Shows that the soviet union and its communist government was weak. Note that we are following the convention of the research guide of this. The economic decline of the soviet union over the 1980s was an essential reason for the end of the cold war. Help your students understand the collapse of the ussr and the end of the cold war with this online activity. Near the end of the cold war the soviet union was spending around 27% of. Kennedy consequently blockaded the island nation, pushing the united states and the ussr to the brink of nuclear war. Dec 04, 2019 the cold war rivalry between the united states and the soviet union lasted for decades and resulted in anticommunist suspicions and international incidents that led the two superpowers to the. Gorbachev was a revolutionary leader for the ussr, as he was the first to promote liberalization of the political landscape and capitalist elements into the economy perestroika. For example, in the centurieslong decline of rome, the once grand city. The collection contains documents from archives in most of the former soviet bloc countries. Collapse of the soviet union, sequence of events that led to the dissolution of the u.
The end of the cold war 1981 91 this section will largely focus on two men, president ronald reagan of the united states and mikhall gorbachev of the soviet union. They both spent billions and billions of dollars trying to build up huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons. Russia was a communist country, ruled by a dictator who cared little about human rights. After this collapse, there were no conflicts of interests after world war two such as the cold war. Power, globalization, and the end of the cold war article pdf available in international security 25 january 2000 with 1,460 reads how we measure reads. Consequences of disintegration there are many consequences of the disintegration of ussr. An end has been put to the cold war and to the arms race, as well as to the mad militarization of the country, which has crippled our economy, public attitudes and morals. Stalin wanted reparations from germany a buffer of friendly states. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website.
What effect did the cold war have on the soviet union. Start studying chapter 17 the collapse of the ussr and the end of the cold war. The cold war ended with the collapse of the soviet bloc. It was waged on political, economic, and propaganda fronts and had only limited recourse to weapons. During world war 2 the united kingdom, france and the united states aligned another in order to defeat nazi germany. Grade 12 topic 4 the end of the cold war and a new global.
Proxy wars the cold war was often fought between the superpowers of the united states and the soviet union in something called a proxy war. World history upsc ias psc ssc break up of ussr duration. The end of the cold war soviet leader mikhail gorbachev introduced reform policies in the ussr called perestroika restructuring of the soviet economy and glasnost openness and transparency. History of ussr the russian revolution of 1917 ended the russian. The collapse of the soviet union started in the late 1980s and was complete when the country broke up into 15 independent states on december 25, 1991. Resignation of gorbachev, no longer a communist party and the ussr was disbanded. The afghanistan war and the breakdown of the soviet union. They discuss the changes occurring in eastern europe and the tiananmen square events in china. Gorbachev meant to reform the soviet economy and political system. Sudden collapse december 1991 gorbachev resigns, ending the cold war. The cold war 1947 1991 introduction the grand alliance formed by the u. These were wars fought between other countries, but with each side getting support from a different superpower. Key factors that brought an end to the cold war the end of. So, the resources needed to develop the countrys infrastructure went to military spending instead.
Soviet economy was near collapse, promoted gorbachev to introduce reforms and end the arms race, expensive commitment to the war in afghanistan. Jan 16, 2018 following the resignation of mikhail gorbachev, the union of soviet socialist republics or ussr, dissolved into 15 independent states, marking the federations downfall and ending the cold war. Khrushchev ended the terrifying cuban missile crisis when he agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for an end to the blockade. The collapse of the soviet union strangely gorbachev remained by conviction a communist and he believed he could hold the soviet union together. In 1941, nazi germany invaded the soviet union and along with japan, declared war on the usa. The ussr s weakened military and economy following world war. As the ussr spread communism to its eastern zone in germany and the. The cold war power strugglewaged on political, economic and. Fall of the soviet union explained in 5 minutes youtube. Learn more about one of the key events of the 20th century in this article. In 1990 the baltic republics of lithuania, estonia and latvia.
The activity guides students through the collapse utilizing images, web information, and videos. The union of soviet socialist republics ussr was a loose confederation of 15 republics with russia as the leader. Causes of the collapse of the soviet union and russias. At the end of the war, austria and germany were divided into 4 military occupation zones, each assigned to one of the big four powers france, britain, america, and the ussr. Reagan, gorbachev, and the end of the cold war notes end of the cold war the man who would lead the soviet union during its breakup was a member of this new generation mikhail gorbachev was born in 1931 he joined the communist party of the soviet unioncpsu, graduated from the moscow university law school at age 39 gorbachev became a provincial communist party chief though still a provincial. There have been several arguments and contentions which are attributed to this fall. The cold war was characterised by the tension between the two contending superpowers the united states and the soviet union.
Weapons did not defeat the ussr, but the ineffectiveness of its economic system and the lack of political freedoms. The cold war separated the world into two separate blocs. Often in history, the biggest changes to the status quo are accompanied by largescale violence. During the cold war the united states and the soviet union became engaged in a nuclear arms race. Key factors that brought an end to the cold war the end. The end of the cold war and the causes of soviet collapse examines the role played by this foreign policy reform process in the breakdown of soviet power.
Cold war and the collapse of the soviet union is, if viewed from the per spective of. The biggest factor was that the military cabal kept control of the soviet union after wwii and after stalin. The collapse of communism in eastern europe in 1989 led to better relations between the superpowers and, in december of that year, gorbachev and president bush senior agreed that the cold war was over at a meeting on a warship off the coast of malta. The effect is to conceal or obliterate variations in the nature of the relationship. The revolutions of 1989 and the fall of the soviet union. The headings are reagan why was the soviet union bankrupt. Cold war, the open yet restricted rivalry that developed after world war ii between the united states and the soviet union and their respective allies. When mikhail gorbachev assumed the reins of power in the soviet union. The cold war was a geopolitical chess match between the united states, the soviet union, and both parties allies in which the major power players sought to project their respective ideologies across the globe in the wake of colonialisms collapse following world war two. Cold war endscollapse of the soviet union flashcards. When applied to the russian case, collins notes that russias marchland. On december 25, 1991, the soviet flag flew over the kremlin in moscow for the last time. The soviet union extended its power over much of eastern europe. Another reason for the collapse of ussr was the rise of nationalism and the desire for sovereignty within various republics including russia and the baltic republics.
In october 1949, the communist party, led by mao zedong, came to power in china. Hayley robinson slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. The ussr was no longer inclined likely to support the anc in its armed struggle but urged negotiations with pretoria. Yet the position of communist china under mao zedong in the cold war, in many respects, was not minor but of great importance especially with. Despite the unequivocal demise of the soviet state by the end of 1991 and the. Oct 22, 2016 the union of soviet socialist republics ussr was a loose confederation of 15 republics with russia as the leader. In this post lets analyse the reasons and impact of the disintegration of the ussr. Pdf power, globalization, and the end of the cold war.
Histories of the cold war can then be rewritten to explain that obvious end. Chapter 17 the collapse of the ussr and the end of the cold war. The collapse of communism and the end of the cold war. The cold war was the event that shaped world history from the end of wwii to the early 1990s. The fall of the soviet union was a decadesinthemaking outcome of cold war politics, but it happened quite suddenly in the late 80s and early 90s, primarily at the level of u. This proved to be a vital factor in the ending of the cold war however it is by no means the only one. Impact of the collapse of the ussr on sa checklist questions. Free elections allowed in the states of eastern europe 4.
Dec 01, 2019 the soviet union officially fell on december, 26 1991 when the ussr was dissolved and the communistera policies of the region ceased. The ussr would join this alliance following operation barbarossa the invasion of russia by nazi germany. Mikhail gorbachev gorbachev was a different leader than previous soviet leaders at heart, he was not a ruthless dictator he was reluctant to use force to control people when the populations of e. The berlin wall falls and ussr dissolves short history. Usussr relationship during wwii before the end of the world war ii, stalin, churchill and roosevelt met at yalta to plan what should happen when the war ended.
The decline, followed by the collapse, of communist regimes in eastern europe and finally the ussr itself undermined the credibility integrity of the oneparty state and the statedirected command economy. After more than four decades, in december 1989, gorbachev and president george h. America was a capitalist democracy, which valued freedom. The cold war was a strategic struggle that developed after world war ii between the united states and its allies on the one hand and the ussr and its allied communist countries on the other. Its fall shows that the soviet union was committed to reform and increasing the freedoms of those living in eastern europe.
For the soviet union, stalins legacy meant that politically the soviet union remained an authoritarian, oneparty state and that economically it was focused on producing military hardware rather than housing, transport, food, consumer. The cold war period of 19851991 began with the rise of mikhail gorbachev as general secretary of the communist party of the soviet union. This signaled the end of the cold war between the soviet union and the united states. An introduction to the cold war in europe thoughtco. The end of the cold war and the causes of soviet collapse.
Denied post war economic support from america, the ussr wanted to take war reparations from germany. The end of the cold war california historysocial science project. Russia, ukraine, belarus, moldova, the three baltic republics latvia, lithuania, estonia, the three caucasian republics georgia, armenia, azerbaijan and the central. The cold war, the soviets failure to match technological advancement, and the arms race are seen as the major contributors to the collapse of the soviet union which happened in 1991. The dissolution of the soviet union or collapse of the soviet union was the process of internal disintegration within the union of soviet socialist republics ussr, also referred to as the soviet union, which began in the second half of the 1980s with growing unrest in the various national republics and ended on 26 december 1991, when the supreme soviet voted the ussr itself out of existence. The reforms implemented by president mikhail gorbachev and the backlash against them hastened the demise of the soviet state. The ending of the cold war was confirmed by the ending of the communist party, as it was a war on ideologies and superpowers the downfall of the country represented an official end to the cold war and the conflict between the us and ussr. By the 1960s, it appeared that communism was permanently established in the region. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Star wars initiative put the soviets on notice that the next phase of the arms race would be waged in areas where the. The cold war finally came to an end in 1989 with the fall of the berlin wall and the collapse of. Two years later, the allies had broken their friendship. Setting the stageafter world war ii, the soviet union and the united states engaged in a cold war, which you read about in chapter 33. Natos purpose after the cold war brookings institution. The ussr, after getting germanys pledge to observe the invulnerability of the territorial status quo in europe, revived the global contest with the us, which was immersed in domestic turbulences and disputes with all its allies about. The cold war the period from 1945 to 1991 saw a host of important events in the cold war battle between the u. New evidence on the end of the cold war wilson center. For higher history, revise the reasons for the end of the cold war. The collapse of the soviet union cold war 1991 essay. However, even before this happened in 1989, relations between the soviet union and the united states had changed dramatically. The cold war played a significant role in shaping the decisions and culture of the soviet union but cant be viewed as the sole explanation towards understanding its existence and collapse. Despite their longterm differences, the ussr, uk and usa formed a military alliance the grand alliance suspicions remained throughout the war.
Kennedy also removed american missiles from turkey and agreed to work on reducing cold war tensions. Learn about the soviet invasion of afghanistan and the roles of gorbachev and reagan. The united states and the ussr gradually built up their own zones of influence, dividing the. Britain and the usa led by president truman wanted to help germany recover to prevent. Europe realized this, they became bolder and stronger.
Gorbachev the end of soviet control in eastern europe postscript. Ussr was a strong bloc with great control over global politics from 1922 to 1991, when it was disintegrated into smaller units. The cold war came to an end with the collapse of the soviet union in 1991. Chapter 2 the end of bipolarity class 12 political science. The soviet economic weakness precipitated the end of the cold war and the subsequent collapse of the ussr. The communists had been fighting the chinese nationalists since the 1920s, and although the civil war ended in 1937 because of the war against japan, the fighting between communists and nationalists resumed in 1946. From the second cold war to the end of the cold war. Initially, department of state officials and bushs foreign policy team were reluctant to speak publicly about german reunification due to fear that hardliners in both the german democratic republic gdr and the soviet union would stymie reform. The collapse of communism and the end of the cold war 1945 1991. Ussr ceased to exist ussr was collection of different republics not russia nov 1989 berlin wall fell down eastern europe wave of popular protests communist governments fell in eastern europe role of gorbachev perestroika and glasnost glasnost.