Which of the following was not a reason of disintegration of the Soviet Union?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → The ordinary citizens had gained over a period of time, more privileges than party bureaucrats.
Option (1) The Soviet Union maintained a nuclear and military arsenal and the development of its satellite states in Eastern Europe. — A reason (Incorrect). The Soviet economy used much of its resources on its nuclear and military arsenal and on its satellite states, and this huge economic burden was more than the system could cope with.
Option (2) Ordinary citizens became more knowledgeable about the economic advance of the West and could see the disparities between their system and the systems of the West. — A reason (Incorrect). After years of being told that their system was better, the people saw its backwardness, and this came as a political and psychological shock.
Option (3) Ordinary people were alienated by slow and stifling administration, rampant corruption and the inability of the system to correct mistakes it had made. — A reason (Incorrect). The Communist Party was not accountable to the people, and its stagnant administration turned ordinary people away from the system.
Option (4) The ordinary citizens had gained over a period of time, more privileges than party bureaucrats. — Not a reason (Correct). It was the other way round: the party bureaucrats gained more privileges than ordinary citizens. Because of this, people did not identify with the system and the government lost popular backing. The option swaps the two groups, so it is not a reason.
NCERT (2026-27): “Why did the Soviet Union Disintegrate? … Why did the system become so weak and why did the economy stagnate? The answer is partially clear. The Soviet economy used much of its resources in maintaining a nuclear and military arsenal and the development of its satellite states in Eastern Europe and within the Soviet system (the five Central Asian Republics in particular). This led to a huge economic burden that the system could not cope with. At the same time, ordinary citizens became more knowledgeable about the economic advance of the West. They could see the disparities between their system and the systems of the West. After years of being told that the Soviet system was better than Western capitalism, the reality of its backwardness came as a political and psychological shock. The Soviet Union had become stagnant in an administrative and political sense as well. The Communist Party that had ruled the Soviet Union for over 70 years was not accountable to the people. Ordinary people were alienated by slow and stifling administration, rampant corruption, the inability of the system to correct mistakes it had made, the unwillingness to allow more openness in government, and the centralisation of authority in a vast land. Worse still, the party bureaucrats gained more privileges than ordinary citizens. People did not identify with the system and with the rulers, and the government increasingly lost popular backing.…” |