Angela BrownKelly BettencourtAdvisory 1118 March 2014The Collapse of the Soviet UnionThe symbols of communism are the hammer and sickle, on a red background, drawn in the center of a star. If these symbols represent a strong society that has prospered so well, then why was the hammer brought down so hard on the Soviet Union in 1991? First, the cause of the decline of the Soviet Union will be discussed. Next, the details that caused the total collapse of the Soviet Union will be described. Finally, the actions that could have been taken to prevent the fall of the great country will be explained. As with most events in history, there were many different factors as to why the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. These factors included, but were not limited to: a stagnant economy, the quagmire of Afghanistan, perestroika, decentralization, Glasnost, the Chernobyl disaster, local nationalism, lack of economic incentives, excessive military concentration, reduced fear motivation and ethnic fragmentation. With the government focused on so many useless things, as well as being transparent and secretive, and with people becoming more nationalistic and wanting their freedom away from the government, it is not surprising that the Union has collapsed so drastically. For a country to prosper successfully, it must have a strong and stable economy, otherwise it will not be able to support itself or its population, and the government will fall apart. The Soviet Union was a huge country; so enormous, in fact, that it has become too complicated to continue state planning. The complex Soviet economy became too large for state planners to manage. This resulted in a failure to respond promptly to ongoing requests for information on the Chernobyl disaster and local nationalism. The government should have provided more incentives to turn the economy around, gaining the support of the population. Part of strengthening the economy would have been if the Soviets had not taken part in such an extreme military buildup. Finally, if propaganda had not been so focused on ethnic Slavs and Russia seen as the more dominant state, non-Russian groups would have remained within the country during difficult times, strengthening the overall civilization. Ultimately, the collapse of the Soviet Union was caused by the corrupt government and the people within it. The cause of the Soviet Union's decline has been debated. Next, the details that caused the total collapse of the Soviet Union were described. Finally, the actions that could have been taken to avoid the fall of the great country were explained.