The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union
Almost sixty-nine years after it was founded, the Soviet Union came to an end. In 1985 Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev became general secretary of the Communist Party, and in 1988 he became President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). However, six years later on December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned. It was at this time that the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Most Russians today, still suffering through a difficult transition, believe Gorbachev changed their nation for the worse. Most foreigners think he changed the world for the better. It may take decades before Mikhail Sergeyevich's place in history can be fully evaluated. Boris Yeltsin became the first elected president of the Russian Federation on June 12, 1991.Countless problems and unfulfilled expectations plagued Yeltsin as the first elected leader of the newly independent Russian democracy. His attempts at drastic reforms, which were to transform Russia into a prosperous market based economy, were met with public disapproval. As president of Russia, Yeltsin played a pivotal role in the dissolution of the USSR. Despite assurances from Yeltsin that reform would yield dividends within a year, the economy contract
Mikhail Gorbachev wanted to reform his country but keep it intact. Chernobyl was a terrifying example of the failure to solve major problems in the Soviet system. Poisons from heavy industries like iron and steel polluted large parts of the Ukraine. Although the three Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were the first to challenge the Soviet leadership, the most dangerous threat came from the Russian republic, which contained more than half of the USSR's population. Gorbachev's policies ended the Communist regime's authoritarian controls without putting a solid alternative structure in their place. President Boris Yeltsin, at age 68, resigned as president of the Russian Federation on December 31, 1999, roughly six months before the end of his term. In May 1990 Boris Yeltsin, Gorbachev's leading radical critic, was chosen to be chairman of the Russian parliament. As a result, despite a record grain harvest, so many crops rotted in the fields or on the way to market that not enough reached consumers to feed the country. On April 26, 1986 an explosion of one of the reactors of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the Ukraine created a new problem for Gorbachev and the Soviet Union. That signing never took place, however, for on August 19, a group of Gorbachev's closest associates - all Communist conservatives at the highest levels of government - attempted a coup against Gorbachev by declaring a national state of emergency. Within several days, party activities had been suspended. As the Aral Sea dried up and vast stretches of its salty bottom were exposed, thousands of square miles in Central Asia were covered by huge dust and salt storms, poisoning both the land and its people. This trend went the furthest in Lithuania. " Soviet consumers suffered because the old centrally planned distribution system broke down faster than it could be replaced by the private sector. Gorbachev returned to Moscow, but his leadership had been severely discredited by the crisis.
Common topics in this essay:
Soviet Union,
Moldavia Caucasus,
Communist Party,
Union Treaty,
USSR Despite,
Yeltsin Gorbachev's,
Ukraine Siberian,
Federation June,
Aral Sea,
Mikhail Gorbachev,
soviet union,
communist party,
boris yeltsin,
central asia,
gorbachev resigned,
gorbachev resigned soviet,
minority nationalities,
resigned soviet,
ceased exist,
december 25 1991,
25 1991,
collapse soviet union,
central government,
president russian federation,
secretary communist party,
|
Acceptance Essays
