Fall of the Soviet Union

Fall of the Soviet Union

Today, Communism is no longer synonymous with a specific country or even a specific threat. Indeed, it has simply become an ideology that could be applied not only to social well-being, but also to literature and other artistic movements. At the time of the U.S.S.R., however, Communism was regarded as synonymous not only with a particular political movement, but also with a number of countries, of which Russia, or the U.S.S.R., formed a key player. With the rise of Gorbachev, Solidarity, and Yeltsin, the Communist system gradually lost its power under the strength under the number of public protests.

One of the factors that created the conditions for the fall of the Soviet Union includes the concepts of Glasnost and Perestroika. The former is a word that can be translated as "restructuring," while the latter refers to the ideal of "openness." These two concepts became important when Mikhail S. Gorbachev became the leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in March of 1985. At 54 he was much younger than the previous Communist Party leaders. His relatively youthful stage of life was then also what brought home to Gorbachev the importance of concepts like Glasnost and Perestroika, which came to his attention as he contemplated ways to face the challenges of his country. The main challenges included the waning economy of the U.S.S.R., the poor standard of living among citizens, as well as their lack of freedom. Hence, Gorbachev approached these problems under the concepts of Perestroika and Glasnost. Specifically, this took the form of overhauling the top members of the Communist Party and also replacing the centralized government with greater reliance on market forces. Under these reforms, Gorbachev gave greater freedom to the media and religious views. Citizens were allowed to express views that were divergent, resulting in such radical reforms that the U.S.S.R. could maintain neither its protocol nor its control over citizens.

Although the Solidarity movement was founded in Poland, it had significant effects on the Communist reign in the country and ultimately integrated with Gorbachev's reforms towards the fall of the U.S.S.R. The movement began as strike action in protest against rising food prices. Lech Walesa acted as the leader of the Solidarity movement, unifying the public against government abuses. Although the movement was outlawed, and several workers imprisoned as a result, Gorbachev's reforms changed this. It was once again considered legal, and the movement translated itself as a social gain for citizens in protest against a government that, at the time, positioned itself as the ultimate authority. Solidarity was legalized in 1989 and candidate endorsed by the movement won almost all the seats in the upper house of the bicameral legislature. In other words, Communism was being replaced by a movement that considered the voice of the majority as one of primary importance.