Chapter 31 Vocabulary
1. Paris Accord of 1990
-peace treaty which brought an end to WWII and the Cold War
-brought 22 European countries to agree to arms reductions and to affirm existing borders
-Americans and Soviets significantly reduced nuclear weapons
2. Polish Miracle of 1980s
-striking Polish workers won a sweeping 2-month battle with their Communist rulers in order to have a right to independent trade unions and the right to strike
-created Solidarity, Poland became the first Eastern Bloc country to recognize and effective and independent trade union movement, which was led by Lech Walesa and workers were promised higher wages, better food supplies, and improved social services
3. Solidarity
-free and democratic trade union joined by intellectuals and supported by the Catholic church which became the union of the nation
-they had power but did not try to take control of the government
-aimed at defending the cultural and trade-union freedoms and fought to successfully maintain its organization and to voice the aspirations of the Polish masses
4. Perestroika
-economic restructuring by Gorbachev
-part of a set of reform policies to transform and restructure the economy
-directed so much output to the military and failed to provide the real needs of the Soviet population and centering on a freer market economy
-economy stalled midway between central planning and free-market mechanisms
5. Glasnost
-ideas from Gorbachev’s bold and far-reaching campaign “to tell it like it is”
-popular in countries where censorship, dull uniformity, and outright lies had long characterized public discourse
-caused openness of the government and the media
-aided in the approach of free speech and of free expression
6. Mikhail Gorbachev
-brought political and cultural liberalization to the Soviet Union and permitted democracy and self-determination
-believed in communism but realized it was failing to keep up with Western capitalism and technology and wanted to save the Soviet system by revitalizing it with fundamental reforms
-permitted an easing of government price controls on some goods and more independence for state enterprises and the setting up of profit seeking private cooperatives to provide personal services for consumers
-campaigned “to tell it like it is” which was very popular and led to approaching free speech and free expression
-minority of critical independents were elected in April 1989 to a revitalized Congress of People’s Deputies
7. Boris Yeltsin
-Gorbachev’s opponent in the election for presidency and was a prominent figure in the democratic movement in the Russian Federation
- announced that Russia would declare its independence and put its laws and interests above those of the multinational Soviet Union
-outlawed the Communist party and confiscated its property and he declared Russia independent and withdrew from the Soviet Union
8. Lech Walesa
-trade union and humans rights activist
-co-founded the Solidarity, leading the workers to organize their free and democratic trade union
-arrested and convicted of “anti-social” behavior and spent a year in jail
9. Slobaden Miloseuie
-sped up preparations for a “greater Serbia”
-intended to grab territory from Yugoslavia’s other republics and to combine all Serbs in a single state
10. Jacques Chirac
-President of France who continued to lead an all-European effort to reduce the national budget deficits to 3% of the gross national product, achieve low inflation, and curb the growth of national debt
-won the election by promising a vigorous attack on unemployment and chose deficit-reducing cuts in health benefits and transportation service