The Collapse of the Soviet Union

And the world watched with wonder …By

W.A Senathissa

1

Great Empire as a giant avoid the rapid expansion of capitalism.

2

3

Evolution of Russia• Rapid expansion of Russia for all four corner

of the world• The expansion towards eastern stopped by the

Japan Russia War in 1905.• The war for determining the Eastern superior,

Japan won the war By defeating Russia• For the purpose of helping Siberia's “slaves”,

in 1914, Russia declared 1st world war against German and Austrian alliance.

4

Evolution of Russia• Starting revolution Before ending the War,

Russia lost many area from the Russia continent

• Russia Origin of USSR: 1917 October revolution

• In 1919, USA President, Vudro Wilson, Separated Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lituvenia and Poland

5

Evolution of Russia• 1924 After dead of V. Lenin , Joshap Starling

Came to the power• Stalin predicted that “Capitalism will be collapsed

by the great depression by 1925.• By 1930, USA suffered from severe Recession,

UK suffer from huge Military budget.• Germany strengthening by military power and

Russia was rich from having great benefit from their 5 year plan

6

Evolution of Russia• In 1939 September 01 Join the Russia for world

war.• German invaded Russia, Ongoing war within

three years both day and night.• The major events was during the period 1941-

1945 to determine the balance of Power in world• German captured many parts of the Russia and

entered to the internal pastly.

7

The Crucial war won by Russia

• War in Lenin grand• War to save Macau• War of Stalin grand

8

Severity of War

German Russia1.8mn soldiers near to the 18miles in Moscow

1.2mn soldiers

Time weapons 14,000 Time weapons 7600War tank 1700 War tank 990Warplane 2390 Warplane 677

German forces with 5mn soldiers, under 190 team

Moscow War in 1941/ November

Germany forces ordered their dinner into Moscow, because they have grater trust to win this war

9

Dead or Motherland

• Crucial determination for Russia whether Internationalism or Motherland?

• Staling addressed the general public at the mid night by grate speech

• Galvanized Russian red forces go front dedicated their lives on behalf of Russia future

• 28 croops were the hero of front

10

War 1941-1945• Dead of Russian crops: 7.6mn• Total dead people: 22.4mn• Totally blasted:– City: 1710– Village: 70,000– Plants/Industry: 32,000– Collective Farms: 98,000– State farm: 1876– Centres of Machine and Tractor: 2890

11

Collapse of the Great Empire Soviet Union

Not Collapse the Socialism, Socialism released from the Russia due to in vain race for inhumanity military and space race

Again essentiality of Socialism, World is seeking of Socialism which will came with new face through Earth Summit

12

Eastern Bloc

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics15 Republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

7 SatelliteCountries:Bulgaria, Czech Republic, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia

1313

14

The Gorbachev Revolution • Mikhail Gorbachev, who came to

power in 1985 as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), recognized that the Soviet Union could not remain politically and economically isolated and that the Soviet system had to be changed if it was to survive.

15

Gorbachev's Five-Point Plan• The key pieces to Gorbachev's plan for the survival of the

Soviet Union were a series of reforms:1. Glasnost (openness) – greater freedom of expression 2. Perestroika (restructuring) – decentralization of the Soviet

economy with gradual market reforms 3. Renunciation of the Brezhnev Doctrine (armed

intervention where socialism was threatened) and the pursuit of arms control agreements

4. Reform of the KGB (Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti or Committee for State Security)(secret service)

5. Reform of the Communist Party

16

The Objective: Survival• Gorbachev knew that the Soviet Union would have to change if

it was to survive.– Central planning in a modern industrial economy brought

many inefficiencies. – The factory management system provided little incentive to

make technological improvements and every incentive to hide factory capacities to ensure low quotas

– The socialist farm system was inefficient – there were poor worker incentives and storage and transportation problems.

– The Soviet State could no longer afford the high defense spending that accompanied the Cold War.

17

Insistent Calls for Change

• He believed that his reforms were necessary and used his leadership and power to attempt to implement them.

• The policy of glasnost (openness) made it possible for people to more freely criticize the government's policies. When people realized it was safe to speak out, the calls for change became more insistent.

18

Reforms Were Too Slow• The gradual market reforms and

decentralization of the economy (perestroika) were too slow and failed to keep pace with the crisis and his people's demands.

• The Soviet Union was suffering a worsening of economic and social conditions and a fall in the GNP.

19

Party Reforms a Failure• His attempts to reform the Communist Party were a failure.

Change was too slow to keep pace with events and he was continually disadvantaged by his need to give in to the hard-liners in order to retain power. As communism collapsed in Eastern Europe, reform of communism in the Soviet Union became unlikely.

20

Release from Soviet Domination• The rejection of the Brezhnev

Doctrine (armed intervention in support of socialism) released the Eastern European states from Soviet domination.

• The communist rulers of these states could not survive without the support of the Soviet Union.

The Brezhnev Doctrine was articulated in 1968 when the Soviet army occupied Czechoslovakia to end the Prague Spring, an attempt by Alexander Dubcek to build “socialism with a human face.”

21

22

President Reagan giving a speech at the Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, Federal Republic of Germany. June 12, 1987

23

Reagan’s Brandenburg Gate Speech• President Ronald Reagan called upon Gorbachev to tear

down the Berlin Wall:

"In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards... Even today, the

Soviet Union cannot feed itself. The inescapable conclusion is that freedom is the victor. General

Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace,if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union,

if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate!

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”24

Wave of Demonstrations• Beginning in September 1989, a

wave of huge demonstrations shook Communist regimes across eastern Europe. A massive tide of East German emigrants surged through Czechoslovakia and Hungary to the West, undermining the authority of the Communist hard-liners who still clung to power in the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

25

A tram is blocked by East German demonstrators in the center of the city in October 1989. Their banner reads: 'Legalization of opposition parties, free democratic elections, free press and independent unions.' 26

The Wall Came Down• Finally, on the night of November

9, 1989, ordinary Germans poured through the Berlin Wall. The GDR quickly disintegrated, and by the end of 1990, all of East Germany had been incorporated into the wealthy, powerful Federal Republic of Germany.

27

Events in Eastern Europe• Communist governments in

Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Bulgaria either tumbled or underwent reform.

• The Communist dictatorship in Romania fell after a week of bloody street battles between ordinary citizens and police, who defended the old order to the bitter end.

28

Radical Change

• Radical change finally reached the Soviet heartland in August 1991, when thousands of Russian citizens poured into the streets to defeat a reactionary coup d'état.

29

Independent Republics• The Communist party quickly

collapsed, and the Soviet Union began the painful and uncertain process of reorganizing itself as a loose confederation of independent republics.

30

Nobel Peace Prize• Gorbachev won the 1989 Nobel

Peace Prize. He brought a peaceful end to the cold war, and dramatic change to his country's economy, though not in the way he intended.

31

Response in the West• Victory for freedom• Triumph of democracy over totalitarianism, • Superiority of capitalism over socialism • Rejoicing - formidable enemy was brought

to its knees• Relief – end of Cold War which had

hovered over the two superpowers

32

Remaining Communist Countries• At its peak, communism was practiced in dozens of countries:• Soviet Union: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia,

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan

• Asian Countries: Afghanistan, Cambodia, Mongolia, and Yemen • Soviet Controlled Eastern bloc countries: Bulgaria, Czech

Republic, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia. • The Balkans: Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia,

Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. • Africa: Angola, Benin, Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, and

Mozambique.• Currently only a handful of countries identified as communist

remain: Laos, North Korea and Cuba.

33