The 30th anniversary of the fall of the USSR

On December 26, 1991, the USSR dissolved, marking the end of the 70-year Soviet experiment. Overnight, Moscow lost its empire, and 30 years later, the Soviet Union and the aftermath of its collapse continue to shape Russian President Vladimir Putin’s worldview and domestic and foreign policies. How and why did the USSR collapse? How does the dissolution of the Soviet Union influence contemporary international affairs? What lessons can be taken from the decades leading up to and following the December 1991 decision to dissolve the USSR?

On December 15, the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings hosted Donald Jensen, former foreign service officer in Moscow and current director of Russia and Strategic Stability at the United States Institute of Peace, and Vladislav Zubok, professor of international history the London School of Economics and Political Science and author of “Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union.”

Viewers submitted questions for speakers by emailing events@brookings.edu or joining the conversation on Twitter using #USSR.