Why Did The Soviet Union Collapse

988 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Rise and fall of soviet union

Described as one of the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century by the current Russian president Vladimir Putin, when the Soviet Union collapsed it caused major changes in political and economic affairs.
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as USSR, has been formed in 1922, and had influence in the global scale, especially after the victory in WWII. Initially, USSR consisted of only six member states including Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, however it has enlarged gradually during the time until 1941, consisted of 15 states, expanding to Central Asia and parts of the Balkans. Nevertheless, due to many reasons, which I will discuss later on, the existence of USSR came to it`s end, officially in 1991. …show more content…

The role of cultural factors in the collapse of USSR relates to main cultural differences among certain members of the union. It has always been said that culture gives us sense of who we are but during the Perestroyka time there were major differences between the culture of Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic, especially about language, traditions and clothes. Moreover, during the USSR time, the religious teaching was strictly forbidden, it still had influence on society, especially in the Middle East parts of the Union. Due to the fundamental differences in this perspective among some of the states, this problem is considered to have negative implications on the unity of USSR. The final stage of the collapsed of USSR was the resignation of Gorbachev as General Secretary of Communistic Party and the declaration of independence of Estonia and Latvia. Instantly after announcing his resignation on the TV, the last leader of the first communist state signed a paper where he stated that he abandons 3,7 millions Soviet army forces. Within an hour, the white, blue and red flags were flying above Gorbachev`s former office, which symbolized the end of the Soviet

Show More
Related

  • The Legacy of Russia and the Soviet Union - Authoritarian and Repressive Traditions that Refuse to

    1785 Words  | 4 Pages

    This was, of course, only a humorous exaggeration, a case of political satire. Yet beneath the humor, there lies a very profound testament to the belief that Russia's political culture has been inherited from its czarist days and manifested throughout its subsequent development. The traditions from the pre-Revolution and pre-1921 Russia, it seems, had left its brand on the 70-years of Communist rule. The Soviet communism system was at once a foreign import from Germany and a Russian creation: "on the one hand it is international and a world phenomenon; on the other hand it is national and Russian…it was Russian history which determined its limits and shaped its character." (Berdyaev, "Origin")

    Read More

  • Watershed Years

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    The major factor that led to the true end of the Cold War was the ongoing personal and diplomatic relationship between Presidents George H. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev. This resulted in the reduction of the Russian military and favorable arms agreements. Key indicators of the substance behind this relationship were the Soviet troop withdrawals from Czechoslovakia, Afghanistan, and Hungary (lifting the Hungarian/Austrian “Iron Curtain” along the border). Subsequently the opening of the Berl...

    Read More

  • Essay On Tsar's Power Crumbled In 1917

    572 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nicholas II ruled Russia from 1894-1917 and was to be its final tsar. He ascended the throne under the impression that he would rule his whole life as it's undisputed leader. Accompanied by his wife, Alexandra, they lived a comfortable life of luxury while the country suffered around them. Nicholas was determined to rule as harshly as his father; however, he was a very weak and incompetent character who did not posses the qualities capable of guiding Russia through its time of turmoil.

    Read More

  • Why The Tsar Fell From Power In 1917

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Why the Tsar Fell From Power in 1917 On March 2nd 1917 the Tsar agreed to abdicate, this was the accumulation of a series of factors associated with the Tsarist Russian society. All workers, middle classes, aristocrats and even some of the Tsars oldest and most faithful supporters were starting to resent the system they were under. Famines, inflation, strikes and incisive rumors all took their toll on the populace. The icing on the cake came in the form of the extremist feelings of anger the army felt towards Nicholas I, and their withdrawal of support for him. Here are some of the events that led up to the 1917 revolution in more detail.

    Read More

  • Why Did The Soviet Union Collapse

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    At 7:32 p.m. December 25, 1991, the Soviet flag was lowered from the Kremlin in Moscow for the last time and replaced with the pre-revolutionary Russian flag, which symbolized the disintegration of Soviet Union. Early in the day, the last president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, resigned his post, and Boris Yeltsin became the president of the newly independent Russian state. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the campaign between the Soviet Union and the United States ended. Nonetheless, although the end of the Cold War makes people around the world enter a peaceful time, until now both people in the past and historians are amazed why the previous powerful Soviet Union collapsed suddenly. Thereby, the cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union is still an everlasting and popular topic in the world.

    Read More

  • The Fall of Communism

    365 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Fall of Communism The fall of communism can be linked to several reasons. Some of these reasons were internal, while others were the results of outside influence. For a form of any type of government to work, the people must support it, true a government can use force to make their populace submit to the will of the government as with China in Tiananmem Square. In that case, the government used armed military force to put down student demonstrators demanding democracy reform.

    Read More

  • Cold War History

    2283 Words  | 5 Pages

    Gorbachev be released. On August 21, only two days later the communists in the rebellion gave themselves up and were imprisoned. Yeltsin wanted to end communism, so he forced Gorbachev to end the communist party. By December 1991 the USSR had broken up. On December 25 Gorbachev resigned and Yeltsin was now in control of the nuclear weapons. Despite the ending of the Cold War there are still many nuclear weapons in the world. There is still the slight possibility of a nuclear war.

    Read More

  • The Cold War: The End Of The Cold War

    1509 Words  | 4 Pages

    The end of the Cold War was one of the most unexpected and important events in geopolitics in the 20th century. The end of the Cold War can be defined as the end of the bipolar power struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, which had existed since the end of the World War II. The conclusion of the Cold War can be attributed to Gorbachev’s series of liberalizations in the 1980s, which exposed the underlying economic problems in the Soviet Union and Eastern bloc states that had developed in the 1960s and 70s and prevented the USSR from being able to compete with the US as a superpower. Nevertheless, Reagan’s policies of a renewed offensive against communism, Gorbachev’s rejection of the Brezhnev doctrine and the many nationalities

    Read More

  • Reasons For The Failure Of The Russian Revolution

    1494 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Russian Revolution was a historical moment that had occurred during the 1900s. It all started when the Czar of Russia was overthrown from his throne and was executed. Ever since, Russia 's government, economy, and society has changed. Five texts were provided to portray whether the French Revolution was a success or a failure. This paper will only focus on three of the sources, including Animal Farm, by George Orwell, “Education, Literacy, and the Russian Revolution”, by Megan Behrent, and “the Reasons For The Failure of The Russian Revolution”. All of these texts provide information for either claim, but are also limited in providing further examples. As a result, the Russian Revolution was a failure because the peasants of Russia lacked

    Read More

  • Mikhail Gorbachev´s Glasnost and Perestroika Policies Contribution to the Collapse of the USSR

    1697 Words  | 4 Pages

    The purpose of this investigation is to assess how significant Mikhail Gorbachev’s Glasnost, and Perestroika polices contribute to the collapse of the USSR. In order to understand how significant of a factor Gorbachev policies were to the collapse of the USSR, we will investigate from how significant were the reforms emplaced by Gorbachev, to how the USSR was doing economically from the time Gorbachev came into power. The main sources for this investigation range from an Excerpt from The cold war: The United States and the Soviet union by Ronald Powaski who states facts about both the economic and political issues of the time. Excerpts from “New political thinking” from perestroika by Gorbachev which states how he believes new political ideas are for the good for the USSR. Finally in The Dissolution of the Soviet Union by Myra Immell who goes over many of the factors of the USSR’s collapse.

    Read More

  • Communism In The Soviet Union And Why It Failed

    1552 Words  | 4 Pages

    revolution in which there is a break up and elimination of the state and no

    Read More

  • The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe

    6159 Words  | 13 Pages

    to assume the role of dictator. This was a phenomenon which was to become a

    Read More

  • The Collapse of the Soviet Union

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Soviet Union, which was once a world superpower in the 19th century, saw itself in chaos going into the 20th century. These chaoses were marked by the new ideas brought in by the new leaders who had eventually emerged into power. Almost every aspect of the Soviet Union crumbled during this period, both politically and socially, as well as the economy. There were underlying reasons for the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and eventually Eastern Europe. The economy is the most significant aspect of every government.

    Read More

  • Compare Joseph Stalin And Mikhail Gorbachev

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    69 years after Joseph Stalin facilitated the creation of the Soviet Union in 1922, Mikhail Gorbachev played a part in its collapse, resigning from office the day before it officially fell on Christmas Day. Both leaders had an enormous effect on Soviet Russia and the welfare of its state and citizens. Stalin was a communist, who continued and supported the single party state founded by his predecessor Vladimir Lenin. Gorbachev, even though he was originally a member of the Communist Party, worked against the Marxist ideals implemented by Stalin and Lenin and worked to reform Russia to a more open society. Despite the obvious differences in ideologies and varying levels of success in office, both leaders left

    Read More

  • who if any one won the cold war?

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    The cold war was failed by the Soviet Union for many reasons, including the sudden collapse of communism (Baylis & Smith, 2001.) This sudden collapse of communism was brought on ultimately by internal factors. The soviet unions president Gorbachev’s reforms: glasnost (openness) and perestroika (political reconstructering) ultimately caused the collapse of the Soviet Empire. Gorbachev’s basics for glasnost were the promotion of principles of freedom to criticize; the loosening of controls on media and publishing; and the freedom of worship. His essentials of perestroika were, a new legislature; creation of an executive presidency; ending of the ‘leading role’ of the communist party; allowing state enterprises to sell part of their product on the open market; lastly, allowing foreign companies to own Soviet enterprises (Baylis & Smith, 2001.) Gorbachev believed his reforms would benefit his country, but the Soviet Union was ultimately held together by the soviet tradition he was trying to change. The Soviet Union was none the less held together by “…powerful central institutions, pressure for ideological conformity, and the threat of force.

    Read More

More about Why Did The Soviet Union Collapse

Open Document