Collapse of the USSR

1. Collapse of the USSR

2. 1) There were two armies: Red (Bolsheviks, obviously) and White. 2) About 20,000,000 people died. (for some reason, the Russians seem to have an endless supply of people to use for military purposes - they lost incredibly high numbers in both world wars and their civil war.) 3)Started in 1918, ended in 1922

3. 1917 Creation of the Politburo • The communist party’s election method (elects the leader, the people do not) • Had its own secret police, threatening people who stood in the way against communist power.

4. 1918 (March 3rd)-Treaty of Brest-Litvosk • Ended Russia’s involvement in World War I. Many people were angry with tsar for entering the war, and this showed that the communists cared for the people.

5. Last of the Romanovs 1613-1918 The Romanovs were the last of the royal family. Lenin decided that the only way to have no Czar again was to have the royal family murdered. This helped the Soviet Union because it made it possible for the Union to exist.

6. Stalin’s 5 Year Plans The 5 year plan was to industrialize as fast as possible within 5 years • Proved to be very successful because: • All kids received a good school education • Many more people got jobs with this plan • Men and Women were considered equal • Literacy rate increased juristically • New cities were built where new industries were created • Created a Moscow Sea Canal connecting Moscow to the seaports of the North. • Looked upon as one of the most stunning periods of economic growth. • All these things were positive for Russia.

7. RUSSIA IN WORLD WAR 2 Russia was involved in WWII from start, to finish. WWII had some benefits, and some negatives. WWII Helped Russia by stabilizing the economy, and grew the popularity of communism. Also raised their GDP greatly over time. There were negatives as well, one of the biggest negatives was the scale of deaths in Russia. 24 million soldiers died in WWII, also many, many cites were destroyed by the Germans.

8. 1939-1945: World War II *The USSR emerged victorious, showing that the Five Year Plans were successful as they competed for the US with superpower status. The USSR gained land because of the war (East Germany) and manipulated elections in Eastern Europe to assure they would become communist.

9. Joe 1 • The first nuclear bomb in the soviet union. • The United States named it Joe 1 in reference to Joseph Stalin. • It was exploded on August 29, 1976. • This was there first ever test of a nuclear bomb at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan. • It was 22 kilotons • This is good for Russia due to the fact that it gives them power in the bomb and weapons industry.

10. The hydrogen bomb 1950~1956 Work on the super-bomb had begun in 1946 The hydrogen bomb is a by-product of the Cold War Before Stalin's death in March 1953, there had been three nuclear tests, between August 1953 and the end of 1955 there were sixteen including three thermonuclear explosions. Georgii Malenkov, chairman of the Council of Ministers, referred to the danger of "a new world war, with modern weapons means the end of world civilization. -within 90 seconds the mushroom cloud climbed to 57,000 feet and entered the stratosphere. One minute later, it reached 108,000 feet, eventually stabilizing at a ceiling of 120,000 feet. Half an hour after the test, the mushroom stretched 60 miles across, with the base of the head joining the stem at 45,000 feet. The hydrogen bomb helped the SOVIET UNION because it struck fear into America and all other countries

11. Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact was a treaty signed between Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. It was a military treaty that bound its signatories to come to the aid of others. The pact quickly became a powerful political tool for the Soviet Union to become much more powerful. In 1991, the government withdrew their support on the pact.

12. Launch date: October 4, 1957, 7:28 PM Sputnik 1 was the first mock Earth satellite. It was a 585mm diameter metal sphere, with four external radio antennaes to broadcast radio pulses. The Soviet Union launched it into an elliptical low Earth orbit on October 4th 1957. This helped Russia because they wanted to get in the space race first out of anyone and this enabled them to do so and they got into space.

13. On November 3, 1957, Sputnik 2 was launched into space. Scientists thought that humans wouldn’t survive the mission, so they sent a stray don’t, Laika (Oh that’s just great). Poor Laika died hours after launch from overheating. This hurt the Soviet Union because they lied about the time and cause of Laika’s death. Then, later released the truth. This gives them an unreliable reputation. Also, this event could be considered animal cruelty. However- the are developing their space program rapidly. This can also be viewed as positive.

14. The Berlin wall was a physical divider between west Berlin and eastern Germany from 1961 to 1989. As it was a physical divider, it was also a symbolic boundary between communism and democracy. The Berlin Wall Goes Up1961 The creation of the Berlin wall helped keep people from east Germany out of the western side. At the end of world war 2 the land got split up into 4 different zones run by the U.S, France, Great Britain, or the soviet union, this was all settled at the Potsdam conference. August 1961

15. 19 Wall

16. Cuban Missile Crisis(1962) The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13 day military standoff between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. It was the closest start to WWIII. It was a fight over the weapons and the Soviet Union started it. There was a good result for the Soviet Union, because the US agreed to remove the missile and not invade Cuba.

17. The invasion of Czechoslovakia The Soviet Union, and their allies in the Warsaw Pact* sent out between 175,000 and 500,000 troops attacked Czechoslovakia. Approximately 500 Czechs and Slovaks were wounded and 108 killed in the invasion. The invasion successfully stopped the liberalization reforms and strengthened the authority of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. August, 1968 The Warsaw Pact inclued Bulgaria, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Hungary and Poland

18. 1969-1972 SALT I * The first of series of strategic arms limitation talks, in which the Soviets and the United States show signs of wanted to work together and avoid nuclear war.

19. 1972-1979 SALT II * SALT II talks between the Soviet Union and the United States began in November 1972 to put SALT I in motion, showing desired cooperation of both parties. Note: The US and USSR do not still hold each other to these agreements due to Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the US deciding to withdrawal in 1986

20. 1979 (December 27): Soviets Invade Afghanistan * Soviets invade Afghanistan in hopes of helping the communist party take control, however this war cripples Soviet morale as many are killed in the 9-year war. (This is equivalent to America’s involvement in Vietnam)

21. Afghan Girl

22. Chernobyl Disaster • The Soviet Union had a nuclear reactor that had a melt down which resulted in the destruction of an entire community. There was a power surge while they tested the reactor and it exploded with unconfirmed reports of 31 people dying as a result. The nuclear fallout traveled across the Soviet Union as well as Europe. It caused a setback of a few years with their nuclear program and caution for starting a new reactor site. This photo was taken on March 17th, 2011.

23. Perestroika & Glasnost 1985- Perestroika was a political movement for reformation with the Communist party of the Soviet Union. Also associated with Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev and his glasnost policy reform. Glasnost (openness) was a policy that called for increased openness and transparency in government activities and institutions. The reform for the USSR effected Communist negatively because the things that the government did, probably were against what the people thought and believed. As well as, the lies and secrets the government kept would make people feel betrayed and not trusting of the government.

24. 1987 Voting Reforms by Gorbachev * Gorbachev allows voting among Soviet citizens to vote for people other than just Communist Party members, emphasizing the Soviet’s realization that their system did not work.

25. The Fall of The Berlin Wall • Date: The Berlin Wall was destroyed on November 9, 1989. • How did this hurt Russia?: The fall of the Berlin wall hurt Russia, because a key part of the Soviet Union had now become free like the rest of Europe. Ronald Reagan making his famous “Tear Down This Wall” speech. The Berlin Wall being knocked down.

26. Lithuania and Latvia Protests • In 1989 the Baltic Nations that consisted of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were all under the stronghold of the communism, Soviet Union • These protests were had a negative in pact on the U.S.S.R since the communist were failing -Thousands of people snag songs that was known as “The Singing Revolution”

27. New Sovereign States • 1991, September 6: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania are independent states • 1991, October- December: Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Ukraine, and Turkmenistan break away • Kazakhstan leaves last

28. 1991, December 25th Gorbachev steps down • After 6 years Gorbachev steps down from being the Russian leader • Boris Yeltsin becomes the first elected president leader of Russia • Soviet flag on the Kremlin replaced with the Russian Federation Flag. • All these show that the USSR ceases to exist, marking a new government for Russia. USSR Collapse

29. Boris Yeltsin Becomes President • Was the first freely elected President of Russia. • Yeltsin will be remembered for 2 things that he accomplished. • In August 1991, came during an attempt by the Communists to regain control of the government in Moscow. • A second big moment came two years later, The parliament, resisting his radical efforts to transform Russia from a planned socialist economy into a capitalist market system, was holed up in the Russian White House, this time he used the tanks to drive them out.

30. Could the Soviet Union Exist today? 1 paragraph