Another thing wrong with the system was that there was lots of corruption in the system. The Communist party bosses lived in luxury and the distribution of what was left of the national income was very uneven as it was concentrated on the Party leaders. These luxuries were seen by the people and this angered them even more.
Russian farming was very inefficient and they had to import massive amounts of grain every year. However, the Afghanistan War caused the US (Russia's main source of grain) cut off its supply in protest of the Soviet actions in Afghanistan. This worsened the standard of living of the average Soviet.
Gorbachev came to power in 1985 and he basically brought about the downfall of the Soviet Union. He was probably one of the leaders of the new generation. He was a generation along from the hard lined communists of Stalin's era and was a little more realistic. He abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine in 1988 and promised that the USSR would not interfere with Eastern Europe again. This was due to the country's economic crisis and this reason was why he introduced two new policies, "glasnost" and "perestroika". Theses steps were in reality the first steps to socialism in the USSR. He thought that these reforms would 'get the communist machine' working again. However, what he didn't realise was that the machine was broken. The government had turned communism against itself. Perestroika wanted renewal and reformation of the communist party to stamp out the corruption. However, many people wanted to get rid of the party altogether. It was this hatred he underestimated. Glasnost told people to speak out but he did not realise that the satellite states had deep rooted hatred towards the communist regime and their leaders a in the case of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, they remembered how their loved ones were destroyed. That is why demonstrations occurred such as the March 1986, the unofficial Hungarian Independence day celebration.
Lastly, the final breakdown of communism was the destruction of the Berlin Wall in November 1989.It was set up to prevent East Berliners to cross over to the West. Since Hungary opened its Austrian border, the wall became useless and so therefore, it was a sign to show that communism was defeated. It sparked rebellions around Eastern Europe and slowly the Soviet Union fell apart by the end of 1991.
In separate satellite countries the reasons for the downfall of communism in them started with different reasons. However, the final rebellions were all sparked off by the destruction of the Berlin Wall.
Firstly, in Hungary, although Khrushchev criticised Stalin's methods, he had no real intension to let Eastern Europe be free. This was shown in Poland when he sent in troops to break down demonstrations but promised reforms. This was seen a promising sign to the people of Hungary. The USA beamed in propaganda through radio (e.g. Radio Free Europe) and thus gave the Hungarians the impression that the Americans would help them if they challenged soviet control. There was a lot to oppose as well. Matyas Rakosi was a cruel dictator with a secret police to terrorise people, censorship and no free speech. The regime was very unpopular. However, a new leader Erno Gero came to power in 1956 a leading enemy of the soviet rule was given a state burial giving the Hungarians an excuse to show their opposition. Khrushchev agreed with the demonstrators to allow Imre Nagy to come into power. However, Khrushchev felt that the Hungarian demands went too far as they wanted free elections, the withdrawal of Soviet troops, free press and to leave the Warsaw Pact. He was determined not to let any country leave the Warsaw Pact as it would break the protective barrier (The Iron Curtain). He took severe action was because he wanted to set an example to other European countries. Therefore, Hungarywas left with a hard lined communist government. Many Hungarians lost faith in the US as they promised to help the Hungarians but never did.
Czechoslovakia was a Stalinist state and therefore it had no free speech, heavy censorship and only one party. Slowly, unrest was growing about these issues. They had a dire economic situation and they felt angry that they worked for the USSR and not themselves. In 1968, Dubcek became the president and he promised to shift the country into socialism with the old Stalinist reforms solved. However, Brezhnev felt that these reforms would affect the USSR as it would cause chaos in Czechoslovakia and should it leave the Warsaw Pact, it would leave a massive gap in the 'curtain' which provided easy access for troops to attack Russia. He was afraid that the Domino effect might work in reverse and what happens in Czechoslovakia might spread to the other satellite states. Therefore, the Brezhnev doctrine is born and even though he sent in troops to Czhechoslovakia, there was no bloodshed as they surrendered peacefully. So, the 'Prague Spring' brought the Brezhnev doctrine and a hard-line communist government.
As you can see these countries were both brought back under the Soviet control through force. They both had reforms passed that the USSR did not like and were therefore responded to viciously. However, in the 1980's the USSR was in a great economic crisis. It did not have the money to deal with the uprisings as it did before. With the introduction of the new president (Gorbachev), who was realistic and knew that it was inadvisable to use the same tactics as his predecessors. They had just pulled out of Afghanistan, which cost them billions and received international condemnation. If they started to attack another country, to suppress the people, not only would it take a huge toll on the Soviet economy but the international image would be very shaken and could lead to confrontation.
