Soviet Union Decline

to know for exam 3 his 104

what was the Brezhnev Doctrine and what happened in Czechoslovakia

The Brezhnev Doctrine said the USSR could intervene in any communist country threatened by reform. In 1968, the Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the prague spring reforms

what happened to the soviet economy under Brezhev

stagnated and declined due to inefficiency, corruption, lack of innovation

why did the soviet union get bogged down after Afghanistan

the USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to support a communist gov, but faced fierce resistance. the war dragged on through the 1980’s, draining soviet resources- often called the USSR’s “Vietnam”

who was Mikhail Gorbachev

the last leader (General ssecretary) of the soviet union, known for trying to reform the system with more openness and restructuring

what were Perestroika and Glasnost

Perestroika= economic restructuring

Glasnost= political openness.

these reforms were meant to modernize the USSR but ended up weakening communist control

what happened under Gorbachev’s reforms

more freedom of speech and press emerged, but the econ got worse, nationalism rose, and communist control broke down

why was the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 significant

it sybolized the end of soviet control in eastern europe and the collapse of the Cold War divide

when and why did the soviet union fall

it collapsed in 1991 due to econ failure, independence movements, and loss of control over satellite states

what happened after the soviet union fell

it broke into 15 independent countries. russia became the largest and most powerful successor state