Was the collapse of the USSR a time for optimism or a tragedy?

[Babur]

The Collapse of the USSR was a momentous event in the 20th Century.I would like to hear your opinions on whether it was time for optimism or a tragedy.President Vladimir Putin summed up his opinion in this excerpt from one of his speeches made in 2005:
"We should acknowledge that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century. As for the Russian nation, it became a genuine drama. Tens of millions of our co-citizens and compatriots found themselves outside Russian territory."

[Gelgoog]

lets see, russians could then get blue jeans and McDonalds without fear of KGB, so i say yeah for capitalism!!

[RusskiSoldat]

Uh, I don't get how that's a yes or no question.
Regardless I'm one of those 12% of Russians who thinks it was for the best. The old system couldn't work out and drawing out its demise any further with repression would only leave the country in a worse state.

[Earl of Rochester]

I voted yes, though technically that means I voted:

Yes the collapse of the USSR was a time for optimism or a tragedy

As opposed to

No the collapse of the USSR was not a time for optimism or a tragedy

As for some actual substance, yes I think the fall was a good thing. Mainly because I am American and I have to think that, but also because it has led to the democratization of many countries and economic prosperity.

All we need now is for Russia to collapse again. I hate to say that, but Russia seems to refuse to be an ally of the west so its the best situation for global peace.

[Farnan]

The Soviet Union has never truly fallen, we have merely made it appear so so when you are least expecting it we can pop back in. That is why you may not put your missile defence systems in Poland as Poland still belongs to us.

[Babur]

The Soviet Union has never truly fallen, we have merely made it appear so so when you are least expecting it we can pop back in. That is why you may not put your missile defence systems in Poland as Poland still belongs to us.

When you stated that the Soviet Union has never truly fallen.Are you referring to the existence of the Commonwealth of Independent States? which I recall includes 11 out of the 15 former republics of the USSR.Or are you simply referring to the Simpsons episode titled "Simpson Tide"(Season 9 Episode 9)?:

At the UN Building in New York City, a meeting of nations is in progress.

Russian official: The Soviet Union will be pleased to offer amnesty to
your wayward vessel.
American official: The Soviet Union? I thought you guys broke up.
Russian official: Yes, that's what we wanted you to think! [laughs]

You can watch the clip here

[Enemy of the State]

One of the best things that happened in the 20th century.

[Babur]

One of the best things that happened in the 20th century.

But what followed proved to be quite disastrous for Russia since Yeltsin's economic policies were quite disastrous for an economy which was already on its knees pretty much, due to the Brezhnev stagnation which had happened back in the 1970s.
Also one should bear in mind that Putin likes to evoke the memory of the Soviet Union,and we all know that he is an ex-KGB man.

[Enemy of the State]

But what followed proved to be quite disastrous for Russia since Yeltsin's economic policies were quite disastrous for an economy which was already on its knees pretty much, due to the Brezhnev stagnation which had happened back in the 1970s.
Also one should bear in mind that Putin likes to evoke the memory of the Soviet Union,and we all know that he is an ex-KGB man.

For Russia maybe, but for any other nation under Soviet yoke it was a godsend.

[MiniMe_from_org]

For Russia maybe, but for any other nation under Soviet yoke it was a godsend.

Not quite so.
For Estonia - godsend of course, since you are capable of building an effective XXI century economy, aren't you? Me thinx you are.

For republics of Georgia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kirgysstan and, may be, some others - complete disaster, cause the way it looks now, they are not capable of it in foreseeble future. I'm talking about tens of millions of people here
Turkmenistan is a real nightmare, something between N.Korea and S.Arabia

For us, Zee Russians, collapse of USSR in the end (after we survived Jeffrey D. Sachs and his good mates) is a good thing - not only we've disposed of non-effective ideology but also of neccesity to be a sponsor to almost all our dear neighbours.
Me never was fond of Soviet imperialistic upsidedown model if you know what I mean.

But, of course, noone could expect one of ours north-west neighbours to acknowledge the fact we did something good for our southern and south-eastern neighbours also besides financial matters, such as gave them education system and healthcare system they are losing now.

So the irony here is, however I dislike V.Putin, I agree with him when he said it was an epic tragedy. It truly is, but not quite for Russians

[T-wester]

the poll make no sence

do you mean yes = a time for optimism and no = tragedy?
or yes = a time for optimism or a tragedy and no = not a time for optimism or a tragedy?

wile the old system dident work, a collapse are never a good
thing a Synthesis or a slower change would have been better

[BuchVecny]

it was time for optimism, maybe the genuine russians are crying for USSR but the countries like czech like poland like latvia or whatever hated russians from beginning to the end (exluding the few post war years)

[Hookah Smoking Caterpiller]

Its caused a big bloody mess and given the US the run of the world

[HorseArcher]

Its caused a big bloody mess and given the US the run of the world

Do you mean the collapse caused a big bloody mess or the Soviet Union before it collapsed?

[Hookah Smoking Caterpiller]

Do you mean the collapse caused a big bloody mess or the Soviet Union before it collapsed?

the country of Russia/Soviet Union is/was a mess before and probably will be.

[John I Tzimisces]

I don't think such suddenness was good at all.

Just look at the mess that the caucasus became. Just because most of the western world doesn't know about this, suddenly the collapse of the soviet union is the greatest thing that's ever happened.

I would daresay over a million people displaced and tens to hundreds of thousands dead just between Armenia and Azerbaijan alone. Armenia's industry, as an additional consequence of the sudden deprivation of a centralized resource allocation system, has completely collapsed.

It's not as though times were great when the USSR was in one piece, but it's not as though they're suddenly magnificent for anyone now that it's gone.

Except maybe Kaliningrad. They're doing ok, being so close to the west.
Maybe St. Petersburg too.

[HorseArcher]

This might have been not talked about too much, but just after the collapse, some people became super rich, while the poor became even poorer. It has to do with the fact, that the "soviets" did leave a lot of resources and wealth unguarded, many places became a "no man's land" , lands with no owners and various other assets, which were picked up like you'd pick up apples from the ground.
All you had to do is be at the right place at the right time. I know people suddenly owning lands, big enough to become a multi million invesntment by now, and various machinery and factories suddenly were "off limits".

Meanwhile many of the middle class and lower sunk even lower, loosing jobs, simply because the state owned properties were in private hands.

So yeah, one empire went down, but not without leaving scars across not only the former Russia, but Europe as well. The rumors are true, that if you go to Europe now, especially the former satellite countries, you'd find people either super rich or super poor. There is no middle-class and radicalism, tensions within people of nations, civil-war danger, and that silence before the plunge is what's in the air.
Mark my words, 2008 will be a very eventful year in Europe too, not only USA.

In Europe, corruption and money laundering is at all time high and it's no accident. The current leaders are no better than the criminal sitting in jails, but the reason they are still at large is due to the fact of the wealth they posses, and to tell you the truth, finding anyone trustworthy in the upper class is like looking for an albino crocodile.

[RusskiSoldat]

Except maybe Kaliningrad. They're doing ok, being so close to the west.
Maybe St. Petersburg too.

Kaliningrad was one of the most incompetently run territories in the federation (and as a result poor), with St. Petersburg also receiving that dubious honor, but thriving on trade. Moscow is the richest cities, although there are a few other large and well off ones as well.

[Babur]

however now there is the Union of Russia and Belarus which seeks to reunify both the countries.

There was even a proposed national anthem for the new Union:

http://media.vad1.com/temporary_url_...estra_2000.mp3

[Dr. Croccer]

I would say both.

It's a time for optimism because there is no fear of a thermonuclear war now. And yay for capitalism is suppose.

It's a little tragic for all the little Communists out there and more understandbly, the the balance and dare I say, relative peace and progress that there was during the Cold War. The mutual fear was a large barrier for conflicts between the two superpowers and their allies and both sides would resort to backing other nations far away and start bluffing, again the mutual fear often forced ceasefires to be made, for fear of escalation. A good example is the War of Attrition, in which the US and the USSR supported Israel and Egypt, respectively. The war was stopped early because the US was afraid the USSR might militarily involve itself. A balance that is missing now, because the US has the say who lives and who dies, if they want to that is.