Events+leading+to+fall+of+USSR

Vera Yevteyev

Explain the events that eventually lead to the initial fall of the USSR.

 * Brezhnev's policies of "no foolishness"and his emphasis on heavy industry
 * lead to an overall decline in industrial growth
 * Decreasing efficiency and production was prominent during Brezhnev's rule as well as conflicts with agriculture and labor
 * Moral decreased along with infant mortality
 * Gorbachev takes over after Brezhnev
 * **//perestroika//** (reconstructing the Russian economy)
 * **//glasnost//** (openness)
 * Gorbachev was arrested August 19, 1991 by angry rightists
 * Rightists were stopped but they sped up the disintegration if the Soviet Union which was their initial goal
 * Yeltsin succeeded Gorbachev
 * Brought an end to communist Soviet Russia **December 1992**

**Sample Thesis**
Although many new policies which were intended to reform society for the better were initiated by Brezhnev and Gorbachev, intermingling conflicts within society gradually built up and ultimately resulted in the initial collapse of the USSR.