Cold War And Communism Essay

Although the indications were present well before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the world was not completely ready for the end of the Cold War. The US was left alone without any major balancing opponents. Furthermore, after the dissolution of the Soviets the numbers of newly established independent states have increased significantly. All these new states were lacking of self-governing capabilities and also the Western vision, which was the victorious ideology of the Cold war. Moreover, some

The Soviet Union, which was once a world superpower in the 19th century saw itself in chaos going into the 20th century. These chaoses were marked by the new ideas brought in by the new leaders who had emerged eventually into power. Almost every aspect of the Soviet Union was crumbling at this period both politically and socially, as well as the economy. There were underlying reasons for the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and eventually Eastern Europe. The economy is the most significant aspect of every government. The soviet economy was highly centralized with a “command economy” (p.1. fsmitha.com), which had been broken down due to its complexity and centrally controlled with corruption involved in it. A strong government

Offner, Arnold, "Provincialism and Confrontation: Truman’s Responsibility" in Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, Volume II.

In 1947, the Cold War had started, named after how both of the disputing sides did not fight but only threatened each other with new technologies. The U.S and Soviet Union disagreements on political systems and also questioned war reparation, show how they cause the Cold War with their mistrust and technological issues.

1.     How NSC-68 influenced America’s response to Communist North Korea’s invasion of South Korea in June 1950 and to Communist expansion in Southeast Asia in the 1960s. The NSC-68 called for military assistance programs that would meet the requirements of our allies. Since South Korea was an ally, we assisted them in repelling the invasion of another communist nation. This help for South Korea meant that a communist nation would be weakened and therefore possibly cripple a potential ally for the Soviet Union. Also, South Korea would then respond to a call for aid if the Soviet Union ever attacked

Under the pressures of the Soviet regime's plans for economic development, the Russian people were worn down. Subsequently, the willingness of these people to do further work for the Soviet cause was wavering. The transfer of power within the Communist Party also provided a source of instability within the USSR. Infighting over potential leadership changes provided a very real force of upheaval within Russia. These weaknesses showed that the USSR may bring about its own downfall.

In 1961 President John F Kennedy put together a doctrine, which altered from President Eisenhower’s one. It was to “Respond flexibly to communist expansion, especially guerrilla warfare.” (Roskin & Berry, 2010, p. 58) It was a time when the Cold War was at its height and nuclear weapons a mass threat and source of power. This doctrine was aimed at using alternative means before opening into combat. This, in light of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, it succeeded in doing.

The many long-term internal causes of the collapse of the Soviet Union centralized around weaknesses in their economy. They had an inflexible central planning system, the inability to modernize, and the inefficiency in their agriculture production. Sometime around the 1970's the computer and automation revolution had emerged. This revolution took over the West, but practically missed the Soviet Union, except in the military sector (Baylis & Smith, 2001.) Gorbachev's goal in economic restructuring was to create a separation between the economic and the political. The major changes began with the legalization of private farming and business co-operatives, and the allowing of foreign company ownership over Soviet enterprises (Baylis &Smith, 2001) All of Gorbachev's ideas on economic restructuring backfired on him since the price levels were inconsistent, and a sense of social confusion about the future of their state was created.

The spreading of Communism has increased tensions between the USSR and the west both trying to spread their own ideology. This lead to a nuclear arms race and sanctions against each other. After decades of world unrest a new leader of the Soviet Union rose to power. Mikhail Gorbachev, the newly elected leader of the USSR had new policies very different from the proper Soviet ideology that was created by Stalin and augmented after his death. Gorbachev wanted to loosen the hold on Eastern European countries (East Germany, Poland Czechoslovakia, etc).

The Cold War was a response to the perceived threat by the United States that Communism would interfere with national security and economic stakes in the world. It was a perceived threat by communist countries that the United States would take to the world. During the Cold War, the United States, Russia, and other countries made efforts to avoid another world war, while warring in proxy in other lands. The devastation caused by the hydrogen bombs exploded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the next technological advancements became only deterrents to the public. Governments had their own agenda which would result in worsening the strain between nations. The United States hid behind a curtain of nationalism resulting in increased

The Soviet Union’s domestic policies combined with Stalin’s external ambitions were key factors in the consolidation of Communism in Eastern Europe

The declining power and fall of the Soviet Union represented a global change in the polarized world because it: led to the fall of the Berlin War, the end of communism in

How Perestroika/Glasnost Helped the Dissolution of the Soviet Union Perestroika and glasnost played an important part in shaping today’s Russia by its role in the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. Perestroika was the reconstruction of the Communist party and the economy, which Mikhail Gorbachev thought would fix the economic mess he came into. Perestroika also loosened government control over individual enterprises and businesses. Gorbachev also introduced glasnost which released government information and allowed more people to openly give their opinion about the Soviet government. In the book Russia’s

At the point when Mikhail Gorbachev came to control in 1985, he attempted to train the Soviet individuals as an approach to defeat financial stagnation. At the point when train neglected to take care of the issue, he propelled perestroika ("rebuilding"). What's more, when officials constantly upset his requests, he utilized glasnost, or open dialog and democratization. Be that as it may, once glasnost let individuals say what they thought, many individuals stated, "We need out." By December 1991, the Soviet Union stopped to exist. Gorbachev's outside strategy, which he called "new considering," likewise added to the Cold War's end. Gorbachev needed to change socialism, not supplant it. Gorbachev said that security was a diversion from which

This essay will analyse how much of a role did changes internal to the Soviet Union had in its collapse. By doing so, the paper will argue that, although American and other external actions influenced the end of the cold war, it was internal factors which deeply affected the workings of the communist bloc and ultimately caused its’ sudden and unexpected fall. In order to do so, the paper will first present the internal changes experienced in the Soviet Union and will analyse what was the impact on its stability. Secondly, external factors for the breakdown of the USSR will be analysed and compared with those that were