Soviet Union collapse anniversary: Key lessons
The empire seemed unshakeable, boasting a formidable nuclear arsenal and half the world's countries as satellites. Five months earlier, a referendum saw most citizens vote to preserve the USSR. CIA reports indicated that the Soviet Union was unbreakable, and its leadership had the intention and capability to overcome all current challenges.
Within five days, Ukraine declared independence.
Four months later, the Soviet Union ceased to exist as a political entity and geopolitical reality. Its flag was lowered over the Kremlin, and its president resigned.
Analyzing the causes of the USSR's collapse, some point to subjective factors like Gorbachev, Kravchuk, or Yeltsin. However, one person or even three cannot dismantle a powerful empire if it's truly powerful. Clearly, objective reasons were at play: economic troubles, management issues, military failures, environmental disasters, ideological decay, and growing national identities.
The empire survived then, primarily due to the West's reluctance to allow its complete disintegration. The West saved the Russian empire three times in the 20th century, according to Slovak researcher Juraj Mesik. National republics, previously autonomous, began declaring sovereignty, with two even proclaiming independence. However, when Russia initiated the Chechen War, the West chose to support the empire. All attempts at independence were forcefully suppressed, through threats or elite bribery.
We're now witnessing the next stage of the empire's collapse, hopefully the last. Add to the dissolution factors what wasn't present in 1991: an exhausting war, sanctions, conflict with the West, demographic problems, internet presence, positions of strong players like China and Turkey, and success stories of nations liberated in 1991.
The process of imperial collapse is slow but irreversible.
