Which one of the following statements is correct about Gorbachev and disintegration of the Soviet Union?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → He initiated the policies of economic and political reform and democratisation within the country.
Option (1) Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1989 — False. He became General Secretary in 1985.
Option (2) He initiated the policies of economic and political reform and democratisation within the country. — True.
Option (3) The Soviet Union, under Gorbachev, intervened when the disturbances occurred in the East European countries — False. Unlike in the past, the Soviet Union under Gorbachev did not intervene, and the communist regimes collapsed one after another.
Option (4) Gorbachev decided not to normalise relations with the West — False. It was the reverse: he took the decision to normalise relations with the West.
NCERT (2025-26): “Gorbachev and the Disintegration … Mikhail Gorbachev, who had become General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985, sought to reform this system. Reforms were necessary to keep the USSR abreast of the information and technological revolutions taking place in the West. However, Gorbachev’s decision to normalise relations with the West and democratise and reform the Soviet Union had some other effects that neither he nor anyone else intended or anticipated. The people in the East European countries which were part of the Soviet bloc started to protest against their own governments and Soviet control. Unlike in the past, the Soviet Union, under Gorbachev, did not intervene when the disturbances occurred, and the communist regimes collapsed one after another.… Gorbachev and the Disintegration … These developments were accompanied by a rapidly escalating crisis within the USSR that hastened its disintegration. Gorbachev initiated the policies of economic and political reform and democratisation within the country. The reforms were opposed by leaders within the Communist Party.…” |