The End of the Soviet Union (Edexcel GCSE History)

Why did the end of the Cold War Cause the end of the Soviet Union? - Summary

The Cold War limited the success of the Soviet Union. The nuclear arms race brought the Soviet economy to the brink of collapse. From 1970, the growth in the Soviet Union's economy slowed down while the USA's economic growth increased. The Soviet Union could not keep up with the USA socially. While Western democracy allowed reform, the Soviet Union fought against it. The Hungarian Uprising and the Prague Spring are examples of this.

The Soviet Union could not survive after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc between 1989 and 1990. Gorbachev's 'new thinking' attempted to reform communism within the Soviet Union. Gorbachev believed that reform could save the Soviet economy and make people happy to live under a communist government. Instead, glasnost and perestroika brought ideas of democracy and capitalism, which could not exist within a communist state. In 1991, the Communist Party attempted to oust Gorbachev. This began the downfall of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the presidency of Boris Yeltsin.

The Independence of the Satellite States

• From May 1989 to December 1990, Eastern Europe removed their communist governments

  • Popular pressure within the satellite states forced reforms and elections. By December 1990, no Eastern Bloc countries were communist

• Reform in Eastern Europe affected the Warsaw Pact

  • The Soviet Union no longer had influence over Eastern Europe. By early 1990, the Soviet Union had to stop its military cooperation with Eastern Europe

  • The Soviet Union ended the Warsaw Pact in July 1991

• The end of the Warsaw Pact meant that Eastern Europe no longer contained satellite states of the Soviet Union

  • Eastern Europe's countries could govern themselves

    • The leaders in Eastern Europe no longer had to follow Soviet policies

  • The people of Eastern Europe no longer provided for the Soviet Union's economy

• As a result, the power of the Soviet Union reduced

  • The country no longer had the political, military and economic support of satellite states

Gorbachev's fall From Power

• The collapse of the Eastern Bloc placed Gorbachev in a dangerous position in the Soviet Union

  • Devout communists blamed Gorbachev for weakening the Soviet Union

  • The Soviet Union lost control of the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania throughout 1990

• In August 1991, a group of Communist Party members called the 'Gang of Eight' attempted a coup against Gorbachev

  • The coup demanded complete control of the Soviet Union and the declaration of a state of emergency in the country

  • Gorbachev refused and the 'Gang of Eight' kept him under house arrest

• The coup against Gorbachev failed because:

  • The coup lacked popular support

  • Prominent communists like Boris Yeltsin spoke out against the coup 

  • Gorbachev was able to continue to govern the Soviet Union

• The Communist Party no longer respected Gorbachev

  • The coup ruined Gorbachev's reputation across the Soviet Union

  • 12 states of the Soviet Union joined together to create the Commonwealth of Independent States

    • As a result, Gorbachev could no longer rule the Soviet Union

    • On 25th December 1991, Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary of the Soviet Union

Who was Boris Yeltsin?

• Yeltsin was a prominent member of Gorbachev's government

  • Gorbachev chose Yeltsin as Mayor of Moscow in 1986

  • Gorbachev forced Yeltsin to resign in 1987 after Yeltsin publicly criticised Gorbachev

• Yeltsin rose to power again in 1990

  • The first public elections in the Soviet Union elected Yeltsin as the president of the Soviet Republic of Russia in May 1990

• The coup against Gorbachev gave Yeltsin the opportunity to take ultimate power in Russia

  • Gorbachev's reputation was ruined in the Soviet Union

  • Yeltsin became the most influential political leader in Russia

Yeltsin and the end of the Soviet Union

• The resignation of Gorbachev also marked the end of the Soviet Union

  • In his televised resignation on 25th December 1991, Gorbachev announced 

• With this statement, Gorbachev passed the leadership of Russia to Yeltsin

  • As president of the Soviet Republic of Russia, Yeltsin was the most powerful man in Russia