The Collapse of the

Soviet Union
By Gianna Perrone

Russian Civil War- 1917

The civil war was between the
Bolsheviks (Red Army) and the antiBolsheviks (White Army). The White
Army represented all parts of antiCommunist groups.
This made Russia tear apart because
many groups were opposing what
was being done.

Creation of the Politburo- 1917

The creation of the politburo was the
ruling committee of the Communist
Party.
It was able to crush all political
disagreements.
It was able to help the Soviet Union
existence as a nation.
Later on, the Politburo had ended
because of the cause of the breakup with
the Soviet Union.

Stalins Five Year Plan-1928

The Five Year Plan was designed to
industrialize the USSR in the shortest
amount of time possible.
Stalin had helped the Soviet Union by
making it more industrialized. This also
hurt the Soviet Union because it created
a famine throughout Russia.

World War II- 1939

This was the worlds first global conflict.
The Central Powers of Germany,
Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman
Empire were up against the Allied forces
of Great Britain, the United States,
France, Russia, Italy and Japan.
The introduction of modern technology
to warfare created resulted in
destruction. More than 9 million soldiers
were killed by the end of the war.

Joe 1- 1949
The Soviet Union exploded its first
atomic bomb at Semipalatinsk Test Site.
It was a direct copy of the plutonium
bomb dropped on Nagasaki.
The explosion was 50 percent more
affective than they had originally
thought, which means they had the
power to do more damage than
expected.

Hydrogen Bomb- 1952

This was the next step in the nuclear
arms race for the United States. Many
people were sceptical because the
limits to this weapon were
uncontrollable.
At first, this put the United States in a
short lead but soon the Soviet Union
takes over again.

Warsaw Pact- 1955

This was a collective defense treaty
among eight communist states in Central
and Eastern Europe during the Cold
War.
The Warsaw Pact helped the Soviet
Union make guns, aircraft and tanks.

Sputnik-1957
The world's first artificial satellite. It was
about the size of a beach ball, weighed
183.9 pounds, and took 98 minutes to
orbit the Earth on its elliptical path.
That launch started new political, military,
technological, and scientific
developments.
It marked the start of the space age and
the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race.

Laika and Sputnik 2-1957

Sputnik 2 was the second spacecraft launched into
Earth orbit.
It was a 4 meter high cone-shaped capsule.
It contained several compartments for controls and
scientific instruments.
A separate cabin was for the experimental dog, Laika,
the first being to travel to space.
It measured solar radiation (ultraviolet and x-ray
emissions) and cosmic rays.
A television camera was mounted in the passenger
compartment to observe Laika.

Creation of the Berlin Wall-1961

A barrier that divided Berlin. It completely cut off
West Berlin and East Berlin from surrounding East
Germany.
The barrier included guard towers along large
concrete walls that contained anti-vehicle
trenches, "fakir beds" (a bed of nails) and other
defenses.
The wall was built to prevent the massive
emigration and defection that marked East
Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during
the post-World War II period.

1968 Invasion of Czechoslovakia-1968

The Soviet Union led Warsaw Pact troops
in an invasion of Czechoslovakia to crack
down on reformist trends in Prague.
Although the Soviet Unions action
successfully stopped the pace of reform in
Czechoslovakia, it had done unintended
damages.

SALT I- 1969
The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
(SALT)
Two rounds of talks and corresponding
international treaties involving the United
States and the Soviet Union on the issue
of armament control (Competition for best
armed forces).
Led to a temporary agreement.

SALT II-1972
SALT II was the second series of talks between United
States and Soviet negotiators. It was aimed to reduce
the manufacture of strategic nuclear weapons. It was a
continuation of the SALT I talks and was led by
representatives from both countries.
SALT II helped the United States discourage the
Soviets from arming their third-generation ICBMs
(Intercontinental ballistic missile)

Soviet-Afghan War-1979
The SovietAfghan War lasted over nine
years.
Part of the Cold War, it was fought
between Soviet-led Afghan forces against
multi-national insurgent groups called the
Mujahideen.
Mostly composed of two alliances the
Peshawar Seven and the Tehran Eight.
14,500 Soviet soldiers were killed.

Voting Reforms by Gorbachev-1979

Made up a plan called democratization which would
make it a gradual opening of the political system.
This plan created an election of a new legislative body
and voters would be able to choose from a list of
candidates for each office.
The voters would choose unpopular candidates and the
reformers over powerful party bosses.
The voting reforms that Gorbachev created would be
able to hurt the Soviet Union because theyre spending
millions of money on these elections and they couldnt
afford the costly arms race.

Perestroika-1985
Political movement that was for reformation
within the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union.
They were able to make better needs for
the Soviet consumers and workers.

Glasnost- 1985
A policy that was calling for increase
openness transparency in the government
institutions and the activities in the Soviet
Union.
Glasnost was used by the leader and was
able to specify the policies that he thinks
will be able to reduce the problem at the
top of the Communist Party.
They would be able to have more freedom
of information.

Gorbachev becomes leader- 1985

Gorbachev was a former Soviet
statesman.
He was the eighth and last leader of the
Soviet Union.
Gorbachev was able to help the Soviet
Union because he was head of state
and was able to control everyone of the
Soviet Union.

Chernobyl Disaster- 1986

Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear
accident that was located at the
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in
Ukraine.
It was under central authorities of the
Soviet Union.
The Chernobyl disaster hurt the Soviet
Union because there was explosions
and fires that spread over much of the
western USSR and Europe.

Lithuania and Latvia Protests- 1988

Lithuania and Latvia protests were the first
challenges that came from the Baltic nations.
These nations were independent states between
the two world wars before Lithuania declared
independence to try to force it back into the Soviet
Union.
Lithuania and Latvia protests hurt the Soviet Union.
The Soviet troops were attacking the unarmed
civilians in Lithuanias capital.
The Soviet troops ended up killing 14 people while
also wounding hundred others.

Free Elections in Poland,

Czechoslovakia, Hungary- 1989
Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary were
able to have free elections.
Free election in Poland was fair while also
being proportional. The election in
Czechoslovakia and Hungary had more
rigorous electoral rules and they were leading
to government stability.
Free elections in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and
Hungary helped the Soviet Union because
they werent interfering with them.

Fall of the Berlin Wall- 1989

The fall of this wall took about three
decades before it was actually torn
down.
Many times people in the Communist
countries would rise up against the
Communist system but they ended up
failing.
The fall of the Berlin Wall helped the
Soviet Union because they were able to
control their satellites.

Boris Yeltsin becomes President- 1990

Boris Yeltsin was elected as becoming
the Russian Federations first directly
elected President.
He was named as being one of the most
powerful political opponents of
Gorbachevs.
He became the chairman of the Russian
Supreme Soviet.
He resigned in 1999 because he had
failing health such as heart problems.

Gorbachev steps down- 1991

Gorbachev and Yeltsin faced a common
enemy in the old guard of the Communist
officials.
People were furious that he had given up
the Soviets role as being the dominant
force in Eastern Europe.
Others also feared that they would lose
their power and their privileges so the
officials decided to overthrow him and
undo his reforms.

Why did the Soviet Union collapse?

The Soviet Union collapsed for many reasons. Such as
having too much central power with a lot of local
geographic and social areas. They lacked having
money which made them unable to keep up with the
United States since President Reagan elevated the
arms race. They also lacked the reforms which made
them go downhill while also having the cost of the wars
that went on at that time period.

Do you believe it could have survived?

I dont think that the Soviet Union would have been able to survive. They
didnt have enough money which shows that they were spending too much
money on wars and elections. Also, everything was falling apart since they
had too much power with other areas of the world. They had too many
problems going on at the same time. Since their economy was going
downhill, this showed that they wasted a lot of money on wars to use for
weapons. They spent millions of money on these wars while also having
millions of people dying at the same time. They should have had a backup
plan because there were so many problems going on at this time period
and there was nothing they could have done about it.

Citations
"Russian Revolution." Infoplease. Infoplease, 2000. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
Rosenberg, Jennifer. "World War I." About Education. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
"Cold War: A Brief History." The Hydrogen Bomb. Atomic Archive, 1998. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
"The Warsaw Pact." The Warsaw Pact. History Learning Site, 2000. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
"Sputnik 2." NSSDC Master Catalog Search. NASA, 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
"Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia, 1968 - 19611968 - Milestones - Office of the Historian." Soviet
Invasion of Czechoslovakia, 1968 - 19611968 - Milestones - Office of the Historian. Office of the
Historian, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
Taylor, Alan. "The Soviet War in Afghanistan, 1979 - 1989." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 04
Aug. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
"Politburo | Soviet Political Body." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2015.
Web. 20 Apr. 2015.