The Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The Fall of the Berlin Wall |
The Dissolution of the Soviet Union |
Mikhail Gorbachev, the new leader of the Soviet Union, implemented a series of drastic economic and political reforms in the 1980s. Unfortunately, Gorbachev's reforms led to a complete economic failure throughout the USSR and the Eastern Bloc. The widespread economic failure caused many Eastern European nations to protest against the communist government of the Soviet Union. Many of these protests took place in East Berlin, where protesters demanded that the government bring down the Berlin Wall that seperated East and West Berlin. On November 9, 1989, the government of East Germany opened the borders between East and West Berlin to the elation of both East and West Germans.
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In the face of increasing economic pressure, Eastern European nations began to move away from the Soviet Union and communism. All throughout Eastern Europe, former communist governments began to fall and were replaced by new forms of government. Eventually, even Soviet republics began to break away from the USSR. In 1991, the last of the Soviet republics broke away from the USSR, and Gorbachev announced that the Soviet Union had been officially dissolved. The dissolution of the USSR left the US as the lone superpower in the world. This left America unmatched in the size of its military and economy, which only the former Soviet Union could have rivaled.
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"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
The quote above was said by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin. The quote is a call for Mikail Gobachev, the leader of the Soviet Union, to bring down the Berlin Wall, which had separated East and West Berlin for decades. Reagan's plea for the fall of the Berlin Wall was finally realized in 1989, when immigration between East and West Berlin was finally opened.
Soviet Union Vs. United States Perspectives
Obviously, the people of the United States were very happy with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The breakup of the USSR meant that the Cold War had finally concluded, and the United states had emerged victorious in the conflict. The people of the Soviet Union had conflicted feelings regarding the breakup of the Soviet state. Some people were thrilled that the communist government, which was frequently oppressive and brutal, had been destroyed. Others, however, were saddened by the loss of the Soviet Union, and missed the security and stability the USSR and communism had provided.
Impact on the World
The breakup of the USSR had a large impact on the world as a whole. The event changed the order of world politics, with several nations like China and Cuba losing their most powerful ally. Eastern European nations were finally freed from communism, which had dominated Eastern Europe for decades. Politics in America changed as well. As most American had held an intense fear of communism and the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War, Americans were alos forced to adjust to America's new status as the lone world superpower. Even today, organizations founded to oppose the USSR, like NATO, continue to play a vital role in world safety and security.