Issue and Opponent: The Donetsk miners started protesting for improved working conditions and economic demands under the Soviet government. They wanted to end Soviet control over Ukraine. At the time, the miners were targeting Mikhail Gorbachev and his regime.
Dilemma Action: The coal miners in Donetsk, Ukraine started striking on November 1 with a 2-hour “warning” strike aimed at the government of the Soviet Union. In response, the Soviet Union placed an official ban on strikes. The coal miners of Donetsk defied the ban at all 28 mines and held a 2-hour strike calling for improved pensions and vacations.
Outcomes: The strikes led the Soviet Union to lose 3 billion rubles- $4.7 billion- and added to an annual production deficit of 24 million tons of coal. The strikes placed a significant amount of pressure on the Soviet government which, in the long run, is credited with leading to Ukraine’s independence and the fall of the Soviet Union.