The Collapse of the Soviet Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Collapse of the Soviet Union - Essay Example This essay describes the process of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Firstly, the researcher introducts Mikhail Gorbachev, who was elected as General Secretary of the Communist Party on March 11, 1985. The researcher discusses different slogans and policies that were established by Gorbachev, such as â€Å"Uskoreniye†, â€Å"Perestroika†, â€Å"Glasnost† and â€Å"Demokratizatsiya†. The researcher also concluds that historical period and states that the Soviet Union left a legacy of economic inefficiency and deterioration to the fifteen constituent republics after its breakup in December 1991. Arguably, the shortcomings of the Gorbachev reforms had contributed to the economic decline and eventual destruction of the So-viet Union, leaving Russia and the other successor states to pick up the pieces and to try to mold market economies. At the same time, one should admit, that the Gorbachev programs did start Russia on the precarious road to full-scale econom ic reform. The collapse of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics radically changed the world's eco-nomic and political environment. The speed with which the Soviet system was transformed and the Soviet state disintegrated took almost everyone by surprise. However, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics's collapse was the result of many unsolved problems. Gorbachev’s appointment and his early reforms allowed the problems of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to be uncovered and become public knowledge, which, in turn, be-came the cause of the collapse.