The Berlin wall was constructed on 13 August 1961 and was essentially an actual border between the eastern and western part of Berlin in the time of the Cold war. Though the wall was constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) it was certainly encouraged and endorsed by the Soviet Union who were vociferously encouraging and supporting the East Germans. This is actually a brief discussion on historical analysis because in this article we are going to look at the Soviet side of the story and try to analyze what the USSR saw in the Berlin Wall.
Soviet Union’s Motivations
For the Soviet Union, the construction of the Berlin Wall served several key motivations:
To prevent an outflow of skilled workforce:
While East Germany itself was being relieved of a significant portion of its skilled workers, the USSR backed the construction of the wall that would stop emigration. Strengthening assumption The administration of the Soviet Union was concerned that the flight of human capital to the west, would further undermine the capability of the eastern German economy to sustain its self except through reliance on Soviet assistance.
To showcase the strength of socialism:
The USSR considered the construction of the Berlin Wall as a sign of the so called superiority of the socialist society over the capitalist society. Given the certainly intentionally metaphorical Soviet juxtaposition of two ideologically contrasting spaces, the fact was that by physically compartmentalizing East and West Berlin, the USSR sought to remind citizens of not just the realities of the socialist state, but also of the perceived advantages of this system over capitalism.
Soviet Reaction to Effects of the Wall
Although the Berlin Wall was eventually put up to stop East Germans from crossing over to West Berlin it had far reaching implications on the political and society of East Germany. Here are some key aspects of the Soviet response:
- Control and oppression:
The masters of the USSR and the East German government themselves employed this wall as a means of oppression of the dissent. The wall embodied the policies of isolation as all those who tried to get to the other part of this divided city or country would die in the attempt.
- Economic isolation:
It was when the Berlin Wall was built that East Germany was completedly cut off from other part of the world in terms of economy. The USSR construed this as an opportunity to make the East Germany economy deck even more with the rest of the Eastern Bloc with proportion of capitalist markets.
- Political stability:
The Soviet Union considered that stability of political relations with the countries of the Eastern Bloc was worthy. The construction of this wall also kept recurring incidents like mass protest and uprisings away from ever threatening the continuos domination of Soviet influence over Eastern Germany.
The Fall of the Wall
The division in East and West Germany was presided over by the Berlin Wall for twenty-eight years till the separation came to an end on 9th November, 1989. The Soviet Union, under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, underwent significant changes that influenced its stance on the wall:
- Gorbachev’s policies of openness and reform:
Gorbachev came up with the policy reforms of glasnot meaning openness and perestroika aiming at restructuring. All these policies helped to weaken, though on an indirect level, the close observation that was enforced over East Germany thus contributing to the cause of protests that in turn hastened the construction’s fall.
- Shifting global dynamics:
Relations between East and West improved in the context of the worldwide political changes which occurred toward the end of the 1980 and the beginning of the 1990. Basically due to the economic problems facing the Soviet Union, and popular pressure the Soviet Union did not intervene militarily and therefore the wall came to be pulled down.
Conclusion
From the narrative of the Soviet Union, the Wall was an important intra-organic geopolitical asset, positive control, and propaganda symbol in the middle of bipolar Cold War confrontation. But changes in internal and external factors later contributed to the bringing down of the wall. Thus, to understand how the USSR saw the Berlin Wall today, it is possible to get an idea of ??this historical event.