Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse?

Since the days of the policies of perestroika and glasnost, the USSR has split into separate countries. The USSR was a consolidated country of regions in Asia that were under the rule of Moscow and the Russian Communist party. The central Russian Communist party kept each region in control, until its collapse.

In the time leading up to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the economy of the USSR was severely stunted by the continued arms buildups. Much of the gross national product was used to pay for the military buildup required to stay on par with the capabilities of the United States.

Many of the USSR citizens were disgruntled and suffering under the hardships of the poor economy. The value of the Russian money on the open market had also declined due to the drop in oil prices during 1985 and 1986. The drop in value increased the value of the debt Russia owed to the countries from which they bought grain, making things rise.

When the trade deficit with the West grew larger and larger as time passed and eventually led to bankruptcy of the government, this combination of factors finally led to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Climate of Discontent

In the days leading up to the collapse, the country was involved in a war in Afghanistan, the economy was stagnant and reforms had been ineffective in solving social problems.

These things generated a climate of discontent, especially felt in the Baltic region and Eastern European countries.

The climate of greater political and social freedoms that had recently been ushered in by Mikhail Gorbachev gave the unhappy citizens the ability to vocally disagree with the Soviet leadership. In this social climate, many Soviet Socialist Republics began to disagree with the control of the central government. Their resistance set the stage for open rebellion. 

Power Struggles

In 1991, Boris Yeltsin grabbed the power after a failed coup. The coup was aimed at toppling Gorbachev and his reformist outlook. The policy of glasnost resulted in the loss of control over the media in Russia.

As a result of the liberal policies, the media was able to release information to the Russian people about widespread social issues, further discrediting the central government.

Many issues that were never officially released to the public were now becoming known. The widespread problems of poor housing, alcoholism, drug use and pollution were only the tip of the iceberg.

With the freedom to criticize the central government, other economic situations were also addressed in the media. Attention was drawn to the outdated Stalin factories that couldn’t compete in a world market. Fingers were pointed to the degree of large-scale corruption that existed in the government.

Dissatisfaction and Change

The dissatisfaction and distrust of the people in the Soviet system lead to a withdrawal of support of the central government of Russia in the affairs of the Eastern Block countries that had been satellite nations since the end of WWII.

With the withdrawal of support, the satellites of Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, East Germany and Bulgaria found their communist governments removed in public elections.

The revolutions of the Eastern Block countries spread back into the USSR, creating dissatisfaction in many of the former Soviets. This tension combined with the historical ethnic tensions in many of the Soviets broke out into civil wars in many places. The ability of the central government of Russia to control these outbreaks was greatly reduced as a result of the power loss it had experienced since the inception of glasnost and perestroika. 

Self-Rule Begins

Due to the growing unrest in Russia and the other Soviets, the Presidium of USSR Supreme Soviet agreed to give up its monopoly of power on the other soviets in the country. Within a few weeks, the ripples of self-rule were percolating through the country and many elections were held that replaced communistic rule with ethnic nationalists and reformers.

Looking at the whole picture and taking into account all the issues and circumstances that were in play during the 1990s, it is readily apparent that the collapse of the Soviet Union was inevitable. When people are freed from the totalitarian rule of a government, changes will occur rapidly. That explains the reasons why the Soviet Union collapsed.