Fall of The Soviet Union Explained In 5 Minutes

Multiple factors played a role in the fall of the Soviet Union or USSR, many placing blame on Gorbachev and his failed reforms with others viewing the event as inevitable due to the negative legacy of Brezhnev.

On the 25th of December 1991, the world watched as the most powerful communist country in history collapsed. Following the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR, dissolved into 15 independent states, marking the federations downfall and ending the Cold War, which had lasted 44 years between the East and the West.

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[TheLifeGuide]

Thanks for watching! 😊Remember to *Like & Subscribe* if you enjoyed the video and stay posted on our *Community Page* for future videos. What factor do you think played the biggest role? *Perestroika?* Ending of the *Brezhnev Doctrine?* Comment down below and let us know!

[iammrbeat]

It makes much more sense to blame Brezhnev more than Gorbachev.

[phazonclash]

The fact that Rocky won against Ivan Drago was the #1 cause

[Skunkowork]

I was on that McDonald's line with my parents before we immigrated to the US in 1990. The line stretched around two or more blocks. This was a big deal because it was the first place which symbolized Russia's acceptance of Western culture and a slow change to capitalism.

[JK-ztym]

This video paints Gorbechov poorly as though he was incompetent. In fact he saw the writing on the wall and wanted to prevent civil war.

[MisterCCL]

It is commonly blamed too heavily on Gorbachev. He inherited a nearly impossible country to govern in its current state riddled with corruption and other instabilities. He took power and brought in reforms that were incredible ideas. Perestroika and Glasnost sought to bring more power to the people and make a more trustworthy country. It essentially took the totalitarian power away from totalitarians. In his time, the people loved him and the government hated him. As the totalitarians in the government didn't want their power taken away, they started going against him. This internal friction caused to much trouble that the USSR started to break from within. Gorbachev took many measures to try to fix things (some mistakes were made, but you try making the best decisions in a position like that.) as his country was being ripped from his hands. The final nail in the coffin was the 1991 coup. Fearing a civil war, he stepped down, and the USSR collapsed. He didn't cause it's death but he put it out of its misery. Given that he was the one at the top back in this time, he is generally blamed for the collapse and is a very unpopular figure in Russia and other former Soviet states today.

It's also worth noting that Gorbachev was a great diplomat. The cold war would not have ended when it did without him and specifically him being in power. Reagan and Chernenko were both such hardliners, and if both of them had stayed in power simultaneously for a long period of time, things would have only gotten worse.

Gorbachev is a truly misunderstood and great man.

[Wilantonjakov]

Don't forget, Chernobyl caused a huge amount of government spending that put the Soviets into even further debt.

[mouadidelhadj]

You forgot to mention two additional causes : Afghanistan and Chernobyl

[AndyBruinewoud]

One factor not mentioned here was Chernobyl. Not just the casualties and the costs of cleaning up, but it sowed doubt into the public's mind about soviet superiority.

[mrvk]

Let me explain this more coherently and logically. Oil prices following OPEC have collapsed in the late 1970s-early 1980s depriving USSR of a large % of their exports, which created a big economic strain domestically. Gorbachev saw this and needed economic reforms to save USSR. Big cuts to military budgets were necessary for this but they could come only if the Cold War and the arms race with the US came to an end. Reagan refused to do so without seeing also political reforms in USSR. So, Glasnost and Perestroyaka were launched simultaneously to make deals with US possible. But once political liberalization took place, it got out of control and political/nationalistic movements tore the country apart and swept Gorbachev aside.

[laugesteffensen]

afghan war and chernobyl cleanup was a dirty expensive business that costed the soviet economy alot if not crashing!

[yourneighbour]

*Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart. Whoever wants it back has no brain.*
-Vladimir Putin

[dwchen]

The Chinese was smarter by introducing open door and market based economy earlier in 1978 after experiencing total economic and cultural destruction under Mao Zedong.
Gorbachev was too late to make any changes.

[mr.personhumanson]

Gorbachev wasn't cheeki breeki enough to keep the Soviet Union intact

[engrfka]

Dammit those power plant engineers at Chernobyl broke down the whole Soviet Union in just a few minutes 😮

[dizzywillow]

i went to Vladivostok in the '90s. it was a wakeup call to me. it was scary. it was quite a beautiful place full of men with rotting teeth, skinny and malnourished, buying vodka from vending machines, and cold. i will never forget it. I dont want to live in that world.

[ren]

My Grandfather was a member of the Communist party, was a deputy in the Baku local government and had met Gorbachev on multiple occasions in the Kremlin. Communists like my grandfather blame Gorbachev for the inevitable. Gorbachev took over as leader when the country was already on the brink of collapse and when the Reagan administration was hell on bringing the USSR down. Reagan forced the USSR's hand by increasing military spending to the point that the USSR could not keep up. My other grandfather (on my dad's side) who was a nuclear engineer was also a member of the communist party till about 1980, before he de-registered himself. My grandparents also refused my dad to be a komsomol (a communist youth boy scout), so the tensions were there already before Gorbachev took over.

On a different note, it is so important to reinstate how corrupt, inhumane and absurd the communist regime was. Imagine growing up in a system where you had to wait 10 years to be approved for government housing in a shitty apartment complex, where there was no food in the stores, where corruption and nepotism was swept under the rug, communist leaders lived like kings while the rest of the country starved to death, doctors made as much a janitor. Imagine in the USA if scientists and engineers in the FDA, CDC or transportation board had to report to a mill worker with no education, just because that mill worker was a member of the Democratic or Republican party. This is essentially how the Soviet Union functioned, dumb people were given control and the ability to silence smart people.

[honeybadgerstudios]

Mhikail Gorbachev actually said that he believed the fall of the Soviet Union was because of Chernobyl

[tseosesike]

Highly informative and relevant information all in a short period of time. Hours of research all in a 5 minute clip. Wow

[gregkeelen]

He tried to fix his communism with capitalism😂