The history of the Soviet Union from 1982 through 1991 spans the period from Leonid Brezhnev‘s death and funeral until the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
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| Soviet Union in the mid-late 1980s |
Due to the years of Soviet military buildup at the expense of domestic development, and complex systemic problems in the command economy, Soviet output stagnated. Failed attempts at reform, a standstill economy, and the success of the proxies of the United States against the Soviet Union’s forces in the war in Afghanistan led to a general feeling of discontent, especially in the Baltic republics and Eastern Europe.
Greater political and social freedoms, instituted by the last Soviet leader and General Secretary, Mikhail Gorbachev, created an atmosphere of open criticism of the communist regime, and also perestroika. The dramatic drop of the price of oil in 1985 and 1986 profoundly influenced actions of the Soviet leadership.
Several republics began resisting central control, and increasing democratization led to a weakening of the central government. The Soviet Union finally collapsed in 1991 when Boris Yeltsin seized power in the aftermath of a failed coup that had attempted to topple reform-minded Gorbachev.
These amazing photos were taken by
Simon Knott that show what the Soviet Union looked like in the mid-late 1980s.
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| Leningrad street scenes, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. A Pepsi stand takes root beside a stand selling Communist badges and magazines, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. Administrative buildings, Smolny, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. Admiralty Arch, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. Canal, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. Catherine Square with Admiralty Arch and the Winter Palace in the background, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. Catherine Square, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. Catherine Square, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. City centre across the Neva, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. Feeding pigeons outside of the Kazaan Cathedral, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. First light over the Neva, at about 10.30 in the morning. The dome of St Isaac's cathedral pierces the misty light, and the ice begins to shrink after the overnight thaw, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. Happy New Year and Grandfather Frost outside the New Year Bazaar in the Merchant's Hall, Nevsky Prospect, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. Landing quay on the Neva, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. Leningrad Soviet, with the Bronze Horseman in the foreground, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. Novogodni Bazar - New Year Bazaar and Grandfather Frost on Nevsky Prospect, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. Peter-Paul Fortress beyond the bridge, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. Smolny Institute, a former convent where Lenin assumed the leadership of the State, besieged by thawing snow, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. The Admiralty and the Cathedral of the Ascension from the Field of Mars, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. The Admiralty from Catherine Square, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. The Field of Mars, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. The Hermitage, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad. The Pushkin Palace, December 1985 |
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| Moscow. 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, December 1985 |
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| Moscow. Arbat Square, December 1985 |
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| Moscow. Arbat Square, December 1985 |
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| Moscow. Hotel Moskva, December 1985 |
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| Moscow. Inside the Kremlin, December 1985 |
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| Moscow. Lenin's Mausoleum at Red Square, December 1985. |
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| Moscow. Lenin's Mausoleum at Red Square, December 1985 |
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| Moscow. Marx Prospekt, December 1985 |
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| Moscow. Old convent, December 1985 |
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| Moscow. Ostankino, December 1985 |
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| Moscow. Red Square, December 1985 |
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| Moscow. Red Square, December 1985 |
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| Moscow. St Basil's Cathedral, December 1985 |
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| Moscow. St Basil's Cathedral, December 1985 |
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| Moscow. The slogan on the building in the background reads “Communism Triumphs! Today, Fiftieth Anniversary of the Revolution Square” is the site of Moscow's largest central shopping mall, December 1985 |
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| Moscow. The work of the people, December 1985 |
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| Leningrad street scenes, December 1988 |
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| Leningrad. Peter Paul Fortress across the Neva, December 1988 |
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| Leningrad. Piskarevsky Memorial Cemetery, December 1988 |
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| Leningrad. Piskarevsky Memorial Cemetrey, the mass graves of more than a million Leningraders who died during the German siege of Leningrad 1941-44, December 1988 |
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| Leningrad. Sunrise in Leningrad in the middle of winter is at about 10.30 am. By 1pm, the sun is setting again, December 1988 |
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| Moscow Metro station, December 1988 |
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| Moscow. Communist traffic cops, December 1988 |
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| Moscow. Gorky Street, December 1988 |
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| Moscow. Gorky Street, December 1988 |
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| Moscow. GUM, December 1988 |
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| Moscow. Red Square on Christmas Day, December 1988 |
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| Moscow. Revolution Square, December 1988 |
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| Moscow. Rizhski Vokzal - Rigaer Railroad Station, December 1988 |
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| Moscow. St Basil's Cathedral, December 1988 |
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| Moscow. Sunrise over the grim northern suburbs, December 1988 |
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| Moscow. The Central Telegraph Agency on Gorky Street, December 1988 |
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| Moscow. Tourists and pilgrims outside the Lenin Mausoleum in Red Square, December 1988 |
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