(Poster propagating a new course of COMECON)
The main focus of the Romanov-Kunaev alliance in the following months was the reform and reorganization of
the COMECON (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance). COMECON was an economic organization under the leadership of the Soviet Union that was established as a response to the formation of the Marshall Plan in Western Europe. The primary purpose of the organization was to strengthen international relationships at an economic level between member states. Nevertheless, COMECON proved to be a failure and an ineffective organization that failed its tasks. In order to make COMECON a more efficient and integrated economic organization, which would help in the transformation and development of the Soviet economy in an ever-changing world, General Secretary Romanov announced the establishment of
the 1984 Comprehensive Program for Scientific and Technical Progress, which would help in the development and reorganization of socialist economies. The program would include:
- decrease and elimination of trade barriers between member states;
- deregulation of prices on goods procured from trade;
- expansion of the student exchange program with a focus on the USSR as the target for exchange;
- establishment of a series of consumer standards for trade goods;
- creation of a standardized system of logos that will represent the origin of any given product;
- establishment of as many common institutions across the newly created market as possible to disincentivize the dissolution of COMECON;
- expansion of tourist programs.
(Indian troops during Operation Meghdoot)
Operation Meghdoot was the codename for the Indian Armed Forces' operation to seize control of the Siachen Glacier in the then state of Jammu and Kashmir, precipitating the Siachen conflict. Executed in the morning of 13 April 1984 in the highest battlefield in the world, Meghdoot was the first military offensive of its kind. The operation preempted Pakistan's impending Operation Ababeel (which was intended to achieve the same objective as Meghdoot) and was a success, resulting in Indian forces gaining control of the Siachen Glacier in its entirety.
The operation resulted in India gaining 70 kilometres (43 mi) long Siachen Glacier and all of its tributary glaciers, as well as three main passes of the Saltoro Ridge immediately west of the glacier, Sia La, Bilafond La, and Gyong La, thus presently giving India the tactical advantage of holding higher grounds. The AGPL runs roughly along the Saltoro Mountains from Point NJ9842 on the India-Pakistan LoC to near La Yongma Ri, Gyong La, Gyong Kangri, Chumik Kangri, Bilafond La (pass) and nearby Bana Post, Saltoro Kangri, Ghent Kangri, and Sia La to the India–Pakistan–China trijunction northwest of Indira Col West on the Sino-Indian LAC. The peaks and passes under Pakistan's control such as Gayari Camp, Chogolisa, Baltoro Glacier, Conway Saddle, Baltoro Muztagh, and Gasherbrum lie west of the AGPL.
The operation and the continued cost of maintaining logistics to the area is a major drain on both militaries. Pakistan launched an all-out assault in 1987 and again in 1989 to capture the ridge and passes held by India. The first assault was headed by then-Brigadier-General Pervez Musharraf (later President of Pakistan) and initially managed to capture a few high points before being pushed back. Later the same year, Pakistan lost at least one major Pakistani post, the "Quaid", which came under Indian control as Bana Post, in recognition of Bana Singh who launched a daring daylight attack, codenamed Operation Rajiv, after climbing 1,500 ft (460 m) of ice cliff. Bana Singh was awarded the Param Vir Chakra (PVC) – the highest gallantry award of India for the assault that captured the post. Bana Post is the highest battlefield post in the world today at a height of 22,143 feet (6,749 m) above sea level. The second assault in 1989 was also unsuccessful as the ground positions did not change. The loss of most of the Siachen area and the subsequent unsuccessful military forays prompted Benazir Bhutto to taunt Zia ul Haq that he should wear a burqa as he had lost his manliness.
The Severomorsk Disaster was a deadly series of munitions fires that resulted in the detonation and destruction of large amounts of munitions that lasted from May 13 to 17, 1984, within the Okolnaya naval munitions depot, near the Severomorsk Naval Base (headquarters of the Northern Fleet of the Soviet Navy). The detonation occurred in the Northern Russian "closed" town of Severomorsk, over 900 miles (1,448.4 kilometers) from the Russian capital Moscow. Munitions had reportedly detonated after a fire started on May 13, which thus caused a massive chain of explosions on May 17, and resulted in the deaths of at least 200–300 people, and the destruction of at least 900 of the Northern Fleet's missiles and torpedoes. Most of the dead were allegedly ordnance technicians "sent into the fire in a desperate but unsuccessful effort to defuse or disassemble munitions before they exploded", according to the New York Times.The town of Severomorsk has long had history with the armed forces of both the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation, a history that dates to before the Second World War. It is a history in part signified by the presence of at least two Russian military airbases within 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) of the town, as well as a naval base and its munitions depot (the Okolnaya naval munitions depot), as well as serving as the main administrative base of the Northern Fleet. At the time of the disaster, the Northern Fleet was believed to have an aircraft carrier, 148 cruisers, destroyers and other warships, and 190 of the navy's 371 submarines, of which two were apparently stationed at the munitions depot.
On May 13, 1984, a fire started in the Okolnaya munitions depot on the outskirts of Severomorsk, the cause of which allegedly was the fact that munitions had been stored too close together.On May 17, the fire caused the detonation of the munitions at the depot. For about an hour and a half, sporadic blasts occurred at the supply depot, that resulted in the deaths of between 200–300 people, most of whom were ordnance technicians that had been "sent into the fire in a desperate but unsuccessful effort to defuse or disassemble munitions before they exploded", according to The New York Times. Dozens of local civilians began to evacuate their apartments and head to the hills, as the blast was allegedly so powerful that it was first thought a nuclear accident had occurred. The blast and the evacuation were described by a witness:
Women ran into the streets with children in their arms, many only half dressed in house coats and slippers, the men running henny-penny with them, certain of them in uniform, giving the scene a weird drama. People ran up the stairs that lead up the slopes of the hills. Someone fell, he was picked up and dragged. Cars jammed the routes out of town. The cars were packed, but despite this they stopped to pick up children which their mothers literally threw into the arms of strangers. Screams, cries, curses – all drowned out by the thunder and howl from the volcano that was Mount Okol'naya [the apparent namesake of the Okolnaya Naval Munitions depot, where the incident had begun days earlier]. Black with an orange-purple mushroom top, growing to its full height in an instant, nodding toward the town, but afterwards it began to slowly settle in the direction of the tundra and the ocean.
Operation Blue Star was an Indian Armed Forces operation between 1 and 10 June 1984 to remove Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh separatists from the buildings of the Golden Temple, the holiest site of Sikhism. A long-standing movement advocating for greater political rights for the Sikh community had previously existed in the Indian state of Punjab, and in 1973, Sikh activists presented the Indian government with the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, a list of demands for greater autonomy for Punjab. The resolution was rejected by the Indian government. In July 1982, Harchand Singh Longowal, the president of the Sikh political party Shiromani Akali Dal, invited Bhindranwale, who was wanted by authorities, to take up residence in the Golden Temple to evade arrest. On 1 June 1984, after negotiations with the militants failed, the prime minister of India Indira Gandhi ordered the army to launch Operation Blue Star, attacking the Golden Temple and scores of other Sikh temples and sites across Punjab.
The military underestimated the firepower possessed by the Sikh militants, whose armaments included Chinese-made rocket-propelled grenade launchers and ammunition with armour-piercing capabilities. Hoping to avoid damage to the holy site, Indian forces unsuccessfully assaulted the Temple using light weaponry and quickly resorted to using heavy arms, including tanks, helicopters and artillery to dislodge the well-fortified Sikh militants. Combat devolved into protracted urban warfare, with the Indian forces committing significant forces to slowly gain ground. Eventually, the Sikh militants ran out of most of their ammunition on 6 June, and by 10 June fighting had largely ceased, with the Indian forces in control of the complex. The Indian government attributed high civilian casualties to Sikh militants using pilgrims trapped inside the temple as human shields. However, Indian forces were aware that civilians were present inside, and the operation began on a Sikh religious day, the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev, when many worshippers would be present. Many civilians were subject to extrajudicial killings by the military during the operation. The military action in the temple complex was criticized by Sikhs worldwide, who interpreted it as an assault on the Sikh religion and the entire Sikh community. Five months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated in an act of revenge by two Sikh bodyguards. Public outcry over Gandhi's death led to the ensuing 1984 Anti-Sikh riots.
Despite accomplishing its stated objectives, the operation has been described as "disastrous" for the Indian military and state. It greatly exacerbated tensions between the Indian government and the Sikh community, turning a series of police operations into widespread sectarian violence. The brutality of the operation and high civilian casualties spawned a insurgency in Punjab, which would be waged by Sikh militants for over a decade. The operation has been used as a case study highlighting the importance of respecting religious and cultural sensitivity prior to launching military operations. The complex would later be raided twice more as apart of Operation Black Thunder I and II, with both operations having little to no civilian casualties or damage to the Temple despite larger amounts of militants than Bluestar.
(Mental hospitals and similar facilities had been used in the USSR to silence critics of the CPSU)
In the meantime, a question on Soviet policy towards dissent was raised in the Politburo, as in June when Vladimir Danchev, a broadcaster for Radio Moscow, referred to the Soviet troops in Afghanistan as "invaders" while conducting English-language broadcasts. After refusing to retract this statement, he was sent to
a mental institution for several months. Furthermore, Valery Senderov, a leader of an unofficial union of professional workers, was sentenced to seven years
in a labor camp early in the year for speaking out on discrimination practiced against Jews in education and the professions.
