Collapse of the USSR
The causes and reasons for the decline and ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union are many and of a vastly varying nature. Yet, despite the various schools of thought on this issue, these causes can generally be placed into two differing scopes, those being the domestic and international arenas. Much emphasis is placed on the role that international factors played in the demise of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). But particular domestic factors that the Soviet Empire was faced with during its relatively brief historical existence, were possibly the most damaging elements when speaking in relation to the long-term endurance of the USSR. There is no doubt what so ever that international factors - such as the Cold War, or the US Government's policy of 'containment' - played a role in the dissolution of the USSR. But at the same time the Soviet Union faced huge domestic problems such as a rapidly failing economy and a one party political system that was not very adaptable to the political and social conditions that the country existed in. These elements, which placed a huge amount of internal pressure on the Soviet system, combined with these international factors and created a mixture of external and internal pressur
The USSR was also involved in another costly conflict. This war was in Afghanistan was another factor behind the decline and fall of the Soviet Empire. The USSR entered Afghanistan in 1979 in what has been described as, an attempt to expand the Soviet Empire by direct force. No one in the USSR had a suspicion that this would result in a protracted and costly war: both in economic and psychological terms. It is estimated that the war in Afghanistan cost around US$5 billion. Obviously, this placed even greater strain on the economy already stretched to its limits. Afghanistan has been described as the Soviet Union's, 'Vietnam' in that it was a great and mighty superpower against a 'backward', Third World country. The USSR suffered heavy losses in this war and as was the case in the Vietnam War, the superpower was defeated. This defeat had a detrimental effect on the morale of the Soviet people as the mighty Red Army had been defeated by one of a third world nation. The Afghanistan issue can therefore be credited as one of the factors that lead to the ultimate decline and collapse of the Soviet Union. This long list of deficiencies and problems within the Soviet economy were a result, as stated, of a Stalinist economy. But even after the death of Stalin in 1953 the economy continued to suffer from inherent trends of the previous era. "After 1953 a whole series of attempts were made to address the problems plaguing the Soviet economy (Khrushchev's 1957 sovnarkhoz reforms; the Brezhnez - Kosygin 1965 reforms; industrial reorganisation in1973; the 1979 Decree, etc.)" . But on the whole, these reforms never completely rectified the situation. The amendments made to the economic system during this post Stalin era were themselves distorted by the process and environment which they were formulated in. Generally the Stalinist model of the economy, as shown by Phillips: The collapse of the Soviet Union was due in a large part to the poor performance of the country's economy. Unlike the western democratic nations with free markets, the Soviet Union under the rule of Josef Stalin (who dominated Soviet political rings by 1929 until his death in 1953) pursued an economy that was completely controlled by a central governing body.
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Approximate Word count = 2787
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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