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Leveled Lesson Summary

Lesson 5 The Cold War Ends

After years of Communist rule, the Soviet Union collapsed and was replaced by
Russia and other independent republics.

The Soviet Union Declines and The Soviet Union Collapses

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979. It then became involved in a long
war. By 1980, the Afghan War was draining badly needed resources. The Soviet
Union withdrew from Afghanistan to focus on troubling issues at home.
The Soviet economy faced many challenges. While Western Europe and the
United States experienced economic booms during the Cold War, the communist
economies of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union did not. Unable to compete
with free-market economies, the command economy of the Soviet Union began
to collapse. In addition, the arms race strained the Soviet economy. The new
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev urged reforms. He called for glasnost, or
openness. He ended censorship and encouraged people to discuss the country’s
problems. Gorbachev also called for perestroika, (pehr uh STROY kuh) or the
restructuring of government and the economy.
Gorbachev’s policies brought rapid change that led to economic turmoil across
the Soviet empire. His restructuring led to shortages, higher prices, and
unemployment. Glasnost encouraged criticism and undermined the government’s
strict control over the empire. Soviet republics broke away and declared
independence. Gorbachev resigned. In December, 1991, the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics was officially dissolved after nearly 70 years.

Reading Check How did Gorbachev try to change the government?

Eastern Europe Transformed

During the Cold War, efforts by Eastern Europe to resist Soviet domination were
harshly stopped. After Gorbachev announced that the Soviet Union would no
longer intervene in Eastern Europe, a “democracy movement” swept the region.

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EASTERN EUROPE TRANSFORMED

Poland ● 1980—Lech Walesa elected president

● New government makes transition from socialism to a
market economy

Hungary ● 1970s, 1980s—Introduced some economic reforms

● Hungarians allowed to openly criticize government
● Other political parties allowed

Czechoslovakia ● Václav Havel, a dissident writer and human rights

activist, is elected president

Ethnic tensions caused trouble in Eastern Europe. In light of this problem,

Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two countries—the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In
1991, ethnic tensions tore apart the Balkan nation of Yugoslavia.

Reading Check Why did Eastern Europe change during the 1970s and 1980s?

Communism Declines and The Post-Cold War World

The collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe affected
communist nations around the world. In Cuba, some market reforms were
allowed. Also, investments from other countries were encouraged. China
introduced limited market reforms. These reforms increased prosperity for China.
While limited economic reforms occurred, neither Cuba nor China allowed
political reforms. Both nations kept tight control.
After the end of the Cold War, the United States emerged as the sole
superpower. Now, the United States played a leading role in trying to resolve
world conflicts.

Eastern European nations faced the challenge of building stable democratic

governments. They moved to replace their command economies with free-market
economies.

Reading Check How did the decline of communism affect other communist nations?

LESSON CHECK What were the causes and effects of the end of the Cold War? The
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, collapsing satellite states and the fall of the Berlin Wall
all contributed to the end of the Cold War.

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Savvas is not responsible for any modifications made by end users to the content posted in its original format.