Perestroika and Glasnost - Essay Example

Perestroika and Glasnost The collapse of Soviet Union and the origin of Russia resulted in the end of the Cold War and related arms race. As the Eastern Bloc was closely attached to the growth and development of Soviet Union, the unexpected collapse helped those nations be free from communist influence. One can easily identify that the communist leaders in Soviet Union were deeply interested in spreading communist ideology to other parts of the world. Soviet Union’s ultimate control over the Eastern Bloc was based upon the agenda to spread communism in Europe.

Thesis statement: The major factors of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc are interconnected because internal conflict and the reformatory policies (say, Perestroika and Glasnost) of the later leaders hindered the full-fledged development of communism. The major factors which accelerated the dissolution of the Soviet Union One can see that internal conflict (say, ideological) and economic burden accelerated the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Within this context, political policies adopted by Joseph Stalin were totally against the people.

Besides, the war in Afghanistan proved to be an economic burden to Soviet Union. The communist policies like control over media and single party system resulted in the totalitarian control of communist party over the mainstream society. Moreover, the arms race during the Cold War era affected the economic backbone of Soviet Union. Industrialization helped the military in Soviet Union to be the most powerful tool of the state. The lack of productivity resulted in the economic collapse of Soviet Union in 1980s.

The measures adopted by Mikhail Gorbachev, like Perestroika and Glasnost, did not help Soviet Union to save itself from its ultimate collapse. In short, internal conflicts originated from political and economic factors accelerated the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the origin of Russia. The major factors which accelerated the collapse of the Eastern Bloc The most important factor behind the collapse of the Eastern Bloc was the collapse of Stalinism in Soviet Union. Earlier, the fall of German imperialism at the end of the WWII was exploited by the communist leaders in Soviet Union to spread communist ideology in Europe.

Perry, Berg and Krukones (2009), state that “Meanwhile, the Soviet Union created international mechanisms to oversee and exploit the region’s economic production and military resources, so that the phrase “ Eastern Bloc” became entirely fitting” (p.311). For instance, the European nations like Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia etc were under the control of Soviet Union, especially Stalinism. During the Cold War era, the Eastern Bloc acted the role of a safety valve for Soviet Union to prove her influence over the neighboring nations.

Under Joseph Stalin, Soviet Union was able to spread its influence over the nations within the Eastern Blok. The reform measures (say, Perestroika and Glasnost) adopted by the later rulers in Soviet Union completed the end of communist autocracy. Within this context, Hungary was the first nation to be free from communist influence. Gradually, the development of the Council of Europe accelerated the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. To be specific, lack of strong leadership under a single authority, collapse of Stalinism and failure to meet the basic needs of the people are the major factors which accelerated the collapse of the Eastern Bloc.

Summing, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1990s resulted in the collapse of the Eastern Bloc because both Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc were based upon the same political ideology. The economic burden from the arms race during Cold War era and communist despotism accelerated the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On the other side, European influence and the end of Stalinism resulted in the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. ReferencesPerry, M., Berg, M., & Krukones, J. (2009). Sources of European History Since 1900.

Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.