Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev, the President of the Soviet Union during the 1980's played an important role do to everything that was going on in Russia. Like the Economic Collapse, and in part because he ended the Soviet Union's postwar domination of East Europe, Fall of the Berlin war Ronald Reagan challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to tear the Berlin wall. Gorbachev also unleashed revolutionary reforms in the Soviet politics and economics. He quickly set about consolidating his personal power in the Soviet leadership. His primary domestic goal was to resuscitate the stagnant Soviet economy after it's years of drift and low growth during Leonid Brezhnev tenure in power (1964-82). To this end, he called for a fast technological modernization and increased worker productivity, and he tried to make cumber-sum Soviet bureaucracy more efficient and responsive. Gorbachev in 1987-88 proceeded to initiate deeper reforms of the soviet economic and political system. Under his new policy of glasnost: freedom of expression and of information were significantly expanded; the press and broadcasting allowed unprecedented candor in their reportage and criticism.
The Fall of The Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was constructed as a way of preventing East Berlin from entering West Berlin. At least 136 people died trying to cross the border. People that tried to get from East to West were regarded as traitors and guards were told to shoot them if they attempted to cross, but not to kill them. The West side of the Berlin wall was covered in graffiti. And the East side was not. The Berlin Wall was something of a propaganda disaster for the Soviet Union and East Germany. In the way they controlled the movements of their willingness to shoot at people they considered being traitors. West Berliners used the Berlin Wall as an ideal way of getting rid of rubbish.
The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI): Star Wars
The strategic defense initiative (SDI) was an anti-ballistic missile system developed by the United States in the1980's and early 1990's during the Reagan administration. The (SDI) was to form a defensive shield against a nuclear missile attack from the Soviet Union. The press designated this program as "star wars" and was often critical for it's extreme cost.
Winter Olympic Game: Miracle on Ice
February 22, 1980 U.S.A. beats The Soviet Union. This Olympic Game was held at Lake Placid, U.S.A . This event was boycotted by over 60 Countries, the U.S being foremost to this protest. During the game, the U.S hockey team who were the underdogs comprising amateurs, won a gold and seasoned the soviets. It is considered as one of the biggest moments in sport events today and one of the best ice hockey games ever to be played.
The Economic Collapse of The Soviet Union
In the 1970's and 1980's the Soviet Union seemed to be one of the most stable political units in the world. Soviet Union was very strong and seemed only getting stronger. But there were many economic problems for the Soviet Stalinist system. One very general problem was the lack of incentives for productivity. But there were more causes for the Soviet Union collapse, about seventy percent of the industrial output of the Soviet Union was going to the military.