1. The Collapse of the Soviet Union
And the world watched with wonder …

2. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Eastern Bloc
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
15 Republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
7 Satellite
Countries:
Bulgaria, Czech Republic, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia

3. Technological Ambitions
Ideological Differences Democratic Capitalism v. Totalitarian Communism
Military Strength
Arms Race
Technological Ambitions
Space Race

4. Was the Collapse Due to Force? No
The Cold War cost more than $11 trillion. But the collapse of the Soviet Union and its satellites was not a result of force.
No shots fired.
No bomb fell on the Kremlin.

5. A Home-Grown Insurgency
Massive, home-grown insurgency, led by
Workers
Dissident intellectuals
Reformers

6. Polish Trade Union: Solidarity
The downfall began in 1980 when striking Polish workers organized Solidarity, an independent trade union of nearly 10 million members.

7. Support from Catholic Church
Solidarity, which had strong support from the powerful Polish Catholic Church, demonstrated how a working-class movement could offer an entire nation moral and political leadership.

9. Reagan’s Brandenburg Gate Speech
President Ronald Reagan called upon Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall: "In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards... Even today, the Soviet Union cannot feed itself. The inescapable conclusion is that freedom is the victor. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

10. President Reagan giving a speech at the Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, Federal Republic of Germany. June 12, 1987

11. Wave of Demonstrations
Beginning in September 1989, a wave of huge demonstrations shook Communist regimes across Eastern Europe

12. A tram is blocked by East German demonstrators in the center of the city in October Their banner reads: 'Legalization of opposition parties, free democratic elections, free press and independent unions.'

13. The Wall Came Down
Finally, on the night of November 9, 1989, ordinary Germans poured through the Berlin Wall. The GDR quickly disintegrated, and by the end of 1990, all of East Germany had been incorporated into the wealthy, powerful Federal Republic of Germany.
BONUS: WHAT IMPORTANT PERSON WAS BORN THIS DAY????

14. The Rise of Nationalism
With the iron grip of the centralized Soviet state relaxed and the growing failure of the state to adequately feed and clothe its people, nationalism in the republics surged and separatist movements threatened the very existence of the Soviet Union.
Super Cute Protesters: Moldova: The hot, angry face of nationalism - Apr 13, 2009

15. Events in Eastern Europe
Communist governments in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Bulgaria either tumbled or underwent reform.
The Communist dictatorship in Romania fell after a week of bloody street battles between ordinary citizens and police, who defended the old order to the bitter end.

16. Independent Republics
The Communist party quickly collapsed, and the Soviet Union began the painful and uncertain process of reorganizing itself as a loose confederation of independent republics.

17. The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the End of the Cold War
John Paul II’s CATHOLIC CHURCH
East German NATIONALISM
Lech Walesa's SOLIDARITY
Eastern Bloc
Gorbachev’s
REFORMS
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Ronald Reagan’s
FOREIGN POLICY
Glasnost
Perestroika
EVIL EMPIRE Speech
No Brezhnev Doctrine
MILITARY BUILDUP
Ordinary MEN & WOMEN
Reform KGB
ARMS RACE
COURAGE
Reform Comm Party
WILL POWER

18. Remaining Communist Countries
At its peak, communism was practiced in dozens of countries:
Soviet Union: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan
Asian Countries: Afghanistan, Cambodia, Mongolia, and Yemen
Soviet Controlled Eastern bloc countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia.
The Balkans: Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.
Africa: Angola, Benin, Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, and Mozambique.
Currently only a handful of countries identified as communist remain: Laos, North Korea, Vietnam, China, and Cuba.