Reichstag

Late Soviet Union

By maschinger

  • Afghanistan War

    Afghanistan War
    Soviets enter Afghanistan in 1979 and leave 1989. This was the Soviet's "Vietnam". This war provided a divisive issue right when the dissident movement was at its peak. When the Soviets pulled out of the war there were almost 15,000 men dead and missing, over 400,000 incapacitated by disease or serious illness. http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&SubjectID=1980afghanistan&Year=1980

  • 1980s Boycott Olympics

    1980s Boycott Olympics
    The 1980 Olympics Games were held in Moscow. This event led to many uproars against the Soviet Union. The United States and a number of other countries boycotted the games due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/carter-tells-us-athletes-of-olympic-boycott

  • Solidarity Movement

    Solidarity Movement
    This was a broad anti-bureaucratic movement that used methods of civil resistance to advance the causes of workers rights and social change. The Polish government attempted to destroy the Soviet Union during. This was the first non-communist free trade in a Warsaw state. This trade was in the Polish trade union federation. http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1060898.html
    http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&SubjectID=1980solidarity&Year=1980

  • Chernobyl Disaster

    Chernobyl Disaster
    Chernobyl nuclear power station, which was under direct Soviet Union control, exploded. An explosion of fire released large quantities of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere, which spread over much of Western USSR and Europe. This explosion is considered one of the worst nuclear power plant accident ever. http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&SubjectID=1985chernobyl&Year=1985

  • Glasnost

    Glasnost
    This policy was introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev. This policy allowed openness to the public and was against censorship. Glasnost provided many flaws because it showed the negative side to the Soviet's government. It also led to independent media and more complications now that the people of the USSR were able to talk openly about their problems. http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&SubjectID=1985perestroika&Year=1985

  • Nuclear Missiles

    Nuclear Missiles
    Agreements between President Reagan and Gorbachev met to resolve to remove all intermediate nuclear missiles from Europe. This agreement was a step closer to better the relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty.aspx?p=3

  • Perestorika

    Perestorika
    This was Gorbachev's policy of restructuring the Soviet economy. This policy allowed the legalization of corporations and other semi-private businesses and also political elections. The results of the policy led to more similarities between the US and USSR, more complications and this pulls the country apart. http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&SubjectID=1985perestroika&Year=1985

  • Berlin Wall

    Berlin Wall
    The falling of the Berlin which seperated East and West Germany created problems for the Soviet rule over the communist side of Germany, otherwise known as West Germany. After the wall fell, Ostpolitik was put in place to reunite both sides again. Within the next few months communism fell in Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Rumania. http://www.coldwar.org/articles/90s/fall_of_the_soviet_union.asp

  • Velvet Revolution

    Velvet Revolution
    Student and popular demonstrations against the Communist Czech government. The party's control collapsed and the governement became the first non-communist government in Czech. Outside factors were catalysts for the downfall. However national factors such as economic and political crisis helped in the collapse also. http://www.coldwar.org/articles/90s/fall_of_the_soviet_union.asp

  • Chechnya War

    Chechnya War
    A conflict between the Russian Federation adn the Chechen Republic of Ickeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996. This conflict happened in order to prevent Chechnya's effort to secede from the Russian Federation, and after almost 2 years of fighting, a peace agreement was reached. The Chechen conflict sparked a major debate over accountability in government decisionmaking and the Government's commitment to the rights of its citizens and international norms. http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/