Asked by mimis

Why did Mikhail Gorbachev have trouble retaining support from hard-line communists?

He denounced Boris Yeltsin.
He threatened to dismantle the communist system.
He promised reform in Eastern Europe.
He refused to crush rebellions in Eastern Europe.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
He refused to crush rebellions in Eastern Europe.

Hard-line communists wanted the old approach of using Soviet power to prop up satellite regimes. Gorbachev’s reforms and his non‑intervention policy (the “Sinatra Doctrine”) meant he would not order Soviet forces to suppress uprisings, which alienated and alarmed the hardliners.