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Soviet Union… The End. Soviet Union… The End. Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union in the late 1980’s Policies: 1. Glasnost – “Openness” : aimed at ending the soviet habit of hiding the nation’s activities in a cloak of secrecy
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Soviet Union… The End • Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union in the late 1980’s • Policies: • 1. Glasnost – “Openness” : aimed at ending the soviet habit of hiding the nation’s activities in a cloak of secrecy • 2. Perestroika – “restructuring” refers to economic reforms intended to move the Soviet Union towards a free-market economy
Soviet Union… The End • Abolished the use of the “Brezhnev Doctrine “ which gave the U.S.S.R. (Soviet Union and 14 other soviet states) the right to intervene in any communist country in Eastern Europe. (Within weeks, many of the republics declared their independence)
Soviet Union… The End • August 19, 1991 – Gorbachev and his family were placed under house arrest by forceful hardline Communist leaders determined to save the USSR. Tanks rolled through Moscow, taking over the parliament building of the Russian republic.
Soviet Union… The End • In Moscow, Boris Yeltsin (president of Russia) had locked himself and followers in the parliament building. Sympathetic construction workers and thousands of citizens formed a human blockade to protect them.
Soviet Union… The End • The communist coup collapsed within days and Gorbachev was released • Russia and most of the remaining Soviet Republics voted to dissolve the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and create in its place the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).