History Essay

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Life in Russia and Former East Bloc Countries after 1989
The destruction of the Berlin wall in 1989 was a sign that Cold War was coming to an end (McKay et al. 1006). The wall signified the division between the Western and Eastern Bloc countries. The Eastern Europe’s communist regimes were finally collapsing, and surprisingly, it was a peaceful experience. The revolutions led to the end of Cold War, the fall of the Soviet empire, the reunification of Germany and the only superpower that remained was the United States. There was also a rise in immigrants, both legal and illegal, to the European countries.
When the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, 12 independent republics were formed from the East Bloc, with Russia being the largest of them all (McKay et al. 1008). Independent, democratic and liberal governments arose from this development. Hungary, Czech Republic, and Poland were some of the countries that were able to come up with effective democratic rules. They later joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO before joining the European Union. However, countries like Romania and Bulgaria found it hard to keep up with the rest.
Privatization and economic shock therapy under the leadership of President Boris Yeltsin was a recipe for corruption, runaway inflation and poverty in Russia. Shock therapy refers to a sudden change in the economic policies that turns the national economy into a free market. President Yeltsin and his administration thought that this would help mend the broken economy, but things turned sour.

The poor tactics in Yeltsin’s government led to the election of Vladimir Putin in 2000 (McKay et al. 1009). The new president’s tactics were all based on an anti-Western approach which led to authoritarian traditions. President Putin’s economic tactics proved helpful to a country that was in economic turmoil. During his tenure, 2000 to 2008, Russia’s economy experienced strong and rapid growth.
The former Eastern bloc countries experienced varying changes, with some constantly improving their standards while others struggled to make the first step in their development. Yugoslavia struggled due to civil war while Russia’s economy collapsed due to poor governance. Russia managed to stabilize its economy under Putin’s leadership. However, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland remained the most successful of all former East Bloc countries.

Work Cited
McKay, John P., et al. A History of Western Society: From Age of Exploration to Present. 11th ed, Volume 2, Bedford/St. Martins, 2017.