1. The Collapse of the Soviet Union December 1991 AND THE WORLD WATCHED WITH WONDER …

2. Was the Collapse Due to Force? No  The Cold War cost more than $11 trillion. But the collapse of the Soviet Union and its satellites was not a result of force.  No NATO tank fired a shot.  No bomb fell on the Kremlin.

3. A Home-Grown Insurgency  Instead, a massive, home-grown insurgency, led by a number of different participants, contributed to the collapse: 1. Non-Russian groups resisted assimilation into one Russian state 2. Economic structure could not keep up with the needs of the State (i.e. Arms Race was expensive) 3. Communism never truly took root within the Russian people

4. Eastern Bloc Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 15 Republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan 7 Satellite Countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia

5. Gorbachev's Five-Point Plan  The key pieces to Gorbachev's plan for the survival of the Soviet Union were a series of reforms: Glasnost (openness) – greater freedom of expression and speech for Russians o How could this become a problem for Gorbachev? Perestroika (restructuring) – decentralization of the Soviet economy with gradual reforms o The Soviet economy did not bounce back as Gorbachev had (publically) predicted and furthered civilian disdain for Communist officials and politicians

6. Reagan’s Brandenburg Gate Speech  President Ronald Reagan called upon Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall: "In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards... Even today, the Soviet Union cannot feed itself. The inescapable conclusion is that freedom is the victor. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

7. President Reagan giving a speech at the Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, Federal Republic of Germany. June 12, 1987

9. Another Side to the Story  According to U.S. diplomat George Kennan, author of "The Sources of Soviet Conduct" (1947) and architect of the containment policy, the West's militarized posture helped the Communists to rationalize their authoritarian rule. The more U.S. policies followed a hard line, the greater was the tendency in Moscow to tighten the controls and to discourage liberalizing tendencies.

10. Remaining Communist Countries  At its peak, communism was practiced in dozens of countries:  Soviet Union: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan  Asian Countries: Afghanistan, Cambodia, Mongolia, and Yemen  Soviet Controlled Eastern bloc countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia.  The Balkans: Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.  Africa: Angola, Benin, Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, and Mozambique.  Currently only a handful of countries identified as communist remain: Laos, North Korea, Vietnam, China, and Cuba.

11. The Cold War and 80’s Music  For this assignment, it will take a little creativity. Most everyone loves music, so for this activity, you will need to break out your phone, iPod, mp3 player, or CD collection to look for just the right song. To show how much you know about the later events of the Cold War, and to show your love of music and how you interpret it, you will need to select lyrics from one song that represents or symbolizes a person, event, or idea from the Cold War. In order for you to show what you know effectively, you will need to complete the chart handed out to you.  You may be able to research information about songs written during the Cold War or about the Cold War and you can use those to guide you in the assignment; however, you will need to come up with your own song from any genre, time period, or artist to display your understanding of the Cold War. Have fun with this assignment and try not to be too loud!  If you would like to learn about songs written about the Cold War, go to the link below:  http://www.inthe80s.com/coldwar.shtml http://www.inthe80s.com/coldwar.shtml