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The Collapse of the Soviet Union, 15 Years Later
Key Lecture Points:
• On December 26, 1991 the Supreme Soviet (the highest governing body in the USSR) recognized the nation to be collapsed and dissolved itself. This marked the end of the 69 year existence of the Soviet Union, the longest-lasting socialist state in world history. The fall of the USSR ushered in a new ‘Post-Cold War’ era, the significance of which the world still grapples with today. The Soviet Union’s collapse left the United States as the world’s lone superpower, a role which has been both acclaimed and criticized, and which has had deep and lasting effects on international relations. It also seemingly spoke to the victory of the Western capitalist-democratic model of social, political and economic organization. While the Soviet Union’s fall was thought to spell the beginning of a new era for people in Russia and other former Soviet states, today there is speculation that Russia has not really come all that far, with corruption, political unfreedom and semi-authoritarian rule still arguably in existence today. Relations with the US today are also increasingly strained.
• The USSR came into being in 1922, on the heels of the Bolshevik Revolution which pitted Russia’s mostly peasant population against the monarchy of Tsar Nicholas II. Initially led by revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, the USSR soon came under the dictatorial power of Joseph Stalin who ruled until 1953. Under Stalin, a command economy was put into place; during his rule some 20 to 60 million people died as a result of persecution for their ethnicity, religion, and/or political beliefs. After Stalin, Soviet policies were relaxed gradually and the USSR experienced many of the changes that would contribute to its fall decades later. By the time Gorbachev came to power in 1984, the USSR was already weak; his policies of glasnost and perestroika (political and economic openness), while intended to ‘fix’ the Union, had the unintended consequence of contributing to its downfall. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 symbolized a new freedom for the Eastern Bloc; Eastern Bloc peoples by this time were rebelling against tyranny and toppling Communist governments all over the region.
• Relations between the US and USSR during the 1947-1991 were defined by: general diplomatic estrangement; proxy wars occurring periodically between nations supported by the respective superpowers (e.g. Vietnam); and an arms race for superiority in nuclear and conventional weapons and aerospace technologies.
• Since 1991, Russia has been grappling with significant changes in its society and politics. Many have noted a tendency towards Soviet-era policies, like Yeltsin’s disbanding of the Congress by decree in 1993, the two Chechen Wars, and Putin’s recent disregard for civil and political rights. Russian relations with the US recently have been mixed at best. While cooperation has been forthcoming on the issues of terrorism, disarmament and North Korea’s weapons programs, significant disagreements exist between the two countries on the Middle East peace process, energy policy, Iran, Venezuela, China, Iraq, human rights, and trade.
For More Information:
• BBC on Fall of Soviet Union: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/coldwar/soviet_end_01.shtml
• CIA Factbook on Russia: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rs.html
Books For Further Reading:
• Baker, Peter and Glasser, Susan. Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the End of Revolution. Scribner Press, 2005. 464 pages.
Description: Written by two Washington Post journalists stationed for years in Moscow, this account of modern-day Russia argues that Putin’s rule and rhetoric has uncanny similarities to that of Stalin. While certainly a biased account, the book is accessible and brings to light many of the present-day concerns about Russian society and politics.
Click here to order.
• Gaddis, John Lewis. The Cold War: A New History. Penguin Press, 2005. 352 pages.
Description: Gaddis has frequently been called America’s leading Cold War historian. The author of at least 6 books on the matter, here Gaddis tells the story of the Cold War in a more generally readable fashion. While some say that Gaddis is a friend to the current American Administration, others argue that his conclusions here point to the folly of the Administration’s foreign policy approach. Thus, while biased, the bent of the bias in this book is hard to figure.
Click here to order.
• Satter, David. Age of Delirium: The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union. Yale University Press, 2001. 444 pages.
Description: Satter reported for the Wall Street Journal and The London Times for almost two decades. This book recounts the later years of the USSR, using the stories from those who lived in the regime to personalize his historical account.
Click here to order.
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