Although the Soviet Union was a superpower after World War II, its economic strength declined sharply after World War II. The main reasons are as follows:

1, the foundation is too weak.

After the October Revolution, the Soviet Union was established on the basis of Russia at that time. At that time, its national foundation was very poor. Russia was the poorest and most backward country in Europe at that time, which can be said to be penniless. Moreover, after the civil war and World War II, the country was in ruins, which made the foundation of the Soviet Union very poor.

2. The economic structure is unbalanced.

In a developed country, judging the national development and residents' development index, the most basic things are residents' income level and economic strength. Although the Soviet Union is a superpower, it is obviously top-heavy. Heavy industry is developed, light industry is backward, people's life is not improved, and the quality of life of residents is very poor.

3. Only the military is developed.

During the Soviet period, except for key areas, such as Russia and Europe, parts of Ukraine were relatively developed. Most of the whole country is still backward, and the Soviet Union is tightening its belt to help other weak countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Domestic production has not been improved, and little money has been invested in other departments except in the military field.

Extended data

The background of the disintegration of the Soviet Union:

After Brezhnev came to power, he promoted a large number of cronies and formed a privileged class with Brezhnev as the core in Soviet politics. Corruption, theft and embezzlement of state property are very common, bribery is common and production efficiency is low. The second half of Brezhnev era is called the "stagnation period" and "fossilization period" of the Soviet Union. At this time, the privileged class of the Soviet Union was full-fledged.

According to Russian experts' estimation, during the Brezhnev period, the privileged class of the Soviet Union grew to as many as 3 million people. The privileged class in the Soviet Union has appropriated a great deal of national wealth for itself. The prevalence of corruption not only brought huge economic losses to the country, but also had a great impact on the party style and social atmosphere of the Soviet Union. At this point, the Soviet Union has accumulated a heavy burden.

1985 Gorbachev came to power and tried to reverse this stagnant and rigid situation and carried out very intense reforms. In order to alleviate economic difficulties, economic reform should be carried out first.

However, these reform measures lack macro-decision and corresponding supporting measures; In addition, Gorbachev still did not give up the traditional practice of the Soviet Union and continued to give priority to the development of heavy industry, which led to the continuous decline of the economy and the continuous decline of people's living standards. At the same time, it triggered strong dissatisfaction and social unrest of the privileged class in the Soviet Union.

In the case that the economic reform did not achieve the expected results soon, from 65438 to 0988, Gorbachev shifted the focus of the reform to the political field, implemented political "pluralism" and multi-party system, weakened and abandoned the leading position of the Soviet Union, and the opposition rose while the situation was dominant, which led to intensified social unrest.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Soviet Union Disintegration