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Tessa Legere World History Mr. Tuz 6 June 2013 People of the Former Soviet Union In 1912, Vladimir Putin introduced communism into the Soviet Union. He told the people of a government that would "save them from their despair."(Kenez) He told of a way to "bring back [their] wealth."(Country Studies) Before, all the people had known was a totalitarian state. The Soviet Union rarely changed, therefore, Putin's suggestion of a new form of government was drastic. In the end, his answer was communism. Communism was the only legal ruling political party at the time after Putin introduced the concept to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union became one of the largest communist organizations in the world. Little did the people know that this so called savior would be the factor that tears them apart and destroy the very thread that holds them together. The people didn't know that communism, the government that seemed to " hold all the answers to their problems" (Kenez), would be the cause of their downfall. Although communism was viewed as a lifesaving form of government, it was also the very force that brought the people of the Soviet Union to war, destroyed their" living standards by degrading their economy and rip families apart through war and death." (Kenez) Soon after communism was introduced into the Soviet Union, the country begins to lose economic power. Much of the manpower and resources had been used in the Cold War and in keeping the Iron Curtain separated from the rest of the world. Trade and production slowly

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began to waver. The country became one of "dwindling resource and desperate citizens."(Buchar) A strong sense of nationalism began to break out over the Soviet Union states. Civil wars began to break out across the country. Soon the Soviet Union begins to collapse and individual states soon emerged. The Iron Curtain wanted to become their own individual states free from Soviet rule and communism. They wanted free elections and equal rights for all. The states began to become wary of each other and form alliances. Some states banded together with other to become stronger nations, others would fade into the background and be neutral, undistinguished countries. Some were too weak to defend themselves. The weak countries lacked the economic and manpower to overcome the dictatorship and ruling of communism. They were swallowed by stronger and more dominate countries who could "sustain themselves against the threat of communism".(Kenez) Soon all that was left became Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Moldova, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Estonia. The Soviet Union had many problems. The economy was" rapidly plummeting into depths never seen before, people were starving from lack of food, and the country was in ruins." (Kenez) The leaders were turned against each other and fed the other false information. Leaders would tell another about how "another nation had acquired a deadly weapon or a form of society that would please the other." (Kenez) Soon no one began to trust each other. They began to conspire against each other. The political failures made the people question the government and its leadership. War soon broke out over the countries. There were some alliances and many rivalries. Countries began to band together to conqueror their enemies. The war began to create an unsafe environment for all the people. the countries sought out to destroy the enemies and take their resources for themselves.

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The people of the former Soviet Union soon came to realize that war cannot always solve their problems. But they wouldn't and couldn't stop. Fighting every minute of their existence caused even more problems for them. The economy began to collapse. Trade and production started to falter and eventually halt. There wasn't a "sufficient flow of resources to support the people of the Union." (Kenez) There was a lack of nationalism. Some of the citizens didn't know whether to fight for communism or for another form of government. They didn't know whether No one knew who and what to fight for anymore. Before they knew it, their world was in chaos. The people of the former Soviet Union suffered under the oppressive rule and struggled to maintain their wellbeing in the middle of a battlefield. The people didn't want part of the "bloody mess [that] was once a home to many prospering nations." (Buchar) Many of the men were enlisted for the war and left their wives, mothers, children, and siblings home to bear the oppression by themselves. The people went from a prospering state to a dwindling state. In the span of 50 years, the people found themselves in the mists of a living hell. What was once their heaven, was now the bane of their existence.

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Works Cited "A Country Study: Soviet Union (Former). "Soviet Union (Former) : Country Studies. Federal Research Division, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. "The Cold War Museum." Cold War Museum. N.p., n.d. Wed. 27 Feb. 2013. WebsiteLinkTagsEditDelete Buchar, Robert. "The "Collapse" of Communism: The Untold Story." Interview by Jarni Galzov. The "Collapse" of Communism. Frontline Interview, 26 Apr. 2010. Web 16 Feb. 2013 <Http://frontpagemag.com/2010/jamie-glazov/the"collapse"-of-communism/> "Leadership,": Effects of Oppression and Equality. N.p., 17 Apr. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. WebsiteLinkTagsEditDelete Kenez, Peter. A History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to the End. New York Cambridge UP, 2006. Print. BooksTagsEditDelete