The transition to capitalism in the post-Soviet era was marked by extreme amounts of corruption and graft. “As the republic 's cast aside the Union carcass and a rapid turn to the market become the official policy in Russia, the seizure of the state-owned wealth of the USSR evolved into a frenzy.” (Kotkin, p. 115) The already widespread corruption that existed under Soviet times was now no longer limited by the party, and corrupt officials and their friends were able obtain billions of dollars worth of state property paying pennies on the ruble. “Gorbachev had recreated the formal position of the general secretary in the presidency, but he had no substitutes for the bygone cult of the general secretary, the lost presence of the Communist Party organizations throughout all institutions, or the cohesion once provided by Communist ideology and party ‘discipline’.” (Kotkin, p. 147) The reforms by Gorbachev to liberalize the Soviet Union included decoupling the party from the state institutions.…
During the years 1948-1960 there was a lot of hysteria considering the cold war. Many people were confused and scared because of all the animosity going on. Both Truman and Eisenhower employed the foreign policy strategy known as "Containment". This meant that the U.S. would try to prevent Communism from spreading through out Western Europe. The Cold War fear of the American people in the after math of WWII was the idea of communism spreading through out the country.…
The causes of the Cold War were a result of disputes between German occupation following World War II, differences in political ideology, and the Soviets plan to use surrounding countries as buffer zones. One of the most prominent causes of the Cold War was the Soviet occupation of Germany. During the Yalta Conference, the different powers discussed how Germany would be split up. After Yalta, the Soviets violated the agreement there as discussed in document four.…
1991 marked one of the most interesting phenomenons of the 20th century: the collapse of the Soviet Union. It reconstructed the prevalent ideologies and economies that relied on many approaches, especially Communism. The debate over the reasons that led a strong empire to collapse has been under discussion for many years. Much research has been done to formulate the reasons that led to such collapse. Therefore, the question “why did the Soviet Union collapse?” focuses on the foundational factors that led to such collapse.…
The end of the Second World War brought an economic and political crisis to the Soviet Union. The Cold War added forty-five years of geopolitical tension between powers in the Eastern Bloc and powers in the Western Bloc. The Soviet Union and the United States of America fought as allies in the Second World War. However, their relationship during the war was simply the result of having Nazi Germany as a mutual enemy.…
Whether they were formally declared by the President or not, American has been involved in multiple wars over the course of its history. One war stands out as an outlier and unlike any war, the Cold War. This war was fought between two physical nations at odds but also two opposing ideologies. Very soon after World War II had ended in 1945, the Soviet Union showed no indication of allowing democracy to flourish in neighboring countries, specifically Poland and other Eastern European counties. This hindrance to democracy obviously did not line up with America’s values, considering it is a model of a democracy for other countries.…
The biggest de-escalation of the Cold War happened in the late 1980s and was made of serendipity, if not outright luck. The unlikely combination of United States President Ronald Reagan and USSR Head of State Mikhail Gorbachev, two devoted nationalist respectively, created the perfect storm for easing of tensions between the longtime enemies. By addresses each leaders individual personalities, early encounters, and collaborations, we can see the major impact Reagan and Gorbachev’s relationship had on the Cold War and thus avoiding imminent nuclear war. The Personalities Fear of nuclear war had been the international climate since the late 1940s and was escalating rapidly after Ronald Reagan took office in 1981.…
“Brother and the Soviet Union” In the book 1984 by George Orwell, the protagonist Winston Smith lives in a futuristic dystopian society with tyrannical rulers and corrupt governments. The book contains many references and allusions to the Soviet Union at the time of Stalin’s rule. Orwell used his knowledge and experience from communism and Soviet Russia at the time to write 1984.…
No one expected the collapse of the Soviet Union since as a superpower, it held a powerful position. A decline in power was expected, but not the fall of the empire as Gorbachev’s methods were taking too long to make any type of difference. Many people still rejected the Communist party and refused to embrace their ideas and way of thinking. Gorbachev struggled with the communist party imperial elites and the military. These struggles led to failures which added to the fall of the Soviet Union and Gorbachev practically finished himself.…
Following World War II, The United States and Soviet Union emerged as the greater powers. This created a tremendous rivalry between the two nations, which sparked the Cold War. While the cold war lasted from 1947 - 1991, and there were other extensive problems that were also going on during this time, such as the Korean War in 1953, as well as War, peace, and international tensions in 1962. The Cold War vastly affected American society by causing the fear of the spread of communism, as well as shocked many citizens of the United States with the events that were taking place, and lost focus on education. Many people feared the spread of communism throughout the United States during the Cold War.…
The economy in China and Russia nearly collapsed under communism and with starvation running rampant in Russia Lenin recognized the need for some capitalistic practices. Russia 's later leader Joseph Stalin was dedicated to undermine everything the…
Lost but not loser: The assessment of the claim that the Soviet Union lost the Cold War Introduction With the disintegration of Soviet Union, the Cold War era, which lasted as long as 40 years, had come to an end. The last Soviet Premier Gorbachev, ironically, been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after his failed reformation and governance in Soviet Union, which, to put it the other way round, could been seen as affirmation for his struggle to pave the way for nuclear agreement and open the seriously bureaucratic Soviet Union to the world. It could be easy to conclude from the phenomenon that Soviet Union lost the Cold War, as Brzezinski alleged in 1990, “the end of the Cold War would make two winners: the United States and Germany, and two…
This is further backed up by the fact that in Petrograd in 1918, 1 in 4 adults was a state official. Unlike the Red Army in which Trotsky used experienced former Tsarist officers to command it effectively, nothing like this was carried out in industry which caused an ineffective workforce and therefore a drop in production. In addition War Communism had an adverse effect on Russia’s economy. For example it caused the rouble, by 1920, to devalue too just 1% of its pre 1917 value because the government just kept on printing more and more money in order to solve its problems. This effectively made money worthless and thus worsened the already dire situation of Russia’s economy.…
Who cause the Cold War Both sides had their own opinions on ideology, they both had different perspectives. The United States view was based on free market capitalism, individualism, and personal rights. The soviets practiced socialism, as their ideology. This caused both sides to fear each other because they assumed that both nations would try to take over.…
He aimed towards two type of reforms, political and economic. The economic reforms were set to improve efficiency of the economy. Instead it was totally destroyed. The Soviet Union and the whole Eastern Block was set into a recession in the 80’s and utilities, industrial sectors, and distribution started to collapse. Lack of goods and energy became extinct.…