Blaming Gorbachev for the Collapse of the Soviet Union Essay

However, it is true that Gorbachev did not fully comprehend the significance nor foresee the ultimate effect of his reforms. An evolutionary leader who saw the pressing flaws of the old system, he genuinely believed in and pushed for a workable model of socialism based on the Soviet experience and within the existed framework of the party-state. As the reforms went further and deeper, however, the

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR was at one time one of leading world powers, only rivaled by the United States. So that begs the questions, “how could a country that was at one time so dominant fall so far?” In this essay I will examine the circumstances that led up to the Soviet Union’s eventual downfall by mainly focusing Mikhail Gorbachev’s term as leader of the Communist party of the Soviet Union and what changes he brought about through glasnost and perestroika, democratization and the national independence movements that began as a result of it, and lastly failed coup by conservative members of the USSR against Gorbachev that ultimately became the last nail in the coffin for the

The Soviet Union was a communist country, meaning that the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, herein referred to as CPSU, exercised absolute rule. The Communist Party controlled both the government and the economy. The Soviet Union’s economy was based on a centrally planned economy, which was composed every five years at the CPSU Party Congress. Despite early successes under Stalin, the five-year plan system proved to be a mistake. The plans that were produced were unrealistic, and inconsistent with sound economic policy. The ideology that motivated people in the early years of the Soviet Union started to fail to serve as sufficient motivation, and without further incentives, the workforce remained unmotivated and inefficient. In addition to the failures of the planned economy, the people who ran the party were thoroughly corrupt,

Although the collapse of the Soviet Union caught many scholars and politicians off guard, the Soviet empire had shown signs of deterioration since the late 1960s. Although the stability of the system couldn’t be questioned, the rigidity of the system hindered the readjustment in crucial sectors, necessary to adapt to the rapidly changing world. One of the first attempts to update the system and rid it from the excesses of its last rule, came with the ascension of Khrushchev to power. In the 20th Party Congress he established his idiosyncratic position that put a clear end to the Stalinist era. The “secret speech” sent a powerful

Now, however, all former fifteen USSR republics are enduring the aftermath of a huge climax in the national tensions. Consequently, the erosion of Soviet patriotism became aggravated with the weakening policies on travel and curiosity of what is behind the iron curtain. Image of an intellectually superior communist citizen started to fade. Gorbachev’s mistake was in trusting mass Soviet propaganda and starting the process of democratic liberation and beginning of new socialistic movement before resolving national tensions (Gaidar, 2010; Zubok, 2009). Thought he was a man of “great intelligence, but weak spirit”, and was faced with tensions and lies in his own office, but despite that was strong enough to face the Cold War with more courage

Many Historians have debated as to why Khrushchev fell from power in 1964. Historian John Laver states that the failures in foreign policy “are what provided the final straw for many colleagues” however Pravda were eager to blame “his hare-brained schemes”. To assess the reason for his fall from power in 1964 one must assess the policy of De-Stalinisation, his failures in foreign policy and his economic reforms and their failures. This essay shall argue that the main reason for his downfall was his policy of De-Stalinisation.

The quick collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 appalled everyone in the West, but that is because no one outside the Soviet Union knew what was going on. The Soviet government’s lies of economic success and superiority over the Western capitalist states had controlled the citizens of Russia to believe that the USSR’s Communist regime was growing for half a decade. It wasn’t until Mikhail Gorbachev that mocked previous leaders like Stalin and Brezhnev for being responsible for not improving the Soviet economy. Gorbachev’s reforms to modernize the USSR created more freedom and openness for Russians, but sprawled uprisings and revolutions in the Central Asia and the Baltic states. The inability to keep up with the United States economically in the 1970s and 1980s along with the later reforms to improve the Soviet economy in Gorbachev’s term led to the downfall of the USSR.

During the early 1980s the Soviet Union would have three leaders in less than three years. Brezhnev, Andropov, and Chernenko were all solid communist leaders, but also older and all died within their first year of office. In March 1985 a communist reformer named Mikhail Gorbachev was appointed as the Soviet Union’s last president. The Soviet government knew they couldn’t afford another short term leader. Gorbachev was fifty four was he took office. When Gorbachev assumed power the Soviet Union was in a state of stagnation. Gorbachev wanted to reform the economy and modernize the political structure. In order to help the Soviet Union prosper Gorbachev introduced three policies of reform. These policies were glasnost, perestroika, and

Prior to Putin’s 2001 State of the Nation address, Russia was dealing with the overwhelming effects of economic and political reform. The fall of Communism and the Soviet Union left Russia in a fragile state. When Putin references “the period of disintegration of the Statehood” he is referring to the lack of stability and legitimacy in Russia’s era of reformation in the 1990s that threatened the very existence of the nation. The sources and indicators of this disintegration can be found through an analysis of Russia’s economic, political, and social struggles throughout this period of reform. However, 21st century Russia no longer is grappling with the same issues of the 1990s. Russia has removed itself from a state of disintegration which can be seen through economic growth, moderate population growth, formation of a common identity, effective foreign policy initiatives, and an ability to provide some level of legitimacy to the Putin regime. Yet, in the coming decades Russia still faces political and economic challenges that could lead the nation back on a path of disintegration.

The people of the USSR were always used to authoritative command and strict policies that made them fear the government, citizens were also never able to criticize the government. However that all changed, Glasnost gave citizens the freedom to speak about their own government, and as a matter of fact, Gorbachev encouraged his people to speak up against the government, thus allowing citizens to criticize the government openly. Citizens were always accustomed to the total control by the government as citizens now began to express themselves. However, because of this policy, citizens were now being informed of the ongoing incidents and crimes within the government caused major riots against Gorbachev and his regime. The entire nation noted the failures of this system and demanded a new regime. Citizens began to experience more freedom than they ever had since the Bolshevik revolution. This eventually gave birth to a new federal Russia, as Gorbachev was forced to re-sign as leader of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the USSR was

This is a photo of Gorbachev giving a speech. Mikhail Gorbachev became Secretary General of the Soviet Union in 1985, until he resigned in 1991. Gorbachev was much younger than the previous leaders of the Soviet Union and had many ideas for reforms. After entering office, Gorbachev began to implement a wide range of reforms. He sought to correct many problems in the Soviet Union, including economic problems, the issues and history of harsh punishments against dissidents, and unrest among the different groups that made up the Soviet Union. Gorbachev began to encourage a culture of openness and honesty between the government and the Soviet people. This policy was known as "glasnost". Gorbachev also instituted a reform of restructuring the

He also ruthlessly controlled the media to ensure that the Russian people were only given such information as he saw fit. An example of this is the fact that Trotsky’s vehement criticisms of Stalin from the various countries he lived in abroad were kept from the Russia people and indeed Trotsky who had been true hero of the revolution was blamed by Stalin for much of Russia’s problems at the time. Trotsky is also a good example of Stalin’s use of terror when propaganda alone would not succeed since ultimately unable to silence Trotsky in another way Stalin had him assassinated. In the same way Stalin could not bear any challenges to his authority and

The origin of the soviet propaganda can be traced from the state’s very conception, as the new government worked tirelessly to convince its populace of its legitimacy. Soviet propaganda uniquely differs from other countries’ propaganda, in that the USSR’s extensive censorship and large-scale manipulation of information created the perfect circumstances for near complete control of the citizenry. Only with the arrival of Glasnost in the 1980’s did many in the Soviet state begin to doubt the legitimacy of their government’s media. In particular, the propaganda concerning the dangers of capitalism and American barbarism became known falsehoods, as outside information began to leak widespread in various Soviet countries. However, throughout the decades of Soviet control, not all of its citizens lost their faith in the 1980’s; instead some continually doubting the purported truth of the USSR from its establishment, a continual doubt that assisted in the eventual collapse of the Soviet state. Despite the vigorous attempts of Soviet propaganda to demonize the capitalist natures of America, as well as otherwise defaming the United States, many people within the Soviet state remained unconvinced by this viewpoint.

It was December 1991, with the creation of a contiguous Soviet Union that was officially ended by the end of the Soviet Union. The collapse of the Soviet Union is still one of the main phenomena studied in international relations. Perhaps it is safe to say that as the October Revolution and the events that followed, surprised the world and inspired many researchers in the world to scramble and investigate in this, as much or as much of the collapse of the Soviet Union in It created an emotion among the people of the world, especially politicians and researchers in political and social sciences. The Soviet Union was a large country. The tribes and peoples living in this country lived together with national languages, national traditions, religions

The continued lack of production for quality goods was not the only factor that led to the collapse of communism. Another factor leading to the collapse of the Soviet Union was the hypocrisy of the Party members. During the 60s and 70s, the Party’s elite experienced increased wealth and power; they owned many luxury goods and lived glamourous lifestyles will millions of Soviet citizens were starving. As a result, citizens began to feel hatred towards the regime and were unwilling to protect it when their protection was needed most. When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power, he began to steer the Soviet Union towards a hybrid capitalist-communist structure, and on December 25, 1991, he announced the dissolution of the Soviet