Fall Of Communism In Eastern Europe

communism entered a period of crisis in the late 20th century. By the 1980's it

Communism is system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people. In some countries, the communist government functioned well while in other countries, the government slowly collapsed on itself. Criticism rose from the masses of the population of each country and caused the people to question if communism was the most favorable system of government. In the late 1950s, Eastern European states’ criticism over communism was harsh and condemnatory as the communists appeared to be doing nothing for the well-being of the countries; overtime, criticism shifted to a more melancholy tone, presenting a comfortable but non beneficial view of communism in the 1980s. Negative views spread throughout the European states and eventually developed on their own.

The United State’s was not subtle in their distain for communism and the Soviet Union; they fanned the ideological flames between capitalism and communism rather than putting them out. Directly after the war the US created the Marshall Plan, where they gave $13 billion to European states. In President Truman’s speech ‘The Truman Doctrine’ he talks about Greece and Turkey and threatens if aid is not given, Greece’s democracy will be under threat by armed men supported by communists. This was a strategic ploy to prevent communism, by allowing capitalism to flourish. Full-employment leaves people happy, and accepting of capitalism and less likely to turn to radical communism. However the Soviet Union was not impressed with this because they believed that capitalism was the root of fascism, and their allied states declined the funding.

If the United States had stopped the spread of Communism, history might have been changed in that China, Cuba, and North Korea might not be the Communist states they are today.

Communist rule was confined to the Soviet Union until the end of World War II.

relations with the West in the form of the Marshall plan nor the lack of

After a deadly World War II, the United States was anxious that the spread of communism would grow to threaten the freedoms and democracy of the American people. Throughout this war, the United States made it a mission to spread the American-style of development and freedom as well as force communism into submission. Though their intentions were good, they failed miserably. Unwilling to allow any other foreign government to differentiate from what they saw fit, the U.S. ousted freely elected officials and intentionally sparked internal conflict around the globe, both of which led to the loss of freedom to foreign citizens, halted the development they wished to spread, and mostly failed at stopping the spread of communism.

After World War II, the Soviet Union wanted to create more communist nations, especially along their western border, to prevent themselves from being vulnerable to attack from the West again as they had been from Nazi Germany. Countries like the United States and Great Britain did not want the Soviet Union to spread communism but some Eastern European countries that had been victims of the Nazi regime saw communism as a good way to prevent another fascist regime from rising. Combined with the fact that most Eastern European had a history of unstable government systems and were in poor economic and political states, communism had a very large appeal to most Eastern Europeans. With the help of Soviet military intervention, communism quickly

“A specter is haunting Europe -the specter of Communism,” Karl Marx proclaims. This phantom maybe the resolution to rid a country of greed and exploitation. Karl Marx in the collaboration with Frederich Engels elucidates his concern of capitalism and his yearn for a communistic society in the book, The Communist Manifesto. In this book he explains his idea of true communism. True communism is a social order in which all citizens are equal. In communism equality means that society is classless, moneyless, and stateless. Citizens will no longer be able to own property, inherit money, and capitalize on their inferior. In his book Marx illustrates the essence of communism by explicating the relationship between the antagonistic groups, addressing the objections leveled at communism, and explaining the relationship between the proletariat and the communist. Marx utilizes a variety of argumentative appeals to persuade readers that communism is the solution to the wretched lives of the majority. As Marx goes about expressing his assertion, he commits fallacies that may hinder his credibility and the effectiveness of his claim. By the end of his book Marx declares men, women, and children of the impoverished community need to come together to overthrow capitalism and become a socialist society of communism because communism is the answer, communism is the future.

On December 26, 1991, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was officially dissolved. While the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was a sign that the Cold War was soon to be over, the breakup of the Soviet Union truly symbolised its end. After a bitter era of global fighting between capitalism and communism, each led by the United States and the USSR respectively, it appeared that, for better or for worse, capitalism had prevailed. Today, it looks like this indeed was the case. The People’s Republic of China is the only communist state out of five in the global top 50 in nominal GDP, and although the fact that it is all the way in second might lend modern communism credibility, it would be inaccurate to label it a true communist state from an economic perspective. With communism now largely absent from the vast majority of the world’s regimes, it would appear that it has disappeared as a viable form of government for the time being. With this, communism and its most noteworthy pioneer, Karl Marx, have had their relevance questioned. Having lost the battle for dominance as a global political system, is there still a purpose in learning and analysing Marxism? The answer is yes. While it is undeniable that it has had a troubled history, there are still many lessons to take away from it. Owing especially to his ideas on social and economic equality, the Marxist perspective can still provide insight even into a firmly capitalist society.

The collapse of both the Soviet Union and socialism was a ceremony, yet to others, it was a failure. To the everyday people who wanted rights to express, to live their life independent, and to vote, this was a great accomplishment. To the individuals who were with the power, who did not oppose to such policies, they remained oppressed by so a fall, especially communist bureaucrats. This large fall was the origin of the ending of the Cold War. That was an ending to multiple catastrophic incidents that got a point during, before, and later the Cold War. There are many cases to why the Soviet Union and socialism in East Europe fell. The three top reasons were, the first being the Soviet's economic decline from military spending, another being Gorbachev's perestroika and glasnost methods, and the three being some neighboring nations of the Soviet Union were quickly facing socialism and taking fighting against their regime. All these matters slowly and eventually led to the crumbling of the Soviet Union and socialism in Eastern Europe.

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.

When most people think of eastern Europe during the communist regime, they do not think of a professor from a small Illinois university.

The revolutionary change of Eastern Europe as a result of the Work of Mikhail Gorbachev

The eventual demise of Communism in the USSR was a direct consequence of the Soviet Union’s failure to adapt to the changes occurring in the world during the 1920’s to the 1940’s. Unlike Communist China, the USSR failed to place economic growth ahead of political reform. In this regard, Russia was unsuccessful in establishing a national identity and in instituting a stable government through popular consent of its people. Moreover, Communist Russia failed to create a national identity, ignoring the multitude of ethnic minorities existing in the USSR. Arguably, the future stability of the two previously conventional Communist countries, will reflect their ability to develop a market economy, establish a stable government, and be recognized and involved on a global scale.