Collapse
of Soviet Union Facts for kids:
The End of the Cold War
The following fact
sheet contains interesting facts and information on the Collapse of the Soviet Union
for kids and the end of the Cold War.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts for kids: The End of the Cold War
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 1: Background
History: The history of the events in Russia between
1922 and 1991 encompassed the overthrow of the Russian
monarchy and establishment of the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics (USSR), or the Soviet Union in
December 1922 by the revolutionary leaders of the
Russian Communist Party led by Vladimir Lenin.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts -
2: Background
History: The USSR was a union between Russia and
fourteen Soviet Socialist Republics consisting of
Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Latvia, Lithuania,
Estonia, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan The USSR was a union of Russia and fourteen
Soviet Socialist Republics consisting of Ukraine, the
Russian Federation, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova,
Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 3: Background History: During the
period between 1922 - 1991 the leaders of the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics (USSR) were Vladimir Lenin (1922-1924), Joseph
Stalin (1924-1953), Nikita Khrushchev (1953-1964), Leonid Brezhnev
(1964-1982), Yuri Andropov (1982-1984), Konstantin Chernenko
(1984-1985) and Mikhail Gorbachev (1985-1991).
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 4: Background History: The
Warsaw Pact
(14 May 1955 - 1 July 1991) was a
defense treaty among eight communist 'satellite states' of Eastern
Europe dominated by the USSR during the Cold War. The countries were
referred to as the Eastern Bloc and consisted of Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany,
Hungary, Poland and Romania and their location was described as
being behind the "Iron Curtain".
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 5: The Cold War (1945 - 1991) was
a period of "non-hostile belligerency" primarily between the United
States of America and the Soviet Union. Competition between the two
super powers resulted in the costly
Cold War Arms
Race and the
Space
Race.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 6: In 1985 Mikhail
Gorbachev became leader of the USSR knowing that the
Soviet Union was in serious trouble both economically
and politically.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 7: The efforts by the
Soviet Union to match the expenditure of the U.S. in the
Cold War Arms Race had brought the nation to the point
of bankruptcy. The USSR economy was in serious decline,
agriculture and industry were stagnating, and there were
serious food shortages.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 8: Soviet premier
Mikhail Gorbachev realized that the USSR could not
afford to continue the arms race or match the massive
expenditure of "Star
Wars" and needed to concentrate on resolving the
economic crisis and addressing the growing political
unrest in the 'Satellite Nations'.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 9: In 1989 the
decline of power became obvious when Gorbachev withdrew
Russian troops from Afghanistan, knowing the USSR would
never be able to win the Soviet–Afghan War (1979 -
1989).
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 10: Gorbachev began to
reform the Soviet system by the democratization of
the Communist Party and allowing
Glasnost
(freedom of speech) and perestroika (competition in
business).
Continued...
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts for kids: End of the Cold War
Facts
about the Collapse of the Soviet Union for kids: : The
End of the Cold War
The following fact
sheet continues with facts about the on the Collapse of the
Soviet Union for kids and the end of the Cold War.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts for kids: The End of the Cold War
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts -
11:
The introduction of the policies of
Glasnost and Perestroika inadvertently opened the
floodgates for political demonstrations and protests
against the restrictive Communist-led governments of the
Eastern bloc.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 12:
People began their struggle for independence, equality
and opportunity and revolutions began to erupt in the European
countries of the Eastern Bloc against the Soviet Union and its
strict communist regime.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 13: The "Revolutions
of 1989" witnessed the ousting of many Soviet-imposed
communist regimes in Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and
Romania.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 14: Lech
Walesa representing 'Solidarity' became the first non-communist president of
Poland. The harsh regime of the tyrant Nicolae Ceausescu
in Romania collapsed and the non-violent "Velvet Revolution" broke
out in Czechoslovakia. In East Germany mass public protests and
demonstrations led to the
Fall of the Berlin
Wall on 9 November, 1989
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 15: Mikhail Gorbachev
significantly refused to authorize the use of the
military force in either the Soviet Union or the
satellite nations of the Eastern Bloc during the period
of protests, demonstrations and revolutions.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 16: Communist
hard-liners attempted to remove Mikhail Gorbachev
from power and he was briefly imprisoned as the military attempted
to seize control of the Russian parliament. The military
coup failed but the balance of power and popular support
shifted from Mikhail Gorbachev to Boris Yeltsin.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 17: Estonia, Lithuania
and Latvia declared their independence from the Soviet
Union. The Republic of Belarus, the Russian Federation
and Ukraine broke away from the USSR and created the
Commonwealth of Independent States. Their example was
followed by the remaining republics.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 18: In September 1991
the Congress of People's Deputies voted for the
dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union
acknowledged the independence of the former Soviet
republics. All the individual republics, including
Russia itself, had seceded from the union.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts - 19: Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as Soviet
president on December 25, 1991. The office of President
was abolished but its functions were handed over to
Boris Yeltsin.
Collapse of Soviet Union Facts - 20:
The Soviet Union had collapsed and
the prolonged Cold War finally came to end.
Collapse of
Soviet Union Facts for kids: End of the Cold War
Collapse of the Soviet Union - President George H Bush Video
The article on the Collapse of the Soviet Union
and the end of the Cold War provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following
George H Bush video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 41st American President whose presidency spanned from January 20, 1989 to January 20, 2001.
Collapse of the Soviet Union: End of
the Cold War
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Interesting Facts about Collapse of the Soviet Union for kids
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Summary of the Collapse of the Soviet Union in US history
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Collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War
●
George H Bush from January 20, 1989 to January 20, 2001
●
Fast, fun facts about the Collapse of the Soviet Union
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Foreign & Domestic
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● George H Bush Presidency,
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