Abstract
The writer argues that Chechnya is just one example of the fact that the old Soviet Union was never truly unified and instead kept the various provinces in line through sheer force. The paper looks at the history of the fall of the Soviet Union and the opportunity this gave the tiny Chechnya to fight for independence. The paper then gives details of the war and the ways in which the Chechyns have found success.

From the Paper
"Chechnya is about the size of Connecticut, with a population of 1.3 million people, making up less than one percent of the population of the Russian Federation from which it set out to secede. The war that stated there was seen from the firs as having the chance to deal a blow to the endangered and incipient democratic reforms in Russia (Church 116). Indeed, the debacle in Chechnya did cause a shift in the way other republics viewed Russia. In 1996 and 1997, most of the 89 regional governments in the Russian Federation held elections for governors. In the past, these positions had been filled by people appointed by Moscow, and a governor who disobeyed could be replaced by someone more obedient. Now, many of the regions elected governors who were independent-minded, and less than half of Moscow's hand-picked candidates won the 1996 elections. These new governors no longer fear Russia's military power precisely because Chechnya's small guerrilla army handed Russia such a humiliating defeat. This now means that he only power Moscow has left is that it controls the purse strings. This is problematic as well given that Russia's national treasury is nearly empty and that Moscow has been forced to cut its flow of money to the regions, further weakening the central government's control over the regions ("Russia--Republics")."

Tags:war, Soviet, Union, independence, Moscow, guerilla

Abstract
This paper examines the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. It identifies legitimation problems and economic problems that undermined the authority of these regimes. When this was coupled with the devolution of the Soviet Union, domestic opponents of the regime were able to assume power.

From the Paper
"INTRODUCTION

Relations between Japan and the Soviet Union have been much affected by the strategic position of Japan. It is relatively near the Atlantic coast of the old Soviet Union and current Russia. Japanese foreign policy has been conducted in terms of the geography of the country, with the four main islands of Japan standing off the coast of East Asia, near the peninsula of Korea, and surrounded by other islands, including the currently disputed Sakhalin and Kurile Islands to the north. Relations have shifted over the years, and Japan has drawn closer to the rest of the world as technology has improved:
The power of Russia, China, and the United States and the policies of these countries toward Japan have changed dramatically during the past fifty years. But ..."

Abstract
This paper discusses how the Republic of Georgia is a nation with its own history and now like so many other republics freed after the fall of the Soviet Empire, Georgia is reinventing its past and rediscovering what has been lost, forgotten, or distorted during the years of Soviet rule. It examines the factors that led up to its declaration of independence, the leaders involved, its economy then and now and the direction in which the country is headed.

From the Paper
"In 1999, Pope John Paul visited the predominantly Orthodox Georgia. However, despite his pleas for closer ties between the two churches, "no Orthodox clergy attended his mass" (Sheets pg). His visit was seen by Georgians as more political than religious, helping to shine the international spotlight on Georgia. In his homily, the Pope expressed, "With its culture, history and faith, Georgia has always looked towards the West and has made its own contribution to Christian Europe" (Sheets pg). He went on to describe Georgia as a "model of respect and tolerance towards other religions and noted that places of worship for Christians, Jews and Moslems stood close together in Tbilisi" (Sheets pg)."

Tags:soviet, empire, culture, religion, Russia

Abstract
This research paper discusses various aspects of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, including the reasons why the communist system and ideology in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) failed, the legacy bequeathed by communism to the successor states which emerged, the political, economic and social challenges that arose in those states and how those states responded to those challenges.
A number of inter-related factors led to the disintegration of the Soviet system and empire, including the woeful inadequacy of the totalitarian police state, dogmatic communist ideology and centralized planned economy which evolved after the Russian Revolution of 1917

From the Paper
"SOVIET SUCCESSOR STATES

This research paper discusses various aspects of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, including the reasons why the communist system and ideology in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) failed, the legacy bequeathed by communism to the successor states which emerged, the political, economic and social challenges that arose in those states and how those states responded to those challenges.
A number of inter-related factors led to the disintegration of the Soviet system and empire, including the woeful inadequacy of the totalitarian police state, dogmatic communist ideology and centralized planned economy which evolved after the Russian Revolution of 1917 in preparing the Soviet Union to meet the requirements of the late 20th century, international developments ..."

From the Paper
"International Crises
Many theorists in the field of international relations maintain that 1989 was a watershed year. In fact, they argue that 1989 stands out as "a dramatic divide in contemporary history, in some respects comparable to the French Revolution two hundred years earlier" (Simensen, 1999, p. 391). Thus, Jarle Simensen asserts that the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, the end of the Cold War, and the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union inaugurated a new era in international relations (Simensen, 1999, p. p. 3). The significance of the Cold War to the development of international relations cannot be overstated. In fact, Simensen notes that international relations as a subdiscipline of political science developed during the Cold War (1999, p. 395). On the other hand, the Persian Gulf War demonstrates that no .."

Abstract
The paper argues that the collapse of the Soviet Union was fundamentally a result of economic inefficiency, rampant corruption and increased contact with the west, and their combined effect of causing widespread disillusionment among the Soviet population with the regime. The paper further argues that Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms and the events which followed simply provided a perfect opportunity for these seeds of disillusionment to sprout.

From the Paper
"Following the Stalinist era, the Soviet Union saw a stagnation of its economy and a subsequent widening of the gap between the living standards of the capitalist west and the Soviet Union. Although, due to the untrustworthy nature of Soviet archives, it is hard, if not impossible, to gain concrete evidence in the form of economic statistics to back this argument, other forms of research such as that done by D. Chirot and A. Dallin provide just as valid proof for this argument. It is hard to define the exact causes of this economic stagnation, however, a broad but good explanation is that it was a result of both the flaws of a socialist economy and poor decisions by the regime. Chirot argued that the socialist economy was fundamentally flawed because; investment and production decisions were made by political will, quantities and prices of goods and services were fixed by administrative order, international trade was controlled, and finally that the measure of success for firms depended on its ability to build more, maintain employment and attract political directed investment."

Tags:economy, corruption, west, disillusionment, Gorbachev, glasnost

Abstract
This paper highlights the portions of Ronald Reagan's foreign policy that confronted the Soviet Union in ways that forced the United States to spend large amounts of money. The foreign policy issues that are examined include Afghanistan, The Iran-Contra Affair, Reagan's support of Eastern-European Dissidents and Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, (also known as "Star Wars"). Afghanistan is heavily analyzed, with a breakdown of significant historical points, such as the introduction of the US-made Stinger missile, which stripped the USSR of air superiority. The Iran-Contra affair is included as a way to demonstrate Reagan's willingness to confront communism everywhere. This was a marked policy shift from Jimmy Carter and caught the USSR off guard. The Strategic Defense Initiative is analyzed and is linked to an increased amount of money being spent by the USSR on research and development. The support of dissidents by Reagan is looked at as well, with the conclusion that with relatively little amounts of effort, Reagan's foreign policy fomented large amounts of political opposition to the Soviet Union in Eastern European satellite countries. This caused the Soviet Union to spend money combating this problem as well, with their spy apparatus. Definitive numbers are given that explain just how much the Soviet Union spending increased while Reagan was in office.

From the Paper
"In the 1980's, a swirling of events converged to form a perfect storm that met the conditions for bringing down what Ronald Reagan termed the "evil empire." The first incident was that Old School communists in the Politburo sought to make an impression in Central Asia, but found stalwart resistance in The Gipper. Second, Reagan's abrupt shift from Carter's lax foreign policy took the Soviets by surprise, with the new administration's desire to challenge communism on every front possible; out of this desire came the ill-fated support of the contras, along with the hugely successful backing of Eastern European dissidents, namely the Solidarity movement in Eastern Europe. The third event in Reagan's foreign policy shift that took the world by surprise was the administration's renunciation of the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction; Reagan took the steps of beginning a Ballistic Missile Defense program, which he coined the Strategic Defense Initiative. The Soviets, with few options of recourse, were forced to make concessions that led to the implosion of the "evil empire" shortly afterward. Thus, by applying a policy of confrontation of spreading Communism, bleeding the Soviets in Afghanistan by supporting the mujahideen, and abruptly announcing a paradigm shift in American foreign policy with the Strategic Defense Initiative, Ronald Reagan certainly hastened, if not caused the downfall of the USSR."

Tags:cold, war, CIA, Uzbekistan

Abstract
This paper discusses that the Cold War dominated international politics while it lasted as the two major world powers, United States and the Soviet Union, were locked in intense political and ideological rivalry. The author points out that although the Cold War started after the Second World War, it had its roots in the events that occurred towards the end of World War I. The author believes that the policies of Perestroika and Glasnost by the Mikhail accelerated the collapse of Communism and ended the Cold War.

From the Paper
"One of the most serious Cold War events was the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. It occurred in a dangerous standoff between the Soviets and the US when the latter discovered the secret deployment of Soviet nuclear missiles in Communist Cuba. Only sensible decision making by the US President (Kennedy) and the Soviet leader (Khrushchev) who ignored the advice of "hawks" prevented a nuclear holocaust. Events that led to the ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union were triggered by the policies of the Reagan administration which stepped up military spending that the ailing economy of the Soviet Union was unable to match. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 to prop up a communist regime resulted in a costly war for the Russians and proved to be the last straw."

Tags:perestroika, glasnost, cuba, wwi, reagan

Abstract
This essay addresses communism in the USSR, and why it was doomed to fail. Reasons behind the break-up of the USSR are discussed as well as Mikhail Gorbachev's structural overhaul, Glasnost and Perestroika and the effects of these policies. Lastly, the paper addresses why the USSR break-up occurred relatively peacefully.

From the Paper
"The seeds of disintegration of the Soviet Union were sown even as it formally began in 1922. Even as the shift to communism was made through the barrel of a gun, numerous individuals, ethnic groups and organizations such as the mainstream churches resisted their new communist masters. And while their resistance was stifled by violent and brutal measures, such as occurred in 1956 in Hungary and in 1965 in Czechoslovakia, resistance to communism continued, albeit underground. Like a festering boil in which pressure builds up over time, resistance to the central communist authorities in Moscow, within Russia and ultimately throughout the Soviet Empire, increased steadily. "

Tags:communism, glasnost, gorbachev, perestroika, soviet, union