The Collapse of the USSR
History: Cambridge International GCSE The Twentieth Century (Option B), topic 6.5.4
The Collapse of the Soviet Union
The Berlin Wall fell. Then, before the end of 1989, communist governments had been overthrown in Romania, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia.
Military alliances
- The Warsaw Pact officially ended in July 1991, although Gorbachev's decision not to use it to enforce Soviet rule using military force in October 1988 was the first sign of the end.
- NATO continues to exist to this day. Former Warsaw Pact members like Poland have joined.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
- Gorbachev created a new constitution to try to save the Soviet Union. This would have kept countries like Ukraine under Soviet Control, but with more independence. They rejected his constitution.
- So, on Christmas Day 1991, Gorbachev dissolved the USSR. This was his final act as the President of the USSR.
The failure of 'Perestroika'
- Perestroika had the opposite effect to the effects that Gorbachev had hoped for.
- Living conditions were poor in the Soviet Union and its satellite states. People were only staying in the Soviet sphere of influence because they were trapped and oppressed. Giving them more freedom empowered them to overthrow Soviet rule.
The end of the Cold War
- The USSR split creating Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and many more different countries.
- Some of these nations would create the 'Commonwealth of Independent States'.
- This was an organisation for economic and military collaboration that included Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and many surrounding countries.
Why the Soviet Union collapsed
- Gorbachev's reforms and refusal to use force accelerated the collapse of the Soviet Union – but did not cause it alone.
- Other factors leading to the collapse include:
- Economic stagnation and inefficiency.
- Nationalist uprisings in Eastern Europe and the Soviet republics.
- Lack of military intervention allowed revolutions to succeed peacefully.
Test yourself on The Collapse of the USSR
When did the Gorbachev dissolve the Soviet Union?
Which of the following about the collapse of the Soviet Union are correct?