Fall of Communism

Breaking Up of
USSR,Emergence of
China and EU and
Strengthening of US

Fall of
Communism

What is Communism?
Communism

is a political and
economic system in which the major
productive resources in a societysuch as mines, factories, and farmsare owned by the public or the state,
and wealth is divided among citizens
equally or according to individual
need.

What is the role of the

Communist Party?
The

Communist Party was the only political

party allowed to exist and only members from
this Party are allowed to run for public office
Membership in the Communist Party was
restricted. Only a small percentage of the
entire population belonged to the Party.
The Politburo, or inner circle of the
Communist Party, consisted of 15 men who
were responsible for making policy.
The General Secretary, or leader of the
Communist party, was the most powerful man
in the Soviet Union.

Spread of Communism

East Germany, Poland,

Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
Romania, and Bulgaria had
communist government.
These countries were
called Soviet Satellites
States because they were
countries that were under
the control of the USSR
(Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics).

Was the Collapse Due to Force? No

The Cold War cost more than

$11 trillion. But the collapse
of the Soviet Union and its
satellites was not a result of
force.
No NATO tank fired a shot.
No bomb fell on the
Kremlin.

Causes: Revolutions of 1989

Long-term economic decline

Political stagnation

Foreign Relations disasters

Change in Soviet leadership: Gorbachev Factor

Nationalism

The power of the people

Why would people want to break

away from Communist rule?
Political

and Economic Problems

No

individual freedoms

No

motivation to work hard

What led to the fall of

communism and the breakup of
The man who
to
thecame
Soviet
Union?
power in the Soviet
Union in 1985 was
Mikhail Gorbachev.
His policies set the
stage for the collapse
of communism in
Eastern Europe and
the breakup of the
Soviet Union.

Gorbachevs Policies
Perestroika-

Restructuring This was

Gorbachevs plan to restructure and
decentralize the economy.
Glasnost- Openness This refers to
Gorbachevs policy that aimed to destroy
the secrecy and suspicion of Soviet life. It
allowed greater freedoms and open
criticism of the Soviet government.
Gorbachev Doctrine-a policy of
noninterference in Eastern Europe.

Reform = economic chaos.

Problems are actually worse

Without gov. help, factories

closed, increasing
unemployment

Discontent spread

Gorbachev
Loses Power

Independence for many Bloc

nations

1991: Gorbachev resigns.

Communism dead after 74

years.

Communism fell, but so did Gorbachev.

Revolutions in Eastern Europe

Poland
Czechoslovakia
Romania
East

Germany

Yugoslavia

Poland

In the 1970s and 1980s, there

was food riots and worker
unrest due to the poor
economic conditions.
An organization called Solidarity
was formed. It was a trade
union that pressured the
government for changes that
would improve living standards.
Solidarity and its leader Lech
Walesa was supported by
millions of people across Poland.
Following Gorbachevs policies,
the government eventually
legalized Solidarity and allowed
free elections in 1989.
It was the first Eastern
European Satellite State to
break free from the Soviet
Union.

Poland
Reasons for
Revolution
Poor economic conditions
Worker unrest and food
riots
Formation of the trade
union Solidarity

Results of Revolution
Solidarity became a
legal organization and
the government
allowed free elections.
The new government
created a market
economy.

Czechoslovakia
Late

1989, the Velvet Revolution took place.

It was a nonviolent protest movement that
ended Communist rule in Czechoslovakia.

Vaclav

Havel became the president of

Czechoslovakia.

Czechoslovakia

was split into the Czech

Republic and Slovakia in 1993 due to
different ideas on economic reform.

Czechoslovakia
Reasons for Revolution

Results of Revolution

Mass demonstrations
throughout
Czechoslovakia called
for change to
democracy.

The Communist
government in
Czechoslovakia collapsed
and Havel became the
new president. A few
years later,
Czechoslovakia was split
into two separate
nations, the Czech
Republic and Slovakia.

Romania

Nicolae Ceasescu was

the Communist leader
of Romania since 1965.
In 1989, the secret
police murdered
thousands of people and
as a result, a violent
revolution overthrew
Ceasescu and his
Communist regime.
Ceasescu was executed
and a new government
was formed.

Romania
Reasons for
Revolution
The secret police in
Romania murdered
thousands of men,
women, and
children. Violent
revolution took
place as a result of
these murders.

Results of Revolution
The Communist leader
of Romania was
overthrown and
executed. A new
government was
formed. Romania
had a difficult time
making the transition
to democracy.

East Germany

In the summer of 1989,

Hungary allowed East
Germans to escape to West
Germany through Austria.
This caused East Germans to
demonstrate for reform and
demand permission to
emigrate to West Germany.
On November 9, 1989, the
Communist government of
East Germany surrendered
to popular pressure by
opening its border with the
West.
People on both sides began
tearing down the wall.

East Germany
Reasons for Revolution
Hungary allowed East
Germans to escape to
West Germany. This
caused mass
demonstrations to
take place throughout
East Germany
demanding permission
to emigrate to West
Germany.

Results of Revolution
The Communist
government collapsed
and opened its borders
with the West. People
from both sides began
tearing down the
Berlin Wall.
Reunification of East
and West Germany
took place on October
3, 1990.

Yugoslavia

Although Yugoslavia
had a communist
government, it had
never been a Soviet
satellite state.
By 1989, Yugoslavia
also became caught up
in the reform
movements sweeping
across Eastern Europe.
By 1990, new parties
emerged and
Communism in
Yugoslavia collapsed.

Yugoslavia
Reasons for Revolution
After the Communist
dictator Tito died in
1980, representatives
from all six republics
and two provinces
within Yugoslavia
comprised a collective
federal government
under Communist
rule. By 1990, the
Communist party
collapsed.

Results of Revolution
After the Communist
Party collapsed, the six
republics and two
provinces that made
up Yugoslavia
developed a strong
sense of nationalism
and demanded
separate nations to be
formed. Civil war has
been a problem
throughout the former
Yugoslavia since the
1990.

Berlin Wall

June 12, 1987, Reagan

challenged Gorbachev:
General Secretary
Gorbachev, if you seek
peace, if you seek
prosperity for the Soviet
Union and Eastern
Europe, if you seek
liberalization: Come
here to this gate! Mr.
Gorbachev, open this
gate! Mr. Gorbachev,
tear down this wall!

Results of the Fall

transformed the entire

world political situation
reformulation of
political, economic and
military alliances
America sole military
and world hegemonic
power
End of Cold War and
MAD threat

Nuclear Stockpiles, 19452006

Source data from: Robert S. Norris and Hans M. Kristensen, "Global nuclear stockpiles, 1945-2006," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
62, no. 4 (July/August 2006), 64-66. Online at http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/c4120650912x74k7/fulltext.pdf

The National Debt

$438
billion
deficit

US Pop: 304,998,272
Share of
Debt/Person:
$34,526.04
Daily Increase:
$3.84 billion

Another Side to the Story

According to U.S. diplomat George

Kennan, author of "The Sources of
Soviet Conduct" (1947) and
architect of the containment
policy, the West's militarized
posture helped the Communists to
rationalize their authoritarian rule .
The more U.S. policies followed a
hard line, the greater was the
tendency in Moscow to tighten the
controls and to discourage
liberalizing tendencies.

The Collapse of the Soviet Union

and the End of the Cold War

John Paul IIs

CATHOLIC
CHURCH

East German
NATIONALISM

Lech Walesa's
SOLIDARITY

Gorbachevs
REFORMS

Eastern
Bloc

Ronald Reagans
FOREIGN POLICY

Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics

Glasnost
Perestroika

EVIL EMPIRE
Speech
MILITARY
BUILDUP

Ordinary
MEN & WOMEN

ARMS RACE
COURAGE
WILL POWER

No Brezhnev
Doctrine
Reform
KGB
Reform
Comm Party