The Soviet Factor

It is clear to every observer of the socialist camp that the collapse of socialism in the countries under review was only possible because the Soviet Union explicitly or implicitly allowed East European countries to go their own way. In other words, the countries could abandon socialism because the Soviet Union no longer insisted on Brezhnev’s doctrine. Was it so because the Soviets were weakened to such an extent that they were no longer able to control events beyond their borders, or did the Soviet leaders become so enlightened that they no longer wanted to impose their will on other nations and therefore allowed East European countries to decide their own fate, or was it because they were under strong pressure from the West in a situation in which, for political and economic reasons, they wanted to be reconciled with the West? As will be shown, all three factors played a role. It is difficult to say which was the strongest so soon after the events. Mainly it is difficult to evaluate the West’s role when access to the archives will be impossible for a long time to come, but this does not mean that there is no knowledge at all about the West’s role.