The disintegration of the USSR is a natural result of the policy of restructuring

Abstract

By the mid-1980s, the situation in the Soviet Union required a change of the economy and the socio-political sphere of the country. The crisis of power had the greatest impact on the country’s devel- opment. When M.S. Gorbachev came to power in March 1985, not only was age significantly different from his predecessors but also an assessment of the established situation in the State. In April 1985, Gorbachev announced to accelerate economic and social development, which was transformed into a programme of restructuring that, also affected the country’s political system. However, Gorbachev’s ideas for a smooth transformation of the structure of the Soviet state actually faced with a sharp increase in social tensions due to a significantly deteriorating standard of living and manifestations of the first inter-ethnic conflicts. In 1988-1989, it became clear that the reforms had aggravated the situation of the USSR and became the springboard for the start of disintegration processes in 1990. The State’s foreign policy has been changed significantly, according to «new political thinking», as a result, the positions of the Soviet Union in the international arena was critically weakened. All these circumstances have led to the dissolution of the Union in 1991. Many of the consequences of this event still have a tangible impact for the development of 15 independent states.

Key words: perestroika, publicity policy, Plenum of CC CPSU, acceleration, new political thinking,

M.S. Gorbachev, B.N. Eltsin, A.N. Yakovlev, R. Reagan, Cold War, demilitarization, fall of the USSR.