The Cold War and the Economic Decline of the USSR

Apart from the two great wars, the Cold War was the most remarkable feature of twentieth century, a period of extreme hostility without actual war. By the end of the Great War, Soviet Union emerged as a powerful revolutionary state that gradually evolved into an empire over the course of following decades. It served as an ideological model for one third of the world and was considered as a secure and stable society by the rest. During this period the world was divided into two distinct blocs, the proponents of democracy led by United States of America (USA) and the Socialist regimes headed by the Soviet Union. Having almost equal military parity, the hostilities between the two superpower was so great that many feared dooms day scenario in case war broke out. Although, the effort by both sides to undermine and damage the interest of each other was no hidden secret, yet the military parity resulted mostly in a stalemate. This sudden and peaceful conclusion of Cold War and breakdown of Soviet Union therefore came as a surprise to all. The past two decades has witnessed countless argument in the academia regarding the surprisingly abrupt end of Cold War. Scholars of various theoretical perspectives have come up with different evidences explaining the sudden collapse of Soviet Union. However, there are still disagreement on the core issues which contributed most. While some argue regarding the material reasons such as stagnation of economy, others focus on the personalitiesShow MoreRelatedThe World Of A Totalitarian Communist Post War World1352 Words   |  6 PagesWWII Europe was a dystopian world razed by the chaos of the war. In the aftermath, the only two countries in the world left standing that were still considered superpowers were Soviet Russia and the United States. Tension between the two countries was thick. 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