2, 1977 constitution & brezhnev’s foreign policy

2, 1977 constitution & brezhnev’s foreign policy

• 1.
  1977 Constitution &Brezhnev’s foreign policy EXAMINE THE CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE 1977 CONSITUTION EXAMINE THE NATURE OF THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE USSR UNDER BREZHNEV
• 2.
  1977 Constitution
• 3.
  1977 Constitution  60thanniversary of the revolution  Stalin said the Soviet Union was ‘on the road to socialism’ now claimed that the proletarian revolution had succeeded  Article 6 established the overall supremacy of the Communist Party  Reinforced the ban on political opposition  Elections every five years – to coincide with FYPs  Article 13 the right to private property would be protected by the state  Soviet Union had reached ‘developed socialism’
• 4.
  Developed Socialism  Termfirst used in 1966  Optimism as a result of:  1917 revolution  Victory in WWII  Successful FYPs  Given official definition in the Constitution
• 5.
  In the USSRa developed socialist society has been built. At this stage, when socialism is developing on its own foundations, the creative forces of the new system and the advantages of the socialist way of life are becoming increasingly evident, and the working people are more and more widely enjoying the fruits of their great revolutionary gains. It is a society in which powerful productive forces and progressive science and culture have been created, in which the well-being of the people is constantly rising, and more and more favourable conditions are being provided for the all-round development of the individual. It is a society of mature socialist social relations, in which, on the basis of the drawing together of all classes and social strata and of the juridical and factual equality of all its nations and nationalities and their fraternal co-operation, a new historical community of people has been formed--the Soviet people. It is a society of high organisational capacity, ideological commitment, and consciousness of the working people, who are patriots and internationalists. It is a society in which the law of life is concern of all for the good of each and concern of each for the good of all. It is a society of true democracy, the political system of which ensures effective management of all public affairs, ever more active participation of the working people in running the state, and the combining of citizen's real rights and freedoms with their obligations and responsibility to society. Developed socialist society is a natural, logical stage on the road to communism. The supreme goal of the Soviet state is the building of a classless communist society in which there will be public, communist self- government. The main aims of the people's socialist state are: to lay the material and technical foundation of communism, to perfect socialist social relations and transform them into communist relations, to mould the citizen of communist society, to raise the people's living and cultural standards, to safeguard the country's security, and to further the consolidation of peace and development of international co-operation. (CONSTITUTION OF THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS Oct 1977)
• 6.
  Brezhnev’s foreign policyafter 1976
• 7.
  Introduction  Cold WarDétente end of 1960s  Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) I 1972  Helsinki Final Act 1975  1976 mood starts to change due to expansion of Soviet influence into Africa
• 8.
  Arms control andSALT II  SALT I dealt with obsolete weapons not MIRVs which by 1977 USSR had  USA response was to put Cruise and Pershing missiles in Western Europe 1979  Relations had deteriorated and the détente perceive by many in the USA to have benefitted the Soviets  Soviet presence in the Horn of Africa and the invasion of Afghanistan did not help  SALT II signed in 1979 but not ratified by the US Senate
• 9.
  USSR Africa andAsia (1)  1970s many post-colonial movements with communist ideologies – often the cause or consequence of civil wars  Vietnam War ended 1975 with victory of the communist north  Laos and Cambodia also communist  USSR support of the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia 1978  China invades Vietnam 1979  Signs of the Sino-Soviet split
• 10.
  USSR Africa andAsia (2)  Collapse of Portuguese Empire 1974 led to communist liberation movements coming into power in Guinea Bissau and Mozambique  Angola USSR and Cuba support MPLA & USA UNITA  USA see Soviet interest as exploiting the détente  1977 Colonel Mengistu established control over Ethiopia and bought arms from the USSR  USSR had good relations with Somalia and Ethiopia  June 1977 Somalia attacked Ethiopia over disputed Ogadon region  US President Jimmy Carter refused to arm Somalia  USSR arm Ethiopia and Cuba send 10,000 troops  Ethiopia kicks out the Somalis and takes Eritrea
• 11.
  Carter and Brezhnev Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, ‘the détente is buried in the sands of Ogadon’  Brzezinski suggested that Brezhnev did not respect Carter as he did Nixon  Brezhnev saw Carter’s failure to are Somalia as a sign of weakness  Carter’s concern over human rights in USSR but not in South Korea or China angered Brezhnev  Détente was dying and Afghanistan would be the final blow  Brezhnev was not well and was not in full control  1980 Carter lost presidential election to Ronald Regan