The End of the Soviet Union (Edexcel GCSE History)

Why did the end of the Cold War Cause the end of the Soviet Union? - Summary

The Independence of the Satellite States

• From May 1989 to December 1990, Eastern Europe removed their communist governments

  • Popular pressure within the satellite states forced reforms and elections. By December 1990, no Eastern Bloc countries were communist

• Reform in Eastern Europe affected the Warsaw Pact

  • The Soviet Union no longer had influence over Eastern Europe. By early 1990, the Soviet Union had to stop its military cooperation with Eastern Europe

  • The Soviet Union ended the Warsaw Pact in July 1991

• The end of the Warsaw Pact meant that Eastern Europe no longer contained satellite states of the Soviet Union

  • Eastern Europe's countries could govern themselves

    • The leaders in Eastern Europe no longer had to follow Soviet policies

  • The people of Eastern Europe no longer provided for the Soviet Union's economy

• As a result, the power of the Soviet Union reduced

  • The country no longer had the political, military and economic support of satellite states

Gorbachev's fall From Power

• The collapse of the Eastern Bloc placed Gorbachev in a dangerous position in the Soviet Union

  • Devout communists blamed Gorbachev for weakening the Soviet Union

  • The Soviet Union lost control of the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania throughout 1990

• In August 1991, a group of Communist Party members called the 'Gang of Eight' attempted a coup against Gorbachev

  • The coup demanded complete control of the Soviet Union and the declaration of a state of emergency in the country

  • Gorbachev refused and the 'Gang of Eight' kept him under house arrest

• The coup against Gorbachev failed because:

  • The coup lacked popular support

  • Prominent communists like Boris Yeltsin spoke out against the coup 

  • Gorbachev was able to continue to govern the Soviet Union

• The Communist Party no longer respected Gorbachev

  • The coup ruined Gorbachev's reputation across the Soviet Union

  • 12 states of the Soviet Union joined together to create the Commonwealth of Independent States

    • As a result, Gorbachev could no longer rule the Soviet Union

    • On 25th December 1991, Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary of the Soviet Union

Who was Boris Yeltsin?

• Yeltsin was a prominent member of Gorbachev's government

  • Gorbachev chose Yeltsin as Mayor of Moscow in 1986

  • Gorbachev forced Yeltsin to resign in 1987 after Yeltsin publicly criticised Gorbachev

• Yeltsin rose to power again in 1990

  • The first public elections in the Soviet Union elected Yeltsin as the president of the Soviet Republic of Russia in May 1990

• The coup against Gorbachev gave Yeltsin the opportunity to take ultimate power in Russia

  • Gorbachev's reputation was ruined in the Soviet Union

  • Yeltsin became the most influential political leader in Russia

Yeltsin and the end of the Soviet Union

• The resignation of Gorbachev also marked the end of the Soviet Union

  • In his televised resignation on 25th December 1991, Gorbachev announced 

• With this statement, Gorbachev passed the leadership of Russia to Yeltsin

  • As president of the Soviet Republic of Russia, Yeltsin was the most powerful man in Russia