Russia: From Empire to Great Power Military parade held on 66th anniversary of Victory in Great Patriotic War (WWII) 2011

 What was it like for the average Soviet living under communist rule?  What does the government control in a communist economic system?  Who were the Soviet Leader that expanded the Soviet Union by taken over much of Eastern Europe? When did the Cold War end?

Joseph Stalin, after WWII controls Eastern Europe. Stalin installs communist leaders and communist economy in Eastern Europe.

 In communist system there is no profit for capitalist/individuals. Communist government owns the Means of Production…

Living Under Soviet Communism After the Fall: Age of Delirium videos Advantages  Free Healthcare  Jobs for life  Free Education  Housing was provided  Security Disadvantages  Lack of Information/Censorship  No Religion  Government control of most aspects of life  KGB- torture; no freedoms  Purge & executions of dissidents  Isolation from Europe  Ultimate collapse of the economy!

Mikhail Gorbachev reforms led to collapse of U.S.S.R Glasnost literally openness- “opening to the press” Perestroika was the policy of restructuring or reforming the economic and political system The Soviet economy had been in a period of stagnation for two decades and was in desperate need of reform.

Mikhail Gorbachev March 1990 – 25 December 1991

Perestroika & Glasnost Perestroika- economic restructuring; privatization Glasnost-openness, end of censorship, secret police, new parties

End of Cold War  Gorbachev knew the USSR couldn't compete with the US in arms race.  November 1985: Gorbachev and Reagan agreed 'a nuclear war cannot be won and must not be fought - INF Treaty signed, abolished land-based nukes  Reagan no longer believes in an 'evil empire’  1988: Gorbachev withdraws from Afghanistan  1989: President George HW Bush, announced that the superpowers had 'buried the Cold War at the bottom of the Mediterranean '

Fall of the Berlin Wall November, 1989

Baltic Countries- Human Chain Protest On 23 August 1989, approximately two million people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined hands, forming a human chain, It was a peaceful protest against illegal Soviet occupation

A crowd blocks the passage of Soviet tanks on a road near Ganja, formerly Kirovabad, in Soviet Azerbaijan, Troops sent into the area last week to quell ethnic violence met both armed and peaceful resistance. (AP Photo) Nationalist movements calling for end of USSR occupation

 1982: Soviet economy was near collapse, promoted Gorbachev to introduce reforms and end the arms race, expensive commitment to the war in Afghanistan  USSR spent $4 billion a year to Cuba, $6 billion to Vietnam, $3 billion to Eastern Europe  USSR was spending 25% of GDP on its military, US was only spending 4-6%  'Command economy' was failing- little money was invested into consumer  no incentive to work hard or efficiently  corruption, annual growth was dropping, Soviet economy was imploding  Nationalist movements in USSR Why did the Soviet Union collapse in 1989?

About 100,000 demonstrators march on the Kremlin in Moscow on January, 1991About 100,000 demonstrators march on the Kremlin in Moscow on January, 1991 Hyper link to article on events during this time period Protest against President Mikhail Gorbachev Soviet army crackdown against the nationalist Lithuanian authorities.

1991 Attempted Coup against Mikhail Gorbachev1991 Attempted Coup against Mikhail Gorbachev- link images Soviet Army tanks parked in Moscow's Red Square after a coup toppled Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev on August 19, Tanks rolled through Moscow towards the Russian White House, where Boris Yeltsin, leader of the Soviet-era Russian republic at the time, gathered his supporters after denouncing the coup. (Dima Tanin/AFP/Getty Images)

 Death of Soviet Union

Common wealth of Independent States

 Boris Yeltsin was the first freely elected leader in Russia’s 1,000-year history. Yeltsin set about dismantling the Communist Party, and all 15 of the Soviet Union’s republics moved to secure their independence.

President Boris Yeltsin & Political Changes  As president, Yeltsin broke from his Soviet predecessors by generally supporting freedom of the press, permitting public criticism and letting Western popular culture seep into the country.  He also agreed to nuclear arms reductions and brought home soldiers from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet republics.

Economic Changes Privatization led to Oligarchies Economic changes funneled enormous wealth into hands of a few- Oligarchies Privatization process gave state-owned industries to wealthiest businessmen (Oligarch) Economic reform hurt more people than it helped! During Soviet era, few people were lived in poverty; officials kept cost low for basic needs Job security, low costs, fee education, healthcare… end of Soviet Union = end of economic security.

It is very difficult to change from a state controlled economy to capitalist…. China was able to change to capitalist system… In Russia the rich buy up the Means of Production..

 Vladimir Putin; Yeltsin’s hand picked replacement…

 1998 Ruble collapsed & high inflation

 Putin; Natural gas market energized economy..

What political and economic strides are Russia & the Common Wealth working towards ?  Web quest: The Fall, 20 Years after the Collapse of the Soviet UnionThe Fall, 20 Years after the Collapse of the Soviet Union  Based on, Mapping The Patterns of Change; which countries seem to be moving toward freedom of the press & economic change? Has corruption index improved in any of the countries?  How difficult is it to change from a one party rule to multiparty rule? From a communist, state owned economy to a capitalist economy?  Personal videos and interviews from the website

From this point on…..  Overview of the Cold War in America……

 Cold War System- Bi- Polar System Soviet Union & the United States were the two main power centers after WWII.

CCOMPETITION OF IDEOLOGIES- DEMOCRACY VS. COMMUNISM CAPITALISM VS. COMMUNISM COMPETITION OF IDEOLOGIES- DEMOCRACY VS. COMMUNISM CAPITALISM VS. COMMUNISM

Propaganda in America Duck & cover drillsBomb Shelters

 Both the U.S. and U.S.S.R had enough bombs to destroy the world many times over! What stopped the superpowers from using their weapons…..Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)  The Soviet threat was weak, destroying America would not have benefited the Soviets!!!  More of a threat in Europe. Fear against communism in U.S. helps to fund defense budget. Was the Soviet Union really a threat!