The Fall of the Soviet Union: A turning point in

global geopolitics

On December 25, 1991, the Soviet hammer and sickle flag lowered for the
last time over the Kremlin, marking the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
How did external pressures, such as the Cold War, intensify the internal
challenges faced by the USSR and ultimately lead to its collapse?

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, right, talks with former Soviet President Mikhail
Gorbachev at the start of a news conference at the Castle of Gottorf in Schleswig, northern
Germany, Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2004.

On December 25, 1991, the Soviet hammer and sickle flag lowered for the last time over the
Kremlin, marking the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). It was a
watershed moment in history that not only dismantled a superpower but also brought about a
seismic shift in global geopolitics.

The Russia-Ukraine War and other evolving global conflicts can be traced back to the
enduring legacy of the Soviet Union’s collapse and its impact on contemporary geopolitics.
But what were the internal factors and external challenges that led to the collapse of the
Soviet Union?
 THE FORMATION OF THE SOVIET UNION

The Soviet Union had its origin in the Russian Revolution of 1917, which ended the rule of
the Romanov dynasty (1613-1917). The Romanovs were an autocratic monarchy, with the
Tsar (an emperor of Russia before 1917) holding absolute power over the government,
military, and society. Protests and strikes against autocratic rule, rising inequality and the
worsening economic situation began from March 8, 1917 onwards – coinciding with
February 23 in the Julian Calendar that was still used in Tsarist Russia, hence famous in
history as the February Revolution.

The protests culminated in the ouster of Tsar Nicholas II on March 15, 1917. Subsequently, a
Provisional Government, dominated by social-democratic leaders, was established. But the
Provisional Government had to share power with the Petrograd Soviet or “Workers’
Councils” that simultaneously came up across the empire. However, disagreements between
the Petrograd Soviet, dominated by socialist factions like the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks,
and the Provisional government continued to deepen.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Lenin, the Marxist leader living in exile, returned while the Bolsheviks
gained majority support in the Petrograd Soviet. In September 1917, Leon Trotsky became
Chairman of the Petrograd Soviet, strengthening the Bolshevik position. On November 7,
1917 (25 October in the Julian calendar), Lenin and Trotsky together led the first truly
Communist Revolution, famous in history as the “October Revolution”, when the Red Army
stormed the Palace in Petrograd (present-day St. Petersburg) and arrested the leaders of the
Provisional Government.

Lenin declared the thesis of “all power to the Soviets” and was subsequently appointed as the
Head of the Soviet Government. However, the Red Army had to fight a bloody battle against
the White Guards (conservatives) and other anti-Bolshevik forces. The conflict lasted until
1922, with the Red Army ultimately emerging victorious. On December 30, 1922, the Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was formally declared, marking the establishment of
the first communist state in history.

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REVOLUTION AND REINVENTION: THE MAKING OF THE FIRST ONE-PARTY
STATE

After the initial chaos, the Bolsheviks or the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU)
eliminated rival ideologies, transforming Soviet Russia into a one-party state. They sought to
reshape polity, society, and human thought in line with Marxist-Leninist ideology.
Consequently, they emerged as influential political innovators of the 20th century,
introducing new, unique institutions, socio-political vocabulary and mass mobilisation
strategies.

Historian Peter Kenez aptly noted, “Their legitimacy was not to be based on popular
sovereignty, but on the conviction that they understood the movement of history. They stood
for a better, socialist future for mankind.”

The policies of “war communism” (the economic and political policies implemented by the
Bolshevik government during the Russian Civil War between 1918 and 1921) ushered in the
nationalisation of industries, while Lenin’s New Economic Policy in 1921 sought to stabilise
the economy and address growing unrest. The Soviet Union also implemented the Five Year
Plans and forced collectivisation of agriculture, which helped it in emerging as an industrial
superpower within a few decades. In addition, the Soviet regime also introduced progressive
measures such as universal education, healthcare, equal rights to women, alongside massive
cultural and literacy campaigns.

Notably, the Soviet state’s governance blended party and government functions, often
overlapping in responsibilities. The Council of People’s Commissars served as the
government’s executive branch, but it derived its power from the CPSU and its cadres. Mass
organisations like the Komsomol (youth organisations), Zhenotdel (women’s organisation),
trade unions and others acted as “transmission belts”, connecting the party to the people and
serving as a tool of feedback mechanism.

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 SOVIET UNION LEADERS: FROM STALIN TO GORBACHEV

The rules of Soviet leaders – Joseph Stalin (1924–1953), Nikita Khrushchev (1953–1964),
Leonid Brezhnev (1964–1982), and Mikhail Gorbachev (1985-1991) – were marked by
distinct approaches to governance, reflecting the changing priorities and challenges of the
Soviet Union during the 20th century.

Joseph Stalin
Under Stalin, the Soviet Union became increasingly centralised as he outmanoeuvred his
political opponents, including Trotsky and Nikolai Bukharin through purges. The Great Purge
of 1936 targeted intellectuals, artists, economists, workers and peasants. However, this era of
“bloody terror” also saw impressive industrial growth and consequent social transformations
as well as the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, which made Stalin
a national hero.

Nikita Khrushchev
After Stalin’s death in 1953, Khrushchev continued with some critical Stalinist institutions
like one-party system, prison camps, political police, and collective farms, but also
introduced reforms and a “thaw” in political and intellectual spheres. Some victims of
Stalin’s purges were rehabilitated, and political openness increased modestly.
Khrushchev’s notable reforms included the “Virgin Land Programme”, aimed at cultivating
new lands in Central Asia and southern Siberia, and the doctrine of “peaceful coexistence”
with the West. His tenure also witnessed the emergence of a consumer-oriented society and
the rise of material culture in the USSR.

Leonid Brezhnev
Under Brezhnev, the Soviet Union achieved international prominence as a global superpower
and maintained internal stability. His tenure was marked by consensus-driven governance and
“real, existing socialism”. But Brezhnev’s era lacked bold reforms and saw economic
stagnation. Consequently, it became the “golden age” for Nomenklatura (the Soviet elite).
While Brezhnev provided stability, his leadership failed to address the underlying issues that
would later contribute to the Soviet Union’s decline.

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Mikhail Gorbachev
When Gorbachev came to power in 1985, the Soviet Union stood on the brink of
transformation. After Gorbachev assumed the office of the General Secretary in March 1985,
particularly since the April Plenum, the Soviet government revamped its policies to tackle the
impending western challenges. Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika
(restructuring) aimed to revitalise the stagnating system.

However, Soviet intellectuals and conservatives expressed concerns that opening the USSR
to Western ideas and information could undermine its cultural values, political stability, and
ideological sovereignty. In 1988, a Soviet observer, Sergei Drozhin wrote
in Zhurnalist, warning that the “free flow of global ideas and information would contaminate
the intellectual environment and would threaten cultural and political sovereignty.”

Nonetheless, Gorbachev wanted the “democratisation” of polity, and held competitive

Thus, years of economic strain, coupled with social resentment and growing nationalist
fervour, culminated in widespread unrest. Simultaneously, Russian nationalism surged under
Boris Yeltsin, who became the President of the Russian Republic in June 1991 and began to
act independently of the Soviet Union.

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 INTERNAL FAULTLINES AND EXTERNAL PRESSURES

By the late 1980s, the USSR faced challenges from within and abroad. Gorbachev’s reforms
inadvertently exposed internal contradictions. He envisioned transforming the USSR into a
“voluntary union” of sovereign states under a new Constitution, but this initiative came too
late to prevent the disintegration of the union.

The Eastern Bloc countries — comprising the USSR and its Warsaw Pact allies such as
Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia — chose to transition to democracy. The rise of
nationalism in the Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia), Ukraine and Caucasus
further aggravated the situation as they began declaring independence.

The Cold War between the two superpowers – the USA and the USSR – exacerbated the
latter’s internal crises. Above all, it represented a clash of ideologies – capitalist democracy
versus state-controlled socialism. At the height of the Cold War, the global information
revolution appeared to potentially dislodge the Soviet Union and its ideology. In the
meanwhile, the arms race, expensive nuclear programmes, and proxy wars in Vietnam,
Afghanistan, and elsewhere had drained the Soviet economy.

The USSR’s defeat in Afghanistan in 1989 was seen as one of the last major jolts when
Soviet troops faced humiliation from the US-backed Mujahideen. The fall of the Berlin Wall
in November 1989 symbolically heralded the beginning of the end. Internally, an attempted
coup (Putsch) by Communist hardliners in August 1991 further destabilised the country.
Although the Putschists failed, like in 1917, it underscored the weakening grip of the
Communist Party.

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 THE FINAL BLOW: DISSOLUTION

In the aftermath, the Communist Party was immediately banned in Russia, and one by one,
Soviet republics declared independence, starting with the Baltic states. By December 1991,
Gorbachev found himself the President of a Union that no longer existed.

Finally, on December 8, 1991, the Presidents of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine met to formally
dissolve the USSR and create the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). On December
21, eight additional republics joined the CIS in Alma Ata. However, the Baltic states and
Georgia opted out.

On the evening of December 25, 1991, Gorbachev finally appeared on state television to
announce his resignation, acknowledging that “the old system collapsed before a new one had
time to start working.” The Soviet flag was lowered for the last time, symbolising the end of
the USSR, and the cessation of a global superpower.

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 POST READ QUESTIONS

What role did economic stagnation and the inefficiencies of the planned economy play in the
Soviet Union’s dissolution?

How did Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost and perestroika accelerate the fall of the USSR?
How did the end of the Soviet Union reshape the balance of power in global geopolitics,
especially for the United States?

What impact did the collapse of the USSR have on the global perception of socialism and
communism?

How does the legacy of the Soviet Union’s collapse continue to influence contemporary
conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war?

By, Mohammad Reyaz, a PhD in International Studies from Jamia Millia Islamia and
works as an Assistant Professor at Aliah University, Kolkata.

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