The Collapse of the

Soviet Union
By: Kyle Chandler

Creation of the Politburo

Founded October 1917, Re-founded March 1919
The Politburo was set up by Vladimir Lenin in 1917. It was the
central policymaking and governmental body until the collapse of
the Soviet Union. Elections were usually held every four or five
years. However the position was just switch throughout different
communist parties. This helped the Soviet Union because it
provided a policymaking group which everyone had to follow.

Russian Civil War

October 1918- 1921
After November 1917, many groups formed that opposed Lenins
Bolsheviks. Lenins army was known as the Red Army while others
were known as the White Army. The whites were made up of the
Mensheviks and some other groups including foreign nations such
as the United States. After the war Communist rule was secure
under Lenin. This hurt the Soviet Union because it tore the nation
apart for three long hard years.

Stalins Five Year Plan

First one was started in 1928
The first five year plan was aimed at developing the steel and iron
industries. The reason for this is because he knew that if they
didnt industrializes they wouldnt be able to defend themselves
from the western nations in wars. Factories were required to hit a
certain quota of production. Stalin gave higher wages to some
workers to increase production. This helped the Soviet Union
because it provided the nation with goals that they wanted to
achieve.

World War II
September 1st 1939- September 2nd 1945
World War II had a huge impact on Russia. Adolf Hitler wanted all
of the Eastern World to belong to Germany. Many attacks were on
Russia. In June of 1941, Operation Barbarossa, a massive attack
on Russia from Germany which killed many. Russia was on the lost
World War II in the eyes on many historians. This war had a really
negative impact on the nation because of how many people were
killed.

Free Elections in Poland, Czechoslovakia, &

Hungary
Hungary- November 1945 Poland- 1989 Czech- June 1990
When this happened in these countries it was a big hit to the
Soviet Union because of how much land they lost. However in
these countries the people were ecstatic. It was the first time in
many of their lives that they were free. This had a negative
impact in the Soviet Union existence of a nation.

Joe 1
August 1st 1949
Joe 1 was an atomic bomb that the Soviets created. They created
it after the United States used an atomic on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. This had a positive impact on the nation itself because
they now had power, however they now lost a lot of trust from
some other nations.

Hydrogen Bomb
1953
The Hydrogen Bomb was another nuclear weapon. They were the
second nation to launch one after the United States. Up to that
point in history it was the largest bomb launched in history. This
had the same impact on the nation as Joe 1 because now other
nations had trust issue with them.

Warsaw Pact
May 14th, 1955
This was a treaty that was signed between the Soviet Union and
seven of its satellite nations. This allowed the Soviets to take
control of the others armed forces. This had a positive impact of
the Soviet Unions history because it provided allies.

Sputnik
Launched October 4th, 1957
This was the first artificial satellite to be launched into space.
Although it was very small, only the size of a beach ball, it was the
path to the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet
Union. This had a positive impact on the nation because it showed
that they were advancing in technology.

Laika and Sputnik 3

November 3rd, 1957 Sputnik 3- May 15th, 1958
Laika was a mixed breed (mutt) dog. Laika was the first dog to
ever be in space. This was a test to see if humans were suitable
for space. Sputnik 3 was another version of Sputnik 1. It went up
to space to do more tests on the things that are there. Both of
these things had positive impacts on the country because it
showed the world that they are really advanced in techonolgy.

Creation of the Berlin Wall

August 13th, 1961
The creation of the Berlin Wall divided many families. It made it
hard for them to visit each other because the wall was not easy to
get around. Also it created a lot of trust issues with the people of
the area and the world. This is why the creation of the Berlin Wall
had a negative impact on the country.

1968 Invasion of Czechoslovakia

August 20th, 1968
On the date above the Soviet Union and the rest of the Warsaw
troops went into Czechoslovakia and wanted to stop the reformist
trends in the area of Prague. Although this was a success it slowed
down the reforms that were going on in this country. This had a
positive impact on the nation because it showed others that the
Soviets could fight.

SALT 1
November 17th, 1969
SALT 1 stands for Strategic Arms Limitations Talks. This was a
treaty that limited the amount of missiles the United States and
the Soviet Union could create. This had a negative impact on the
nation because now they couldnt create as many missiles as they
wanted to.

SALT 2
June 18th, 1979
This was a similar treaty as SALT, however they limited two
different kinds of arms. In SALT 1 it limited regular missiles now
this one limited nuclear weapons. This also had a negative impact
because they couldnt create an unlimited amount.

Soviet- Afghan War

December 25th, 1979- February 15th, 1989
This was a war between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan. The
Soviets took control of a lot of major cities and highways. In the
war it is estimated that over a million lives were taken and many
more were injured. This had a very negative impact on the nation
because now many countries did not want any part in the Soviets
because they lost trust in them.

Glasnost
March 1985
Glasnost was a Soviet policy permitting for open discussion on
items such as political and social issues. This had a positive
impact on the nation because now people felt like they actually
had a say.

Perestroika
1985- 1991
Perestroika was a program instituted in the Soviet Union by their
leader Mikhail Gorbachev to restructure their economic and
political policies. He encouraged people to become more selffinancing. This had a positive impact on Russia because now
people had more rights and they had more trust.

Cher Noble Disaster

1986
The Cher noble Disaster was an incident resulted when a flawed
reactor design wasnt being used by trained professionals. This
ended up killing two people right then and killing twenty-eight
people total. This had a negative impact on the nation because it
lost trust in the workers now.

Voting Reforms by Gorbachev

1986
Gorbachev did a ton of things that changed the way the Soviet
Union was ran. One of the biggest changes was voting in the
country. Instead of having the power just handed over from leader
to leader he now put a law in that there was voting for the leader.
This had a negative impact on the country because now it wasnt a
communist country anymore.

Lithuania and Latvia Protests

August 23rd, 1989
On the day ten that these two nations protested there were tens
of thousand people. They were protesting anti-pollution which
demonstrated newly talked about awareness for the environment.
This had a negative impact on the nation because they lost trust of
other nations that are located near them

Fall of the Berlin Wall

November 9th, 1989
As the Cold War was coming to an end, the spokesman for the East
Belin Communist Party announced that a change in the cities
relation with the west side. At midnight people were allowed to
cross over to the other side. People were really happy and they
drank beer and had a goodtime. This had a positive impact on the
nation because people were starting to become happier.

Gorbachev Becomes Leader

Elected March 1990
Gorbachev believed that the Soviet Union needed massive
liberalization in order to get the economy and society going again.
He shocked many people when he did this because people thought
they would be a communist nation for many years to come.
Gorbachev becoming leader had a negative impact on the nation
because he was the reason why they are no longer a communist
nation.

Gorbachev Steps Down

December 25th 1991
Gorbachev had many big plans for the nation of the Soviet Union,
however the plans were never successful. He planned on
jumpstarting the countrys economy however it went the other
way. Many people inside the country did not like him at all. When
he stepped down it had a positive impact however it was to late,
the next day the Soviet Union officially dissolved.

Boris Yeltsin becomes President

1991
Just a few days after the collapse of the Soviet Union Boris Yeltsin
became the President of Russia. He wanted to resolve the issues
that Gorbachev started like the reforming the countrys economy.
He wanted to transform the country from the worlds largest
command economy to the worlds largest free market economy.
Yeltsin was the final piece of the fall of the Soviet Union.

Final Question
The Soviet Union collapsed because in 1991 when Boris Yeltsin took
over power Belavezha Accords were signed. I do not think that the
Soviet Union could have survived. One reason I think this is
because eventually the people would realize how bad they had it
and they would rebel. Also, the nation is to oil depended. Their
economy was depending on oil for over 50 percent of its money.
Lastly I dont think that they knew how to spend their money
effectively. They would waste money on weapons but then they
would have people starving in the streets. This is why I dont
think that the Soviet Union could have survive.

Works Cited
"Boris Yeltsin Biography - President of Russia." Encyclopedia
Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 20 Apr.
2015.
Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Mikhail Gorbachev." N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr.
2015.
"The Russian Civil War". HistoryLearningSite.co.uk. 2014. Web.