The Collapse of Communism

Communism in the eastern side on Europe started to collapse in the 1980s due to their rejection of communism. Democratic revolutions and reforms caused the whole Soviet Union to break up. In East Germany, the people forced the totalitarian government to step down and made the new president to allow free elections. On November 9, 1989, he gave orders to obliterate the Berlin Wall that separated the Western world from the Eastern world during the Cold War. On October 23, 1990, both sides of Germany united together once again.

On New Year's Eve in 1991, the whole Soviet Union collapsed, after the rest of the countries overthrew their communist leaders. However, there were still communist countries in the world. By the beginning of the 21st century, only the countries of China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam were still under Communist rule. They still needed to stimulate growth in the economy, so China, Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam reduced state control of the economy.