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Communism for USSR
Communism
After the Bolshevik Revolution in November 1917, the newly-formed gov. of socialism eventually changed to Communism. The state which the Bolsheviks created was intended to overcome national differences, & come to a monotheistic religious state based on a centralized economical and political system. It was built on a Communist belief/idea & eventually transformed into a totalitarian state, in which the Communist leadership had complete control over the country. -
Building of the Berlin Wall
Wall
Video
The Berlin Wall was built in order to ensure citizens of East Germany to stay there. West and East Germany beame distinctly different, and the people in the East did not want to live there anymore. 2.5 million people had already left for West Berlin, when Germany realized they needed to do something to prevent them losing everything. In order to keep people in their country, a wall was put up to make it impossible to cross over to West Berlin. -
Mikhail Gorbachev
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[Video](goo.gl/O8x2b)
Gorbachev became Soviet Union’s leader. He noticed that the country was not progressing and had deep economical and political problems that needed to be addressed and overcome. He initiated a policy of glasnost, or freedom of speech, and he introduced a program of economic reform known as perestroika (rebuilding). The Soviet's used their new freedom to criticize Gorbachev for failure to improve the economy. -
Decisions for Gorbachev
Decisions
Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia demanded autonomy in 1987 and their nationalists movements created a strong challenge to Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost. He didn’t want to crack down too severely on the participants in these movements, yet at the same time, it became obvious that allowing them to run their course would spell disaster for the Soviet Union, which would completely collapse if all of the periphery republics demanded independence. -
Uproar of Independence in Estonia
Independence
After Estonia began the up roar about independence in 1987, similar movements sprang up all around the Soviet Union. The Armenian population demanded that they be granted the right to secede and join the Republic of Armenia so they paired up with people that wanted the same right in Nagorno-Karabagh to make a stronger link. -
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War about Nagorno-Karabakh Seceding
The Gorbachev government refused to allow the population of Nagorno-Karabakh to secede, and the situation developed into a violent territorial dispute, eventually going into an all-out war from February 20, 1988 – May 16,1994. The power of the Central Government became weaker because of these movements; they could no longer rely on the cooperation of Government figures in the republics. -
Collapse of the Berlin Wall
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The Berlin Wall was an important part in the Cold War because it symbolized the division of communism and democracy. It made a physical distinction between West Berlin and East Germany. The fall of the Berlin Wall happened just as quickly as the rise did. Many people wanted to flee to the west, and then a crowd found out that they could relocate, they immediately began to chisel away at the Berlin Wall. -
Where Did Gorbachev Go?
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In a desperate effort to try and “save” the Soviet Union, a group of “hard-line” Communists organized a coup. They kidnapped Gorbachev, and then, on August 19 of 1991, they announced on state television that Gorbachev was very ill and would no longer be able to govern. The country went into an uproar and massive protests were staged in the major cities of the Soviet Union. -
Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Once the Soviet Union seized to exist, in it's place (December 8, 1991) came the “Commonwealth of Independent Republics,” and was composed of most of the independent countries of the former Soviet Union. While the member countries had complete political independence, they were linked to other Commonwealth countries by economic and, in some cases, by military ties. -
Soviet Union Officially Collapses
Collapse
Video
The end of the Soviet Union marked the end of the Cold War, which lasted 50 years. There were several results of the ending of the USSR, including communism dying out. 16 republics also formed out of the Soviet Union, and were self-governed, instead of being ruled by the Soviets. The end of communism also made several other communist countries collapse. -
Too Late to Fix Things
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The government and the people realized that it was too late to do anything and after the failed coup attempt, it was only a few months until the Soviet Union completely collapsed. On December 25, 1991 Gorbachev resigned from power, knowing he would never be able to get things back to the way they were or control the people.
