The Collapse Of The Soviet Union

America’s foundation was constructed on the ideal of freedom, whether that be religious, political, or individual freedom. U.S. citizens have very strong feelings about their independence and will do almost anything to protect their rights from being taken away. During the 1950s Americans were afraid that their freedom was going to be threatened and taken away by the communist style of government. The Soviet Union and America were both trying to win control on a global scale, but with the USSR being communist the paranoia of a socialism takeover was heightened. Americans were so fearful of communism that it became known as the Red Scare. All over the country people were being accused of being communist spies and federal employees were being interrogated, the U.S. was in full panic mode. The United States was so fearful of the USSR being able to gather more communist allies and take over that the U.S. stepped in militarily to protect South Korea from North Korea’s communist invasion. This battle for dominance between the nations was named the Cold War. I believe that this war was justified because there were clear threats towards the United States and their capitalist ideals. In the very beginning of the Cold War the Soviet Union successfully tested an atomic bomb. This seemed like a clear indication that the USSR had plans to use that bomb in order to establish their dominance and embark on a communist takeover. America fought to keep their freedom and rights safe from the

The shift away from the period of Détente is can be associated with the changing of leadership and policies of the Soviet Union beginning around the time of Khrushchev’s removal from power. With the change of leadership and governmental structure, the Soviet Union took a renewed hardline approach to populous dissent, and sought to reestablish and solidify Soviet control over its domestic territory and satellite governments. The new hardline government of the Soviet Union matched with the neo-conservative government of the United States under Ronald Reagan saw a return to earlier Cold War hostilities.

After a series of events during the time of World War II, tensions between the United States and the Communists such as the Soviet Union and China, developed into a military and political conflict such as the Cold War. During the Cold War, which went on for 50 years, the Soviet Union and the United States competed to expand their economical and political influence. Although, the United States military has increased in size and it’s strategy. The United States power today is highly supreme when it comes to competing with other countries in the world. The United States is the world 's largest producer of nuclear power, holding an immense amount of nuclear and atomic bombs, accounting for more than big percentage of worldwide nuclear

The collapse of the Soviet Union ended one era of American Security Concerns, but it gave rise to another more extensive era. This era would be marked by concern over the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction throughout former Soviet countries and other unstable nations. Every president from George H.W. Bush to Obama would mark this issue as a key threat to the nation’s security. The true question is what would each of these presidents do about the threat. Since World War II the United States has filled the role of the “global police” opposing injustices and neutralizing threats throughout the world, and the threat of devastatingly powerful weapons falling into unstable hands could be treated no differently. With this in mind

The fall of the Soviet Union, rise of democratic capitalism, and the emergence of the Internet are all important attributes that define the year 2000 as the end of one period in history and the beginning of another. The year 2000 proves to be a cut-off date in history because it explicitly shows a shift toward the continuing globalization and integrations of economies, politics, people, and cultures all around the world. This process of globalization leads to increasing interdependence among countries and growing influence of the United States of America, which during this time period was the only superpower left in the world.

The hockey game in the 1980 Olympics signified more than just the physical game that was in front of the viewers’ faces. That game was a face-off between the Soviet Union’s and United States’s determinedness and strength through an entertaining sport. The Soviets’ loss of the game and the fall of the Soviet Union itself showed just how strong and determined America was and still is. The fall of the Soviet Union was caused by various reasons and produced changes and major effects to the whole world, especially the United States.

Apart from the two great wars, the Cold War was the most remarkable feature of twentieth century, a period of extreme hostility without actual war. By the end of the Great War, Soviet Union emerged as a powerful revolutionary state that gradually evolved into an empire over the course of following decades. It served as an ideological model for one third of the world and was considered as a secure and stable society by the rest. During this period the world was divided into two distinct blocs, the proponents of democracy led by United States of America (USA) and the Socialist regimes headed by the Soviet Union. Having almost equal military parity, the hostilities between the two superpower was so great that many feared dooms day scenario in case war broke out. Although, the effort by both sides to undermine and damage the interest of each other was no hidden secret, yet the military parity resulted mostly in a stalemate. This sudden and peaceful conclusion of Cold War and breakdown of Soviet Union therefore came as a surprise to all.

An additional justification on agreeing with Gandhi’s quote pertains to the failed economic growth and overall development caused by the tyrannical control of a country, leading to a breakdown of the regime. The term “economic growth” is defined as an increase in a country’s productive capacity as measured by comparing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the respective country per annum. A plethora of categories must be taken into account to determine the degree of economic growth, such as the increase in capital stock, advances in technology, and the improvement of literacy levels. On the other hand, in terms of the essay, the overall development is the overall degree of success, prosperity, and well-being in all aspects of living. To

The disintegration of the Soviet Union in the winter of 1991 sparked various reactions among Soviet citizens, government officials, Western onlookers and the rest of the world. The Soviet Union was once one of the most powerful military empires in the world suddenly saw itself crumble to the ground. Mikhail Gorbachev, the dynamic leader at the helm of the Communist Party of the United Soviet Socialists Republic, (USSR), at the time, was a key contributor to its demise. Gorbachev, born into a poor family in an agricultural community, emerged through the rankings of Soviet leadership, finding himself at the top of the Communist Party. He established a new era and a new beginning of reform. Although former Soviet leaders left problems with the government that set the stage for a collapse, Mikhail Gorbachev was responsible for the final dissolution of the USSR, due to his reforms in foreign policy, domestic policy, society and the economy of Russia.

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.

We often overlook the real causes of the downfall of the Soviet empire and its hegemony, and simply tie it to the fact that they were communist, dictatorial regimes. However, this is not entirely true. There were many factors that resulted in the demise of this socialist conglomerate, and East Germany in particular. The GDR was a special case in that it was racked by some of the worst economic circumstances that any of the Eastern bloc faced, and as result, became the first to fall. Such assumptions compel us to draw equivalencies between the GDR and other communist countries like Yugoslavia, even though East Germany was at a much more disadvantageous position. The East German military also had to provide the bulk of the non-Soviet forces in all Warsaw Pact military plans. This forced the GDR government to forcibly conscript large numbers of their population and spend vast quantities of their funds on military hardware. These elements combined to start the GDR on a slippery slope towards default, and economic turmoil.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and President Vladimir Putin’s ascendency in the early 2000s, he and his government have been hell-bent on reclaiming Russia’s old title of a world superpower. In conjunction with his administration, Putin has commandeered Russia’s identity to the narrative of being an energy superpower by using the nation’s most effective weapon: the country’s energy resources. Peter Behr’s article for the Congressional Quarter Global Researcher titled “Energy Nationalism,” seeks to demonstrate and explain why and how Russia—in addition to other countries such as China and Venezuela—became so nationalistic and protective of its energy resources. Furthermore, “Since the oil age began more than a century ago, governments in the developing world—on both the right and left—have promised their people a fair share of the wealth…Instead, ‘black gold’ has spawned corruption, economic hardship, vast class differences and civil war” (Behr 2007). When politically creating a nation’s identity on the world’s stage, leaders incorporate the benefits and effects of human, material, and natural resources. Since these are constantly evolving variables, a country’s identity, particularly relating to natural resources, is constantly evolving as well. Nevertheless, Putin is reminiscing and effectively reenacting Russia’s energy production days in order to shape the narrative of being a geopolitical and energy superpower. However, prior to understanding and examining

The collapse of the Soviet Union left a gap in the educational system of the Soviet republics including Ukraine (Polese 47). Since independence the Ukrainian Constitution guarantees compulsory education for all children and provides federal funds to public schools (4). Every child has a chance to go to elementary school and middle school: however, only 30 percent of school graduates have a chance to go to higher education, especially in agricultural areas of the country [2]. Another major problem for Ukraine’s education system is academic corruption [1]. Students who can’t pass exams always have an option to pay the professor and have a good grade without any knowledge of the subject. Overall, the nation’s education system does not meet the needs of the business, resulting in high unemployment rates [2]. Ensuring quality education for children and adults will make Ukraine competitive in world economies.

For the past two centuries, much of Latin America has struggled to shake the hierarchical capitalist inequities established throughout the colonial period. While the independence movements of the 19th century successfully established national sovereignty, the new governments failed to shatter the export-model which enriched western countries at the expense of the former colonies. This cycle of dependency continued well into the 20th century, until the Great Depression plunged the globe into economic disarray. Spurring discussion about the viability of free-market capitalism, the economic crisis birthed various nationalist movements which attempted to address the structural failures which generated adverse outcomes for Latin America. Leaders

Under his leadership, the Soviet Union has abandoned its confrontational style of world politics and become the driving force in improving east-west relations. He has shown himself to be a great communicator and visionary in addressing problems at home and abroad. But, Gorbachev’s unrealized ambitions made him the “unwanted visionary”. Gorbachev's reforms devastated the Soviet Union and led to the downfall of the communist empire.But, Gorbachev is not completely at fault. By the time Mikhail Gorbachev was appointed Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985 the U.S.S.R. was already on the verge of shattering . Soviet economy was slowly becoming stagnant, with military spending skyrocketing.