Reasons the U.S.S.R Collapsed
~Low output of crops and consumer goods made food scarce and hard to come by. This resulted in poverty and hunger that was widespread across the nation.
~Cold War led to high
military spending. The U.S.S.R spent so much money on weapons that they did not have enough money to support their nation. The citizens were left to their own devices and were unable to support themselves with the meager food that was available.
~Ethnic and nationalist movements weakened the government and brought a state of division and confusion between the people of Russia. There were many different parties with many different principles that were all developing at once, and this resulted in conflict. This conflict resulted in the dissolving of any unity left between the people.
~Denial of rights and freedoms angered the people and caused revolts, and they also made life difficult for the Russian citizens. The basic rights that a person should be allowed were completely disregarded in Russia, which obviously caused a state of oppressionand dissatisfaction in the people.
~War with Afghanistan made the military weak and used up vital resources that the country was already indesperate need of.
~Food and fuel shortages. The Citizens went hungry and could not use fuel for their everyday necessities. They were completely neglected and left without support or means to get by.
~Demonstrations in the Baltic states. The invasion of Afghanistan proved to be disastrous. Russia spent more money on weapons than they did on their citizens’ well being, and this caused them to collapse.
~Gorbachev’srise to power. Although his intentions were good, the reforms that he tried to accomplish were mostly unsuccessful and would only prolong the already unstable state of Russia.