COLD WAR COLLAPSE OF THE USSR Mr Meester














- Slides: 14
COLD WAR: COLLAPSE OF THE USSR Mr. Meester World History
Vocabulary n n n Ronald Reagan Mikhail Gorbachev Perestroika Glasnost Boris Yeltsin
REASON #1: AMERICAN MILITARY PRESSURE n U. S. MILITARY PRESENCE INCREASED IN EUROPE & AROUND THE WORLD. u. CALLING USSR AN “EVIL EMPIRE, ” RONALD REAGAN BEGAN A NEW ARMS RACE. FEXAMPLES: CRUISE MISSILES, MIRVS, & STAR WARS MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM.
US MILITARY ACTIONS n US & NATO BUILD UP FORCES IN EUROPE AND AROUND THE WORLD. u. MILITARY AID TO THE AFGAN REBELS WHO INTENDED TO TOPPLE PRO-SOVIET GOVT. IN KABUL. (Capital of Afghanistan)
REASON #2: CHANGES IN SOVIET LEADERSHIP MIKHAIL GORBACHEV “Soviet Reformer”
WINDS OF CHANGE n 1980 s: SOVIETS HAD STRONG MILITARY, WEAK ECONOMY. u 1985 GORBACHEV ASSUMES POWER. F 2 REMARKABLE REFORMS ARE BEGUN.
PERESTROIKA n “PERESTROIKA”: RESTRUCTURING OF SOVIET ECONOMY. u. REDUCTION OF CENTRAL PLANNING, MORE PRIVATE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY. (CAPITALISM) u. RETREAT FROM COMMUNIST IDEOLOGY.
GLASNOST n “GLASNOST” MEANS “OPENNESS” u. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF SOVIET ISSUES, PROBLEMS, & HISTORY. u. ENCOURAGEMENT OF FREE EXPRESSION. (1 ST AMENDMENT)
SOVIET LEADERSHIP n n DISSIDENTS ACTUALLY RETURNED HOME TO RUN FOR OFFICE IN THE CONGRESS. GORBACHEV REFUSES TO USE SOVIET MILITARY POWER TO KEEP EASTERN EUROPE UNDER SOVIET CONTROL.
REASON #3: THE CRUMBLING SOVIET EMPIRE n ONE OF THE BIGGEST REASONS FOR THE COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION WAS INTERNAL PRESSURE. u. LIBERALS, CONSERVATIVES, AND NATIONALISTS COMPETE FOR POWER.
SOVIET UNION COLLAPSES PRESSURES FROM 3 GROUPS INSIDE USSR: n HARDLINE “PURE” COMMUNISTS u. CONSERVATIVES n PROPONENTS OF RAPID CHANGE. u. LIBRALS n REGIONAL ETHNIC GROUPS. u. NATIONALISTS
GORBACHEV FALLS n GORBY BRINGS CONSERVATIVES INTO THE GOVERNMENT. u. CONSERVATIVES ATTEMPT COUP DE TAT 1991. u. GORBY IS IMPRISONED BY CONSERVATIVE LEADERS.
SOVIET UNION COLLAPSES ENTER BORIS YELTSIN: “Savior of Russia” & “Killer of USSR”
SOVIET UNION COLLAPSES n n BORIS YELTSIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA, BRINGS IN HIS ARMY. u. YELTSIN FREES GORBY, (GORBY RETIRES FROM OFFICE) u. YELTSIN LETS THE SOVIET UNION BREAK UP. RUSSIA RETURNS.