1. The Rise of Democracy & Boris Yeltsin

2. Tensions in the Soviet Union  As countries in Eastern Europe gained freedom many of the ethnic groups in the Soviet Union wanted to be free as well and develop their own nation – states.  The 14 Soviet republics also wanted to be free from the Soviet Union.

3. Lithuania Defies Gorbachev  Lithuania had been independent from the Soviet Union until World War II, and was eager to regain their independence.  In March 1990 Lithuania declared themselves to be independent.  Gorbachev ordered a blockade of Lithuania to try to get them to re-join the Soviet Union.  When this didn’t work he ordered Soviet troops in, and they attacked unarmed civilians.  This ended poorly and led to many of the Soviet Republics declaring their independence from the influence of Moscow’s policies.

4. Yeltsin Denounces Gorbachev  Boris Yeltsin a parliament member denounced Gorbachev’s actions in Lithuania.  As Gorbachev was losing popularity with the people Yeltsin was gaining their support.  Gorbachev faced opposition from two sides: Boris Yeltsin who believed his measures in Lithuania were too harsh and that the current system should be drastically changed, and Hard-liners, conservatives who opposed the reforms Gorbachev had made.

5. Hardliners Take Action  On August 18, 1991 a group of Hard-liners detained Gorbachev in his summer home to try to get him to resign as president so they could put someone more conservative into power and undo his policies.  They sent in tanks with soldiers to intimidate Gorbachev and the people.  However, the people were not intimidated by the tanks and didn’t want the freedoms Gorbachev had given them taken away.

6. August Coup  During the Hard-liners coup attempt Boris Yeltsin climbed atop one of the tanks and made an inspiring speech to the people – he demanded that the soldiers stop being used to intimidate their own people and to let Gorbachev have a chance to speak.  The Hard-liners ordered the soldiers to attack after this but they refused.  This takeover attempt became known as the August Coup and resulted in the end of the Soviet Union.

7. End of the Soviet Union  Gorbachev resigned and Yeltsin formally took over as leader.  All the individual republics that had once been a part of the Soviet Union declared their independence.  This was the end of the Soviet Union, the end of communism in Russia, and the end of the Cold War.

8. Yeltsin Faces Problems  Yeltsin faced many issues once he took control of the Soviet Union, one of which was reforming the economy of Russia.  Yeltsin introduced shock therapy a rapid shift to free- market economics that eliminated government involvement in the economy.  Yeltsin tried to encourage foreign countries to invest in Russia to get their economy on track.  Prices in Russia soared and they struggled greatly with inflation.

10. Chechnya Rebels  In 1991 the people of Chechnya (a largely Muslin area in southern Russia) tried to declare their independence, but Yeltsin wouldn’t allow it.  Chechnya fought for their independence and Yeltsin had the capital city bombed.  Yeltsin was able to reach a peace with the Chechnyans, but they still desire an independent nation state to this day.

12. Problems From the Collapse  Ethnic conflicts emerged in many of the satellite nations, such as Yugoslavia. Six major ethnic groups were living in Yugoslavia and after the collapse of the Soviet Union they all wanted to be independent.  As these nations declared their independence there were many border disputes, as well as disputes amongst the various ethnicities living in former Yugoslavia.  These disputes led to the Bosnian genocide – Serbian forces tried to eliminate the Bosnian Muslims living in their territory.  Czechoslovakia reformers tried to introduce a shock therapy program which led to many economic problems and disagreements. These issues eventually led to Czechoslovakia splitting into Slovakia and the Czech Republic.