Collapse of the Soviet Union

Mikhail Gorbachev In March 1985 Gorbachev was chosen as leader of communist party Once he became leader he began to reform the Soviet economy. These reforms became known as perestroika (restructuring). Through perestroika he began to introduce elements of capitalism into the Soviet economy. For example, some citizens were allowed to own businesses while the government still operated most of them.

Easing Out of Communism He also started a policy of sharing government information with the public. This was called glasnost. At the Communist Party conference in 1988 Gorbachev created a new Soviet parliament called the Congress of People’s Deputies. This was the first democratic body of officials since 1918 In the early 1990’s he declared that non- communist political parties could form.

The Cold War Ends The Cold War unexpectedly ended when Mikhail Gorbachev came to power. Gorbachev’s willingness to rethink the USSR’s foreign policy brought about amazing changes. In 1987 Gorbachev created an agreement with the United States called the INF treaty. This treaty eliminated intermediate- range nuclear weapons. It also cut military spending in both nations. When the Soviets cut down on their military budget they stopped providing military support to communist governments in Eastern Europe. This led to the overthrow of these governments

Berlin Wall Throughout the Cold War, the Berlin Wall symbolized the division between eastern and western powers. When a peaceful revolutionary movement passed through Eastern Europe in 1989, it also occurred in East and West Germany. On November 9, 1989 the East German government allowed citizens to travel between east and west Berlin. On November 10, 1989 workers began to destroy the Berlin Wall

Rising Tensions One of the many problems that Gorbachev had to deal with was the multi-ethnic nature of the USSR. The Soviet Union contained 92 nationalities and 112 different languages. Prior to Gorbachev’s new reforms the iron hand of the USSR had subdued the ethnic tensions between these nationalities. With these new tensions and nationalism quickly spreading, nationalist movements emerged in the republics that made-up the Soviet Union. Soon the republics were arguing for independence. Some of the first demands for independence came from Latvia, Estonia, Moldavia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Lithuania. Protest for independence in the Soviet Union

Downfall of Gorbachev With Gorbachev struggling to deal with these problems the Soviet secret police and army became worried that the Soviet Union would end along with their privileges. On August 1991, Boris Yeltsin lead an unsuccessful coup’ de etat in an attempt to seize power from Gorbachev. On December 1, 1991 Ukraine voted for independence and one week later Belarus announced that the Soviet Union had “ceased to exist” On December 25, 1991 Gorbachev resigned, turning his responsibilities to Boris Yeltsin.

Map There were 15 countries formed as a result of the Soviet Union: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Russia.

Aftermath Yeltsin wanted to create a capitalistic economy in the new Russia. However economic hardship and social disorder were worsened by a rise in organized crime. Yeltsin also tried to keep former Soviet states like Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic from joining NATO. However, in the 1990’s these countries were able to join NATO. Yeltsin resigned in 1999 and was succeeded by Vladimir Putin. Putin was focussed on boosting growth and in budget revenues in order to keep Russia on a strong economic track. Because of this Russia has experienced a budget surplus and a growing economy. Boris Yeltsin

P.S. Due to the disintegration of the Soviet Union new countries were able to thrive and produce intriguing characters like...

Very Nice! Adriana Srsen Oliver Hegge Dylan Sohngen Tatiana Padovan Iva Masnov