What actually lead to the breakup of USSR?

Answer 1

There's a couple of reasons why the Soviet Union collapsed.

First, economics. Now, economics is tied in with certain political situations that I won't assume you know about, so let me explain.

The Soviet Union was made up of Russia and a number of other border states that were part of the Union (Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, et cetera). There were other countries involved too - puppet states. One of them was East Germany. East Germany was the economic powerhouse of the Soviet Union. In East Germany the city of Berlin was still divided between East and West Germany and the Berlin Wall was built to keep people from escaping to the west via West Berlin. In August of 1989 Hungary, as a result of a big electoral mistake on the part of the USSR, opened their borders with Austria. Austria was more than willing to allow East Germans (and Soviets) into their country and twice as willing to allow them to leave on planes headed west. The Berlin Wall was useless and in November it finally came down.

Not to put too much emphasis on the fall of the Berlin Wall - it was more a sign of the times than the cause of them. However, there is a lot to be said for the failing of East Germany. For example, in the 1980's East Germany was the largest producer of computers for the USSR. They were underpowered and hugely expensive, but they did the job. You'll hear history teachers talk about "guns and butter" saying that the Soviets were forced by the Americans to choose guns (weapons) over butter (food for the people) and caused the fall of the USSR, but it should be noted that in reality it was guns, butter, or computers. The Soviets simply couldn't keep up with the Americans when it came to computers, and spent ridiculous amounts of money making subpar computers. That, combined with the pressure to choose between weapons and domestic support, caused an economic crisis in the USSR. Add to that the loss of Hungary and the German "problem", and you have a situation that can't last.

Another important even leading to the collapse of the Soviet Union was the 1986 meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear energy facility. There were numerous attempts to cover it up, and the Soviets actually managed to keep it quiet for a few days (until a cloud of radioactive dust blew across a few neighbouring countries). When what had happened came under scrutiny, Gorbachev made a few promises he intended to keep. The two important words are Glasnost and Perestroika. Glasnost wasn't a new idea after Chernobyl, but it certainly was pushed a lot harder. It means "openness" - Gorbachev wanted the Soviet government to be honest and open with its people and the world. That was the first nail in the coffin. The second was Perestroika - Gorbachev's economic reform of the USSR, which began in 1987. So, keeping our events in chronological order, you've got Glasnost in '85, the Chernobyl disaster in '86, Perestroika in '87, and the fall of the Berlin Wall in '89 coupled with free elections in Hungary and the increasing pressure of the Solidarity Movement in Poland. You can almost see the chain of events that led to the collapse.

Hope this helped! Good luck!

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Communism destroys wealth, not creates it, once their raw materials are all exploited and they can swallow up other nations to feed their needs, they have economic problems. And trying to outspend their rivals in military buildups and foreign aid didn't work. The first Gulf War showed their latest technology was no match for US technology, and the cost of upgrade was impossible. Economic unrest, disillusionment with their lifestyle compared to the West, and Pope John Paul 2, gave people the courage to stand up and renounce, at cost of their life or safety at times, the USSR and it's iron grip on other nations who wanted freedom, and we had a President that was willing to go eye to eye with the Russian bear at the UN pushing for human rights and reforms, so to save itself the Russians let loose and the satellite nations fell like dominoes. There is no greater desire for freedom than in the people who have been repressed in fear for so long. It didn't work in Tianamen Square sadly, but it did work in Warsaw with men like Lech Walensa (spelling?), and other baltic nations where student protests daring the troops who were their own siblings or parents. And the wall in Berlin that divided a nation came down because the people demanded it. I doubt at moments that such love of freedom lives in the USA anymore, because those born with it don't appreciate the value of this gift as much as those who risked or paid for it with their lives. That's how the USSR fell apart. Now after billions more of USA dollars poured down the Russian rat hole (we have been giving them "loans" for over a century), Russia is strong arming former member states with oil/energy supplies, influencing and arming those who cause the USA problems around the world in partnership with Communist China. And if we don't keep our strong support for Eastern Europe they could wind up back in a Soviet Union. There is a very real danger that Russia could go back to hardline communism, with support of the dwindling hardliners in China, thsi is a real concern. And for those who think the "cold war" is over, just because we changed the targeting of our ICBMs doesn't mean that Russia did, in fact both are now deploying missile defense shields and changing from mega warheads to multiple warheads so what misslies make it through can still hit all their targets even if with smaller intial destruction. China is working on an even better system, that deploys the warhead, but doesn't detonate until they remotely trigger it, giving them a great blackmail tool. Think about that on your next trip to Walmart. Both China and Russia need MidEast oil to survive and grow, if they do this as democracies with human rights, then the only thing we can do is grumble about the economic displacement of the USA,which I would rather do. But those who say "the cold war is over" are ignorant of the communists in China and those who are trying to revive the USSR, which rather than bury Clinton helped out of their hole. And he did away with all our nuclear fallout shelters and supplies here. The muslim terrorists are just another pawn in the game.

Answer 4

One thing was the ignorance of its people as reflected in their illiteracy, failing to know the difference between "lead" (the present tense of the verb that rhymes with "need") and "led" (the past of the verb and a misspelling of the name of the metal).

Answer 5

The equality theory

Answer 6

Levis, McDonanlds and Nike.