End of the Cold War

End of the Cold War

1. Gorbachev’s final days

   • On 21 August Gorbachev returned to Moscow and resumed his position as leader of Russia.
     • Immediately following his return, Gorbachev announced that it was still his intention to save Soviet’s communism. However, the coup had damaged Gorbachev’s authority.
       • Gorbachev’s final attempt to save the Soviet Union was the introduction of a new constitution, which was designed to give the Soviet republics greater independence. The leaders of these countries, wanted full independence, and for this reason the new constitution was never accepted
         • Gorbachev officially announced the dissolution of the Soviet Union and his resignation as president on 25 December 1991

2. It was the fall of the Soviet Union in December 1991 that finally ended the ideological battle between the Capitalist West and Communist East. The dissolution of the Soviet Union also ended superpower conflict, because once the USSR was dissolved, America became the world’s only superpower.