The_Decline_and_Fall_of_the_Soviet_Union

The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union Almost sixty-nine years after it was founded, the Soviet Union came to an end. In 1985 Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev became general secretary of the Communist Party, and in 1988 he became President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). However, six years later on December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned. It was at this time that the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Most Russians today, still suffering through a difficult transition, believe Gorbachev changed their nation for the worse. Most foreigners think he changed the world for the better. It may take decades before Mikhail Sergeyevich’s place in history can be fully evaluated. Boris Yeltsin became the first elected president of the Russian Federation on June 12, 1991.Countless problems and unfulfilled expectations plagued Yeltsin as the first elected leader of the newly independent Russian democracy. His attempts at drastic reforms, which were to transform Russia into a prosperous market based economy, were met with public disapproval. As president of Russia, Yeltsin played a pivotal role in the dissolution of the USSR. Despite assurances from Yeltsin that reform would yield dividends within a year, the economy contracted steadily from 1992 to 1997, dwindling to soviet, gorbachev, union, yeltsin, president, ussr, republics, place, russian, party, one, moscow, government, russia, problems, economy, communist, central, been, within, took, system, resigned, mikhail, first, federation, december, after, 1991, 1990, years, year, until, ukraine, treaty, sea, public, official, new, nationalities, months, lithuania, however, himself, half, far, end, crisis, country, continued