Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate?

The main factors behind the disintegration of USSR are as follows –

• Economic Weakness – The citizens of USSR were dissatisfied with the weak economy present during that time. The economic weakness was mostly due to spending on military, maintenance of satellite states in Eastern Europe along with the Central Asian Republics. There was also a huge shortage of consumer goods leading to general poverty.

• Political Un-accountability – The single party rule that existed in USSR for nearly 70 years had turned authoritarian. The system was widely corrupted and there was an inherent lack of transparency. Gorbachev decided to allow elections with a multi-party system and create a presidency for the Soviet Union. This eventually destabilized Communist control and contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union as it began a slow process of democratization.

• Gorbachev’s reforms – The reforms brought about freedom which made the public demand for more and it was difficult to control.

• Rise of nationalism – The most important and immediate cause of the disintegration of the USSR was a rise of nationalism among countries like Russia, Baltic republics, Ukraine, Georgia etc.