Fall%20of%20the%20Soviet%20Union

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Fall of the Soviet Union
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Effects of an Independent Media

• The CPSU no longer controlled the media
• The media began to expose severe social and
  economic problems the Soviet government had long
  denied and actively concealed
• Poor housing
• Alcoholism drug abuse
• Pollution
• Outdated Stalin era factories
• Wide spread corruption
• Crimes committed by Stalin and the Soviet regime
  gulags
• The ongoing war in Afghanistan
• Mishandling of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster

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Break-up of the USSR

• Throughout 1990 the 15 republics began having
  independent elections
• Yeltsin elected President of Russia in June 1991
• Independence came first in the Baltics
• Gorby was set to sign a treaty turning the USSR
  into a federation of independent republics with a
  common president, foreign policy and military.
• A coup of his own leadership had him arrested
• Popular support of this coup was limited

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The break up (cont)

• Boris Yeltsin gained popularity by condemning the
  coup against Gorby
• Yeltsin elected as president as a result
• The coup collapsed after 3 days
• Yeltsin issued a decree condemning the CPSU
• December 8, 1991 CIS is agreed upon by Russia,
  Belarus, Ukraine
• On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned as
  president of the USSR
• declaring the office extinct
• ceding all the powers still vested in it to the
  president of Russia Yeltsin

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Creation of the CIS

• 12 of the 15 FSR join between 1991 2000
• Turkmenistan withdrew its membership in 2005, but
  remains an associate member
• Loose confederation
• Cooperate on matters of
• economics
• defense
• foreign policy

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Boris Yeltsin
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• Not exactly democratic (he was the president and
  Prime Minister)
• Economy got worse (hyperinflation) and poverty
  increased
• Coup attempts try to get rid of him
• Rise of communist opposition parties
• He had his opponents who were gathered in the
  Parliament building fired on by Russian tanks
• Dec. 1994 he orders the invasion of the break
  away province of Chechnya

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• Reelected in 1996 barely winning a run off with
  the Communist opposition leader
• Opposed NATO intervention in Yugoslavia he and
  the Americans also disagreed on the Chechen issue
• Resigned at the end of 1999 allegations of
  alcoholism poor health
• Yeltsin chose his successor as Vladimir Putin

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Vladimir Putin
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• KGB agent during Soviet era
• Prime Minister Acting President (Aug. 1999
  May 2000)
• Elected President in May 2000 and reelected in
  2004
• Has enjoyed improving economic conditions and
  improved political stability in Russia (Times
  Person of the Year 07)
• Very wealthy mainly from ownership in oil
  companies
• Putin has made Russia very powerful once again
  with his consolidation of Russias oil resources

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• Began limiting democratic freedoms in the name of
  combating terrorism
• 14 journalists, who have been critical of Putins
  government, have died under questionable
  circumstances
• In 2007, he cracked down on civil society and
  freedom of assembly
• According to the constitution, the Russian
  president can only serve two consecutive terms
• Putin cannot run in 2008, but he could in 2012

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• Dmitry Medvedev has been chosen as Putins
  successor for the United Russia Party
• Medvedev, who will win the 08 election, nominated
  Putin for Prime Minister
• Putin has pledged not to change the distribution
  of authority between president and PM
• many analysts are expecting a shift in the center
  of power from the presidency to the prime
  minister post should Putin assume the role of PM
  under a Medvedev presidency

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Dmitry Medvedev

• Elected March 2008
• Received 70 of vote
• Seen as Putins puppet