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{{Short description|Joke slogan describing the loosening of relations between the USSR and satellite states}}
{{one source|date=May 2020}}
{{Mikhail Gorbachev series}}
The '''Sinatra Doctrine''' was a [[Soviet foreign policy]] under [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] for allowing [[Member state|member states]] of the [[Warsaw Pact]] to determine their own [[Domestic policy|domestic affairs]]. The name humorously alluded to the song "[[My Way]]" popularized by [[Frank Sinatra]]—the [[Soviet Union]] was allowing these states to go their own way. Its implementation was part of Gorbachev's doctrine of [[new political thinking]].

==History==
The Sinatra Doctrine was a significant break from the earlier [[Brezhnev Doctrine]], under which Moscow tightly controlled the internal affairs of [[satellite state|satellite states]]. This had been used to justify the crushing of the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956]] and the [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia]] in 1968, as well as [[Soviet–Afghan War|the invasion 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 [[Soviet–Afghan War]] made it increasingly impractical for the Soviet Union to impose its will on its neighbors.

The phrase was coined on 25 October 1989 by Foreign Ministry spokesman [[Gennadi Gerasimov]]. He was speaking to reporters in [[Helsinki]] about a speech made two days earlier by Soviet Foreign Minister [[Eduard Shevardnadze]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/article/210798/sinatra-doctrine-william-f-buckley-jr|title=The Sinatra Doctrine|first=William|last=Buckley Jr.|date=26 May 2004|work=[[National Review]]|access-date=24 May 2021}}</ref> The latter had said that the Soviets recognized the freedom of choice of all countries, specifically including the other Warsaw Pact states. Gerasimov told the interviewer, "We now have the Frank Sinatra doctrine. He has a song, 'I Did It My Way'. So every country decides on its own which road to take." When asked whether this would include Moscow accepting the rejection of communist parties in the Soviet bloc, he replied: "That's for sure&nbsp;... political structures must be decided by the people who live there."

The Sinatra Doctrine has been seen as Moscow permitting its allies to decide their futures. It was a retrospective policy, as Soviet allies had already acquired much greater freedom of action. A month before Gerasimov's statement, Poland had elected its first non-communist government since the 1940s. The Hungarian government began dismantling the [[Iron Curtain]] on the border with Austria in the spring of 1989. From the [[Pan-European Picnic]] in August, it was clear to the media-informed Eastern European population that, on the one hand, the Soviet Union would not prevent the opening of the border. On the other hand, the Eastern European governments were divided. Since Hungary was one of the few countries East Germans could travel to, thousands then traveled there to flee to the West across the newly opened border. To the great annoyance of the East German government, the Hungarians refused to stop the exodus.<ref>{{cite magazine | first = Otmar | last = Lahodynsky | title = Paneuropäisches Picknick: Die Generalprobe für den Mauerfall | trans-title = Pan-European picnic: the dress rehearsal for the fall of the Berlin Wall | language = de | magazine = [[Profil (magazine)|Profil]] |issn=1022-2111 | date = 9 August 2014 |url=https://www.profil.at/oesterreich/paneuropaeisches-picknick-die-generalprobe-mauerfall-377266 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = ‚Der 19. August 1989 war ein Test Gorbatschows‘<!--leave in the quotation marks--> | trans-title = 19 August 1989 was a test for Gorbachev | language = de | newspaper = [[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]] | date = 19 August 2009 | url = https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/20-jahre-mauerfall/20-jahre-nach-dem-mauerfall-der-19-august-1989-war-ein-test-gorbatschows-1841524.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141221200034/https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/20-jahre-mauerfall/20-jahre-nach-dem-mauerfall-der-19-august-1989-war-ein-test-gorbatschows-1841524.html | archive-date = 2014-12-21 }}</ref>

These developments greatly disturbed hardline communists such as the East German leader [[Erich Honecker]], who condemned the end of the Soviet bloc's traditional "socialist unity" 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 contradicted Honecker's appeals.

The Sinatra Doctrine proclamation 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 Sinatra Doctrine announcement signaled that the Soviet Union would not aid the East German communists. In a few months, the communist governments of East Germany, [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Bulgaria]], and [[Romania]] had all been overthrown, thus bringing the [[Cold War]] to an end.

== See also ==
* [[Revolutions of 1989]] ''("Autumn of Nations")''
* [[New political thinking]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite news |date=25 October 1989 |title='Sinatra Doctrine' at Work in Warsaw Pact, Soviet Says |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-25-mn-745-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |place=[[Washington, D.C.]] |agency=Reuters |issn=0458-3035 |access-date=2024-09-12 |url-access=subscription }}

{{Foreign relations of the Soviet Union}}
{{Frank Sinatra}}
{{Fall of Communism}}
[[Category:Foreign policy doctrines]]
[[Category:Foreign relations of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Frank Sinatra]]
[[Category:Warsaw Pact]]
[[Category:Revolutions of 1989]]
[[Category:Mikhail Gorbachev]]
[[Category:Revolution terminology]]