1. Collapse of the Soviet Union 1985- 1991 By: Sarah Martin

2. Soviet Collapse Timeline 1985- Gorbachev becomes Communist Party Secretary General. 1987-Gorbachev proposes glasnost and perestroika and signs superpower treaty with US to begin scrapping nuclear warheads. 1991- Gorbachev resigns from office. (Christmas Day) 1990 -Soviet troops sent to Azerbaijan following inter-ethnic killings between Armenians and Azeris; Communist Party votes to end one-party rule; Gorbachev opposes independence of Baltic states and imposes sanctions on Lithuania; Yeltsin elected president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic by the latter's parliament and leaves the Soviet Communist Party. 1991 August - Senior officials, including Defence Minister Dmitry Yazov, Vice-President Gennadiy Yanayev and the heads of the Interior Ministry and the KGB detain Gorbachev at his holiday villa in Crimea, but are themselves arrested after three days; Yeltsin bans the Soviet Communist Party in Russia and seizes its assets; Yeltsin recognises the independence of the Baltic republics; Ukraine, followed by other republics, declares itself independent. 1991 September - Congress of People's Deputies votes for the dissolution of the Soviet Union. 1991 December - Leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus sign agreement setting up Commonwealth of Independent States. 1991 26 December - Russian government takes over offices of USSR in Russia. Mikhail Gorbachev signs his resignation as president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

3. The Soviet Union arose from The October Revolution which overthrew the Russian Provisional Government and gave the power to the Soviet party dominated by Bolsheviks. It was followed by the Russian Civil War. The Soviet Union is traditionally considered to be the successor of the Russian Empire. The last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, ruled until March 1917 and was executed with his family the following year. From 1917 to 1922, the predecessor to the Soviet Union was the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic which was an independent country as well as other Soviet republics at the time. The Soviet Union was officially established in December 1922 as the union of the Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Transcaucasian Soviet republics ruled by Bolshevik parties. History Bolshevik Revolutionist Leon Trotsky. He was an influential leader in the early days of the Soviet Union, and a leading Marxist Theorist.

4. Continued... After World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States engaged in a Cold War. Each tried to increase its worldwide influence. The Soviet Union extended its power over much of Eastern Europe and even to Cuba. By the 1960s, it appeared that communism was permanently established in these regions. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Soviet Union’s Communist leadership kept tight control over the Soviet people. The Soviet Union and the United States of America were the two world superpowers that dominated the global agenda of economic policy, foreign affairs, military operations, cultural exchange, scientific advancements including the pioneering of space exploration, and sports. Press during the Cold War.

5. Downfall of the Soviet Union The four principal elements of the old Soviet system were the hierarchy of soviets, ethnic federalism, state socialism, and Communist Party dominance. Gorbachev's programs of perestroika and glasnost produced radical unforeseen effects that brought that system down. As a means of reviving the Soviet state, Gorbachev repeatedly attempted to build a coalition of political leaders supportive of reform and created new arenas and bases of power. He implemented these measures because he wanted to resolve serious economic problems that clearly threatened to put the Soviet Union into a state of standstill. But by using structural reforms to widen opportunities for leaders and popular movements in the union republics to gain influence, Gorbachev also made it possible for conservative and radicalists communist representatives to oppose his attempts to liberalize and revitalize Soviet communism. Although some of the new movements aspired to replace the Soviet system altogether with a liberal democratic one, others demanded independence for the national republics. Still others insisted on the restoration of the old Soviet ways. Ultimately, Gorbachev could not forge a compromise among these forces and the consequence was the collapse of the Soviet Union. Reasons for the collapse • The rise of Russian nationalism • Economics, politics, and international affairs in the post- Cold War time Russian people of early 80s, right before the collapse of USSR.

7. Mikhail Gorbachev Gorbachev rose to the top party spot in March 1985. Almost from the start, he strove for significant reforms. Such as the two main points of the Gorbachev era: "glasnost" and "perestroika”. Gorbachev realizing the Soviet Union could not compete began to argue in favor of an end to the arms race with the West. The agreements while in the Soviet interest caused tension for him in the Soviet Union. For his efforts he was named the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize winner for helping to end the Cold War. Gorbachev’s authority is ultimately destroyed. He resigned on Christmas Day 1991 as President of the Soviet Union. The SU is dissolved into 15 independent nations, 11 of which found the CIS as a new federation. Soviet Leader from 1985 - 1991

11. The August Coup • The liberals wanted further change in Russia. Including a multi party state and more civil liberties. • Pressing Gorbachev for greater reform measures. • Angering the conservatives who arrested Gorbachev on August 19, 1991. • Then declared a state of emergency. • But the effort collapsed. By 1991, Gorbachev was prepared to negotiate a settlement in which the republics would belong to a new union, which would only be ruled by the central government in certain areas, while the member republics would be responsible for other matters. However, many hardliners were horrified by this imminent break-up of the USSR. These were people who were already opposed to Gorbachev's economic reforms, which had failed and worsened the economic situation. Therefore, on the 18th of August, these hardliners launched a coup to overthrow Gorbachev, in which he was placed under house arrest and rule was taken over by an eight-member committee. President's bodyguard, Korzhakov stands with Boris Yeltsin on a tank to defy the August coup on August 18, 1991.

12. Former Soviet Empire

13. The Soviet Union after the split The independent nations that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its breakup in December 1991. 1- Armenia 2- Azerbaijan 3- Belarus 4- Estonia 5- Georgia 6- Kazakhstan 7- Kyrgyzstan 8- Latvia 9- Lithuania 10- Moldova 11- Russia 12- Tajikistan 13- Turkmenistan 14- Ukraine 15- Uzbekistan

14. Soviet Art This beautiful painting was painted in 1949 by Boris Ieremeevich Vladimirski.

15. Bibliography “ The Collapse of the Soviet Union”. 2 Dec. 2007. <www.allfreeessays.net/student/The_Collapse_of_the_Soviet_Union.html> 2. “Soviet Union”. 1 Dec. 2007. 2 Dec. 2007. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_union> 3. “Collapse of Soviet Union, 1989-1991”. 29 Nov. 2007. <http://sfr-21.org/collapse.html> 4. Ted Hankin. “Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse?”. 29. Nov. 2007. <http://reality.gn.apc.org/polemic/whydid.htm> 5. Dimitri K. Simes. After the Collapse . NY, NY. 1999. 6. “The Gorbachev Reforms”. 2 Dec. 2007. <http://www.russiansabroad.com/russian_history_205.html>

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