CHAPTER 2 : The End of Bipolarity NCERT SOLUTION CLASS 12TH POLITICAL SCIENCE | EDUGROWN NOTES

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTION:

Q1. Mention any three features that distinguish the Soviet economy from that of a capitalist country like the US.
Answer

The three features that distinguish the Soviet economy from that of a capitalist country like the US were:
• Soviet economy had a complex communications network, vast energy resources including oil, iron and steel, machinery production, and a transport sector that connected its remotest areas with efficiency.
• Soviet Union had a domestic consumer industry that produced everything from pins to cars, though their quality did not match that of the Western capitalist countries.
• The Soviet state ensured a minimum standard of living for all citizens, and the government subsidised basic necessities including health, education, childcare and other welfare schemes.

Q2. What were the factors that forced Gorbachev to initiate the reforms in the USSR?
Answer

Mikhail Gorbachev was the General Secretary of Communist Party of Soviet Union in 1985. He was forced to initiate the reforms in the USSR due to following reasons:
• To keep the USSR abreast of information and technological revolutions at par the West.
• To normalise the relations with that of the West.
• To democratise the Soviet System.
• To loosen the administrative system which exempted ordinary people from the privileges.

Q3. What were the major consequences of the disintegration of the Soviet Union for countries like India?
Answer

The major consequences of the disintegration of the Soviet Union for countries like India were:
• It meant the end of Cold War confrontations. The ideological dispute over whether the socialist system would beat the capitalist system was not an issue any more. The end of the confrontation led an end to arms race and a possible new peace.

• The disintegration of the Soviet Union led to emergence of multipolar system. The end of the Cold War left open only two possibilities: either the remaining superpower would dominate and create a
unipolar system, or different countries or groups of countries could become important players in
the international system, thereby bringing in a multipolar system where no one power could
dominate. As it turned out, the US became the sole superpower thus, the capitalist economy was now the dominant economic system internationally. Institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund became powerful advisors to all these countries since they gave them loans for their transitions to capitalism. Politically, the notion of liberal democracy emerged as the best way to organise political life.

• The end of the Soviet bloc meant the emergence of many new countries. All these countries had
their own independent aspirations and choices. Some of them, especially the Baltic and east European states, wanted to join the European Union and become part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

• The Central Asian countries wanted to take advantage of their geographical location and continue their close ties with Russia and also to establish ties with the West, the US, China and others. Thus, the international system saw many new players emerge, each with its own identity, interests, and economic and political difficulties.

Q4. What was Shock Therapy? Was this the best way to make a transition from communism to capitalism?

Answer

Shock Therapy was a painful process of transition from an authoritarian socialist system to a democratic capitalist system. This transformation system was influenced by the world bank and the IMF in Russia, Central Asia and East Europe. Though it varies in intensity and speed amongst the former second world countries but its direction and features were quite similar.This was not the best way to make a transition from communism to capitalism due to following limitations:
• Russia, the large state controlled industrial complex lost about 90 per cent of its industries through sales to private individuals and companies.
• It created “the largest garage sale in history” which led virtual disappearance of entire industries for the restructuring was carried out by market forces in place of government owned policies. Hence, industries were undervalued and sold at throwaway prices.
• It systematically destroyed old system of social welfare.
• The value of ‘ruble’, the Russian currency, declined dramatically due to high rate of inflation and real GDP of Russia also declined between 1989 to 1999.
• The withdrawal of government subsidies pushed large sections of society into poverty and it emerged mafia to start controlling many economic activities.
• Privatisation led to new disparities which divided Russia between rich and poor people creating economic inequality.
• Hence, Shock Therapy brought ruin to economies and disaster upon the people of entire region.

Q5. Write an essay for or against the following proposition. “With the disintegration of the second world, India should change its foreign policy and focus more on friendship with the US rather than with traditional friends like Russia”.

Answer
India should not change its foreign policy and focus more on friendship with US, but India is required to maintain healthy relations with Russia because Indo-Russian relations are embedded in a history of trust and common interests and are matched by popular perceptions.

Russia and India share a vision of a multipolar world order i.e. co-existence of several world powers internationally, collective security, greater regionalism, democratisation with the decision-making through bodies like the UN. More than 80 bilateral agreements have been experienced between India and Russia as a part of the Indo- Russia Strategic Agreement of 2001.

India has been benefitted from its relationship on the issues like Kashmir, energy supplies, sharing information on international terrorism, access to Central Asia and balancing its relation with China. Russia is also important for India’s nuclear energy plane and assisting India’s space industry by giving cryogenic rocket to India whenever needed. Co-operation with Russia and its republics like Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan in the form of partnership and investment in oil fields has also benefitted India.
Russia is also benefitted from India on ground of the second largest arms market for Russia. Indian military gets most of its hardware from Russia. Russia and India have collaborated on various scientific projects also.

Long Answer Type Questions:

Q1. What was Soviet system? Assess any four features of Soviet system.
Answer:  Soviet system was introduced after Socialist Revolution in Russia in 1917. It was based on the principle of egalitarian society and planned economy controlled by the state. Its four features can be summed up in the following ways:
1. The Soviet system ensured a minimum standard of living for its citizens.
2. The government subsidised basic necessities including health,education, childcare and other welfare schemes.
3. There was no unemployment in the Soviet system.
4. State ownership was the dominant owned and controlled by the Soviet state.

Q2. Explain six factors which helped Soviet Union becoming superpower after Second World War.
Answer:  The following factors helped Soviet Union becoming superpower after Second World War:
1. The east European countries the Soviet army had liberated from the fascist forces came under the control of the USSR.
2. The political and economic systems of all these countries were modelled after the USSR and collectively were called the second world.
3. The WARSAW PACT, a military alliance held them together and the USSR was the leader of the bloc.
4. The Soviet economy was then more developed than the rest of the world except for the US.
5. It had a complex communication network, vast energy resources including oil, iron and steel, (machinery) production and a transport sector that connected its remotest _areas with efficiency.
6. It had a domestic consumer industry that produced everything from pins to cars to make themselves self-dependent.

Q3. “During the Cold War era India and the USSR enjoyed a special relationship which made critics to say that India was part of Soviet camp”. Examine the statement.
Or
“India and the USSR enjoyed mutual dimensional relationship.” Justify the statement.
Answer:  During the Cold War era India and the USSR enjoyed a special relationship which made critics to say that India was part of the Soviet camp. It was a multi-dimensional relationship:
1. Economic:
(a) The Soviet Union assisted India’s public sector companies at a time when such assistance was difficult to get.
(b) It gave aid and technical assistance for steel plants like Bhilai, Bokaro, Vishakhapatnam and machinery plants like Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.
(c) The Soviet Union accepted Indian currency for trade when India was short of foreign exchange.
2. Political:
(а) The Soviet Union supported India’s positions on the Kashmir issue in the WN.
(b) The Soviet Union also supported India during its major conflicts during the war with Pakistan in 1971.
(c) India too supported Soviet foreign policy in some crucial but indirect ways.
3. Military:
(a) India received military hardware from Soviet Union.
(b) India got technological know-how regarding maintenance of military arsenal.
(c) India and Soviet Union got mutual agreements to produce military equipments.
4. Cultural:
(a) Hindi films and Indian culture were popular in the Soviet Union.
(b) A large number of Indian writers and artists visited the USSR.
(c) Indian heroes from Raj Kapoor to Amitabh Bachhan are household names in Russia.

Q4. Mention the causes of Soviet disintegration.
Answer:  The causes of Soviet disintegration can be summed up as follows:
1. Economic Stagnancy:
(a) Economic institutions experienced internal weaknesses to meet the aspirations of people.
(b) Economic stagnation for many years to severe consumer shortages.
2. Political and Administrative Causes:
(a) The only ruling Communist Party was not accountable despite its rule of 70 years.
(b) Theordinaiypeoplewereabstained from taking participation in political riots, hence the system became incapable of correcting its mistakes.
(c) The ordinary citizens were exempted from gaining the privileges.
(d) Due to non-participation of people, the government lost popular support from all sides.
3. Gorbachev’s Reform Policies:
(а) Gorbachev’s reforms aimed at keeping the USSR abreast of information and technological revolutions taking place in the west.
(b) Gorbachev focused to normalise relations with the west.
(c) Gorbachev worked to democratise the Soviet System.
(d) But Society was divided into two sections towards Gorbacheve’s reforms and both of them had contradictory views towards him.
4. Rise of Nationalism and Desire for Sovereignty:
(a) The rise of nationalism in various republics of Soviet Union proved to be immediate cause of revolutions in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Georgia.
(b) The nationalist dissatisfaction with the Soviet Union was strongest in European and prosperous part in Russia and the Baltic areas as well as Ukraine and Georgia.
(c) Ordinary people felt alienated from Central Asia.

Q5. What sot of conflicts had occurred in Soviet Republics? Explain.
Answer:  1. In Russia:
(a) Chechnya and Dagestan had violent secessionist movements.
(b) Moscow’s method to deal with Chechen rebels and indiscriminate military bombings led to many human rights violation but for deter aspirations for independence.
2. In Central Asia:
(a) Tajikistan witnessed a civil war that went on for ten years till 2001.
(b) In Azerbaijan’s provinces of Nagorno-Karobakh, some local Armenians want to secede and join Armenia.
(c) In Georgia, the demand for independence came from two provinces resulting in a civil war.
(d) There are still movements against the existing regimes in Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Georgia.
(e) Even countries and provinces are fighting over river water.
3. In Eastern Europe:
(a) Czechoslovakia, split peacefully into two with the Czechs and Slovaks, forming independent countries.
(b) The severe conflict took place in the Balkan republics of Yugoslavia.
(c) After 1991, Yugoslavia broke \ apart with several provinces like Croatia, Slovania, Bosnia and Herzegovina declaring independence.
(d) Ethnic Serbs opposed this and a massacre of non-Serbs Bosanians followed.
(e) The NATO intervention and the bombing of Yugoslavia followed inter-ethnic Civil war.