Population and ethnic groups
The Soviet Union consisted of many ethnic groups with different languages, cultures and religions. In 1991, about 290 million people lived in the county, but only 60% of them were Russians. The U.S.S.R. had problems integrating these cultures. Especially during the 1980s, the Islamic population in the southern republics wanted more autonomy and independence from Soviet authorities. This led to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
Why the Soviet Union collapsed
There are many reasons for the fall of the Soviet Union. These are the main ones:
• More and more republics wanted to become independent
• Loss of control in Eastern Europe
• During glasnost people were able to protest for the first time
• Population could not cope with a more liberal economy. They were used to having the government do everything for them.
• Invasion of Afghanistan cost the country a lot of money
• The Communist country had to import food, while income from lower oil prices went down
• Espionage happens when people gather secret information on a country, an organization or individuals. Spies are specially trained people who do this. The information that is collected can be a country’s military secrets, facts about a person’s private life or even a firm’s production secrets.
History of espionage
• Espionage is almost as old as mankind itself. Spies were common in all ancient cultures and civilizations. Ancient Egypt and Greece, as well as the Roman Empire employed spies to find out the secrets of their enemies. In the Middle Ages, Queen Elizabeth I of England organized a spy network to gather information about Spain, her long-time enemy.
• During the American Revolution George Washington set up a complicated network of spies to gather information about the British army. Both Unionists and Confederates used spies during the American Civil War.
• During World War II the American Office of Strategic Services gathered information for the Allies. The organization, which was founded after the attacks on Pearl Harbour, later came to be known as the CIA, the most powerful intelligence agency in the world. Britain's notorious MI5 was a reliable organization that fed the Allies with information about Nazi Germany. Thus, they were aware of what was happening in most of Europe.