Gorbachev Era and Soviet Collapse: Key Events & Reforms

Posted on Sep 14, 2025 in History

Key Events and Timeline of the Gorbachev Era (1985-1991)

1985

  • March: Gorbachev becomes General Secretary of the Communist Party.

1986

  • February: Twenty-Seventh Party Congress.

    Gorbachev attacks the Brezhnev era as years of stagnation.

  • April: Chernobyl Nuclear Incident.
  • 1986: Twelfth Five-Year Plan launched.

1987

  • 1987: Laws on State Enterprises enacted.
  • October: Plenum of the Central Committee.

    Yeltsin attacks Gorbachev’s reforms.

  • November: Yeltsin dismissed as First Secretary in Moscow.

1988

  • January: Legislation on Cooperatives.
  • February: Yeltsin removed from the Politburo.
  • June: Nineteenth Party Congress.

    Principle of multi-candidate elections agreed.

  • October: Popular Fronts formed in Baltic Republics.
  • November: Armenia announces control over Nagorno-Karabakh.

1989

  • March: Election to Congress of People’s Deputies.
  • April: Demonstrations in Tbilisi, Georgia.
  • May: Gorbachev elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet.
  • October: The 500 Days Programme put in place.

    Called for a rapid transition to a market economy.

  • November: Fall of the Berlin Wall.

1990

  • March: Article 6 repealed.

    Opened the way for new political parties to be established.

  • March: Lithuania declares independence from the USSR.
  • July: Yeltsin resigns from the Communist Party.

1991

  • April: Georgia declares independence.
  • June: Yeltsin becomes President of Russia.
  • August: Coup by the “Gang of Eight.”
  • August: Soviet Union recognizes Baltic states’ independence.
  • November: Yeltsin rejects Gorbachev’s New Union Treaty.
  • December: Dissolution of the USSR.

Context and Reforms

The 1983 Novosibirsk Report

Also known as “for internal use only,” this report by economic sociologist Tatyana Zaslavskaya drew attention to a growing crisis in agriculture caused by state inefficiency and inflexibility. Most Politburo members ignored it, except Gorbachev, who was aware that reform was needed.

Gorbachev Consolidates Power (1985-1986)

  • 1985: Removes Grigory Romanov (a leading rival), replacing him with Ligachev and Ryzhkov.
  • 1986: Yeltsin and Yakovlev promoted to the Central Committee.

Social Issues: Alcohol Consumption in the 1980s

Alcohol accounted for 15% of a household’s spending in the 1980s.

Gorbachev’s Stance on Alcohol Abuse (April 1985)

Gorbachev famously stated, “We can’t build communism on vodka,” in April 1985, addressing the widespread issue of many workers turning up to work drunk.

The Twelfth Five-Year Plan (1986-1990)

Methods and Goals:

  • Methods: Increased investment, controlled by central planning.
  • Goals: Accelerate economic growth, especially focusing on science and research (mainly engineering).

Weaknesses of the Plan:

  • Investment was geared towards construction projects, often leading to overspending.
  • Soviet industry used outdated tools and machinery, leading to unproductivity.
  • Soviet industry was slow to adopt new technology and used most foreign exchange to import food.
  • The agricultural sector required vast sums of investment.
  • Focus remained on quantity over quality.

Why “Acceleration” Failed:

Gorbachev’s policy of “acceleration” (Uskoreniye) did not address the fundamental problems that caused economic issues. Opposition to change from within the state and economic planning apparatus meant real reform was difficult to implement.