The post communist countries; Poland Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia, and Uzbekistan share much of the same history, but the current reformation of each counties government after communism is quite different. The post communist counties that are doing better than the others owe their success to three factors; firstly how indoctrinated into communism the countries were, secondly how each of the countries governments reestablished themselves after gaining independence from the Soviet Union, and thirdly the countries' willingness to adopt free markets.
Both Poland and Bulgaria share similar successes after communism. Their societies are free, their states are strong, and their corruption is extremely low. Georgia travels a middle ground sharing traits in both camps liberal and repressive. In comparison the states of Russia and Uzbekistan are repressive, boarding on fragile, and share mid to high levels of corruption.
The Soviet Union was never able to establish a truly communist base in Poland. The country's deeply catholic roots would not allow the wave of change the Soviet Union need to create an extreme presence in the country. The existence of the Solidarity movement in Gdansk, proof of the polish peoples' exhaustion with the communist state was an irreversible taste of freedom that helped propel the country forward both immediately before and after independence from the Soviet Union (Reisinger). Since Poland never developed ideological ties to communism it was easier for the Polish government to become more democratic. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the establishment of Liberated Poland the government became a republic (Poland, CIA). According to the Nations in Transit, corruption in the Polish government is low to none (N...
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In the fall of 1989, people all around the world were watching unbelievable scenes on their televisions. Thousands of people in eastern Europe were meeting in the streets and squares and demanding the end of the communist rule. For the first time in history, opposition to communism was publically voiced. Barbed wire border fences in Hungary were being torn down. East Germans were fleeing to the West. Overnight the Berlin wall collapsed. The start of these historical events was the Polish Revolution of 1989.
In the years leading up to the Prague Spring, Antonín Novotný governed Czechoslovakia. He openly supported Stalinism, and under his power, the people of Czechoslovakia suffered from fierce government regulations, censorship and poor leadership decisions. Although he led the process of de-Stalinization (since Stalin’s death in 1953), the pace of change was extremely slow and thus the people called for more reforms. In May of 1966 the Czechoslovakians began to complain that the Soviets were exploiting them, this was the first spark that eventually lead to the flame of his overthrow. Furthermore, Czechoslovakia was an industrialized nation and the Soviet’s model of economy did not suit them, in fact it hurt Czechoslovakians, and lead to a decline in their economy. In fact, the conditions for the working class were a...
Eastern Europe and the forming of economic alliances in reaction. At the end of World War II, the Soviet Union began transforming the newly freed countries and engulfed them one by one until all of Eastern Europe was part of the Soviet Union. The United States became alarmed with the growing of communism in Europe and set up...
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Russia, a vast country with a wealth of natural resources, a well, educated population, and diverse industrial base, continues to experience, formidable difficulties in moving from its old centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. President Yeltsin's government has made substantial strides in converting to a market economy since launching its economic reform program in January 1992 by freeing nearly all prices, slashing defense spending, eliminating the old centralized distribution system, completing an ambitious voucher privatization program, establishing private financial institutions, and decentralizing trade. Russia, however, has made little progress in a number of key areas that are needed to provide a solid foundation for the transition to a market economy.
The Soviet Union, which was once a world superpower in the 19th century saw itself in chaos going into the 20th century. These chaoses were marked by the new ideas brought in by the new leaders who had emerged eventually into power. Almost every aspect of the Soviet Union was crumbling at this period both politically and socially, as well as the economy. There were underlying reasons for the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and eventually Eastern Europe. The economy is the most significant aspect of every government. The soviet economy was highly centralized with a “command economy” (p.1. fsmitha.com), which had been broken down due to its complexity and centrally controlled with corruption involved in it. A strong government needs a strong economy to maintain its power and influence, but in this case the economic planning of the Soviet Union was just not working, which had an influence in other communist nations in Eastern Europe as they declined to collapse.
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After their defeat in the Crimean war (1853-1856), Russia’s leaders realized they were falling behind much of Europe in terms of modernisation and industrialisation. Alexander II took control of the empire and made the first steps towards radically improving the country’s infrastructure. Transcontinental railways were built and the government strengthened Russia’s economy by promoting industrialisation with the construction of factory complexes throughout...
... within the countries and factions within their respective Communist parties, in the 1980’s and early 1990’s (244).
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