Fall of Communism in Europe/Post Cold War Europe

Who was Mikhail Gorbachev.

Mikhail Gorbachev was the former president of Russia. He came into Russia in hopes to reform Russia, as he believed that excessive military spending was a drain on the Soviet economy and that arms reduction agreements with the US could free up resources for domestic reforms.

what does mean Glasnost?

Glasnost stands for openness. The goal of Glasnost was to grant free speech in Russia, (which wasnt there before.) The results were that the media was allowed to criticize the government, and Western influence made its way into Russia. Because of this, Soviets began to question their society.

what was Perestroika?

Perestroika stood for reconstructing in Russian. The goal was to raise living standards in Russia. The results were a segway into capitalism. He allowed businesses to have more freedom.

What was demokratizatsia?

Demokratizatsia meant democratization in Russian. The goal was to have people be able to make their own changes by giving them wider access to the government. The results were that people are able to have elections and be open to more candidates. This backfired, and Gorbachev had began to lose his power.P

Poland at the end of the Coldwar

Poland underwent a significant transformation, transitioning from a Soviet-dominated communist state to a democratic nation with closer ties to the West. This shift was marked by the end of communist rule.

Czechoslovakia at the end of the cold war

At the end of the Cold War, Czechoslovakia underwent a significant transformation, transitioning from a Soviet-aligned communist state to a democratic nation.

The fall of the Berlin Wall

The fall of the Berlin Wall was the first step towards German reunification. In 1989, political changes in Eastern Europe and civil unrest in Germany put pressure on the East German government to loosen some of its regulations on travel to West Germany.

Who was Boris Yeltsin?

His view for the future was for Russia to be independent from the USSR. Gorbachev’s popularity falters due to the situation with Lithuania and continued economic problems. Boris Yeltsin, who was the former mayor of Moscow and member of the Russian Parliament, was becoming a more prominent figure in Russia, and openly criticized Gorbachev.

In 1991, Yeltsin was elected preisdent of Russia in the country's first free elections.

The fall of communism

The collapse of communism was a multifaceted process, driven by a combination of internal weaknesses, external pressures, and shifts in global power dynamics, primarily during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Key factors included the rise of reform movements in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War, and the inherent economic and political inefficiencies of communist systems.