Why Did The Soviet Union Develop
When the Soviet Union collapsed on December 26th, 1991, many considered it a victory for Democracy and America. However, most people fail to realize that America never truly “won” the war. While America did prevent the Soviet Union from spreading with it’s foreign policy, the Soviet Union collapsed because of the structure and principles of its economy, the Gorbachev reforms, and the solidarity movement.. (finish intro change)
The first internal issue the Soviet Union had was the problem of a stagnating economy. The Soviets had a command economy, an economy where the government decides what goods will be produced, how much is produced, and the pricing of the goods. At first there was a very long period of rapid growth from 1950-1973. The Soviet economy posted an estimated annual growth rate in gross national product of 5.7% from 1950 to 1960, and 5.2% from 1960 to 1970(JOHNSTON, Paragraph 6). Because the Soviet Union’s economy was so underdeveloped and controlled, it could easily adapt to and imitate the newest western technology. While this strategy was very effective short-term, The forced industrialization at the expense of personal consumption led to the country being unable to innovate in its economy. …show more content…
And by 1974, the economy was facing stagnation. The GNP dropped from 5.7% in 1950-1960 to 3.7% between 1970 and 1975, and then to 2.6% between 1975 and 1980 (JOHNSTON,Paragraph 7). “It had been shown that, in the traditional extensive Soviet model, economic growth was limited by capital and also depended on the availability of labor force
The first internal issue the Soviet Union had was the problem of a stagnating economy. The Soviets had a command economy, an economy where the government decides what goods will be produced, how much is produced, and the pricing of the goods. At first there was a very long period of rapid growth from 1950-1973. The Soviet economy posted an estimated annual growth rate in gross national product of 5.7% from 1950 to 1960, and 5.2% from 1960 to 1970(JOHNSTON, Paragraph 6). Because the Soviet Union’s economy was so underdeveloped and controlled, it could easily adapt to and imitate the newest western technology. While this strategy was very effective short-term, The forced industrialization at the expense of personal consumption led to the country being unable to innovate in its economy. …show more content…
And by 1974, the economy was facing stagnation. The GNP dropped from 5.7% in 1950-1960 to 3.7% between 1970 and 1975, and then to 2.6% between 1975 and 1980 (JOHNSTON,Paragraph 7). “It had been shown that, in the traditional extensive Soviet model, economic growth was limited by capital and also depended on the availability of labor force