Did Reagan break the USSR or was it the various countries breaking away from the USSR?

Question

Do neo-cons still believe in pixies?

History is fundamental...

Answer 1

In June of 1987, Mikhail Gorbachev introduced Perestroika to the USSR, an economic liberalization plan designed to improve the sluggish Soviet economy. Instead of helping, the economy got worse, and led to the downfall of the USSR in 1991. The economic reform allowed for private ownership of businesses for the first time since Lenin’s ‘New Economic Policy’. It also allowed for foreign investment and ownership of Soviet business. The Law on State Enterprise allowed state enterprises to create and do as they wished with surplus profits, although they were still expected to meet state-created production levels. Perestroika also liberated foreign trade practices.

Price controls still remains, as did the Ruble’s inconvertibility and government control over the means of production.

Perestroika came too fast for the Soviet economy to handle, though, as government spending increased to support failing industries and tax revenues fell from districts being more nationalistic and not giving their revenues to the central government. The elimination of central state control over production decisions, especially in the consumer goods sector, caused production bottlenecks. While people in the Soviet Union had always had to deal with consumer durables shortages, now there were even food and clothing shortages, etc. Inflation. The Glasnost (1985) liberalization of media and dissent expressed itself by criticizing the shortcomings of Perestroika.

A major goal of Glasnost was to allow the people to see the workings of the government, not shroud them in secrecy, as had always been Soviet policy.

Rather than thanking the communist party for increased freedoms, Glasnost resulted in the people exposing communist failures, aiding the Soviet downfall.

During the 1980s, the political liberalization of Glasnost led to nationalists being elected in the constituent republics. Calls for independence came, especially in the Baltic republics of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, which Stalin had annexed in 1940.

Boris Yeltsin supported the Baltic states in their calls for independence, and he became the first Russian president after the fall of the Soviet Union.

In 1991, the USSR was dissolved, after a failed coup by conservatives in the Communist Party against Gorbachev.

Answer 2

Did you say history is funny, especially in retrospect??? (LOL)

The USSR fell apart of its own accord. the "Communism" practiced there was of an authoritarian nature, and the abuses by the "ruling class" (No classes in communism? think again...) made it an impossible situation. With all of the natural resource in the various countries that made up the USSR, if they had really had a communistic economic system, everyone would have been comfortably well-off. When the Czarist system was overthrown, it was replaced by an equally unequal form of government. I think the people just got fed up!

Reagan? Did he do anything anywhere?? Oh, I forgot: he made up statistics and ridiculous statements that were the precursors to his dementia. (If Nancy hadn't kept such tight control, we would have all known about his "condition" long before the press conference!)

Answer 3

The USSR government was based on Bolshevism, not Marxist Communism. It was a failed venture because of that. Reagan had little to do with its downfall, other than he made speeches which disavowed it. Reagan was a mediocre President, most remembered for his "Mr. Gorbachev, take down that wall" speech.

Answer 4

Reagan defeated the USSR by having a superior military.

Answer 5

Reagan did it, and let me refresh you kids memories or just even teach you for the first time the history you have either NOT been tought or forgotten.

1979! .. the US was in decadence...bad..!!!!!!
we were the "paper tiger" after the mess in Viet nam, the oil embargo against us, Carter on tv wearing a sweater telling people to lower the thermostat, The USSR and world comunism on the offensive, Africa, Latin America, Asia all been taken over by the Red Flag, people had no confidence in America!, etc etc etc.. just watch the movie "Miracle" so you get the picture of the malese of the country at that time, ok?
I know I was in one of our Navy submarines of Long Island chasing Soviet nuke boats off our coast, while they would do missile drills right in front of our coasts, and you people were totally unaware of it! They had gotten stronger than we were, and we were loosing the Cold War!

http://www.ccds.charlotte.nc.us/History/MidEast/04/horton/horton.htm

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carter/peopleevents/e_malaise.html

So Reagan enterd the picture and he turned around 180 degrees!
He called the USSR for what they were "An evil empire" and he was right! changed our posture of "detente" basically being weak and kising their butts to fighting them and bringing them down

In order to do that he did it along a 3 different angels:

-From outside, by indirectly attacking them in Afghanistan, Africa, the arms race since he knew the soviet system could NOT sustain it and would bring their system down while we could handle it economically

-An alliance with the Pope John Paul ( a Polish ) to get the Polacks to rebel against comunism using Solidarity (secretly indirectly funded by the US)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solidarity


-And his alliance with the UK Margaret Thatcher

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher

And as a result we went from "paper tiger" to winning the Cold War in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall and finally the disolution of the USSR in 1991.

So if you want to know what really history is out there a good place to learn is to serve so you can see what politicians and political commentators do NOT tell you.

Reagan was an important president at a time when we DID really needed him. And he did great!

Answer 6

Reagan broke them. It was his one great achievement. He had help from John Paul II and some European leaders, but he led the charge.

Had he only the foresight to fight AIDS with the same vigor back then.. but alas, he was as big a jackass on that issue as so many biblethumpers are today.

Answer 7

Reagan. Try opening a history book.

Answer 8

Reagan had nothing to do with it. All he did was make a speech at the Berlin Wall with the line...."Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall"...

That was the end of his involvement.

You have a coupla good answers on here about this...real answers - with facts.

Answer 9

The USSR break by themselves.
You can't maintain oppression for eternity.

Answer 10

Reagan-