Sinatra Doctrine

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This was a major break with the earlier Brezhnev Doctrine, under which the internal affairs of satellite states were tightly controlled by Moscow. This had been used to justify the invasions of Czechoslovakia in 1968 as well as of the non-Warsaw Pact nation of Afghanistan in 1979. By the late 1980s, structural flaws within the Soviet system, growing economic problems, the rise of anti-communist sentiment and the effects of the Afghan war made it increasingly impractical for the Soviet Union to impose its will on its neighbors.


The "Sinatra Doctrine" has been seen as Moscow giving permission to its allies to decide their own futures. In fact, it was a retrospective policy, as Soviet allies had already acquired much greater freedom of action. A month before Gerasimov's statement, Poland had acquired its first non-communist government since the 1940s. The government of Hungary had opened its border with Austria in August 1989, dismantling the Iron Curtain on its border. As Hungary was one of the few countries that East Germans could travel to, thousands travelled there so that they could flee across the newly opened border to the West. To the great annoyance of the East German government, the Hungarians refused to stop the exodus.

These developments greatly disturbed hardline communists such as the East German leader Erich Honecker, who condemned the end of the traditional "socialist unity" of the Soviet bloc and appealed to Moscow to rein in the Hungarians. Honecker faced a growing crisis at home, with massive anti-government demonstrations in Leipzig and other East German cities. Shevardnadze's speech and Gerasimov's memorable description of the new policy amounted to a rebuff of Honecker's appeals. The message was: "don't bother us with your problems, work them out yourselves."

The proclamation of the "Sinatra Doctrine" had dramatic effects across the Soviet bloc. The beleaguered East German government had hoped for a Soviet intervention to defend communism in East Germany and elsewhere. However, the announcement of the "Sinatra Doctrine" signalled that the Soviet Union would not aid the East German communists. A few weeks later the Communist governments of East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria were ousted, and two months later the Communist rulers of Romania suffered the same fate, signalling an end to the Cold War and to the division of Europe.

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