Causes for Disintegration of ussr
Answers
Problems with USSR
Bureaucratic and authoritarian system.
Lack of democracy.
Lack of freedom of speech.
One party system (communist) – unaccountable to the people.
Dominance of Russia; neglect of the interests of other republics.
High expenditure on defense, low on infrastructure and technology.
Disintegration of the USSR : Major Events
Crisis in the Socialist bloc : People in many east European countries started protest against their own governments and USSR. Without the right intervention from USSR at the right time, communist governments in the second world collapsed one after the other.
The fall of Berlin Wall: Germany was divided after the second world war – among the socialist USSR and the capitalist western regimes. The fall of Berlin led to a series of events including the disintegration of the USSR.
Economic and political reforms in USSR : Gorbachev identified the economic and political problems of USSR, and started a series of reforms, with the intention to revive economy. This was a deviation from the communist policies, and was more closely associated with the market economy. Many communist leaders in USSR opposed reforms initiated by Gorbachev. They encouraged a coup in 1991.
Coup: The coup of 1991.
Opposition against the coup : Boris Yelsin who won popular election in Russian Republic, protested against the coup and central control of USSR. Freedom for republics became the slogan. Boris Yeltsin and the pluralist movement advocated democratization and rapid economic reforms while the hard-line Communist elite wanted to thwart Gorbachev’s reform agenda.
Power shift from Soviet center to republics: Republics like Russia, Ukraine, Belarus emerged powerful. They declared that the soviet union was disbanded.
There are various factors for the disintegration of the USSR. Some major causes are listed below.
1. Fall of Berlin War: The Second World War led to the division of Germany among the capitalist western regimes and socialist USSR. The fall of Berlin formed a reason of the disintegration.
2. Economy and Politics: Gorbachev started a series of economic and political reforms. People started to oppose the reforms and encouraged a coup in 1991.
3. Coup: The coup in 1991 put another brick to the building of disintegration.
4. Opposition to the Coup: Boris Yeltsin won elections in the Russian Republic and opposed the coup. There was a fight amongst these people.
5. Power Shifts: Russia, Ukraine and Belarus emerged as powerful republics and declared the Soviet Union as disbanded.