East and West Germans stand on top of the Berlin Wall in 1989 after it was declared open. Twenty-eight years after it was built to hold people in, it was torn down by the people and became a symbol that the Cold War was over.

The End of the Cold WarThe Cold War lasted for nearly fifty years. It impacted

every continent on the planet and made people wonder about the World’s future in the case of a nuclear war. The end of the Cold War in 1989-1991 came as a shock to everyone. Many people wondered why the snarling beast went quietly into the night.

VOCABULARY TERMS

Economic Sanctions:

Punishment by withholding or blocking trade

Coup: To quickly replace a leader in power or a government with a new government or leader

Glasnost: A Soviet reform that allowed more freedom in society

Perestroika: A Soviet reform that allowed more freedom in economics

Politburo: The policy makers in the Communist Party

Questions to consider before reading:

1. Why did the Cold War begin?

2. How did the Soviet Union control Central/Eastern European

countries (Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany,

Bulgaria and Rumania)?

3. How did détente affect the relationship between the United

States and the Soviet Union? How did détente end?

Problems in Eastern Europe

In 1980 the Soviet Union had more problems than dealing with a tougher United States. Poland began making waves. Labor strikes lead by the union, Solidarity became a threat to the communist government. The Soviets believed Solidarity was being helped by the United States and Pope John Paul II. The success of these strikes began to spread to states within the Soviet Union. As a result the Soviets slammed down a new iron curtain to contain Poland. They closed down the borders, stopped tourism, student exchange programs, and censored the Polish media. Many wondered if the Soviets would invade Poland as they had done to Czechoslovakia in 1968 during the “Prague Spring.” Brezhnev did not want to do this since his war in Afghanistan was expensive and unpopular. A new invasion would cause more problems than it would solve. He pressured the Polish leader, Jaruzelski, into taking action. Brezhnev put Soviet forces on

Poland’s border and had the Warsaw Pact run military drills to look as if they were getting ready for an invasion. Jaruzelski imposed martial law (military control) in December 1981, and outlawed Solidarity.

By the 1980’s the Soviet Union was helping sixty-nine satellite states around the world. Each of these states needed money to help their economies. The Soviet economy however was not strong enough to support itself, much less other countries. In order to pay for this they borrowed from people’s savings, sold Vodka and increased their oil production. Their money problems were made even worse by economic sanctions President Carter placed upon them after the invasion of Afghanistan.

Reagan Rocks the Boat

Ronald Wilson Reagan became the fortieth president of the United States in 1981. Reagan had a long history of being an anti-communist. He had a new approach to the Cold War. Instead of keeping the United States ahead of Russia, Reagan would end the Cold War by winning the battle against the evil empire. He wanted to put economic, political and social pressure on the Soviet Union to make it crack and finally fall apart. Reagan tried to stop the construction of an oil pipeline, which would have brought more money into the Soviet Union, to punish the USSR for scaring Poland in 1981. He also put pressure on Saudi Arabia and OPEC members (oil producing countries) to lower the price of oil.

On March 8th 1983, Reagan gave a speech in which he called the Soviet Union an “Evil Empire”. Now the Cold War was not just

a war between communism and democracy; it was between good (the United States) and evil (The Soviet Union). Reagan announced plans for a new defense system on March 23rd 1983. It was the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) also called “Star Wars”. This program was supposed to detect missiles from outer space and destroy them with laser beams. SDI was a direct threat to the Soviet Union because if the United States could defend itself against a nuclear attack, what would stop the United States from attacking the Soviet Union first? SDI went against the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty in 1972 that put limits on the defense of the USA and USSR in order to keep a balance of power.

Reagan intimidated the Russians by having military exercises near soviet borders. During the months of April and May in 1983, the United States military and Intelligence agencies looked for weak spots in the Soviet Union. The United States practiced attacks on Soviet submarines with nuclear weapons. In November of 1983 NATO forces in Europe conducted new exercises (code-named Able Archer) to prepare for a possible nuclear war. These drills involved the participation of NATO leaders. The exercises lasted ten days and went all the way to the highest level of alert for nuclear war. The Russians were watching and assumed that NATO was seriously getting ready for a nuclear attack. In response the Soviets put their air force in East Germany and Poland on alert and prepared their nuclear weapons. This was the closest the World came to a nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

Question:

How did Reagan’s actions affect the Soviet Union?

Problems within the Soviet Union

Brezhnev died on November 10th, 1982. He was replaced by Yuri Andropov, a sixty-eight year old, long time politburo member who was suffering the final stages of kidney failure. Andropov saw the actions of Reagan as dangerous. He viewed Reagan with suspicion and stated, “Reagan is unpredictable. You should expect anything from him.”1 In response to SDI the Soviets created RYAN, an early warning system to detect when nuclear missiles were launched from US and NATO bases. RYAN was not without its problems. On one particular occasion it detected missiles that were not there. Luckily the man monitoring the system did not over-react; otherwise history would be entirely different.

In September 1983, a Korean airliner (KAL-007) flew over Soviet air space and a nervous Soviet defense mistakenly thought it was a US spy plane. This mistake was easy enough to make considering American jets had flown into Soviet air space on purpose a few days before this incident. Soviet jet fighters were sent out to destroy KAL-007 and 269 people were killed. At first the Soviets denied any knowledge of it and the military assured Andropov that the Americans would not find out about it. They were wrong. Reagan created a world-wide hate campaign against the Soviets. Andropov replied that the Korean airliner incident was set up by the United States and now it would be impossible to have any sort of relationship with the US. The tension between the two Super Powers was at a highly dangerous level, not felt in years. People around the world began to wonder: Will there be a war? When will it come?

The Soviet Union was having domestic trouble as well. Andropov died on February 9th 1984. Konstantin Chernenko took his place. Chernenko has been described as a walking mummy who lived on tranquilizers2. For many years the Soviet leadership suffered from gerontocracy, a government ruled by old men. These old men were stuck in their ways about how to deal with problems at home and with other countries. The world changes and when a country does not change with it, that country gets left behind. As the Soviet economy began to decline and the people they ruled became more upset, these old men were unable to find new solutions. The Soviet Union’s birth rate was falling as the death rate was rising. Faith in communism was becoming less important to the people, particularly the young people.

Novoe Myshlenie (New Thinking)

Chernenko died on March 10th 1985, just thirteen months after taking charge. This time The Soviet Union would get some fresh blood and fresh ideas in their new young leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev never wanted to destroy communism, he wanted to save it. Before he could start any reforms, he needed to strengthen his position by getting rid of the old-timers who could stand in his way.

Gorbachev wanted to fix the problems at home. Since alcoholism was a major issue, he created a national anti-alcoholism campaign. The idea was that a drop in the sale of alcohol would create a drop in the drinking of alcohol. The only thing that dropped however was the amount of money the Soviet Union took in. Alcohol sales made up a large portion of their

economy. Gorbachev wanted to reform the economy by perestroika (restructuring). He wanted to decrease governmental control over business.

Gorbachev saw foreign policy as a way to get breathing room for his domestic reforms. He wanted to open Russia up to the outside world, make them less isolated. Gorbachev had a dream, like Reagan, of one day abolishing all nuclear weapons. He felt sick at the thought of nuclear war and the role he would have to play if it occurred. During a training drill for a possible nuclear attack, Gorbachev refused to push the button. While he wanted to make his people happy by getting out of Afghanistan, he did not want it to seem like he was retreating or giving in to American pressure. As a consequence, he did not pull out of Afghanistan until 1989.

Gorbachev wanted to improve working relations with the United States. Reagan had written Gorbachev suggesting they meet. By 1985 the back door channels of communication that worked for détente were reopened. They set up a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, where Gorbachev wanted to focus on nuclear disarmament instead of human rights and Afghanistan. He told Reagan that the Soviets could not accept the continuation of the SDI program. Both leaders were being carefully watched by their governments. The only issue they could agree upon was that a nuclear war could not be won. The Soviet military and diplomats were happy with how Gorbachev handled himself. Afterwards he criticized Reagan for having the mind of a caveman; but he was also shocked to find that Regan truly wanted to get rid of all nuclear weapons.

After Geneva, Gorbachev searched for a new way of dealing with the United States. He went on a “peace offensive” and announced a plan to abolish nuclear weapons by the year 2000. Part of Gorbachev’s new way of thinking involved a new way of looking at the world. The old way of thinking viewed the world in terms of being either communist or imperialist. These two ideologies would always work against each other. Gorbachev thought the world was more connected and that countries depended on each other. This meant that countries needed to work with each other and avoid conflict in order to prosper, which was difficult for people in the Soviet government to understand. Boris Ponomarev argued, “What is this ‘new thinking’ about? Let the Americans change their thinking instead…Are you against force, which is the only language that imperialism understands?”3 As another show of peace, Gorbachev put a stop on nuclear testing. The Americans did not believe him, and continued aggressive behavior. The United States increased nuclear tests as well as increased efforts in Afghanistan.

Questions:

1.) What problems did the Soviet Union have in the early 1980’s?

2.) How did Gorbachev try to fix these problems?

Chernobyl and Reykjavik

On April 26th 1986, at 1:30 am a reactor in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. As with the Korean flight, the Soviet Union tried to cover up the incident, but the World

called its bluff. The international media broadcast news of the nuclear fallout. The Soviet people began to panic because they were not getting any information from their own government. The radiation that spread from Chernobyl killed thirty people on the spot and approximately 30,000 people have died from health complications4.

The disaster at Chernobyl was a direct result of the backwards Soviet system. This event had a stronger impact on Soviet policy than anything the Americans had been doing to apply pressure. It forced the government to introduce glasnost, a new openness for society. It demanded an end to secrecy and it opened up discussions about the issues. Gorbachev suggested a stronger effort for disarming nuclear weapons. Chernobyl opened their eyes to what a real nuclear war would cost them. Now more than ever Gorbachev would push for peace and use the influence of Western European leaders, with whom he was gaining trust, to put pressure on Reagan. Perestroika (reshaping the economy), was not working so well. The poor economy was hit even harder by the cost of cleaning up the Chernobyl disaster.

Gorbachev wanted a breakthrough with the Americans. In early September of 1986 he wrote Reagan a letter urging a meeting. He suggested it be a quick and private meeting where they could have open and honest discussions. Some of Reagan’s staff believed Gorbachev was trying to lure Reagan into a trap. Gorbachev simply wanted to talk to Reagan without his right-wing advisors. They met at Reykjavik, a city in Iceland. The meeting began friendly; they had been able to resolve most of the problems surrounding nuclear weapons. Gorbachev was willing to give up more than any other Soviet leader had been willing to give. Reagan, without talking to his advisors, offered the idea

of complete elimination of all nuclear weapons. Gorbachev agreed, but only if the United States would abandon their SDI program. Reagan refused to give it up.

As a result of Reagan’s refusal, the talks broke down. This was the closest the two countries came to making an agreement to get rid of all nuclear weapons. This was an idea that made members of both governments nervous. Nuclear weapons were dangerous, but the fear of that danger had kept the two countries from war. After Reykjavik Reagan’s advisors kept a close eye on him to keep him from making any more risky agreements. People who used to support him began to criticize him viciously. How could Regan put American security at risk by agreeing to abolish all nuclear weapons? What if the Russians went back on their word?

The World viewed Reykjavik as a huge failure. They had come so close only to lose it over a program that did not even work, nor ever would. Reagan took the blame for it; he kept the world in the grips of nuclear fear for refusing to budge on SDI. What did he have to lose by giving up SDI? He had already won his second term in office. In reality Reagan would not have been able to abolish nuclear weapons alone. He would have needed congress to pass the law and congress most likely would not have passed it without the protection of SDI. To Reagan, SDI was more than just a defense system. It was a bargaining tool with the Soviets. So long as it existed, Reagan would have the upper hand in dealing with the Soviets. Even though the Reykjavik meeting came up with nothing, it did have one positive outcome. It changed the way the Soviets viewed Regan. He was no longer their enemy. Reagan had convinced the Soviets of his desire to get rid of nuclear weapons and live in peace with the Soviet Union.

Questions:

1.) How did the accident at Chernobyl change Soviet behavior?

2.) How can Reykjavik be considered a failure and a success?

Reagan Changes Strategy

While Reagan’s first term in office can be described as hard on the Soviets and pushing towards brinkmanship, his second term was much less aggressive. Reagan saw a change in the USSR with their new leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev was deeply affected by the accident in Chernobyl (1986) which inspired him to push for getting rid of nuclear weapons. Reagan was deeply affected by a made for television movie in 1983, The Day After. It showed what would happen if the USSR and USA had a nuclear war. Reagan was a Hollywood man, and it took Hollywood to strike a nerve against nuclear weapons. After viewing the movie Reagan became depressed and realized the necessity of getting rid of all nuclear weapons5.

The meeting at Reykjavik in 1986, between Reagan and Gorbachev showed both were committed to getting rid of nuclear weapons. Reagan’s ideas of abolishing nukes made his advisors and the military very nervous. Many conservatives began to question whether or not Reagan had been charmed by the new Soviet leader and was giving into him at the price of American security. It appeared as though Reagan was more likely to compromise with the Russians than push them to the point of breaking.

In the fall of 1986, shortly before the Reykjavik meeting, the FBI arrested Gennadi Zakharov as a spy for the Soviet Union. In response the Soviets framed and arrested Nicholas Daniloff as a spy. He was a journalist for U.S. News and World Report. Conservatives warned Reagan against trading with the Soviets since that was what they wanted. In the end, Daniloff was released; Zakharov pleaded no contest and was kicked out of the United States. To make it appear as though Reagan did not make a simple trade, the Soviets released one of their leading critics, Yuri Orlov and his wife. Reagan’s conservative supporters began to turn against him and publicly criticize him. The conservatives did not believe the USSR was changing, or ever would change. Reagan saw differently and stayed strong with his new policy of working with the Soviets (yet not giving into them) despite the pressure from his critics.

On June 12th 1987, Reagan gave one of the most famous speeches in Cold War history. He stated, in front of the Berlin Wall: “General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate...Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” 6 People argue about the importance of this speech. Some believe it deeply affected Gorbachev and directly led to the fall of communism, while others believe that it was just for show. In reality, the Berlin Wall speech showed Reagan was still tough on communism and not willing to compromise. It also supported Gorbachev’s belief that the Soviet Union needed to become part of the global world and break down their barriers in order to build up their economy.

Question:

How were Reagan’s policies and views of the Soviet Union

changing during his second term?

Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev sign the INF Treaty on December 8th, 1987. This treaty got rid of nuclear and conventional ground based weapons of intermediate range. 2,692 missiles had been destroyed by June 1st, 1991. The United States destroyed 846 and the Soviet Union had destroyed 1,846.

The Collapse of Eastern Europe

Gorbachev’s economic reforms of perestroika went the way of other Soviet reforms. They ran out of steam. In order for Gorbachev to keep his programs running, he needed to release some control. But communism was control; it had never worked without control. He needed glasnost in order to support perestroika. He needed the people to know and discuss the changes he was making in order to gain their support. To prove his good intentions, Gorbachev released Andrei Sakharov, the

world’s most famous critic of the USSR, from house arrest. In 1987 censorship was relaxed (but not entirely lifted) and the police stopped jamming foreign radio broadcasts.

Gorbachev worked within to change the communist party. In October 1988, he kicked out his opponents and had himself elected as the head of State. He still faced opposition, but his popularity among the people was at its strongest. He proposed open elections for Congress for the following year. These elections were not multi-party, but they were the freest elections the Soviet people had had since 1918. On December 7th 1988, Gorbachev gave a speech that ended the Brezhnev Doctrine. The Brezhnev Doctrine stated that all socialist countries are dependent on each other. Therefore, in any socialist country where the Communist Party is threatened, the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries would get involved, and forcefully restore it to power. Gorbachev killed this policy when he told Europe that “Freedom of choice is a universal principle. There should be no exceptions.”7 He told the world that people have the right to choose what type of government they wanted for their country. The Soviet Union would no longer get involved. It did not take long for the Eastern European Empire to throw off the shackles of communism and find their own way.

Poland

Jaruzelski began creating reforms in Poland in 1986, following Moscow’s lead. He released Solidarity leaders from prison. Even though Solidarity had been banned in 1981, it continued its existence through an underground movement. The Polish economy was sinking further and further into debt. In 1987, the government raised consumer prices by 25% and in 1988

they were raised another 60%. The price increases led to strikes in the summer of 1988. In August of 1988, the Polish Communist government asked Lech Walesa (a leader in the Solidarity movement) to meet and discuss the country’s labor problems.

The government went back and forth between acting friendly and threatening. As a result, the people lost confidence in the government’s ability to lead. One week after Gorbachev’s speech on ‘Sinatra Doctrine’, Solidarity formed a citizens’ committee to push negotiations with the government. In February of 1989, the Communists officially recognized Solidarity and began talks that lasted until April. They agreed to the legalization of trade unions and to elect a new government. The elections were held on June 4th 1989.Solidarity won an overwhelming majority of the vote.

Gorbachev had already made it clear that the Soviet Union would not interfere in Eastern European problems. The threat of Soviet force was the only thing that kept the communist governments in Eastern Europe in power. The only choices the Polish communists had were to either accept defeat or use force that would create bloodshed in order to keep a failing government in power a little while longer. They accepted defeat. On September 12th 1989, Tadeusz Mazowiecki was approved as the first non-Communist Prime Minster of Poland since WWII. Capitalism was introduced into their economy and they took out of their constitution the statement that Poland’s Communist Party played a leading role in society.

Hungary

By 1989, Hungary was suffering inequalities of income, health, and housing. Alcoholism was high and Hungary suffered

the highest rate of suicide in Eastern Europe. The people were unhappy, but there was no organized opposition to the communists. The push for change came from young reform-communists who were inspired by Gorbachev. They staged a coup to remove Janos Kadar from power and replaced him with Karoly Grosz.

Kadar had been in charge since he helped crush the anti-communist uprising in 1956. He represented the lie of reform-communism in Hungary, and the silence surrounding the death of Imre Nagy. When Kadar was removed from power it signaled a shift that changes were coming for Hungary. In early 1989, the Communist government allowed free assembly and a multi-party system. They reburied Nagy and stated the uprising in 1956 had not been counter-revolutionary, but rather a popular uprising of the people.

In June 1989, talks occurred between communists and opposition parties. Kadar died a few weeks later and Hungarian communism died with him. The Communist Party’s leading role in society was taken out of the constitution and multi-party elections were scheduled for March. The Communist party changed its name to the Hungarian Socialist Party and they changed their country’s name from the People’s Republic of Hungary to the Hungarian Republic.

East Germany

Of all the Eastern Bloc countries, East Germany was the least likely to fall. No one thought the Soviet Union would ever give it up. Unlike other Eastern Bloc countries, East Germany claimed to have a strong economy. This was the product of cover-ups and lies. On East Germany’s fortieth birthday its leader,

Erich Honecker, stated they were one of the world’s top ten economic countries. When Mikhail Gorbachev heard this, he gave a loud snort.8 The East German economy was no better than other communist countries.

West German diplomats were unlikely friends to the East German government. It was their communist neighbor, Hungary, which helped create trouble for the GDR (East German Government). The Hungarian government removed the electric fence along the country’s western border on May 2nd 1989. East Germans began to swarm into Hungary. Twenty-five thousand East Germans traveled to Hungary for “vacation”. They never intended to go home. Thousands more continued to follow them. Many East Germans went across the Hungarian border into Austria (non-Communist). The majority of people stayed in West German embassies in Hungary. By September there were 60,000 East Germans in Hungary. When questioned on what Hungary would do about the East Germans, the foreign minister said he would allow them to pass into Austria. The door to the West was open and the flood of East Germans continued to grow.

The GDR told the East Germans in Hungary that they would be safely transported to West Germany. To the GDR’s humiliation, as the train went through East Germany it was greeted by thousands of envious people. Approximately five thousand East Germans tried to climb on board when the train made a brief stop in Dresden. The Police had to beat them back which caused a riot that was caught on video.

Honecker was not willing to reform Germany. He had tried to censor news of Gorbachev’s reforms in the Soviet Union from his people. The day after Hungary opened its borders, people in East

Germany began to form democratic movements: Democracy Now and New Forum. These groups pushed for reforms within the government. The protests grew in number and Honecker attempted to use force to silence them. The violence was never carried out and on October 18th 1989, Egon Krenz staged a coup to remove Honecker from power and promised reforms.

On November 4th half a million East Germans protested in Berlin. That same day Czechoslovakia opened its border and within two days 30,000 people left through it. The GDR began to panic. On November 5th the GDR made mild reforms on travel that were shouted down by the public who wanted more. The East German cabinet and politburo resigned. On November 9th 1989, a news broadcast stated that the government was immediately allowing travel to West Germany. This meant that the Berlin Wall was now open. Thousands rushed to the wall to the surprise of the guards who had not been given orders to open the gate. Rather than fire on the people, they eventually allowed them to pass. Within hours 50,000 people had flooded into West Berlin and began hammering the wall in an effort to take it down for good.

When the Wall fell, the GDR fell as well. This was not the GDR’s intention. They thought by opening the border they would begin stabilizing their country and gain public support. On December 1st the GDR voted to take out of their constitution the Communist Party’s leading role in society. A plan was created for new elections, but East Germany was different from other Eastern European countries. Instead of calling for a new government, people began chanting “Wir sind ein Volk” (We are one people), thus calling for reunification with West Germany. This would occur much quicker than anyone could imagine, by 1990 East and West Germany became, simply Germany.

Czechoslovakia

As in Hungary, Communist rule in Czechoslovakia was protected by a haunted past of the Warsaw Pact invasion in 1968 (“Prague Spring”). Czechoslovakian leader, Gustav Husak was unable to distance himself from this event and was a constant reminder of it. When Husak resigned in 1987, he was replaced by Milos Jakes, who was younger but well known for the role he played in the purges of the 1970’s. Until 1989, Czechoslovakia’s own critics, including Vaclav Havel, were better known throughout the world than in their own country.

Unlike many Eastern European countries the Czechs were not entirely unhappy. The economy was focused on basic consumer goods and the government tried to copy certain aspects of the Western consumer society, particularly television and other popular forms of entertainment. Life was dull, and the younger people felt oppressed by the weight of censorship. However, if they kept their mouths shut and did not cause problems, they were left alone.

The government kept a tight lid on any form of criticism. When students protested on the 20th anniversary of the “Prague Spring” they were arrested. In the spring and summer of 1989 groups began to form around the country, inspired by what they saw happening in their neighboring countries. Once again, students filled the streets in 1989 to remember the Prague Spring. In the spirit of glasnost, Jakes decided to let them. On November 15th Jakes relaxed travel restrictions to the West.

On November 17th 1989, the Prague police approved a march by students, but when they began chanting anti-Communist slogans, the police attacked. A rumor spread that a student had been

killed; which angered the students who went into action. Within two days the universities were occupied by crowds of demonstrators, who the police left alone. Within a week the government resigned. On November 19th Vaclav Havel returned to Prague where the communists were losing power. He helped form the Civic Forum which turned into a temporary government. On November 25th the Communist Party leaders resigned. The Civic Forum drafted their plans for a new democratic government. Communism was no longer the leading role in society and Vaclav Havel became president on December 28th 1989. Their peaceful exit from communism is forever known as the “Velvet Revolution”.

Questions:

1.) What allowed the Eastern European countries to break away

from communism?

2.) What pattern do you see in the way the Eastern European

countries broke away from communism?

The Breakup of the Soviet Union

The economic break downs and new freedoms inspired a spirit of nationalism in the minority regions of the USSR. Gorbachev did not want to allow the Baltic States to leave the union. He had let go of the Eastern European countries in order to save the Soviet Union from breaking apart. The hardliners within his government would draw the line at letting go states within the Soviet Union.

In August of 1989, the Soviet Union admitted there were secret provisions to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact) for Stalin to take over the Baltic States of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. On the Fiftieth anniversary of the pact, August 23rd 1989, nearly one million Balts formed a human chain linking their capitals, to argue that the Soviet takeover of their lands was illegal. They demanded independence.

It seemed as though chaos was breaking out all over the Soviet Union. In January 1990, Gorbachev sent troops into Azerbaijan in order to stop the massacre of Armenians there. In March, Vytautas Landsbergis became the head of a popular front government in Lithuania. He declared independence. In response, the USSR put a trade embargo on them. Twenty nationalist protestors were shot by the police in Georgia. In June, Boris Yeltsin was elected speaker of the Russian Supreme Soviet, and declared Russia was an independent state.

Relations between Socialist State Republics (SSR) continued to break apart. Gorbachev tried to create a new Union Treaty, but was blocked by SSR leaders. Gorbachev tried to go over their heads to the people who voted 76% in favor of the new treaty. In January 1991 Soviet soldiers took power in Lithuania and Latvia. They took control of the broadcasting stations and twenty people were killed. Yeltsin went to meet with the Russian troops and told them not to fire on the Balts, but to recognize their independence on behalf of Russia. In June 1991, Yeltsin was elected President of Russia. Gorbachev’s efforts at unification were failing.

The Coup

Gorbachev went on vacation on the night the New Union Treaty was supposed to take effect. On August 18th 1991, the vice-president Yanaev, Prime Minister Pavlov, and the head of the KGB, Kryuchkov said that Gorbachev was relieved of his position for ill-health. This was an interesting claim, considering Andropov had taken over the leadership when he was in his final stages of Kidney failure in 1982. Gorbachev and his wife were held hostage at their Black Sea resort. Some leaders of the SSR’s supported the coup; others did not, while others waited to see what would happen. Crowds protested in Moscow, army units disobeyed orders and Yeltsin talked to the crowds from the top of a tank. He protested the illegal actions of the Soviet communists. When the coup plotters saw their plan had failed, they rushed to see Gorbachev and were arrested. One committed suicide.

When Gorbachev returned to Moscow he told the people he was still a committed socialist. He replaced the head of the KGB as crowds destroyed the statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky (founder of the Checka). Yeltsin signed a decree stopping the activities of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in Russia on August 23rd 1990. People were kicked out of the central committee and the communist paper Pravda was banned. Two days later Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary and ordered local soviets to take over Communist property and all Communist activity within the army and KGB should stop.

During late August and early September of 1990, the Baltic States of Estonia and Latvia declared their independence and were immediately recognized by Russia. The other SSR’s soon

followed suit. It was soon clear that the Soviet Union no longer had a working federation and that all government departments should be shut down. On November 6th 1991 Yeltsin formally became the Prime Minister of Russia, all Soviet government resources in Russia were put in Russian control. This in effect made Gorbachev the head of a non-existing government. On December 21st

eleven former sates of the Soviet Union joined a new Confederation of Independent States (CIS). On December 25th 1991 Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as president of the Soviet Union and at midnight on December 31st 1991, the Soviet Union was officially dead.

Who ended the Cold War?

Ronald Reagan Mikhail Gorbachev Reagan’s political, economic and social pressures were not enough to bring down the Soviet Union. Gorbachev was already working on cutting military spending. Reagan’s contribution to the end of the Cold War was his ability to read Gorbachev and understand that real changes were happening in the USSR. He stood

Communism’s downfall could only have come from within. Communism’s power came from its complete control over the people. Gorbachev created social, political and economic reforms that loosened the Communist Party’s control over its people. These Soviet reforms influenced similar actions in the Eastern Bloc

strong against his critics and was able to influence the American people to trust that changes for the better were occurring. He worked with Gorbachev without giving into him and allowed Gorbachev breathing room to get his reforms in the USSR going. He did not bow to political and social pressure, but stayed strong in his beliefs. Had Reagan pushed Gorbachev, Gorbachev may have been forced to push back and drop his reforms that eventually killed Communism.

countries that had a history of rebelling against communist control. Gorbachev’s speech in 1988 that told the Eastern Bloc countries that they finally had the right to choose their government and that the Soviet Union would no longer use their military to keep the communists in power. Gorbachev allowed them to break away in order to save communism in the USSR. This had the opposite effect though. The irony was it caused a reverse “Domino Theory,” once one country dropped communism, the others soon followed.

It is impossible and irresponsible to claim one person ended the Cold War. It was the combined efforts of two major leaders who gave the people of the Eastern Bloc and Baltic States the inspiration and security to stand up and walk away from communism.

End Notes

1Vladislav M. Zubak. A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev. (North Carolina: University of North Caronia Press, 2007), 274.22 Zubok, A Failed Empire, 277.33 Zubok , A Failed Empire , 286.44Tony Judt. . Post War: A history of Europe Since 1945 (.New York: Penguin Books, 2005), 597.55 James Mann. The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan. (New York: Penguin Books, 2009), 41.66 Reagan, Ronald. Berlin Wall Address. Brandenburg Gate, West Berlin, Germany. June 12 th, 1987. www.historyplace.com/speeches/reagan-tear-down.htm visited March 12th 2010

77 Judt, Post War: A history of Europe ,604.88 Judt, Post War: A history of Europe, 611.