<aside> <img src="/icons/light-bulb_gray.svg" alt="/icons/light-bulb_gray.svg" width="40px" /> In this lesson, you will…

1. Understand the major figures in the end of the Cold War.
2. Examine Perestroika and Gorbachev’s attempt to save Soviet Russia.
3. Discuss the Fall of the Soviet Union

Big Question: Why did the Soviet Union collapse in 1991?

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Part 1: End of the Cold War

1979: Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

With the Afghan government struggling against the anti-communist Mujahideen, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

The US sent military and economic aid to the Mujahideen, including weapons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDQLHFBp4aM&pp=ygUbYWZnaGFuaXN0YW4gc292aWV0IGludmFzaW9u

1979-1989: Soviet-Afghan War

The Soviets were unable to defeat the Afghan resistance.

The war exhausted the Soviet economy and proved as unwinnable as Vietnam had been for the US; all it accomplished was to renew tensions between the US and the Soviets

In the 1980s, two new leaders would change the direction of the Cold War.

Ronald Reagan

US President (1981-1989)

Ronald Reagan took a strong stand against Communism and declared the Soviet Union as an “evil empire”

He spent nearly $2 trillion to increase the size of the US military and sent over 500 ICBMs to Western Europe to protect NATO allies

Mikhail Gorbachev

Soviet Premier (1985-1991)

Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in 1985 at a time when the USSR was facing serious economic problems

While fighting in Afghanistan the Soviets were already spending 50% of their budget on their military

Soviet leaders faced the impossible task of trying  to continue to compete with the US’s increase in military spending with a stagnate economy.

Part 2: Perestroika

Gorbachev began four major reforms to save the communist system in the Soviet Union which he called Perestroika (restructuring). These reforms involved:

• relaxed government control of industries and allowed citizens to open their own small businesses
• Glasnost (openness) encouraged freedom of speech and allowed the expression of new ideas
• Democratization allowed citizens to vote for Communist politicians (but only Communists)
• Gorbachev slashed military spending and withdrew from Afghanistan

A series of events eroded the Communist Party, and their influence waned dramatically in the 1980s.

On 26 April 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station exploded, leading to a massive radiation spill.

Denials of the disaster, followed by a slow response, humiliated the Communist Party and sparked outrage across the Soviet Union.

Along with the growing distrust from Chernobyl, Gorbachev’s reforms helped to bring an end to Communism