History · A Level: The end of the Cold War, 1975-1991 (exams to Nov 2026). The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.
By the early 1980s the USSR was a military superpower with a failing economy. Under Brezhnev growth slowed, central planning produced shortages and poor goods, and farming could not feed the country. This is the era of stagnation.
The leadership was old and resisted change. Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko all died in office between 1982 and 1985.
Outside pressures added to the strain. The war in Afghanistan dragged on, Solidarity in Poland showed how weak communist rule was in Eastern Europe, and the arms race took a very large share of a much smaller economy than that of the USA. When Gorbachev became leader in March 1985, reform could not wait.
Students blame the arms race or Reagan alone for Soviet weakness. The deeper problem was the planned economy itself, which was stagnating before Reagan took office.
Answer: A smaller economy had to carry a similar military load, so defence took a far greater share of resources and starved the rest of the economy.
Type what you are stuck on. The helper finds the explanation, worked examples and the notes to read, free and instant.
← Détente and the outbreak of the Second Cold WarThe impact of Reagan and Gorbachev →Take a History test