The Collapse of the Soviet Union

Red Square in Moscow, from the Saint Basil's Cathedral. (Photo: Wiki Commons)

On December 8th, l991, the Soviet press agency TASS stunned the world with this statement: “We, the Republic of Byelorussia, the Russian Federation and the Ukraine . . . state that the U.S.S.R., as a subject of international law and a geopolitical reality, is ceasing its existence.”

With that simple declaration, the world’s largest country by landmass, and a nuclear superpower, vanished in a flash. Reporter Brigid McCarthy examines some of the important lessons embedded in the Soviet collapse and its aftermath.

How Rock & Roll Brought the Soviet Union Down

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Soviet Lines, a Way of Life in Grushin Novel

The collapse of the Soviet Union 20 years ago eliminated one of the most defining and despised features of Soviet life: standing in line – lines for bread, butter, and other basic necessities. According to one estimate, citizens in the USSR spent up to a third of every day standing in lines. Olga Grushin has written an entire novel, now out in paperback, about a line.
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The Soviet Coup – 20 Years Later

Twenty years ago, residents of Moscow awoke to the sound of tanks in the streets. There was a coup in the USSR. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who was on vacation in the Crimea, had been put under house arrest by members of his own government. Just about everyone in the former Soviet Union remembers where they were on August 19, l991.
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Gorbachev, Yeltsin and the Demise of the USSR

There are many Russians who say a critical factor in the demise of the USSR was the power struggle that broke out between Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin.
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Stalinism Survivor Runs Gulag Museum In Moscow

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Why Some Russians Miss the Soviet Kommunalka

The Kommunalka was a Soviet experiment in communal living. Entire families were forced to live in a single room, nevertheless some have surprisingly fond memories of the experience.
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The End of the USSR

On Christmas day 20 years ago, news reports around the world announced the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last President of the Soviet Union. With his departure, the USSR dissolved, and the first socialist state was consigned to the dustbin of history. It was the end of an ideology, and an empire. Brigid McCarthy reports on why it all came crashing down.
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Nostalgia for the Soviet Union

The Soviet Union dissolved 20 years ago on Dec. 25. More than half of all Russians now regret that demise, according to a recent poll. Brigid McCarthy visited a restaurant in Moscow that lets nostalgic customers pretend they’re back in the USSR.
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Dealing With Money in Post-Soviet Life

After the collapse of the USSR, Russians and other ex-Soviets had to learn to face a new culture – a money culture. For many, that was a huge shock.
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Grappling With a Post-Soviet Identity

The host of a Russian history program says his TV series, titled Kto my? (Who Are We?), is about Russians understanding themselves.
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Soviet Era Dark Humor Makes a Comeback

Russians were able to survive tough times in the Soviet Union, by making jokes about their leaders. Now, in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, the jokes are back
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