The Collapse of the USSR
collapse of the Soviet Union, sequence of events that led to the dissolution of the Soviet
Union on December 31, 1991. The former superpower was replaced by 15 independent
countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lith
uania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
In August 1991, communist hardliners and military elites tried to overthrow Gorbachev and stop
the failing reforms in a coup, but failed. The turmoil led to the government in Moscow losing
most of its influence, and many republics proclaiming independence in the following days and
months.
As World War II transformed both the United States and the USSR, turning the nations into
formidable world powers, competition between the two increased. Following the defeat of the
Axis powers, an ideological and political rivalry between the United States and the USSR gave
way to the start of the Cold War.
The fall of the Berlin Wall started a series of events that led to the Disintegration of the Soviet
Union. Economic weakness, political stubbornness, and the growth of nationalism were the
causes for the disintegration of the Soviet Union or the disintegration of the USSR.
collapse of the Soviet Union, sequence of events that led to the dissolution of the Soviet
Union on December 31, 1991. The former superpower was replaced by 15 independent
countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lith
uania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
In August 1991, communist hardliners and military elites tried to overthrow Gorbachev and stop
the failing reforms in a coup, but failed. The turmoil led to the government in Moscow losing
most of its influence, and many republics proclaiming independence in the following days and
months.
As World War II transformed both the United States and the USSR, turning the nations into
formidable world powers, competition between the two increased. Following the defeat of the
Axis powers, an ideological and political rivalry between the United States and the USSR gave
way to the start of the Cold War.
The fall of the Berlin Wall started a series of events that led to the Disintegration of the Soviet
Union. Economic weakness, political stubbornness, and the growth of nationalism were the
causes for the disintegration of the Soviet Union or the disintegration of the USSR.
