Fall of Communism
Account for the failure of Communism in Eastern Europe
The Failure of Communism in Eastern Europe Communism in the Eastern Europe was a result of various factors. Communism is based on the ideas and teachings of Karl Marx as modified by Lenin. At its most basic, the ideal of communism is a system in which everyone is seen as equal and wealth is distributed equally among the people. There is no private ownership and the state owns and controls all enterprises and property. The Soviet model of communism was based on these ideals. Stalin wanted total control within an Eastern European sphere of influence. All opposition parties were banned although parties who were sympathetic to communism and who shared the communist ideals were allowed. All power was concentrated into the hands of the Communist party. Free press and civil liberties were suppressed. Censorship and propaganda were widely used. There was state ownership of the economy, private enterprise was not allowed and there was a collectivisation of agriculture. The Communist Party invaded and controlled every aspect of political, social, cultural and economic life. It was a totalitarian state with complete Communist control over all aspects of life in Eastern Europe which eventually had to come to an end. Factors which contributed to its downfall were; influence from the West on the Eastern bloc, mainly from the US, Britain and France, declining communist morale, rising dissent, Stalin’s policy foreign policy and his inability to solve the decline in the Soviet economy. The introduction of Stalin’s successors, Nikita Krusshchev and Mikhail Gorbachev, along with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, was a major factor in the fall of Communism during the reforms of 1989-1991. In this essay I will discuss these factors and how they contributed to the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe.
The first factor I will discuss which contributed to the failure and eventual collapse of communism was Stalin’s foreign
The Failure of Communism in Eastern Europe Communism in the Eastern Europe was a result of various factors. Communism is based on the ideas and teachings of Karl Marx as modified by Lenin. At its most basic, the ideal of communism is a system in which everyone is seen as equal and wealth is distributed equally among the people. There is no private ownership and the state owns and controls all enterprises and property. The Soviet model of communism was based on these ideals. Stalin wanted total control within an Eastern European sphere of influence. All opposition parties were banned although parties who were sympathetic to communism and who shared the communist ideals were allowed. All power was concentrated into the hands of the Communist party. Free press and civil liberties were suppressed. Censorship and propaganda were widely used. There was state ownership of the economy, private enterprise was not allowed and there was a collectivisation of agriculture. The Communist Party invaded and controlled every aspect of political, social, cultural and economic life. It was a totalitarian state with complete Communist control over all aspects of life in Eastern Europe which eventually had to come to an end. Factors which contributed to its downfall were; influence from the West on the Eastern bloc, mainly from the US, Britain and France, declining communist morale, rising dissent, Stalin’s policy foreign policy and his inability to solve the decline in the Soviet economy. The introduction of Stalin’s successors, Nikita Krusshchev and Mikhail Gorbachev, along with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, was a major factor in the fall of Communism during the reforms of 1989-1991. In this essay I will discuss these factors and how they contributed to the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe.
The first factor I will discuss which contributed to the failure and eventual collapse of communism was Stalin’s foreign