...Which did more to cause the collapse of the Soviet Communism by 1991, developments inside or outside the USSR? 1991 marks the end of Soviet Communism. Leading to 1991, USSR started to lose support from the Eastern European as USSR was in a situation that provided them with undesirable economic situations, low living standards, political instability and lack of freedom. As a whole, the cause for these situations, thereby leading to the fall of Soviet Communism, can be categorized in two main reasons – developments inside of USSR, and developments outside the USSR. While the external developments such as role of Ronald Reagan & his policies, the Pope’s involvement, rise of non communist movements in Eastern Europe and price of oil and effects on USSR did played a significant role in breaking the Soviet Communism, it is still undeniable that the internal developments, mainly the USSR leaders’ (Brezhnev and Gorbachev) policies, made larger and more tangible impacts that raises the resentment and opposition to Soviet domination, causing it to fall apart. The developments inside the USSR therefore did more to cause the collapse of the Soviet Communism. To begin with, one of the early causes of the fall of communism is due to the stagnation period under Brezhnev where economy did not improve, or rather, declined (which can be seen from USSR’s continuous importing of grain from US). This stagnation was due to expanded military and neglected domestic economy. As a whole, this period...
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...Regimes In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the great communist regimes in Eastern Europe collapsed. All across Europe, in countries such as Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Russia, the people and their governments were in constant struggle. These struggles eventually lead to a falling out in the communist governments, and the citizens won their victory. Because the people's needs were not met by the government, corruption in government and poor leadership, and the views on countries' economies were different, the communist regimes in Eastern Europe eventually collapsed. Communism was first developed by Karl Marx in the 19th Century; it is the theory of a society in which people take only what they need and give only what they can. Communism started out as a decent cause, but it evolved into a violent revolution in which the government controlled the people only through force. Communism took away people’s freedom in their separate economies, which caused anger to ripple through the people. Strikes were led by angry mobs, and by 1991, all communist regimes had completely collapsed in Eastern Europe. After years of revolt and protest, the official communist government positions had lost all popular support by the people and the Iron Curtain was dismantled, allowing Eastern Europe to become communist-free. In many countries, the people’s needs were rarely met by the government. For example, the government in communist Russia, or the Soviet Union, took agricultural workers...
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...striving to be the more superior country. The two countries did not trust one another based on their different views of the world, capitalism versus communism. The United States pushed for capitalism and democracy through out the world, while the Soviet Union felt that communism was better politics because it would enhance their economy and up their status. This relationship gave birth to their clash known as The Cold War, in which the USSR tried to spread their ideas about government and socialist economy, while The United States tried to contain it. In 1946, G.F. Kennan, and American Diplomat stationed in Moscow, wrote the Long Telegram that gave an outline on his views about the Soviet Union. Shortly before it was scribed and sent to Washington, the U.S. Treasury questioned the U.S. Embassy in Moscow about why the Soviet’s were not in support of the new World Bank. This is what prompted Kennan to write the telegram. In it he tells that the Soviet Union does not seek “peaceful coexistence” between communism and capitalism, that according to them capitalism was untrustworthy and could not influence the USSR. He also wrote of their other views, and how they desired to go about their expansion of communism, but the overall theme was that according to the Soviet Union communism was the answer and must be spread and capitalism must fall. In the last section of the telegram, Kennan tells of the Soviet’s weakness to force and also made a proposal for U.S. strategy. This telegram later...
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...The Truman Doctrine Shortly after World War II had ended the Cold War began in 1945. The Cold War was fought between the United States and the U.S.S.R. The Cold War got its name because it never got “hot” with action of an actual battle. It was more of a verbal fighting and threating to blow up each other but never actually doing it. When the United States decided to drop a bomb on Japan, the U.S.S.R was mad the United States had secretly developed the bomb. Then Russia started spreading communism and the Truman Doctrine helped stop the spread of communism. According to www.historylearningsite.co.uk/truman_doctrine, The Truman doctrine happened March 12, 1947. It was a speech by President Harry S. Truman. The Truman Doctrine gave economic and military aid to Greece and Turkey because they were threatened by communism. At this point in time there was already a policy trying to contain communism called the Containment Policy. The Containment Policy was a reaction to a series of moves by the Soviet Union to expand communist influence in Eastern European, China, Korea, and Vietnam. Similar to the containment policy the Truman doctrine of the United States was to “support free people who are resisting being conquered by armed minorities or by outside pressures”, which was said directly by President Truman. Truman had to convince congress that a crisis in two far away countries would threaten the security of the United States, and that four hundred million dollars was needed to save...
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...Communism in Russia Communism in Russia has a negative impact on its citizens. There are mixed opinions about communism in Russia. For example, in communist Russia they have a powerful economy. If Russia was how Marx envisioned, it would be exceptional but now it’s corrupt. Because of several major factors, Russia should not be a communist country. Many people don’t know that communism in Russia has a vast and rugged history. To start, the original vision for it is called Marxism and was created by Karl Marx in the early twentieth century. According to Britannica, Marx had originally desired for Russia to be a democracy so the people could vote on their leader or have a referendum. Marx had also thought out communism for many years and...
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...Australia’s fear for communism was in 2 forms: fear of communism spreading to Australia and fear of its emergence from within Australian society. During the 1950s and 1960s events such as the Korean and Malayan Emergency, the Petrov Affair and the Vietnam War all contributed and spurred on this nation-wide fear. Two theories also developed in this time: the domino theory and the concept of forward defence. After WW2 people doubted that the subsequent peace and security would not last, it was a period of fear and tension. WW2 had justified Australia’s long-standing fear for its vast Asian neighbours, especially Japan. So when the revolutionary communism dominated China in October 1949, propagandas changed their target, portraying communism as a disease; Australia’s original fear of invasion by its Asian neighbours changed to fear of communism. The phrase ‘reds under the beds’ originated in this period, meaning that there were people that saw communists everywhere. Australia under the Menzies government ardently sought to expose communism within Australia. Menzies tried to pass the Communist Party Dissolution Bill in 1950 and was determined even after its rejection to ban the Party. He pushed for a referendum in September 1951 but that was also unsuccessful. There were many alleged communist plots, but in April 1954 came the most notable one of all: the Petrov Affair. The Petrov Affair was basically the exposure of the third secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Canberra...
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...Japan, the founding of the United Nations, the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, and the Truman Doctrine to contain communism. President Truman was avidly participating in foreign affairs. This paper is going to focus on the topics surrounding the Truman Doctrine. “At the end of WWII it was immediately apparent that Russia meant to draw as many countries as it could into its sphere of influence, if not into actual dominance” (Spalding, 2005). Both the British and the Americans became alarmed as country after country did, indeed, fall under Russian influence. During the War, the British had been a moderating force in the middle and Far East. But the cost of the war had drained them. As hostilities ended in the joint effort to defeat Hitler, Russia's intentions very soon became obvious. President Harry Truman, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, after many conferences, decided that steps had to be taken to stem the advance of Communism. Churchill had long been suspicious of the Soviets, and it did not take long for Truman to achieve the same level of mistrust. This led to Truman’s crusade to contain the expansion of communism throughout the world. Truman was hard-nosed when it came to the Soviet Union. He had never liked, nor trusted, Stalin, and he did not believe that Communism was anything other than dictatorship. The U.S. just defeated the Nazi’s with the fall of Hitler. Truman had an initiative when he became President; he let the Soviet leaders know that he would not put...
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...“The Truman Doctrine” says, “More than 1,000 villages had been burned, 85% of children were tubercular” (Truman). Europe was in bad shape during the Cold War. Ayers, et al. defines the Cold War as an era of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union conflicting mainly communism( Ayers, et al. 8--) President Truman led the United States during the beginning of the Cold War. President Eisenhower took office after Truman which left President Kennedy as the last president to lead during the Cold War. These leaders created many policies and uses of aid during their time in office to stop the spread of communism. While all of the U.S. Cold War Presidents dealt with the containment of communism, Truman emphasized giving economic aid, Eisenhower emphasized more military use, and Kennedy emphasized the idea of Flexible Response. All three presidents main goal was the containment of communism. American Anthem Reconstruction to the President says the containment policy was implemented to stop the spreading of communism. This policy was created by George F. Kennan in the late...
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...prevented us from flourishing and progressing as nations and a global community. Just over two decades ago, the social situation in South Africa known as Apartheid was one of the greatest social tyrannies in history. It saw the entire division of a nation long after racial segregation had been abolished in developed countries such as the United States. However, like all things that cause stagnation, an end has to come and in the 1990s the apartheid system saw its last days thanks to the efforts of a number of people and groups. Contrary to popular belief, Nelson Mandela was not the most important influence in bringing an end to Apartheid. Mandela’s work though vital, would have been meaningless without the influences of F.W. de Klerk, the fall of communism, and the African National Congress (ANC). Firstly, Nelson Mandela is then only name associated with the apartheid regime and its end. We often overlook the works of unsung heroes such as F.W. de Klerk, without whom apartheid would not have ended. De Klerk was vital in officially ending apartheid, reinstating the ANC’s role and releasing Nelson Mandela from prison, which collaboratively brought an end to this societal injustice. In 1989 as a result of the illness of President P.W. Botha, F.W. de Klerk assumed office and became leader of the national party. Immediately upon assuming office, De Klerk focused on the apartheid regime and integrating all people into South African society. On February 2nd, 1990, just six months...
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...Towards the end of the 1940s, most western democracies feared communism due to the spread in East Asia. In 1948, China had become the People's Republic of China, people believed if China had fallen under communist rule, other neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Burma, India, and then possibly Australia would also fall under communism. This fear of communism spreading was called the domino effect. It was pictured that the East Asian nations were acted as a row of dominoes, if one country fell to communism, the others would follow. Consequently, the United Nations would take action if the whole of Korea would fall under the communist rule. After WWII, Korea resulted in a geographical as well as a political split diving the country....
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...the spread of communism, the U.S defeat was to produce nothing of the kind: apart from the fact that Cambodia and Laos became embroiled, the effects were essentially confined to Vietnam”. This quote embodies the reason for the involvement in the war and also the end result. Communism was the number one factor for entering the war in Vietnam and containment was the policy. In the end, Vietnam fell to communism and the United States failed at their goal. Communism was the main reason for the initial involvement in the war that escalated into a full scale conflict; leading the United States to learn some valuable lessons. The era in which the war took place was one plagued with the fear of communism. The foreign policy known as containment was used to as a justification to intervene in numerous foreign conflicts. This policy is centered around the idea of containing communism to its borders and not...
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...To what extent was the fall of the Berlin Wall a result rather than a cause of the end of the Cold war? The dismantling of the Berlin Wall in Nov 1989 was one of the most symbolic acts of the Cold War. It was a symbol of the changes that had swept through Europe in 1989 and of the end of the divisions that had marked the essential character of the CW: the ideological split between capitalism and communism. In 1989, the DDR was 4o years old and the East German leadership was prepared to celerbraite its anniversary. At what should have been an event to consolidate the country, the tide was turning against the regime. Gorbachevs reforms had important consequences for the existence of E germany as a separate country. The DDR was a product of Cold War tensions, which had prevented the unification of Germany after WW2. Without these tensions there seemed little reason for Germany to remain divided. Honecker recognized that the DDR could still have a reason to exist if it remained socialist and therefore different from W Germany. Honecker was not in favour of any reform, but the E german population could not be isolated from events in the rest of euope. Large numbers of East Germans had fled from the counrty via Hungary during the summer of 1989, but even more serious for the government were those who were staying put. Gorbys reforms of communism in the Usr had encouraged many E Germanys to push for change. Political groups were formed with huge crowds of demonstrators shouting...
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... p.58). It was implemented in the mid-1980’s; specifically mentioned in a discrete manner in President Reagan’s 1985 State of the Union Address and lasted less than a decade, until the end of the Cold War in 1991. One of the major challenges that President Reagan faced throughout his time in office was Communism and the Cold War. Although these issues had been a problem through several presidencies, they began to escalate in the early years of Reagan’s administration. Reagan believed that President Carter provided minimal leadership to reverse communism. In 1985 President Reagan introduced the principles of the doctrine through support of anti-communist revolutions. During his State of the Union Address in 1985 he compared, “anticommunist forces with American colonists who had fought the revolutionary war, describing those latter-day patriots as ‘freedom fighters’ for democracy” (“The Reagan Doctrine”, 2014, par. 2). The doctrine was created to decrease the Soviet influence in Africa, Asia and Latin America as part of the Reagan administration’s Cold War strategy (Reagan Doctrine, 2014). It has been argued that the Reagan doctrine contributed to the fall of communism itself. One of the diplomatic efforts that occurred during Reagan’s time in office was the support of freedom fighters and/or rebels in multiple countries around the world. One specific country that was helped through the diplomatic efforts of Reagan and the principles of his doctrine was providing aid to Afghan...
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...“Communism is a hateful thing, and a menace to peace and organized government”. This quote by Grover Cleveland represents why communism has been an ongoing headache since it was first established. Looking at nearly all examples of communism, they seem to have the same trend in how they end, a train wreck like disaster of epic proportions. From the tight ship ran by the Soviet Union to the strict ruling in the deserts of Afghanistan, communism has an outcome that leaves the same foul stench in the air to all the citizens that encounter the democracy crushing beast. Communism doesn't support the backbone ideas of a good political theory. For example; Communism doesn't support fair wages, diminishes passion and drive for improvement as well...
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...The Vietnam War was a long armed conflict between North Vietnam, its allies the Viet Cong against South Vietnam and their allies, the United States. North Vietnam was fighting to reunify Vietnam, however North Vietnam was a communist government, ruled by Ho Chi Minh. It was believed that if South Vietnam had fallen to communism, than the rest of Asia would follow. This was known as the Domino Theory. In order to help stop the spread of communism, the U.S. fought alongside South Vietnam. Nonetheless, after a long, costly war, the U.S. had lost the Vietnam war, which would not stop South Vietnam fall to communism. The United States had entered the Vietnam War after the Gulf of Tonkin incident, where North Vietnamese had fired upon U.S. Navy destroyers in 1964. This incident had compelled Congress to take action. Thus, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was made, which gave President Johnson permission to take all necessary actions. The...
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