Dissolution Of The Soviet Union Essay

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As with many important historical events throughout history the dissolution of the Soviet Union had many contributing forces. However, most historians agree that the main contributor was Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and the many radical reforms he implemented during the six years he was the leader of the USSR. Even though the official dissolution took place in December 1991, the Soviet Union’s demise began to take form in the 1980s. In order to understand why the Soviet Union dissolved it is important to have a clear picture of its history and political climate.
The Soviet State was established in 1917 when revolutionary Bolsheviks overthrew the Russian Czar establishing a socialist state in territories that once belonged to the Russian Empire. In 1922 Russia joined these outer republics and formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) lead by Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin. The USSR was made up of 120 different ethnic groups and divided into 15 Republics that were sometimes referred to as States. Lenin believed that communism would overcome nationalism and that a strong, united Soviet people would emerge. He was wrong. Because of its multicultural society there would be constant conflict in the USSR as the individual republics demanded their independence. Within the USSR the Baltic States were among the richest, and their citizens enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle. In sharp contrast, the Russians were among the poorest in the USSR and started to complain. The Baltic States became paranoid that the problems of the rest of the union would adversely affect them. It was only a matter of time before something drastic would occur.
After World War II and the defeat of Adolf Hitler the Soviet Union maintained its statu...

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...center of global development besides the United States. China began to accumulate power by acting on policies that were the complete opposite of Gorbachev’s. For example when Gorbachev proposed democracy without a market economy, China enacted a market economy while preserving communism. Developing countries, mostly in Africa, were affected adversely when the Soviet Union fell. They lost valuable aid from Moscow and for some reason also the United States. This led to series economic problems in most third world countries in the 1990s.
The dissolution of the Soviet Union radically changed the world’s economic, political and social environment. Twenty three years later its effects are still being felt. Some people blame the collapse solely on Mikhail Gorbachev. Some argue that the Soviet Union died before it had the chance to enjoy the system Gorbachev tried to fix.

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