Lecture 5

Protests and Elections

• Belarus experienced protests in 2020 due to rigged elections.

Ukraine

• Ukraine witnessed the Euromaidan protests in 2013 and the Revolution of Dignity in 2014.

Authoritarianism and Illiberal Democracy

• Poland and Hungary are mentioned as examples of authoritarianism and 'illiberal democracy' in East Central Europe.

USSR and Katyn Massacre

• The USSR officially admitted to the Katyn massacre in 1990.

End of Soviet Union and Communist Party

• The collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was marked by the event of Mikhail Gorbachev's resignation in 1991.

Vladimir Putin

• Vladimir Putin became the President of Russia in 2000.

KOR and Workers' Defense

• In 1976, Poland saw the emergence of the workers' defense committee known as KOR (Workers' Defense Committee).

Polish Pope

• Pope John Paul II, the Polish pope, visited Poland in 1978 and played an important role in the dynamics of the end of communism.

Solidarity

• In 1980, Poland saw the emergence of the first independent trade union called Solidarnosc (Solidarity).

Martial Law

• Poland imposed martial law in December 1981, leading to a decline in the legitimacy of the regime.

Hungarian Revolution

• The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 allowed for a certain degree of market economy in Hungary.

Legitimacy of Socialist Government

• The lack of economic growth and the failure to meet popular expectations were major factors that undermined the political legitimacy of the government in the socialist system.

Risks and Limits of Reform

• Some of the risks and limits of the reform in the socialist system included the possibility of economic failure, loss of control, and the unleashing of uncontrollable forces.

Perestroika and Glasnost

• Mikhail Gorbachev implemented policies such as perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness) in the USSR.