...Cause the Soviet Union’s Collapse? The Soviet Union also known as the USSR was a major world power during its existence. Which began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 and went on until its collapse in 1991. The United States and the Soviet Union were ultimately large rivals since the commencement of World War 2, which created conflict known as the “Cold War”. While we are so grateful that a nuclear war did not break out, some believe that billions could have been killed if nuclear war broke out between the two countries. (“What is The Soviet Union”) The ultimate start of the Soviet Union was in 1917, with the frustration and annoyance from the Russians with the monarchy, which was presided by Czar Nicholas II. With this new idea of communism, it was surprisingly embraced by some of Russia’s top intellectuals. Communism, which is the socialist philosophy, which was encouraged and promoted by a philosopher by the name of Karl Marx in his 1848 political campaign. Communism was set in place to hopefully institute a classless, stateless society where, the people owned all means of production. With constant change and improvements, which can be ultimately argued, the intellectuals eventually got their way. While looking and reading about communism on paper alone seemed like a great idea on paper, unfortunately the implementation of communism in the USSR was profoundly corrupt and inevitably deadly to many. After five years of no order or rule, the Soviet Union finally...
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...Tiffany Hahn Soviet Union Vladimir Lenin: As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years (1917–1924), as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a socialist economic system. Call to the Russian people: April Thesis (peace, food, land). Joseph Stalin: Premier of the Soviet Union. Brought about the October Rev in Russia in 1917 and held the General Secretary of the Communist Part. Stalin’s USSR entered into a non-aggression pact w/ Nazi Germany that divided their spheres of influence in Eastern Europe. Alexander Kerensky: political leader before and during the Russian Rev of 1917. Served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Gov. until Vladimir was elected. Leon Trotsky: Try to implement Marx’s vision: war communism. Founder/first leader of the Red Army. Served as People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs. Major figure in the Bolsheviks victory in the Russian Civil War. Woodrow Wilson: 14 points – no reparations, international peace keeping body (League of Nations), nationality self-determination. Socialist Revolutionaries: Key player in the Russian Rev. First-ever democratic elections. Collectivism: enforced under Stalin. Goal of this policy was to consolidate individual land and labour into collective farms. The Soviet was confident that the replacement of individual peasant farms would increase the food supply for the urban populations, supply of raw materials, and agricultural...
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...29 May 2015 The Rise and Decline of the Soviet Union Vladimir Putin insists that “Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart, but whoever wants it back has no brain”. Sentiments like these are unsurprising because of the dynamic and yet monolithic elements of Soviet history. At times, the Soviet Union was preoccupied with mechanizing agriculture and modernizing its industrial facilities, while at other times, it seemed disinterested in evolving as a nation and ensuring that everyone would at least have the opportunity to become upwardly mobile. In the end, the cooperative public façade could not forever mask the diabolical private agenda of the Soviet Union and its quorum of leaders....
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...Soviet Union Collapse In the 1980’s, Mikhail Gorbachev, the 8th leader of the Soviet Union embarked on several reforms that were aimed at modernizing the Soviet Union to help the economy and improve relations with the West. These were Glasnost (political openness) and Perestroika (reduced governmental control of the economy). Gorbachev also withdrew Soviet military presence from the Warsaw pact nations in Eastern Europe like Romania, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, which reduced the span of Russian Influence. Gorbachev also reduced the power of the internal institutions like the Politburo (Communist Party leadership) in June of 1990. His goal was to implement these reforms that would modernize the Soviet Union while keeping it intact. Many in the Western governments supported his goals, In particular both US Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush predicted Gorbachev’s reforms would succeed. However his plans did not succeed as he had hoped. The KGB was alarmed at the progressive weakening of the strong central government and organized a coup attempt. Gorbachev’s vision had not been fulfilled. His attempt to modernize the Soviet Union had some serious flaws. The first was that existing economic structures were abandoned before new structures could take root. The results were that there was economic decline, which caused discontent among the populace. Also the power elite saw a chance to gain wealth and property by supporting democratic change, though they were not...
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...There was a need for change when the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, a Russian native, preceded a line of multilayer Soviet Union political policies. The people in the South Caucasus had seemed their fair share of political policy changes that benefiting mostly the political party in power. Many of these political policies promoted merging of a Soviet Union identity. Such as, in the Leonid Brezhnev period, the idea of no longer needing different ethnic groups but rather one Soviet identity. Gorbachev’s Nationalities policy, gave the territories population or ethnic groups within them the freedom to solidify their own ethnic identities. The Nationalities policy made sure that the ethnic groups had their language rights and political rights. Not by design, and not because they wanted this to hapgen rather because...
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...II, both the United States and the Soviet Union competed for hegemony, with Pakistan establishing ties with the United States in 1954, and Afghanistan turning to the Soviet Union. The Soviets viewed Afghanistan not only as a strategic location to counter the US alliance with Pakistan, but also as a key trade location with access to oil. ● At the time, the Saur Revolution of April 1978 had recently taken place, where the Afghan communist party seized power in a coup and killed the prime minister, and set up a new government with close ties to the Soviet Union. Its ruthlessness with harsh military, social and land reforms, combined with economic measures that worsened conditions for the poor led to resistance by the Mujahideen,...
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...When considering the Soviet perspective, its leader Joseph Stalin believed that Germany would be busy warring with Britain and France leaving the east out of the picture. However, the French surrender in June, 1940, made Stalin's second guess his previous unconcerned sentiment. Stalin responded by sending Vyacheslav Molotov to the German capital. According to Erickson and Dilks, Molotov was instructed to stall a German invasion of the Soviet Union. Stalin understood that nobody was bold enough to attack the Soviets during the winter and wished to stall until then. Stalin’s plan backfired; as soon as talks ended, Hitler planned to mobilize by May 1941 giving the Germans enough time before winter set in. Furthermore the text offers a small section...
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...Decision to invade the Soviet Union KERSHAW - Because Britain refused to come to terms, he wanted to conquer Russia, which was Britain’s last hope, and force them to come to terms. - Occupation of Baltic states shaped the malevolent view germans had of Russia, ideas that influenced hitler through agents such as Ludendorff - By beating Russia, they could force Britain to come to terms and control Europe - Germany wanted to conquer the areas that they had influence over due to the treaty of brest livotsk and setup buffer states - Idea of living space- hitler in 1920’s wanted a policy of friendship with Britain and eastward expansion to gain living space - He regarded bolshevism as jewish rule, and darwinsim, he believed the strong had the right to survive over the weak and that the Aryan race should triumph over the inferior Russians (controlled by jews) - Ideologically the Nazis were antibolshevists - Economically Germany was strapped, this rearmament economy could not be sustained - Through his attack on the soviet union he would destroy the power of the jews, embodied in his world view by the boshevik regime, and at the same time gain living space. Vincotry would make Germany masters of Europe and provide the bas for a racially purified empire which would be equipped to challenge the U.S. for world domination - Military strategic and ideological - The invasion was necessary to remove Britains last ally on the continent. Victory over soviet union would free japan to undertake...
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...Political issues played a key role in the downfall of the Soviet union in 1991. Many of these issues came from the foundations of a non-reforming society, a defective union, and party politics. One way to describe the society of the Soviet Union was its tendency for non reform, which would “plague the very infrastructure of the Soviet Union until its dying days.”(What Explains the Collapse of the USSR?, Jean Baptiste) This is due to primarily due to Stalin’s “hijacking” of the Communist ideology, where he primarily cut all opposing views and critical thinking, which is a primary source of reform. The satellites that compromised the USSR struggled to unite due to extremely diverse nationalities, races, and religions. This led to societal problems...
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...Rebellions in the former Soviet Union Kathrine D. Nepon Strayer University Donald Anderson SOC300 August 20, 2011 Chechnya has long been under the thumb of another, first Imperial Russia and then the Soviet Union. They were annexed by Imperial Russia in 1870 after long resistance during the Caucasian War (1817-1864). With the fall of the Russian Empire they attempted to gain independence but were thwarted, and in 1922 Chechnya was incorporated into Bolshevist Russia, what would later evolve into the Soviet Union (USSR). The Chechen people had to endure many hardships under Russian rule. In 1936 Joseph Stalin created the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, making them an autonomous republic of the state. But in subsequent years, though they fought on the side of the Red Army in World War II, Stalin dismantled the republic and had more than 1 million Chechens deported to Central Asia and Siberia for their alleged collaboration with Germany. Though in 1956 many were allowed to return home, there wasn’t much to return to in a war ravaged state. Also Chechnya is mostly Muslim and in Communist Russia religion was not a freedom that the people enjoyed. During the Soviet rule so many independent states and countries were swallowed, their boundaries erased and many nationalities that were never friends to begin with were forced to live and work together. With the fall of the USSR, Chechnya once again bid for independence, along with many other Soviet states. The First...
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...As a young child growing up during the Cold War, I never would have imagined that I would ever travel to the Soviet Union, let alone receive any type of education there. I was brought up with learning about how bad the Soviet Union was, how the Russian people want to destroy the United States, and that if you go to the Soviet Union, they will send you to a Gulag and brainwash you with Communist rhetoric. Needless to say, the 1980’s painted the Russian people, and their government as an “Evil Empire” that was ready to destroy the United States in an instant. During my senior year of high school, there was an opportunity for me to learn a foreign language. My high school in Texas, offered a few languages to study. There was French, Spanish, German,...
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...Introduction Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev were two monumental post-Stalin, pre-Gorbachev leaders of the Soviet Union during periods of reform. The two leaders both sought to adjust the economic and domestic policies of the Soviet Union. They shared a common goal: to lead without the constant mass fear and terror imposed by Stalin’s brutal regime. However, they also wanted to achieve such a goal without directly undermining the foundation and the integrity of the Soviet Union or the Communist Party. This concept can be labeled as de-Stalinization without de-Sovietization. However, Khrushchev and Brezhnev inherited a rigid Soviet system that was intertwined with Stalin’s personal legacy and the inner circle officials that survived the...
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...How far did peaceful coexistence ease cold war tensions between the Soviet Union and the USA in the years 1953-61? In the years 1953-61 some might say that the cold war tensions were eased by peaceful coexistence, with super power negotiations and key agreements paving the way for better relations. Despite this, the stronger argument suggests that ultimately, cold war tensions were not eased, the cold war continued for another 30 years. This was due to failure to negotiate anything of substance at conferences such as Geneva 1955 and the lack of change in superpower attitude with Eisenhower’s new look policy and the USSR’s approach to Hungary. One argument suggests that peaceful coexistence did ease cold war tensions due to the superpower negotiations. Between 1953-61 there was improved relations between the USSR and USA, they were more willing to meet, and despite it not being the leaders, representatives from both countries met at the Geneva conference in 1954. It was then in 1955 at Geneva again that both superpower leaders met for the first time in 10 years. Despite not agreeing anything of substance, it is worth noting that this was the first step in the right direction which lead to many key agreements and reforms over the following years. Camp David in 1959 was the largest step towards permanent peaceful coexistence, the leader of the USSR was invited over to the USA where both superpower leaders met. Despite the superpower negotiations there was nothing of substance...
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...The standard view in the West during the development of the Cold War was that the Soviet Union conducted an expansionist policy which was seen to threaten peace and collective security. The provocative and expansionist nature of Stalin’s foreign policy after 1945 was singled out as the prime cause of the Cold War and, as the Soviet Union sought to expand world communism, the West was forced into taking action to safeguard the free world. However, a closer examination of Soviet foreign policy during this period illustrates a combination of mistrust and a lack of understanding which arguably led to a misinterpretation of Stalin’s motives for expanding Soviet influence in Eastern Europe. While there is evidence that supports the Orthodox view that Stalin’s expansion was aggressive, new arguments have come to light to support the idea that the Soviet Union “wanted to guarantee its security in the future” and can therefore it was simply a defensive move. One key factor responsible for the incorporation of Eastern Europe into the sphere of Soviet control was the presence of the Red Army in Eastern Europe at the end of the Second World War. Although Stalin was willing to accept coalition governments, in the eastern European states the USSR had occupied, in the years immediately after the Second World War, the tension generated by the Cold War resulted in the trend towards the imposition of communist governments on the countries of Eastern Europe. Thus developments in this region of...
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...How far do you agree with the view that the development of the Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union in the years 1945-53 was primarily due to traditional great power rivalry? The development of the Cold War can be viewed as being caused for several different reasons. The great power rivalry, ideological differences and personality traits cited as the main causes for the war, but ideology and personality also contain flaws that prove the great power rivalry was the primary cause. The main argument for the development of the Cold War is that it was created by the traditional great power rivalry. Source 7 argues Russia was the “most ruthless of world-conquering ideologies.” Added to by another point in Source 7 that contests Russia suffered from insecurity “who saw ‘security’ only in the total destruction of rival power.” Both of these points proving Russia were determined to destroy their rivals and can be viewed as a dangerous force when faced with opposition. This is supported by Source 7 where it claims “the USA would have to ‘contain’ its pressure by uncompromising resistance, even if Russia had not been communist” This point arguing ideology was irrelevant to the start of the Cold War, also shown by Source 8 where it claims “Leaders and citizens saw their countries acting for much broader purposes than the mere advancement of national interests.” However, the great power rivalry was even more apparent in conferences towards the end of the...
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