Collapse of the Soviet Union ID Topics

Romanovs

The Romanovs were the last imperial family to rule Russia, reigning from 1619-1917. In 1917, Czar Nicholas II and his family were imprisoned and later executed by the Bolsheviks, marking the end of the Romanov dynasty and the beginning of the short-lived Russian Republic.

Bolshevik Revolution

Also known as the “Great October Socialist Revolution,” the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 was a successful Marxist coup led by Vladimir Lenin against the recently-established Russian Republic. Marking the beginning of the Russian Revolution, the coup paved the way for the rise of communism and the founding of the Soviet Union.

Lenin

A guy

Stalin

Another guy

Communism

Derived by Karl Marx in the 19th century, communism is an economic and sociopolitical ideology that pushes for a society in which wealth and property are shared by everyone. Communism rose to power in Russia at the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922, creating an ideological conflict with the U.S. that culminated in the Cold War.

Berlin Wall

Widely recognized as the symbol of the Cold War, the Berlin wall was a 25-mile concrete wall that encircled West Berlin from 1961-1989, designed to prevent the city’s capitalist ideology from infiltrating communist East Germany. The wall represented the ideological dispute between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and became the site of multiple anti-communist demonstrations.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Saur Revolution

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

Mujahideen

Congressman Charlie Wilson

Stingers

al-Qaeda

Osama bin Laden

John Paul II

Solidarity

Founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gadansk, Poland, Solidarity was an independent worker's movement led by Lech Walesa that challenged the Communist government. Drawing upon a host of nonviolent tactics, the movement sought to delegitimize the Communist's regime's claims of being a "free workers' state." After being forced underground throughout the mid-1980's, Solidarity was legalized in 1989 and played a significant role in the fall of Communism.

Mikhail Gorbachev

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Glasnost

Meaning "openness," Glasnost was a major part of Mikhail Gorbachev's 1987 reform movement that focused on three main affairs: corruption, media, and culture. To prevent financial misconduct and corruption, the Glasnost reforms increased transparency within the government. Additionally, they lessened censorship on Soviet media, permitting the free-flow of culture and ideas (including anti-Communist sentiment).

Perestroika

Translating to "reconstruction," perestroika was a major part of Mikhail Gorbachev's 1987 reform movement, targeted at stabilizing the Soviet Union's lagging economy. Gorbachev's freer market model gave businesses more autonomy, introducing a level of capitalism to the Soviet market.

Berlin Wall down

1991 Coup Attempt

Boris Yeltsin

Nationalism