The end of the Second World War saw the escalation of the rivalry between the United States and the USSR over world dominance. The supremacy battles were caused by differences in political ideologies and the economic development thus leading to the cold war. The totalitarian regime of the Soviet Union held many nations in Eastern Europe together for almost 70 years. According to Prados (2011), the disintegration of the USSR brought caused political and economic instability in addition to civil unrests in separate member states. The collapse of the USSR on December 8, 1991, hampered the coordination of the market mechanisms and the sole ownership of properties into economies.
Also, the emergence of leaders that championed for the radical reforms and rebellion lead to the development of an open society that was opposed to the oppressive communist ideologies. In addition, prolonged ethnic tensions and dictatorship caused frustration among the citizens in various member states thus leading to the eruption of a new open society that respected the will of the people. In December 1991, Russia, Belorussian, and Ukraine leaders made a declaration that marked the end of the Soviet Union (Plokhy, 2014).
The economic downturn of the Soviet Union was caused by massive overspending on the war and the buying of ammunition so as to counter the western ideologies. The economic recession called for the desperate interventions that could help in revamping the economy of the union. On the contrary, the soviet society became more corrupt, inefficient and harsh. The worsening condition made member states to start question the rationale of the existence of the union. The economic revival strategies of Leonida Brezhnev after the removal of Khrush from the USSR leadership in 1964 worsened the situation. The economic crisis affected the majority of the states for almost a decade.
The introduction of economic reforms by various leadership failed to turn around the economy. The condition spurred a wave of social tension among various states (Prados,2011) highlights that the socialism model of the soviet Union proved to be absolutely inadequate, bearing in mind that the world was about to enter into the third phase of the industrial revolution. The efforts of Yuri Andropov to implement reform policy between 1884 and 1984 were hampered by the Bureaucratic nature of the system enacted by Brezhnev and the inflexibility of the established political structures and economies from the west.
The death of Konstantin Cernenko in 1985 led to the emergence of a new leader who was committed to enhancing reforms. When Mikhail Gorbachev took over the leadership in 1985,the Soviet Union was in a dire economic condition that was aggravated by an immense expenditure on military and the supporting of the member states from external invasions by the western countries.
Gorbachev reforms stated by the establishment of the Central Committee Plenum in 1985.The rationale of the policy was to introduce slow liberation process that could lead to an abolishment of the communist system gradually without destroying the ideological fundamentals of this political system. According to Prados (2011), Gorbachev held an opinion that the communism had diverged from the Leninist theory thus calling for restructuring. The reforms were based on the reorganization of the Social relations, economic and the political system (Duiker &Jackson, 2016).The rapid acceleration strategy of the Gorbachev relied heavily on the support of the greater society, unlike the previous regimes that upheld dictatorial ideals. Despite the resistance from a section of the leaders, the leader of the Union developed a set of measures to counter the opposition (Plokhy, 2014).
Another cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union was the introduction of the glasnotes.The establishment of the openness strategy by Gorbachev championed for the abolishment of censorship, introduction of the freedom of the media and political transparency, a fact that had eluded the previous regimes. Many citizens of the member state could easily express their views and critique the government where necessary. This strategy caused a great awakening among the citizens they the leadership gave them a chance to express their views on how the Soviet Union ought to be governed without any intimidation.
Gorbachev abandoned the Soviet Union nine-year war in Afghanistan. He also refused to offer military aid to former USSR satellite countries, thus weakening the empire of the communist rule. There was a turn of events when Gorbachev visited East Berlin in 1989. His address advocated for communication freedom with the population in East Germany. The speech saw the pulling down of the Berlin wall, which symbolized the end of Iron Curtain thus reunification of Germany.
Gorbachev also held meetings with the American president on the need to reduce intermediate-range weapons (Prados, 2011). These reforms made many soviet citizens demand an immediate shift to capitalism. The developments angered hard-line USSR officials who held him hostage, thus causing dissolution of the USSR. Gorbachev was later rescued by Yeltsin Boris.
The collapse of the Soviet Union leads to the collapse of the totalitarian regimes around the world, especially in the Eastern Europe. Most of the citizens in the member states wedged a series of protests that saw the end of the dictatorship. Also, Duiker and Jackson (2016) notes that the clamor for liberation saw the emergence of democratically elected leaders. Another fundamental benefit of the collapse of the USSR was an end to the cold war that has pitted the United States against its former ally during the Second World War.
References
Duiker, W.J. and Jackson, S.J. (2061). The essential world history. New York: Cengage Learning.
Plokhy, S. (2014). The last empire: The final days of the Soviet Union. New York: Oneworld Publications.
Prados, J. (2011). How the Cold War Ended. Washington: Potomac Books Inc.
