Collapse Of The Soviet Union Collapse Essay

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Recommended: The fall of the Soviet Union

Angela Brown
Kelly Bettencourt
Advisory 11
18 March 2014
The Collapse of the Soviet Union
The symbols of communism are the hammer and sickle, against a red backdrop, drawn in the middle of a star. If these symbols represent a strong society which thrived so well, then why was the hammer brought down so hard on the Soviet Union in 1991? First the cause of the decline of the Soviet Union will be discussed. Then the details that caused the collapse of the Soviet Union altogether will be described. Lastly, the actions that could have been taken to prevent the fall of the great country will be explained.
As with most events in history, there were many varying factors as to why the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. These factors included, but were not limited to: a stagnating economy, the Afghanistan Quagmire, Perestroika, decentralization, Glasnost, the Chernobyl disaster, local nationalism, lack of economic incentives, excessive military focus, reduced motivation of fear, and ethnic fragmentation. With the government focusing on so many unnecessary things, as well as being transparent and secretive, and the people becoming more nationalistic and wanting their own freedom away from the government, it is not surprising that the Union fell so drastically. In order for a country to thrive successfully, it has to have a strong and stable economy, otherwise it cannot support itself or its people, and the government will crumble to pieces. The Soviet Union was a huge country; so huge, in fact, that it became too much of a hassle to continue state planning. The complex Soviet economy became too large to be managed by state planners. This resulted in the failure to respond in a timely manner to continuou...

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...rked for the Chernobyl Disaster and local nationalism. The government should have provided more incentives to reverse the economy, gaining support of the people. Part of strengthening the economy would have been the Soviet not partaking in such extreme military build-up. Finally, if propaganda was not so focused on Slavic ethnicity, and Russia viewed as the most dominant state, non-Russian groups would have stayed within the country during hard times, strengthening the overall civilization.
In the end, the collapse of the Soviet Union was caused by the corrupt government and the people within it. The cause of the decline of the Soviet Union has been discussed. Then the details that caused the collapse of the Soviet Union altogether have been described. Lastly, the actions that could have been taken to prevent the fall of the great country have been explained.

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