Critical Thinking 33-4 #3

What factors caused the End of the Cold War?
The collapse of communism in the Soviet Union was a result of the actions of Ronald Reagan, and Mikhail Gorbachev. When Gorbachev came into power, he advocated policies such as Glasnost, which allowed freedom of the press and open criticism of the Soviet Government, and Perestroika, a plan for the reconstruction of the Soviet Union. He also called for less government control over the economy.
In the regions of Germany and eastern Europe, these people were encouraged by Gorbachev to "go their own way." To enforce this maneuver, he reduced the number of Soviet troops in Eastern Europe and allowed non-communist parties to organize in nations such as East Germany and Poland. He encouraged these nations to try to organize a democracy. As a means of disposing of their Communist government, East Germany opened th e Berlin Wall, allowing free passage between the two parts of the city for that first time in 28 years.
When Gorbachev realized that his nation could cut military spending if he had better relations with the United States, he created the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, after a series of arms-control meetings. This treaty would eliminate two classes of weapons systems in Europe and allowed any nation to inspect the others military installations. The treaty was ratified by the senate five months later. In February of 1992, President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin declared the end of the Cold War, and the Soviet Union became the Commonwealth of Independent States.