In this article you will learn about the Disintegration of The Soviet Union in Political Science.
Disintegration of The Soviet Union
Disintegration of the USSR and the collapse of the Socialist bloc in the world came as one of the most impressive developments of the last decade of the 20th century and no one has ever imagined it.
The emergence of the USSR as the first socialist state of the World after the Socialist Revolution of 1917 has a great and deep impact on the course and nature of international relations of the first quarter of the 20th century. Likewise, the disintegration of the USSR in 1991, the big decline in the popularity of the ideology of communism and the liquidation of the socialist bloc together acted as an equally big source of formidable impact on international relations of the last decade of the 20th century. It led to the virtual collapse of the Post-War World Order and set the stage world living with strategic and ideological unipolarism and attempting to adjust with the new realities of the post-USSR, post-Socialist bloc, and post-Cold War international relations. It was also trying to ensure and secure a multi-centric world order in place of unipolarity, in fact US unipolarism of the Post-Cold War years.
After the Socialist Revolution of 1917 Russia transformed itself into a very large Federal State i.e. the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (the USSR). It came to be popularly called the Soviet Union. Within about three decades, the USSR emerged as a superpower in the world. However, after having acted and lived for around 70 years as a superpower in world-politics, and after having organised and led the socialist bloc in international relations during this period, the USSR suffered an inglorious disintegration in 1991. Due to its internal economic weakness as well as due to the emergence of a big political turmoil in the era of Glasnost and Perestroika, it failed to keep itself integrated as one sovereign state. All the Union Republic (Members of the Soviet Federal Union - the USSR), one after the other, began declaring themselves as independent sovereign states and the Soviet Federation failed to keep these integrated into one state. Consequently, the USSR suffered a disintegration and all Union Republics (of erstwhile USSR) became independent states. The flag of the USSR came down on 31st December 1991, and was replaced by the flag of Russia, which became the successor state of the (erstwhile) USSR.
Even before the total disintegration of the USSR in 1991, three of its Union Republics (Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania) had become independent sovereign states. All other Union Republics, one after the other, have also declared their independence. Nine of the republics had decided to unite into a loose confederation of independent states with the name Commonwealth of Independent State (CIS). Georgia, however, decided to remain away from the CIS. All this happened within a short span of four years (1987-1991) and thus, the last quarter of the year 1991 witnessed the disintegration of a super power - the USSR and total liqualistion of socialist bloc. Russia became the successor state of the erstwhile Soviet Union and inherited the Soviet Red Army Nuclear Key and other assets.
This happened at a time when the cold war had come to an end. The Eastern European Countries had started becoming non-communist liberalising countries committed to the principles of economic-political liberalisation, decentralisation, democracy, peaceful coexistence and cooperation with all other states, including the Western European states, for securing rapid sustainable development and growth. The changes that started coming began becoming instrumental in giving a new look and content to international relations of the last decade of the 20th century and the 21st century dawned in this environment.
Thus, the disintegration of the USSR and collapse of the Socialist Bloc together led to several big changes in the world order of the Post-Cold War period. After having remained as one of the two superpowers in world politics, the USSR got confined to the pages of history in 1991. Its place was taken over by Russia, and several other new independent states out of the USSR none of which was, however, individually or collectively in a position to actually take over the role of the (erstwhile) USSR in world politics.
This article on Disintegration of The Soviet Union in Political Science is contributed by Dipshikha Anand. If you like LawStudyPoint.com do follow us on our Twitter handle.