Political,social,and economicial collapse of communism - Essay Example

Political, Social, and Economical Collapse of Communism Sur College Political, Social, and Economical Collapse of Communism The fall of the Communism in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were without a doubt one of the greatest political event of XX century. Due to the fact that the very change of power in most of communist countries was relatively bloodless these upheavals are often called Velvet revolutions. Furthermore the fall of the Communism in Eastern Europe is often viewed as spontaneous revolution resulting of long-accumulated economic, social and political pressures.

Nevertheless having traded totalitarianism for democracy both Russian and Eastern Europeans got economic disorder, political disorder and sometimes even war. As Coit D. Blacker put it on 1990 the leadership of the Soviet Union “appeared to have believed that whatever loss of authority the Soviet Union might suffer in Eastern Europe would be more than offset by a net increase in its influence in Western Europe" (Blacker, 1990). However it is not likely that “architects of the Perestroika” were going to dismantle completely Warsaw Pact and Communism.

Rather Gorbachev and Politburo supposed that Eastern European communist or Socialist parties should be reformed the way Soviet Communist party was being reformed. Nevertheless reforms run away with both Soviet and Eastern European communists. As soon as popular masses realized that they are no more controlled by omnipotent KGB and local security services they toppled entire communist regimes. Some countries like Eastern Germany Czechia, Slovakia, Poland succeeded to transit to democracy without having lots of their citizens victimized while Romania and former Yugoslavia were involved in terrible bloodshed.

Some researchers are inclined to believe that the fall of the Communism in Russia and Eastern Europe was a revolution without understanding who were the real losers and winners. However it is clear that those East European countries which managed to change their communist elites for democratic ones have succeeded much better in reforms than the most of post-Soviet countries have. Unlike Czehia or Poland such countries as Russia and Byelorussia failed to trade their Soviet administrative elites for democratic ones and have perpetuated their security services (Aslund, 2007).

As a result late Communist administrative officials and secret service officers assumed market phraseology and became true oligarchic governments of their countries. Somehow or other Eastern European nations as well as Russians have overthrown their dictatorships and constitute no menace for civilized world anymore. References Aslund, Anders (2007). Russia's New Oligarchy: For Putin and Friends, a Gusher of Questionable Deals. Retrieved from http://www.iie.com/publications/opeds/oped.cf Blacker, Coit D. (1990). The Collapse of Soviet Power in Europe.

Foreign Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/46275/coit-d-blacker