Download 2) Economic Recession 4 CAUSES Collapse of the Soviet Union

4 CAUSES
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
4 DETAILS
a
c
b
d
4 FIGURES
4 EFFECTS
4 CAUSES
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
a
1) Massive Spending
The Soviets spent tons and
tons of money fighting to
support the communist cause
and put down revolts in places
like Hungary and
Afghanistan.
Enormous amounts of money
was spent on the Arms and
Space Races as the USSR
worked to outdo the USA in
both areas.
4 CAUSES
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
a
2) Economic Recession
Beginning in 1986,
the Soviet Union began
significantly cutting
funding to its satellite
states. This move is
usually discussed as the
beginning of the end for
the Soviet Union, which
was experiencing a
recession similar to the
Great Depression in the
United States in the 1930s.
4 CAUSES
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
a
3) Glasnost
The Soviet Union
struggled economically ($)
through the 1980s. Soviet
leader Mikhail Gorbachev
introduced two bold
concepts called glasnost
and perestroika.
Glasnost, Russian for
publicity or openness, was a
call for greater transparency
in the Soviet government,
allowing more freedom of
speech and freedom of the
press.
4 CAUSES
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
a
4) Perestroika
The Soviet Union
struggled economically through
the 1980s. Soviet leader Mikhail
Gorbachev introduced two bold
concepts called glasnost and
perestroika. Perestroika,
Russian for restructuring, was a
movement to reform the Soviet
Union and allow for private
ownership of some businesses.
Within a few years, many of the
countries under Soviet control
broke away or underwent
revolutions. The Soviet Union
was completely dissolved by 1991.
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
4 FIGURES
b
Mikhail Gorbachev was the
leader of the Soviet Union from
1985 to 1991. In terms of the Cold
War, he was known for beginning
a period of liberalization in the
USSR. He promoted the policies
of glasnost and perestroika,
which were seen as steps toward
democracy and capitalism.
1) Gorbachev
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
4 FIGURES
b
2) Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan was the president
of the United States from 1981 to 1989.
In terms of the Cold War, he was known
for working with Gorbachev to improve
Cold War relations. He gave a famous
speech in West Berlin in 1987 calling for
the wall to come down. Reagan is also
credited with helping bring an end to
the Cold War.
Soviet Union
 Reagan took a hard
line against the Soviet
Union, calling it an
“evil empire,” but
tensions eased after
Mikhail Gorbachev
took over as Soviet
leader in 1985.
 In 1987, Reagan and
Gorbachev signed the
INF Treaty and in 1989,
Soviet troops pulled
out of Afghanistan.
Middle East
 1983: US Marines were sent to
Lebanon by President Reagan
as part of an international
peacekeeping force.
 October 23, 1983: A suicide
bomber crashed an explosivesladen truck into a US Marine
barracks in Beirut killing more
than 200 Marines. (My brotherin-law was there!)
 1986: US bombed Libya in
retaliation for alleged Libyan
sponsorship of terrorist attacks.
Central America
 US tried to prevent the
expansion of Communism into
Central America.
 Reagan sent “military advisors”
to prop up the pro-US
government in El Salvador.
 He also provided covert aid to
the “Contra” rebels opposing
the anti-American Sandinista
government in Nicaragua.
 October, 1983: US sent a force
to Grenada to kick out a
Marxist government that had
overthrown and killed the
prime minister there.
Iran-Contra Affair
 A number of American hostages had
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been seized by Muslim extremist
groups in Lebanon.
At the same time, the Sandinista
government in Nicaragua was
solidifying their grip in Central
America
Reagan repeatedly requested Congress
to provide military aid to the Contras
fighting against the Sandinistas.
Congress refused.
In 1985, American diplomats secretly
arranged arms sales to Iran in return
for Iranian aid in obtaining the release
of American hostages held by Middle
Eastern terrorists.
At least one hostage was set free.
 Meanwhile, money from the payment for the arms was
diverted to the Contras.
 This violated a congressional ban on military aid to the
Nicaraguan contras as well as Reagan’s promise never to
negotiate with terrorists.
 Reagan claimed he was innocent of wrongdoing and
ignorant about the activities of his subordinates, but a
congressional committee investigated and held
hearings.
 Criminal indictments were
brought against several
members of the National
Security Administration.
 Two men were found guilty
of criminal behavior, Col.
Oliver North and his boss,
Adm. John Poindexter.
 These revelations hurt
President Reagan’s
credibility.
Reagan’s Star Wars Interrupts Thaw
The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a proposal by President Reagan on in
1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the US from attack by
nuclear ballistic missiles. It focused on strategic defense rather than doctrine of
mutual assured destruction (MAD).
 It was quickly nicknamed “Star Wars.”
Criticism of SDI:
 It would require the US to change, withdraw from, or break earlier treaties.
 The Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which requires "States Parties to the Treaty
undertake not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear
weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such
weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other
manner" and would forbid the US from pre-positioning in Earth orbit any devices
powered by nuclear weapons and any devices capable of "mass destruction.“
The program proposed to use unproven technology.
The program would cost many billions of dollars.
 It would start a new arms race with the Soviets.
Artist rendering of satellites
and lasers to be used in SDI
14
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
4 FIGURES
b
George H.W. Bush was
Reagan’s vice president in the
1980s and became president in
1990. He was the president who
continued improving relations
with the Soviets as they
transitioned to the Russian
Federation in 1991.
3) George H.W. Bush
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
4 FIGURES
b
As the Soviet Union
collapsed and broke apart,
Boris Yeltsin became the first
popularly elected president of
the new country. His election
marked the beginning of a
new era in Russian history;
the Russian Federation (1991).
4) Boris Yeltsin
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
4 DETAILS
c
1) 74 years of the USSR
In the midst of
World War One,
Russia’s longstanding
monarchy was
overthrown and
communism was
established. Since that
year (1917), the Soviet
Union or “USSR” (Union
of Soviet Socialist
Republics) lasted
almost 75 years before
coming apart in the late
1980s.
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
4 DETAILS
c
2) Reagan’s Berlin Speech
In 1987, U.S. president
Ronald Reagan visited West Berlin
and gave a famous speech about
the failures of communism. In
this speech, he asked that Mr.
Gorbachev would open the gate
between East and West Berlin.
Then he demanded, “Mr.
Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
4 DETAILS
c
3) Fall of the Berlin Wall
In November of 1989,
the Berlin Wall came down.
Many East German citizens
were already escaping the
communist world by going to
Austria through Hungary
(where the border fences were
coming down). Thousands of
East Berliners soon
overwhelmed the guards and
crossed into West Berlin. The
wall came down for good
weeks later.
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
4 DETAILS
c
4) Revolutions of ‘89
The Eastern Bloc was
the name given to the
Eastern European countries
that answered to the Soviet
Union. All 6 of them fell in
the fall of 1989. East
Germany, Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary
and Bulgaria all overthrew
their communist
governments relatively
peacefully, while Romania’s
revolution was more
violent.
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
4 EFFECTS
c
1) U.S.S.R. Dissolves
What used to be
the Soviet Union
eventually split into 15
separate nations. These
nations included:
Latvia
Lithuania
Moldova
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Ukraine
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Estonia
Georgia
Kazakhstan
Russia Kyrgyzstan
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
4 EFFECTS
c
2) Eastern Bloc
Abandons Communism
All six eastern bloc
nations abandoned
communism via the 1989
revolutions. Romanian
revolutionaries literally cut
the hammer and sickle
symbol out of the flag as if
to “cut the communism out
of Romania.” Other
communist nations (but
not Eastern Bloc) also left
communism in the years to
come (e.g. Yugoslavia and
Albania).
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
4 EFFECTS
c
3) Democracy in Russia
For the first time in
Russia’s history, the nation
became a democracy. For
centuries, Russia was ruled by
czars. After the 1917 Revolution,
the Soviet Union was a
communist superpower. But after
1991, Russia rejoined the world
community as a democracy.
CollapseoftheSovietUnion / EndoftheColdWar / FallofCommunism
4 EFFECTS
c
4) Only 5 communist
nations remain
Technically, no
nation is purely
communist (since Karl
Marx described
communism as a classless,
stateless society). But
there are five who claim to
be some form of leftist
government (e.g. socialist,
communist). They
include: Laos, Cuba,
China, Vietnam and North
Korea.