thinking and the colossal decline of the economy in the late 80s.
The country became too dependent on the West, and also lost its former allies and did not gain new serious support. Her authority was rapidly declining, and in key international issues her opinion was not taken into account by NATO representatives. The Western powers were more individually supported by allied formations (republics). All these factors led to the collapse of the USSR.
And at the end of 1991, the absolute dominance of the United States was indicated in the world. And its president (D. Bush Sr.) congratulated all citizens on a triumph.
INF Treaty
It was signed by the USA and the USSR in 1987, December 8th. It gained strength on June 1 of the following year. According to this Soviet-American agreement, both parties are prohibited from manufacturing, testing, and distributing the following types of missiles:
- Ballistic.
- Winged with ground deployment.
- Medium distance action (1000 - 5500 km).
- Shorter range (500 - 1000 km).
The rocket launchers were also banned.
Both countries totally destroyed the missiles n. 1 and n. 2 in the initial three years of the treaty’s activity. At the same time, PUs for this weapon, auxiliary equipment and operational systems were eliminated. To ensure that both parties strictly comply with the criteria of this agreement, until May 2001 they sent each other inspections to inspect the production of missiles.
After the collapse of the USSR, obligations for the practical implementation of the contract fell on Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. They formed one side of it. The second also remains the United States. As a result of the implementation of the agreement, a whole category of nuclear weapons was eliminated.
The treaty, being indefinite, maintains the stability of world security. Recently, however, both the United States and Russia have begun to bring claims to each other to identify its violations. Both sides pleaded not guilty and found the charges unproven.