Why was the Soviet Union collapse of the cold war?

Answer 1

The Cold War ultimately brought

the Soviet Union down, but it

took nearly half a century to

accomplish this goal. In 1945,

around the end of WWII, the

Soviet Union and United States

waged this war of threatening

words and fear. The Cold War

was a top concern on the

international affairs front. From

communism opponents'

perspective, its purpose was to

contain communism and avoid

nuclear conflict. But the Soviet

Union aimed to spread

communism to the United States,

if not the rest of the world.

These two powerhouses

disagreed over political, cultural

and economic differences. The

United States began developing

retaliatory weapons, should the

need to use them arise. These

weapons were called the

Strategic Triad and included

long-range bombers, submarines

and land-based missiles. This led

to the first nuclear arms race,

during which the two

governments stockpiled as many

nuclear weapons as they could in

order to keep the other

government in line. Luckily,

nuclear war was avoided, in

large part due to the scare tactics

of the Cold War.

In the 1950s, the Soviet Union

and the United States engaged in

the space race. Both countries

wanted to be the first in space

for a myriad of reasons,

particularly because their

defense and military capabilities

stood to benefit from a

successful space program. The

space race was fueled by the

ever-intensifying rivalry between

the United States and the Soviet

Union. The Soviet Union won that

contest by launching the satellite

Sputnik into orbit on Oct. 4,

1957. But the U.S. was the first

country to successfully land on

the moon.