Contemporary World: Russia and the US

Collapse of the USSR and Russia after 1991

Think of an old joint family business that grew too big, kept losing money and had relatives wanting their own shops. One day it simply split, and each branch went its own way. That is roughly what happened to the USSR.

Why the USSR fell, simply

• Command economy: the state decided what to make and at what price. It made tanks well but shoes and food poorly, and by the 1970s growth had stalled.
• Arms race: matching US military spending drained money.
• Afghanistan war (1979–89): a long, costly war the USSR could not win.
• Nationalism: republics such as the Baltic states and Ukraine wanted freedom.
• Gorbachev’s reforms: glasnost (openness) let people criticise the system, and perestroika (restructuring) tried to fix the economy. Together they loosened control faster than they fixed problems.

In August 1991, hard-liners tried to seize power. Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s leader, stood on a tank to rally people, and the coup failed. In December, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the Belovezha Accords, and the USSR ended. The CIS, or Commonwealth of Independent States, was a loose group formed by most ex-Soviet states.

“Shock therapy” meant switching to a market economy overnight. Prices shot up, a few insiders grabbed state firms cheaply, and Russia defaulted, meaning it failed to pay its debts, in 1998. Vladimir Putin then rebuilt central control and used force in Georgia, Crimea and Ukraine.

The United States: unipolar moment

Unipolar means one pole, or one dominant power. “End of history” was Francis Fukuyama’s idea that liberal democracy had won for good. NATO expansion means the Western military alliance taking in ex-communist states, which angered Russia. The Quad is a grouping of India, the USA, Japan and Australia for a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Common doubts

Is the world still unipolar? Most experts say no. With China’s rise and Russia’s return, power is now spread among several centres.

Why is India close to Russia even after 1991? Russia has long supplied India’s weapons, backed India at the UN, and now sells it oil and nuclear power. India values this old, tested friendship.

How did India–US ties change? They warmed sharply after 2000. The 2008 civil nuclear deal ended India’s nuclear isolation, and the USA named India a Major Defence Partner in 2016.

India’s balancing act

This is called strategic autonomy: India makes its own choices instead of joining one camp.

What UPSC asks

Prelims: 25 December 1991, CIS, Gulf War, 9/11, Quad. Mains: why the USSR fell, and how India balances the USA and Russia.