Fall of Communism, Essay Example

The fall of the communist Bloc in Eastern Europe marked a turning point in world history. It ended the Cold War and started a modernization process, as well as the integration of Europe. Below the authors would like to review the events that led to the collapse of communist regimes and the freedom of Eastern-Central Europe.

Beissinger (2009) states that the rise of nationalism in the region created a strong opposition towards the Soviet Union’s power over the region. The power of the regime with the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev became weaker, and several liberal parties were able to get organized in different countries. According to Hungarian Spectrum (2009), the main problem was that the empire cost too much for the regime and the Gorbachev government had no intention to keep it alive at the high cost. When the government agreed that the martyrs of the 1956 revolution in Hungary against the Soviet regime would be appropriately buried, there was no opposition from the Soviet part. Indeed, this was the funeral when current Prime Minister, Viktor Orban “sent Russians home” in his speech. The Hungarians played a crucial role in the fall of the Berlin Wall, too. When Hungary opened its borders to allow Eastern Germans to go to Western Germany, the Soviet Union showed no resistance.  (Lorimer, 1997)

It is indeed true that the failure of the Gorbachev reform process weakened the empire, leading to liberal views to spread in the region. However, the lack of economic strength, development and progress also made people turn around from the communist ideology. People stopped believing in the future of the system. The 40-year oppression of national pride resulted in a series of revolutions, and the rebuilding of democratic systems in Eastern and Central Europe.

References

Beissinger, M. (2009) Nationalism and the collapse of Soviet communism. Contemporary European History, 18, 3 (2009), pp. 331–347 Cambridge University Press.

Hungarian Spectrum (2009) Hungary twenty years ago: The rise of Viktor Orbán Retrieved from: https://hungarianspectrum.wordpress.com/2009/06/21/hungary-twenty- years-ago-the- rise-of-viktor-orban/

Lorimer, D. (1997) The Collapse of ‘communism’ in the USSR: Its causes and significance. Resistance Books.