Mikhail Gorbachev

peasant society to a military superpower. Khrushchev’s leadership marked a return in Soviet politics to Leninist policies and a firm rejection of Stalinist techniques. Through a series of high ranking leaders that followed, such as Brezhnev and Gorbachev, the Soviet Union diverged from Stalinist methods and transitioned to a system of managerial Leninism, heavy bureaucratism, and attempted transparency. There were several key internal and external factors which allowed for this transition to…

Many people argue that Margaret Thatcher’s role as the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister in the late 20th century was widely trans-Atlantic, but how exactly has her role as the British Prime Minster made her trans-Atlantic? What made her trans-Atlantic was her unique ideology of Thatcherism, how it affected the outcome of the United States’ 1984 election, and how that ultimately contributed to ending the Cold War. James Cooper’s scholarly articles based on Thatcher will be the main source of…

Life in the Shadow of the Berlin Wall The defining symbol of the Cold War was built on August 13, 1961. The world was still regaining its strength after the traumatic events of World War II. The country of Germany was divided between the four major allies the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union (Dearden). The city of Berlin, which during the time of World War II was the capital of Nazi Germany, was divided amongst all of the allies even though Berlin is located in East…

The Cold War lasted from 1945 to 1985. Few history experts took the time to deal with or to speak about the events as they happened. Leaving most indivduals wondering about the development of the war. During this frightening period, different presidents served for the American people and each president felt the war carried a lot of dangers. In the same way that, young Americans, Soviets and other people who lawfully lived in a the country, state, etc. of the world required the services of an…

Russia, located in Eastern Europe, is notorious for the recent government-citizen protests, teas, matryoshka dolls, babushkas in their headscarves, the Red Army Choir and the Soviet Union. It is home to political figures like Boris Yeltsin, Mikhail Gorbachev and Vladimir Putin as well as historical figures like Ivan the Terrible, Grigori Rasputin and the Romanov family. When people hear the words Russian food, not much can be said. Russian food is not as wide spread in the west coast of the…

Realism is a worldview that critics have called cynical and pessimistic. However, the logic behind realism can explain many conflicts in the international realm. The tenets of realism starts with the State. The state is the number one player in the world. By definition, a state is a legal entity with defined borders, government and population, and sovereignty. With the state as the key player, universal organizations like the United Nations and Nato are not as important in this world view.…

In this book, Bradford Martin an associate professor of history at Bryant University in Rhode Island, illuminates a different 1980s than many remember—one whose history has been buried under the celebratory narrative of conservative dominant power. Written as a social history, The Other Eighties offers an ambitious revision of the decade, one that emphasizes the vitality of grassroots and creative dissent. Marginalized from mainstream…

From the years of 1946 to 1991, the United States, the Soviet Union, France, Britain and much of Eastern Europe were involved in what is known as the Cold war. Foreign policies across the globe were concerned with a few major concepts, of which two were the most prevalent: containment and the Domino Theory. The countries not involved in NATO and the Warsaw Pact were highly competed for, in terms of annexation and expansion, by those two groups, in the attempts to make either capitalism or…

The Great Wall of China, located in northern China, is a collection of walls made of stone, brick, wood and other materials put together to create one. In length they total up to more than 13,000 miles. It was built across China to contain and protect Chinese states and empires against the raids and invasions of the many different groups of the Eurasian Steppe. Several of these walls were dated back to being built in as early years as the 7th century, but it was not until later, these joined…

radiation destruction spreading over Russia. Construction on the Chernobyl power plant was started in August of 1972 and was ready to begin operation in December, 1983. Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union at that time and the head of state was Mikhail Gorbachev. The time period this event occurred was during the end of the Cold War. The Chernobyl power plant’s first explosion happened on April 26th,…