2. The USSR went through many changes in the 1980s,
leading to the Cold War’s end. There are many
different reasons for these changes.

4. Financial problems
Government-owned
businesses were badly run
and needed changes to
stop this, including
private investment.
The USSR was also
struggling to fund its
military commitments.

5. Poverty
Many Russians lived in
poverty. They faced long
queues even to buy bread.
People in the USSR could
see on TV that the West was
not this poor.
Without changes, the USSR
risked a revolution.

6. Military problems
The USSR was failing to
win the Afghanistan War
and it was costing them
too much money.
The Soviets also could
not afford to keep
military control of
Eastern Europe.

7. Chernobyl
Chernobyl was a nuclear
power station in the USSR
which exploded in 1986.
In spite of the deaths it
caused (and later cancers)
it was kept secret at
first. Gorbachev was
shocked by this.

9. Influence of the USA
The USA put more pressure
on the Soviet Union.
US President Ronald
Reagan hugely increased
military spending, which
the USSR could not match.
This included building
Stealth Bombers.

10. The USA also tried to
develop the Strategic
Defense Initiative (or
Star Wars).
This was an anti-missile
system based in space.
If successful this could
have made Soviet
missiles useless.

11. Reagan tried to persuade
the people of Eastern
Europe to rebel against
the USSR.
They used radio
broadcasts such as
‘Voice of America’ and
‘Radio Free Europe’ to
encourage this.

12. Eastern Europe
Like in the USSR, people
in Eastern Europe lived
in poverty and wanted
change. It was hard to
stop revolutions.
Groups such as
Solidarity in Poland
opposed Soviet rule.

14. Mikhail Gorbachev
Gorbachev was the
youngest ever leader of
the USSR.
He introduced various
changes including working
with western leaders and
reforms such as Glasnost.

15. Ronald Reagan
US President Reagan was
very anti-Communist.
He gave support to
Afghanistan and had an
influence in Poland too.
He also increased arms
spending to cause the USSR
financial problems.

16. Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II, from
Poland, gave many
speeches which hugely
influenced Catholic
Poland and the West.
He supported Solidarity,
the group that helped end
Communist rule.

17. Margaret Thatcher
UK Prime Minister Thatcher
was a big supporter of
Ronald Reagan.
She had good relations
with Gorbachev. Thatcher
also helped by allowing
the USA to base nuclear
missiles in the UK.