The Fall of Soviet Communism, 1986-1991
eBook - PDF

The Fall of Soviet Communism, 1986-1991

  1. 144 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

The Fall of Soviet Communism, 1986-1991

About this book

The fall of communism and the break-up of the Soviet Union into 15 independent states in December 1991 was one of the most significant events of the 20th century. In the last years of Soviet rule, images of mass protests on the streets of Moscow, Tbilisi and Vilnius, bloodshed in Baku, striking miners, Mikhail Gorbachev wooing the West, and Boris Yeltsin defiantly mounting a tank in front of the White House building in Moscow, shattered all of the old certainties about the seemingly unbreakable communist system. Gorbachev and Yeltsin were the dominant figures in this process, but non-Russian national movements, workers, intellectuals, and international developments all had roles to play. Jeremy Smith presents the dramatic events of 1985-91 in a clear and succinct form, setting out a variety of interpretations for the demise of communism in the Soviet Union, and suggesting new approaches to answering the unresolved question of why it happened. Smith discusses the long-term and short-term factors behind the extraordinary collapse, assessing the impact of economic crisis, nationalism, personalities and democratization in the process.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
At the moment all of our mobile-responsive ePub books are available to download via the app. Most of our PDFs are also available to download and we're working on making the final remaining ones downloadable now. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access The Fall of Soviet Communism, 1986-1991 by Jeremy Smith in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Russian History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher
Bloomsbury Academic
Year
2017
Print ISBN
9781403916020
eBook ISBN
9780230802735
Edition
1
Topic
History
Subtopic
Russian History
Index
History
Many 
histories 
of 
the 
Khrushchev 
and 
Brezhnev 
periods 
are
dominated 
by 
the 
international 
situation, 
a 
fact 
which 
testifies 
in
equal 
measure 
to 
global 
tensions 
and 
to 
domestic 
Soviet 
stability.
But 
the 
very 
emphasis 
on 
stability 
since 
1964 
was 
one 
of 
the 
roots
of 
future 
problems. 
As 
long 
as 
domestic 
tranquillity 
prevailed, 
the
political 
system 
itself 
appeared 
to 
be 
effective. 
But 
political 
stagna-
tion 
promoted 
both 
complacency 
and 
inflexibility, 
so 
that 
when 
a
need 
for 
change 
did 
arise, 
as 
the 
result 
of 
either 
external 
or 
inter-
nal 
pressures, 
politics 
would 
inevitably 
be 
slow 
to 
respond 
and
would 
prove 
a 
brake 
on 
reform.
The 
Fall 
of 
Soviet 
Communism 
1985–91
12

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. Editors’ Preface
  7. A Note on References
  8. Acknowledgements
  9. Map of the USSR
  10. 1 Introduction
  11. Part One: Background
  12. Part Two: Reform from Above
  13. Part Three: Movements from Below
  14. Chronology of Events, 1985-91
  15. Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations
  16. Select Bibliography
  17. Index