Follow-Up Post Instructions
Respond to at least one peer. At least one of your responses should be to a peer who chose an option different from yours. Further the dialogue by providing more information and clarification.
Wk 7 Discussion Response Needed
One of the main reasons that the Soviet Union collapsed was when Gorbachev tried to appease both the radicals and the conservatives by compromising and meeting their demands partially thus creating more dissatisfaction from both sides (Duiker, 2015). Gorbachev encouraged citizens and public officials to voice their opinions regarding the government’s strengths and weaknesses known as the “glasnost” (Duiker, 215). The other reform under Gorbachev’s leadership was the restructuring of the economy that allowed citizens to privately own businesses (History.com Editors, 2019). Gorbachev hoped these reforms would lead to a more productive and wealthy nation, but results were not seen immediately (History.com Editors, 2019).
Gorbachev also loosened his grip over the 92 nationalities that were part of the Soviet Union resulting in protests and expressions of their own nationalism. Another reason is Lithuania’s declaration of independence from Soviet Union, which caused other countries to follow suit (Duiker, 2015). The uprising in Poland and with the influence of Pope John Paul II for independence were results of high food prices. The movement gained more popularity when the Soviet Union declared martial law in Poland (Duiker, 2015). Gorbachev gave in and allowed national elections to take place. The uprising in other countries such as Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany led to the fall of the regime. The most symbolic was the destruction of the Berlin Wall in 1989 (Duiker 2015). These countries were able to form a non-communist government and gained their independence. Gorbachev resigned on Christmas Day of 1991 and announced Boris Yeltsin as his successor, which marked the fall of the Soviet Union (Duiker, 2015).
The constant state of militarism and cost of keeping up with the U.S. military build up was detrimental to the Soviet Union’s economy. The Soviet Union had been fighting a war against Afghanistan in order to gain control and communism, but the U.S. intervened by training a group of jihadists, that would later be known as the Taliban, to fight back against the Soviet Union (World Atlas, n.d.). The cost of the war and the nuclear race were costly and Soviet Union’s economy suffered greatly.
References:
Reasons For The Collapse Of The Soviet Union. (n.d.). WorldAtlas. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/10-reasons-for-the-collapse-of-the-soviet-union.html#:~:text=1%20Many%20factors%20affected%20the%20Soviet%20Union%27s%20economy
Duiker, W. J. (2015). Contemporary world history (6th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
History.com Editors. (2019, February 22). Fall of the Soviet Union. HISTORY; A&E Television Networks. https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/fall-of-soviet-union
