The Fall of the Soviet Union

The End of the Cold War

Leonid Brezhnev • Brezhnev Doctrine• Soviet Union will intervene in any

Eastern Bloc nation (Satellite Nations) which endangered communist rule.– Trying to stop any attempts for

Satellite nations to break away from communism.

– Stopped Czechoslovakia from leaving– Keep the buffer zone between Soviet

Union and NATO nations. – Stop any attempt at capitalist and free

election reform movements in the Satellite nations.

"...each Communist party is responsible not only to its own people, but also to all the socialist countries, to the entire Communist movement. Whoever forgets this, in stressing only the independence of the Communist party, becomes one sided. He deviates from his international duty...Discharging their internationalist duty toward the fraternal peoples of Czechoslovakia and defending their own socialist gains, the U.S.S.R. and the other socialist states had to act decisively and they did act against the antisocialist forces in Czechoslovakia."

Where is Afghanistan?

Soviet Afghan War

The Soviet Union’s “Vietnam War”

Soviets troops invaded Afghanistan in order to reestablish communist control.In reaction to the invasion, United States funded the Mujahadeen fighters supplying them with weapons to help them defend against Soviet Union.

Afghan Civil War

• Mujahedeen fighters, the Muslim opposition groups initially rebelled against the Soviets.

• However, turned on each others in an attempt to control the country—Afghan Civil War.

Taliban • Taliban, an extreme Islamic

Fundamentalist group took control of Afghanistan.

• They committed massacres throughout the country in order to solidify their power.

• Once in power they imposed strict Islamic laws

• Harbored terrorists

(Left) Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban

War on Terror

Al-Qaeda – Islamic Terrorist group that attacked the U.S. on September 11, 2001.

They were protected by the Taliban

Mikhail Gorbachev• The last leader of the Soviet

Union. • Under his leadership new

reforms were introduced in order to save the Soviet Union– Perestroika – Capitalism – Glasnost – Freedom of speech– Policy of non-interference in

the politics of Eastern European Nations

Revolts in Poland• Worker’ protests led to demands for

capitalism and free elections change in Poland.

• Solidarity Movement, led by Lech Walesa demanded free parliamentary elections.

Lech Walesa, an electrician who became the leader of the Solidarity Movement will be elected as the president of Poland.

Revolts in Czechoslovakia• Czechoslovakia’s reform movements were

crushed in 1968. But it remerged in 1989.• “Velvet Revolution”

Vaclav Havel, a famous writer who wrote about the oppression of communist governments was elected as the President of Czechoslovakia.

Revolts in Romania• Romania had modernized under

communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu

• When Ceaușescu ordered his security forces to fire on demonstrators who demanded free elections it in sighted a violent overthrow of the government.

• Ceausescu and his wife was captured, tried and executed.

Revolts in East Germany• In East Germany the

Communist leader Erich Honecker ruled oppressively. He used the Stasi (Secret Police) to crush any opposition.

• Mass demonstration in 1989 forced him to open the “Berlin Wall.” – Germans celebrated by

tearing down the wall. – Germany was reunited in

1990

The Fall of Soviet Union• Fall of Communism

in Eastern Europe led to the fall of the Soviet Union

• Boris Yeltsin was elected as the President of Confederation of Independent States– Fall of the Soviet

Union led to great economic hardship in former Soviet Nations.

Before and After

Russia Existing competition and distrust

between the U.S. and Russian Federation

Consequences of the Cold War

• United States becomes the sole Super Power of the world – the most powerful nation– Economically– Militarily– Politically (Influence in the world)

What happened to Europe and Germany?What happened in Korea?What happened in Vietnam?What happened in Afghanistan?

OA 5• What happened in Europe• What happened in Korea?• What happened in Vietnam?• What happened in Afghanistan?• ?

Negative US Negative USSR

Consequences of the Cold War

Civil Wars

Division of Countries

Dictators

Oppressive Governments

New Countries

U.S. as the sole Super Power

Cold War Legacy• Russo-Georgian war 2008: Russia briefly invaded the

country of Georgia when the country elected pro-western President.

• Annexation of Crimea 2014: Russia helped the region of Crimea separate from Ukraine.

• Pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine 2014: Russia is supporting Ukrainian separatists in their civil war. While the Western nations are supporting the Ukrainian government.

• Syrian Civil War– Syrian civil war started when the President Bashar Al-

Assad of Syria brutally suppressed protestors who wanted more democracy in the country. This turned into a civil war.

– Russia is supporting the Syrian Government sending weapons to Assad’s government.

– United States is supporting Syrian rebels. – Civil war created a climate that helped create the terrorist

group we know as the Islamic State (ISIL)

Essential Questions

How did the rivalry between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. effect other countries from the Cold War era?

Independence Movements, Nationalism and Terrorism

Bosnian War and Ethnic Cleansing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae_cTGvxYGIBreak up of Yugoslavia • Slovenia • Croatia• Bosnia Herzegovina (Bosnia)

– In Bosnia, Serbs (Christians) was opposed to Bosnian independence

– Bosnian Serbs with the support of Yugoslavia fought Bosnian Muslims and Croats 1992-1995

– Atrocities were committed by Bosnian Serbs against the Bosnian Muslims

– Ethnic Cleansing, Mass cases of rape, and missing and displaced people

– U.N. and U.S. was forced to intervene, and Bosnia was separated into Muslim and Christian regions.