THE COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION, 1990-1992 During the last months of 1991 the Soviet empire simply disintegrated into its constituent republics and was finally given a decent burial on December 25. The economic situation in the former union grew more and more catastrophic, and ethnic tensions worsened. President Yeltsin of Russia stood forth as the most decisive leader of an extremely difficult transition era. This sudden collapse of a vast multinational empire and superpower was virtually …showed first 75 words of 854 total…

…showed last 75 words of 854 total…Soviet economic performance. Economic reform was the central feature of his program to lift the country out of the economic stagnation into which it had lapsed at the end of the Brezhnev era. The center’s obligations expanded as it poured more and more money into investment and tried to buy public support with generous wage increases. At the same time its income plummeted, as republican governments and enterprises refused to send revenues to Moscow.