The Collapse Of The USSR.

Essay by nabhatiesHigh School, 12th gradeA, September 2005

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The collapse of the USSR was one of the most significant events of the twentieth century. Mikhail Gorbachev played a role in the collapse of the USSR; however, he was not solely responsible for everything that took place in the fall of the USSR. Previous leaders as well as other politicians led to the collapse of the USSR.

When Gorbachev came into power, the economy was very weak and there was a lot of corruption in the government. In an effort to strengthen the economy he introduced three reforms. The first was Perestroika (Economic Restructuring), which saw more private enterprise in order to boost the dwindling economy. Gorbachev abandoned the old plan system because he thought that this would be the answer to the USSR's economic troubles. However, instead of boosting the economy this reform proved to be ineffective and it failed. The reform was both challenging and disappointing.

Gorbachev was criticized for not decollectivizing agriculture as the Chinese did. The second reform was Glasnost (Openness), it attempted to modernize the USSR economy. It also allowed individuals to question the government, which hurt Gorbachev's regime because it showed the people how weak they were. The last reform was Demokratizatsiya (Democratization), this reform brought democracy in the USSR political system for the first time and allowed a voice for the people who didn't get what they wanted. Though Gorbachev gave the people a voice in the USSR politics for the first time, he allowed people that disagreed with him to vote against him. He underestimated how strong independent political movements could become. Once again, despite his good intentions, Gorbachev's reform was a significant factor in the collapse of the USSR.

During the late 80's there were massive problems within the communist party. The party had split into two...