History of the Soviet Union (1982–1991)
The history of the Soviet Union from 1982 through 1991 spans the period from the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev's death until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Due to the years of Soviet military buildup at the expense of domestic development, and complex systemic problems in the command economy, Soviet output stagnated. Failed attempts at reform, a standstill economy, and the success of the proxies of the United States against the Soviet Union's forces in the war in Afghanistan led to a general feeling of discontent, especially in the Soviet-occupied Baltic countries and Eastern Europe.
| Final Years of Soviet Union | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982–1991 | |||
| Location | Soviet Union | ||
| Including | Cold War Revolutions of 1989 | ||
| Leader(s) | Yuri Andropov Konstantin Chernenko Mikhail Gorbachev | ||
| Key events | Soviet–Afghan War Cambodian–Vietnamese War Iran–Iraq War Korean Airlines Flight 007 Kazakh protests Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan 1989 Polish legislative election 1989 Sino-Soviet Summit Pan-European Picnic Fall of the Berlin Wall Czechoslovak Velvet Revolution SU-US Malta Summit Romanian Revolution Parade of sovereignties War of Laws Latvia: The Barricades Lithuania: Bloody Sunday Black January in Baku, Azerbaijan April 9 Tbilisi tragedy 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt Independence of Ukraine Belovezh Accords Alma-Ata Protocol Dissolution of the Soviet Union | ||
Chronology
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Greater political and social freedoms, instituted by the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, created an atmosphere of open criticism of the communist regime, and also perestroika. The dramatic drop of the price of oil in 1985 and 1986 profoundly influenced actions of the Soviet leadership.
Nikolai Tikhonov, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, was succeeded by Nikolai Ryzhkov, and Vasili Kuznetsov, the acting Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, was succeeded by Andrei Gromyko, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Several republics began resisting central control, and increasing democratization led to a weakening of the central government. The Soviet Union finally collapsed in 1991 when Boris Yeltsin seized power in the aftermath of a failed coup that had attempted to topple the reform-minded Gorbachev.