From the Paper
"When Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, effectively ending the Prague Spring of peaceful rebellion, many felt that there was no hope for political reform in the Soviet-bloc countries and that the Soviet Union would always exert total dominance over the politics of eastern Europe. the Brezhnev Doctrine was soon issued as a justification of Soviet troops entering Prague and explicitly substantiated feelings that the Soviet Union would not be willing to loosen it grip on eastern Europe.


However, some twenty years later Michael Gorbachev published Perestroika and political reform in the Soviet Union and eastern Europe suddenly became of the utmost concern not only for the Soviet-bloc countries but for the whole world as well. World socialism currently hangs in the balance-dependent almost solely..."

Abstract
This paper analyzes the main causes of the collapse of the Soviet Union, focusing on the role of the United States in its collapse. The paper looks at the final phase of collapse in the 1980s when Leonid Brezhnev died and the other factors that impacted the collapse at that time. The paper also discusses the efforts of Gorbachev to try to stem the collapse of the Soviet Union and how his efforts failed.

From the Paper
"Gorbachev realized that perestroika was bold and risky and that only time would determine its ultimate success or failure. Like Lenin, Gorbachev believed that, "sometimes you have to retreat, and then advance." But he ran out of time, in part because the new openness in the Soviet press under glasnost revealed to the Soviet people for the first time that conditions across the entire Soviet Union were shockingly bad.
"Ever since the days of Lenin, the average Soviet citizen knew that economic conditions were bad in their own village, city, or region, but the communist-controlled media prevented them from knowing that conditions were just as bad everywhere else if not even worse. Glasnost confirmed this harsh reality beyond any doubt, and created a political environment across the Soviet Union in which people were not going to tolerate communism much longer."

Tags:perestroika, communism, Russia, Kremlin, revolution

Abstract
This paper discusses how the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 was the culmination of years of Soviet policy and thrust that country into the maelstrom of the Cold War. It looks at how covert aid to those Afghanis resisting first the Communist takeover of the government and then the Soviet military began in the months before the invasion and continued until the end of the Cold War with the break up of the Soviet Union. It also examines how this support of the indigenous resistance by the United States first frustrated Soviet geopolitical aims in the region and then contributed to and exposed the weakness of the Soviet system. The paper includes an annotated bibliography.

From the Paper
"Soviet control of Afghanistan, aside from issues of perceived global dominance, concerned the Americans as they viewed Afghanistan as a stepping-stone to Pakistan. This perception was shared by the Pakistanis. In a geopolitical sense, the control of Pakistan equalled control of the Straits of Hormuz, which control the Persian Gulf. Soviet control of Persian Gulf sea lanes meant a possible disruption of oil supplies, which meant control of Afghanistan was of key strategic importance to the US. Recognition of this concern was reflected in the covert aid supplied to the resistance even before the invasion, which is discussed below."

Tags:communism, united, states, Brezhnev, Doctrine

Abstract
This paper describes in detail American relations with Russia in the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse, focusing on the "Gorbachev years" as the first stage of a multi-pronged analysis of an evolutionary American foreign policy. It provides some insight into how the Russian political situation has effected and may continue to effect the future of the relationship. It focuses primarily upon Russia itself and not upon American relations with the other fourteen states that have emerged since the collapse of the Soviet Union. As needed, however, and where the relationships with such states as Ukraine or Lithuania overlap with American involvement with Russia itself, these issues are addressed.
The first of the three sections of the paper demonstrates that while it may be true that some opportunities for a profitable mutual involvement have, in fact, been missed due to U.S. inaction or indecision or uncertainty, enormous opportunities remain available. The report draws upon literature to indicate how U.S. initiatives have been undertaken, their effects and the Russian response. A background analysis of the relationships of the U.S. and Soviet Union during the Cold War and America's own position as a hegemon are provided. The second section of the paper deals with the Yeltsin years and the final section with the current state of the United States/Russian relationship.

Subtitles:
The Collapse and the Gorbachev Years
Introduction
Background of the Relationship
The Collapse of the Soviet Union
The Yeltsin Regime
Overview
The Russian Situation Under Yeltsin
The Economic Issue
The Yeltsin Collapse Begins
Effects of Regionalism
Critical U.S. Policy Initiatives
The Current State of Affairs
The End of the Yeltsin Era
Putin
Future Directions of U.S. Policy

From the Paper
"Nevertheless, the world in the absence of the Soviet Union is not a world fully at peace. The Middle East and portions of Africa remained troubled and potentially explosive, requiring an American military and security response, perhaps via the continued U.S. participation in multilateral peacekeeping and other military activities of the United Nations. Containment, as a policy doctrine, remains critical in certain of these cases such as that presented by the Middle East. A long-term American policy of supporting those governments and/or movements most likely to in turn be supportive of democratic systems should be continued, regardless of the political orientation of the President and the Congress (Kennedy, 1987)."

Tags:Cold, War, McCarthy, Yuri, Andropov, Brezhnev, Clinton, NATO