1991-+Breakup+of+the+Union+of+Soviet+Socialst+Republics+G4

=Break up of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics- 1991=

Overview
The Soviet Union's collapse into independent nations began early in 1985. After years of Soviet military buildup because of domestic development, economic growth was at a standstill. Several Soviet Socialist Republics began resisting central control, and increasing democratization led to the weakening of the central government. The USSR's trade gap progressively emptied the coffers of the union, leading to eventual bankruptcy. The Soviet Union finally collapsed in 1991 when Boris Yeltsin seized power in the aftermath of a failed coup that had attempted to topple Mikhail Gorbachev. The war in Afghanistan, often referred to as the Soviet Union's Vietnam War, led to increased public dissatisfaction with the Moscow regime. Also, the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 added to Gorbachev's public reforms, which eventually spiraled out of control and caused the Soviet system to collapse. ==Central Issue == The Law on Cooperatives enacted in May 1988 was perhaps the most radical of the economic reforms during the early part of the Gorbachev era. For the first time since Vladimir Lenin's New Economic Policy, the law permitted private ownership of businesses in the services, manufacturing, and foreign-trade sectors. Under this, cooperative restaurants, shops, and manufacturers became part of the Soviet scen e. In January 1987, Gorbachev called for democratization: the infusion of democratic elements such as multi−candidate elections into the Soviet political process. In June 1988, at the CPSU's Nineteenth Party Conference, Gorbachev launched radical reforms meant to reduce party control of the government apparatus. In December 1988, the Supreme Soviet approved the establishment of a Congress of People's Deputies, which constitutional amendments had established as the Soviet Union's new legislative body. Elections to the new Congress of People's Deputies were held throughout the USSR in March and April 1989. Gorbachev, as General Secretary of the Communist Party, could be forced to resign at any moment if the communist elite became dissatisfied with him. On February, 1990, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union agreed to give up its monopoly of power. This would create 15 new "Post Soviet" States.

Conclusion
Boris Yeltsin was elected the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999. In order to restr ucture the Soviet administrative command system and implement transition to a market-based economy, Yeltsin's shock program was employed within days of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The subsidies to money-losing farms and industries were cut, price controls put ot an end, and the ruble(Soviet Currency) moved toward convertibility. Market economists believed that the ==== dismantling of the administrative command system in Russia would raise GDP and living standards by allo cating resources more efficiently. They also thought the collapse would create new production possibilities by eliminating central planning, substituting a decentralized market system, eliminating huge macroeconomic and structural distortions through liberalization, and providing incentives through privatization. Since the USSR's collapse, Russia faced many problems that free market proponents in 1992 did not expect. 25% of the population lived below the poverty line, life expectancy had fallen, birthrates were low, and the GDP was cut in half. These problems led to a series of crises in the 1990s, which nearly led to the election of Yeltsin's Communist challenger, Gennady Zyuganov, in the 1996 presidential election.