1. The Fall of the Soviet Union By: Kathryn Hunter, Mitch Banister and Rachel Dorris
2. What was life like during Communism and after the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union in 1991? How will the break-up of the Soviet Union affect the world? How did the Soviet-Afghanistan War contribute to the fall of the Soviet Union? Target Questions:
3. After the ongoing days of fighting and leadership, this came to an end for a large amount of land. In the days of 1991, the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), also know as the Soviet Union collapsed. The world’s largest country and one of the two nuclear superpowers occurred all of a sudden which stunned the world around them. Fifteen countries filled what was the Soviet Union, each with their own potential for national development. Introduction
4. Who? The Soviets What? Soviet Union fall When? 1985-1991 Where? Soviet Russia Why? Reforms were made by the last Soviet leader; there was economic collapse; countries revolting and dropping communism The 5 W’s
5. Soviet Russia formed in 1917 from the Russian Revolution and emerged after the Russian Empire collapsed. Proceeding the Empire collapse was a civil war when Vladimir Lenin gained power. In 1923, when Lenin suffers from his third stroke, he withdraws from his position as the Chairman of the Soviet government. One year later, the Soviet Union declares Lenin dead. Leon Trotsky then comes to power, but is soon expelled by Joseph Stalin in 1927. Joseph Stalin then gains full control. Then in 1953, Stalin dies. The last Soviet ruled in 1991. Background
6. Life Under Communist Rule Under the rule of Stalin, he killed over 20 million people and put them in labor camps known as Gulags. Education policies were very firm and were strictly controlled by the state. Churches were attacked and eventually were shut down, also many Church leaders were arrested. Stalin wanted his people to worship him and did not want anything challenging his power. His people were not allowed to worship God, and when Stalin created the “personality cult”, it was meant for people to only worship Stalin.
7. After the period of Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, came to power and started the movement of de-Stalinization. Many great things resulted from the fall of Comunism, such as: Even though Russia is mainly an urban society, 3 out of 4 people began to grow their own food to help them and their families survive. Reforms from the 1990’s helped destroy communist institutions and made markets the head of economic activity. Life After Communist Rule
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10. President Jimmy Carter saw this as a threat to the U.S. relations in the middle east and sent support to help the Mujahideen. When Ronald Regan became president he upped support and encouraged many oil producing nations to up production to weaken the Soviet economy which heavily relied on Oil.
11. As the war went on many Soviet leaders and civilians grew tired with the war as no improvement was being made and many soldiers were dying from terrorist attacks and disease. The war’s growing unpopularity helped Mikhail Gorbachev come to power as he made promises to end Soviet involvement. He withdrew troops on May 15, 1988, and the Mujahideen overthrew the government 3 years after the soviets withdraw.
12. The war ultimately damaged the Soviet economy and Mikhail Gorbachev came to power, his reforms would later contributed to the fall of Soviet Russia.Soviet Afghanistan War
13. Groups Point of View The fall of the Soviet Union was the fall of most communism in the world. Many nations were finally free from the totalitarianism that ruled their lives for 90 years. Though some nations still stuck to communism, they were severely weakened and no longer had as much power in the world. We think that the fall of Soviet Russia was great in the repressive government, because it was no longer powerful and didn’t threat anymore countries.
32. Works Cited Akbarzadeh, Shahram. “The Soviet Union: Collapse of the USSR and Formation of Independent Republics.” Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale Cenage Learning, 2006. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE|CX3410600033&v=2.1&u=cant48040&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w>. The Breakup of the Soviet Union: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven, 1994. Print. “History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991).” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 May 2010. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1985%E2%80%931991)>. Kort, Michael G. The Handbook of the Former Soviet Union. Brookfield: Millbrook, 1997. Print. “Soviet Union Timeline.” Absolute Astronomy. N.p., 2010. Web. 11 May 2010. <http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/timeline/Soviet_Union>.
