COMUN XXV CONFERENCE STUDY GUIDE - HGA1

COMUN XXV   CONFERENCE STUDY GUIDE – HGA1

COMUN XXV                                     CONFERENCE STUDY GUIDE – HGA1

Greetings Delegate,

“With great power comes great responsibility”, and as Confucius proclaimed,
“Study the past if you would define the future.” This edition of COMUN allows
you to undertake the nuances of this realization, for HGA1 requires you to
craft and mold foreign policy, adapt to volatile environments and exercise
diplomacy and strategic interactions to the fullest- skills which are pivotal in
Model UN.

Perhaps you may not be the biggest fan of history- but do not worry. HGA1 is
built to incentivize and encourage critical and original thinking, for in the
words of Mikhail S. Gorbachev, “It would be naive to think that the problems
plaguing mankind today can be solved with means and methods which were
applied or seemed to work in the past,” or in this case- the future.

Be warned- session at conference will either keep you at the edge of your
seat fiercely raising your placard or indifferent at the back, dreaming about
lunch. Your experience depends entirely upon your commitment both before
and during conference.

Good luck and happy researching!

Atheek Azmi               Sansindu Abeysuriya               Sanjana kumari
(President)               (Vice-President)                  (Chair)

FPS SOFT-COPY DEADLINE: 23:59, February 15th, 2019
FPS HARD-COPY DEADLINE: February 16th, 2019 (PD3)

COMUN XXV                                  CONFERENCE STUDY GUIDE – HGA1

TOPIC - 1st of March 1990: Addressing the Situation in the
USSR

TIMELINE:

1985 - 1987:
Mikhail Gorbachev inherits the stagnant economy and crumbling political
system of the Soviet Union. He introduces two sets of policies (Glasnost and
Perestroika) to reform the system and help the USSR prosper, in addition to
implementing economic reforms and replacing heads of satellite states with
relatively young USSR members.

December 7th, 1988:
Gorbachev abandons the Brezhnev’s Doctrine during his first speech at the
United Nations causing a huge uproar with republics under the Soviet Union
and Eastern Europe.

April 15th, 1989: FALL OF NATIONS
Peaceful demonstrations begin in the states of Poland, Hungary, East
Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Romania, protesting against the one-

COMUN XXV                                    CONFERENCE STUDY GUIDE – HGA1

party rule of the Soviet Union led by Gorbachev. The protests turn violent in
Romania, resulting in their Communist Regime being overthrown.

*time shift starts here*

November 11th, 1989: The situation begins to exacerbate within soviet
republics with violent riot control and state censorship. The international
community prognosticates another “great purge”.

December 24th, 1989: Ukrainian SSR and Kazakh SSR secede from the
Soviet Union followed by the expulsion of Soviet diplomats from the two
republics. The interim state committees primarily consisting of ethnic
majorities announce a plan to return to a libertarian format of
“demokratizatsiya”.

January 17th, 1990: A successful Coup d’etat is carried out against
Gorbachev by the Gang of Eight, which involved an abrupt arrest of
Gorbachev. Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev was at his dacha in the
Crimean resort of Foros when he was contacted by five men requesting an
audience (chief of staff, Valery Boldin; Oleg Baklanov, first deputy chairman
of the U.S.S.R. defense council; Oleg Shenin, secretary of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; and Gen. Valentin
Varennikov, chief of the Soviet Army’s ground forces; accompanied by KGB
Gen. Yury Plekhanov, chief of security for party and state personnel). They
had come to demand, in the name of the State Committee, for a State of
Emergency in the U.S.S.R., that Gorbachev sign a document declaring a state
of emergency while transferring power to his vice president, Gennady
Yanayev. They were taken aback when Gorbachev refused and rebuked them
as treasonous blackmailers.
Gorbachev and his family were placed under house arrest by Gen. Igor
Maltsev, commander-in-chief of the Soviet Air Defense Troop, to await

COMUN XXV                                   CONFERENCE STUDY GUIDE – HGA1

further trials. Gennady Yannayev was instated as the president of the USSR
and he immediately announces the restoration of Brezhnev Doctrine.

January 23rd, 1990: Trials against Gorbachev are carried out and he is
declared ‘Enemy of the people’ for his crimes against the nation through the
dismantling of Brezhnev policies and his inept economic reforms.

January 28th, 1990: Gorbachev is publicly executed through fusillading.

February 4th, 1990: The new government commands the nations of Ukraine
SSR and Kazakh SSR to confirm their fidelity to the Union by affiliating as
republics.

February 7th, 1990: Both governments profusely refuse the ultimatum and
reaffirm their independence.

February 8th, 1990: In retaliation, USSR imposes naval blockades in the
Baltic and Caspian seas while placing trade sanctions on the two “rogue
nations”.

February 10th, 1990: Ukraine SSR applies for NATO membership, in search
of an ally to support their stand against the Soviet Union.

February 13th, 1990: Violent protests erupt in Uzbek SSR, Turkmen SSR,
Kirghiz SSR and Tajik SSR, challenging the decision of Ukraine SSR and
Kazakh SSR. Another issue brought up during these protests is the
geographical isolation of the four republics from the Soviet Union. Businesses
owned by ethnic Kazakhs living in these four nations have been broken into,
robbed, and set on fire. Several well-respected Kazakh families living in these
countries are continuously harassed, and many Kazakhs start to flee back to
Kazakh SSR.

COMUN XXV                                     CONFERENCE STUDY GUIDE – HGA1

February 18th, 1990: The USSR releases a statement declaring that they will
“commit to what is deemed necessary” owing to the precarious hold of
socialism in Ukraine SSR and Kazakh SSR, following their violation of the
Brezhnev Doctrine. They begin marshalling troops across the border.

February 19th, 1990: The sixteen NATO member states release a statement
rejecting their application due to the tensions between Ukraine SSR and
USSR. However, the United States of America pledges their support to the
nation of Ukraine SSR.

February 25th, 1990: The USSR accuses the United States of America of
aiding Ukraine SSR in its defiance of socialism, similar to the Bay of Pigs
invasion of 1961.

March 1st, 1990: An Emergency General Assembly Meeting is called to
address the situation in the USSR.

Points a Delegate Should Address:

   •   Legitimacy of secession of Ukraine SSR and Kazakh SSR in light of
       international law and security
   •   Role of civil society organizations, non-state actors and multilateral
       bodies
   •   Contrast of realistic and idealistic principles with emphasis on historical
       precedent
   •   Security implications arising from the unrest of citizens.
   •   The question of (nuclear) disarmament and de-escalation of tensions
   •   Consequence of volatility in the region in relation to cold war
       sentiments

COMUN XXV                                  CONFERENCE STUDY GUIDE – HGA1

Research Materials:
     1. https://astro.temple.edu/~rimmerma/gorbachev_speech_to_UN.htm
     2. Between Past and Future: The Revolutions of 1989 and Their
       Aftermath”
https://books.google.lk/books?ie=UTF-
8&vid=ISBN9639116718&id=1pl5T45FwIwC&pg=PA85&redir_esc=y#v=onepa
ge&q&f=false
3.     “Society in Action: The Theory of Social Becoming” - Piotr Sztompka
4.     https://meduza.io/en/feature/2018/12/21/crucify-me-right-here
5.     https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/what-happened-soviet-
superpowers-nuclear-arsenal-clues-nuclear-security-summit