The Collapse of the Soviet Union

The dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991, was one of the most consequential events of the 20th century — the end of a 74-year experiment in state socialism, the conclusion of the Cold War, and the birth of fifteen independent nations from the ruins of a superpower. It happened with stunning speed: in 1985, few predicted the Soviet Union would not survive the decade.

Mikhail Gorbachev, who became Soviet leader in 1985, introduced reforms intended to save the system: glasnost (openness) allowed unprecedented criticism and debate, while perestroika (restructuring) attempted economic modernization. But rather than strengthening the Soviet state, these reforms exposed its failures and empowered those who wanted more radical change. Nationalist movements erupted across the Soviet republics, from the Baltic states to Ukraine to the Caucasus.

A failed coup attempt by communist hardliners in August 1991 accelerated the collapse. Boris Yeltsin, standing on a tank outside the Russian parliament, became the face of resistance. One by one, Soviet republics declared independence. On December 25, Gorbachev resigned, and the Soviet flag was lowered over the Kremlin for the last time. The collapse reshaped global politics, ended the bipolar world order, and left a legacy of unresolved questions about nationalism, empire, and the future of the post-Soviet space.