Differing Interpretations: Causes of the Collapse of the Soviet Union

Abstract

This historiography paper analyzes a sample of the body of writing regarding the causes of Soviet collapse that has appeared in the last 20 years. There are several themes that the time-period's histories address, but, for the most part, they conveniently tend to focus on the central question of “why did the Soviet Union collapse?” As most secondary sources tackle the question directly and coherently, this essay will argue that historiography is best classified by "factors of collapse‟. Furthermore, this essay will contend that there is a correlation between mediums of writing and the "factor of collapse‟ they tend to espouse.