1. The Fall of the Soviet Union

2. The communist world weakened in the 1980’s, leading to the collapse of the Soviet Union and its allies – Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985 He loosened Soviet control of communist countries in Eastern Europe and allowed them to move toward democracy – East Germany was the largest country to abandon communism In 1989 they stopped travel restrictions and tore down the Berlin Wall In 1990 they held democratic elections and reunited with West Germany

3. Germany and Romania Watch the video and answer the following questions: 1.How did the Soviet response to democratic movements in its satellites change? 2.How were East Germany and Romania different in 1989?

4. Research Answer the following questions (note down where you got your information): 1.What role did Glasnost play in the collapse of the USSR? 2.What role did Perestroika play in the collapse of the USSR? 3.What role did the military spending of the US play in the collapse of the USSR? 4.What role did the invasion of Afghanistan play in the collapse of the USSR? 5.What role did Chernobyl play in the collapse of the USSR? Suggest Sources Websites: – www.ushistory.org www.ushistory.org – americanhistory.si.edu americanhistory.si.edu – http://www.bbc.co.uk/hist ory/0/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/hist ory/0/ – www.history.com www.history.com – http://wais.stanford.edu/ http://wais.stanford.edu/ – www.foreignpolicy.com www.foreignpolicy.com – www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com Textbooks: – The Americans, pages 1054-1056 – World Geography, page 363

5. China Watch the video and answer the following questions: 3.What led to the Tiananmen Square massacre? 4.What were the consequences of the Tiananmen Square protests?