How far do you agree that the struggle for power following Lenin’s death in 1924 was caused by the ideological differences between the contenders for power?…
In 1924, the Soviet Union faced a power struggle when it’s leader and creator Vladimir Lenin died. His successor however, came into power and immediately began to make changes. This man knew exactly what he wanted to keep and more importantly what he wanted to change. His birth name was Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, but who could possibly rule and leave a legacy with that name? He then adopted the name Joseph Stalin, (which means man of steel.) and began to rule the Soviet Union. At this time, the Soviet Union was well behind all the other countries; Stalin made many changes to the soviet society, employing many methods to achieve his aims.…
When Khrushchev attained power in 1953 he advocated the deStalinization of the Soviet Union during a…
Khrushchev had a lot of good ideas that he wanted to implement but due to the bureaucratic nature of the Soviet party officials weren’t keen on implementing certain reforms which offered no benefits to them despite being good for the population…
The break up and dissolution of the Soviet Union on the 25th December 1991 heralded the end of the Cold War. It ushered in what had been termed 'the new world order ', furthermore, it was suggested by Francis Fukuyama to have signalled the end of history and the battle of ideas which had dominated much of the twentieth century (Huntington, 1996; 31). The 'clash of civilizations ' had already seen the demise of fascism as a credible force in 1945, the close of 1991 would see the end of communism in Europe. The relatively sudden collapse of the USSR has compelled thinkers and analysts to seek answers as to why the world’s second superpower could collapse so quickly…
From Revolution to Ruin: Unraveling the Complex Forces Behind the Soviet Union's Dissolution The collapse of the Soviet Union, a transformative event marking the end of a geopolitical era, was primarily driven by a combination of internal economic inefficiencies, failed political reforms such as Gorbachev's Perestroika and Glasnost, and the exacerbating effect of external pressures including the arms race and global shifts towards neoliberal policies. These factors, compounded by the rise of nationalist movements within its republics, not only highlighted the systemic flaws inherent in the Soviet economic and political structure but also significantly undermined the legitimacy of the Soviet state, leading to its eventual dissolution in 1991. Economic…
The USSR has inherited a large area and multinational structure of the Russian Empire. In 1917- 1921 Finland and Poland have received their independency, as well as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Tuva. Some territories were annexed to the USSR, such as West Ukraine and West Belorussia, Baltics, Bessarabia and North Bukovina, the Tuvan People`s Republic, Transcarpathian region . The collapse of the USSR occurred due to the processes of system disintegration, which were happening in national economy, social structure, public and political areas of the Soviet Union; all these factors led to the collapse of the USSR by the close of the 1991. In December 25, 1991 the President of the USSR, M. S. Gorbachev, declared of the termination of his activity as a president according to “as a matter of policy”; in December 26, 1991 the USSR stopped its existence and Supreme Soviet of the USSR accepted a declaration on formation of CIS.…
Under this policy, the Stalinist political system was eliminated and Khrushchev imposed many reforms in its place. This caused a split in the Communist Party with the military and political elite highly objecting to these changes in system and thus opposed Khrushchev.…
* Stalin led the Soviet Union through the post – war reconstruction phase after WWII. He had entered the nation in the Cold War with the U.S. Stalin’s reign had been cruel and impacting since he flipside Russia after his death, his successor Khrushchev denounced his legacy and began a process of…
There have been many different opinions on why the once powerful Soviet Union fell including a stagnant economy, new reform policies, or general dismissal of communist ideology. Many of the issues that were either unresolved or worsened stem from Mikhail Gorbachev reign as General Secretary from 1985 until the collapse in 1991. While there were a plethora of issues surrounding the Soviet Union, Gorbachev seemed to be the focal point of where things went from bad to worse. Though Gorbachev had the Soviet…
The Soviet Union was very powerful and was a big challenge to America during the Cold War. However, they weren't as powerful as America is today because if they was they would still be around today. Their large military had a lot to do with their downfall this was because they did not have enough weapons or enough technology to support all of their soldiers. So which is why they were not able to defeat America because their technology was not as advanced as America’s was at the time. Even though the Soviet Union had the bigger army it was not enough for them to win the war.This strive for technology was a huge contributor to their collapse. The Soviet Union was constantly trying to keep up with the US technology, and so was spending outrageous amounts of money they didn't have. This led to massive food shortages, and public disdain for the government.…
For most of the 1900’s, the Soviet Union was one of the most powerful countries in the world. They fought in both World Wars and they also helped to defeat the Nazis in World War 2. Even with all of their achievements, the Soviet Union’s government began to disagree with the people and even force their will upon them in the mid to late 1900’s and they finally collapsed in 1991. The collapse of the Soviet Union was caused mainly by internal issues that developed long before 1991, like the government keeping secrets from the people, or the government disagreeing with the people.…
The end of the Cold War led to the Soviet Union’s collapse which happened because of Mikhail Gorbachev and his reform changes. The Cold War was a long and brutal battle.…
After Stalin died in 1953, nikita Khrushchev became the dominant Soviet leader. In 1956, the shrewd, tough Khrushchev denounced Stalin for jailing and killing loyal soviet citizens. His speech signaled the start of a policy called destalinization, or purging the country of Stalin’s memory. Workers destroyed monuments of the former dictator. Khrushchev called for peaceful competition with capitalist states. But this new soviet Outlook did not change life in satellite countiries. A popular and liberal Hungarian Communist leader named Imre Nagy formed a new goverment. Nagy promised free elections and in the end he failed the soviets prevailed. A pro- Soviet government was installed and Nagy was eventually executed. Jruschev lost prestige in his country as a result of the Cuban missile crises in 1962. In 1964 he was replaced by Leonid Brezhnev, he quickly adopted repressive domestic policies. Brezhnev clamored down on those who dared to protest his policies. Brezhnev made clear that he would not tolerate dissent in Eastern Europe either. His policy was put to the test in early 1968. At that time Czech Communist leader Alexander Dubcek loosened control son censorship to offer his country socialism with a human face. This period of reform became known as Prague Spring; however, it did not survive the summer. On august 20, armed forces from the Warsaw pact nations invaded Czechoslovakia. Brezhnev justified this invasion by clamming the soviet union had the right to prevent its satellites from rejecting communism, a policy known as the Brezhnev doctrine. While many satellite countries resisted Communist rule, China was committed to communism. Mao and Stalin even signed a 30-year treaty of friendship in 1950. Their sprit of cooperation ran out before the treaty did. The soviets assumed Chinese would follow soviet leadership and world affairs, but they began to spread their own Brand of communism in Africa and other parts of Asia. In 1959, Khrushchev…
Globalization caused the Soviet Union to overlook the state of the country’s political and economic issues. This caused the start of liberalization and the end of the Cold War.…