The collapse of USSR in 1991 was caused by internal problems and had

nothing to do with the Cold War. Assess this view.

The collapse of USSR is defined as the establishment of the commonwealth
of independent states on 21 December 1991. However, as soon as the
August Coup was launched, USSR fate to cease in existence was already
sealed. No doubt internal problems such economic decline and separatist
sentiments are the root cause of the collapse of USSR in 1991, Cold War
brought forward the collapse of USSR in 1991. Therefore, this essay seeks to
argue that the collapse of USSR in 1991 was predominantly caused by
internal problems, but Cold War development such as the collapse of
communism in Eastern Europe in 1989 and Reagans military buildup and his
policies instilled and worsened feelings among the hardliners that
Gobachevs weakness to control the situation and that the dominance of
USSR and CPSU was under threat, causing them to launch the August Coup.
Not only did Gobachevs domestic policies in bid to resolve the internal
problems such as economic decline of USSR increase resentment and thus
separatist feelings, they also angered the hardliners, and thus laid grounds
for its ultimate dissolution. To purge the system off corruption and
inefficiency, and to gather public support for his reforms, not knowing that it
would go beyond his control, in late 1986, Gobachev introdu
ced
glasnost which entailed a series of political reforms and made the systemic
inefficiencies of USSR as exemplified by the 1986 Chernobyl Incident very
clear. On the other hand, parestroika worsened the economy and increased
political discontent. By the beginning of 1991, gross national production has
fallen by 2%. To appease the people, and in part also to shift power away
from the hardliners to smoothen the process of his reforms, in June 1988,
Gobachev replaced the Supreme Soviet with the new Congress of Peoples
Deputies, two-third of whose members were chosen directly through
elections. Although the partys privileged position guaranteed by Article 6 of
the Soviet constitution was not abolished until 1990, Gobachevs domestic
policies nevertheless effected a fundamental shift in the balance of political
power within USSR. This discredited Gobachev in the eyes of the hardliners
because they saw it as a threat to the dominance of CPSU. More importantly,
under the stimulus of these instruments he set in, public opinion increasingly
swayed towards Boris Yeltsin, the politician who wanted full democracy and
capitalism, such that by the time August Coup occurred, there was no way he
could restore his position and status, thereby cementing the fall of USSR.
However, Cold War development such as the liberation of satellite states also
worsened the feelings among the hardliners that Gobachevs weakness was
threatening the dominance of USSR, leading to its fall. When Gobachevs
December 1988 UN speech sparked off a wave of anti-communist movement
across Eastern Europe, not only did Gobachev not clamp down on the
movements, he even disallowed the old-line communist officials to do so by

threatening to remove them if they did. Even though the strongman in

Romania, Nicolae Caeusescu, managed to mobilise his troops to fire at the
demonstrators, he was promptly overtaken and executed. As such, following
Solidaritys accession to power in the June 1989, Hungary, Bulgaria,
Czechoslovakia and the rest of Eastern Europe also abandoned communism.
More importantly, the liberation of satellite states triggered and inspired the
republics within USSR to follow suit and break away. In March 1990, Lithuania
led the way by defiantly declaring independence. Then Latvia, Estonia,
Georgia, Ukraine and Armenia followed suit. In response, in December 1990,
Gobachev reshuffled his government to include several notorious hardliners,
thereby setting the platform for the outbreak of the August Coup. On the
other hand, trying to maintain his liberal credentials, he formulated the
Union Treaty. Prior to this, the hardliners were already angered by the fact
that he caused the demise of the Soviet empire. In doing so, he incurred the
wrath of the hardliners because they saw his concession to nationalism as a
betrayal of the integrity of USSR, causing them to launch the August Coup.
Furthermore, Cold War development such as Reagans military buildup and
his policies also brought about the de facto surrender of USSR in terms of the
arms race, the ideological conflict and superpower rivalry which in turn
infused and gradually built up feelings among the hardliners that Gobachevs
weakness was threatening the dominance of USSR, contributing to their
intent to launch the August Coup. Ronald Reagan launched in 1981 the 5year
$1.5trillion defense program for 1982-1986 which included 2 strategic
weapons systems, MX ICBM and Trident II SLBM to drastically increase
American military power. Reagan also funded the Strategic Defense Initiative
(SDI), which the Kremlin dreaded because it would give the US the ability to
strike unilaterally at USSR. As a result, Gobachev swallowed a drastically
asymmetrical reduction of thermal nuclear weapons to put an end to the
arms race. Whereas the US only had to destroy 293 launchers, USSR had to
destroy 851 launchers. On top of that, Gobachev even accepted a
remarkably intrusive monitoring system that included short notice, on-site
inspections by the other signatory to ensure compliance. Reagans Third
World policies which supported rebel movements in areas with sovietsupported government such as Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Angola and
Cambodia, through the provision of large amount of weapons and military
trainings, and more covertly, through the suspension of economic aid, also
raised the cost of Soviet military and economic aid to its client states.
Consequentially, the resistance forces, particularly in Afghanistan, bled the
Soviets both militarily and economically so much so that by late 1988, USSR
had to withdraw from the Third World. Coupled with Reagans insistence on
his ballistic missile plans which obstructed the adoption of START
agreements, Gobachev abandoned the concept of international class
struggle and announced his unilateral venture to reduced Soviet troops by
500,000 in his 1988 UN speech. All of these built up a feeling of distrust
towards Gobachev among the hardliners such that when he initiated the

Union Treaty in November 1990, the accumulated feelings of distrust would

be triggered to set in motion the August Coup.
In conclusion, internal problems predominantly caused the collapse of USSR
because it caused Gobachev to carry out his half-hearted reforms in trying to
strike a middle ground between the hardliners and the liberals, thereby
alienating both and in turn creating political disunity which segregated the
country. However, Cold War development also contributed to the fall of USSR
because it built up a feeling of distrust towards Gobachev among the
hardliners which fuelled their intent to carry out the Coup. Even though
internal problems are more significant than Cold War development in
influencing the hardliners to carry out the Coup because they concern
problems that are inherent to the sovereignty of USSR, Cold War
development nevertheless built up a momentum of discontent towards
Gobachev in the hardliners that brought about the Coup. Hence, the fall of
USSR does have something to do with the Cold War.