Free Essay: The Fall of The Soviet Union
The fall of the Soviet Union began in late 80s. It was however complete when the country was broken into its independent states on 25th December 1991. The Soviet Union was broken into 15 states and it marked the end of the war between the USA and the Soviet Union. The states included Estonia, Georgia, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Lithuania, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Causes of the fall of the Soviet Union
Bad economy was one of the reasons behind the fall of the Soviet Union. This happened during the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev who was the general secretary of the Soviet Union in 1985. Gorbachev had a major idea in mind to reform the soviets economy and to help remodel the political situation in the country.
Perestroika and glasnost
Gorbachev’s reform ideas had two main platforms including Glasnost and Perestroika. Glasnost allowed for openness in government and freedom of speech. Therefore, government officials were more accountable for all their actions. As a result, it was seen as a very ideal move by the people because they could easily air their concerns. The new states used this platform to express their desire for independence.
Perestroika on the hand focused on restructuring the soviet economy to enhance its efficiency. Gorbachev therefore allowed for private ownership of different sectors of the economy. It also released tight control of the government on the economy. According to Gorbachev, there was immense need to change the situation because things were going from bad to worse.
Baltic Region
Due to Gorbachev’s reforms, the soviets underlying states began to rebel. Lithuania, Latvia and the Baltic states of Estonia were the first to demand their freedom.
The spread of nationalist movement
After the first states demanded for their freedom, many others also put pressure on the government for their independence. The states included Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Ukraine. The government started to feel the pressure as it mounted day by day.
Attempted takeover of the government
The communist government became quite unstable as pressure mounted on the government for independence by different states. The situation became worse in august 1991 following the kidnapping of Gorbachev by soviet hardliners announcing that he was sick to govern.
Soviet citizens protested and the military was called in by the hardliners to shut them down. The takeover however failed because the military declined the orders. On December 20th 1991, Soviet Union was dissolved as Gorbachev announced his resignation.
Facts about the fall of The Soviet Union
Russia was considered the lawful success of the Soviet Union. This was a very crucial step as it meant Russia would keep nuclear weapons as well as the Soviet Union seat. The seat on the Security Council of the UN symbolized power.
Additionally, the fall of the Soviet Union meant that the 15 independent states maintain close economic ties with each other,
New states and countries also created their democratic governments. However, others had to maintain an authoritarian rule.
The consumption of alcohol was also to be limited by one of Gorbachev’s reforms. This was aimed at reducing the rate of alcoholism in the Soviet Union.
Boris Yeltsin became the first president of Russia after the breakup.
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Sources
http://people.howstuffworks.com/communism5.htm
http://www.ducksters.com/history/cold_war/collapse_soviet_union.php