Website
BBC

Bbc News: Soviet Union Timeline

For Students 9th - 10th
A timeline covering the history of the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1991.
Handout
The Cold War Museum

The Cold War Museum: Fall of the Soviet Union

For Students 9th - 10th
The Cold War Museum offers many resources on the Cold War, including this particular article on the "Fall of the Soviet Union."
Primary
New York Times

New York Times: Times Machine: End of the Soviet Union

For Students 9th - 10th
Images of the New York Times from December 26, 1991 depicting the fall of the Soviet Union and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Article
Other

Economic Reasons for the Collapse of the Soviet Union

For Students 9th - 10th
This complicated essay describes the fall of the Soviet Union in economic terms, with an emphasis on the lack of production.
Primary
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Woodrow Wilson Center: Digital Archive: Mitrokhin Archive

For Students 9th - 10th
The Mitrokhin Archive consists of summarized notes taken by Vasili Nikitich Mitrokhin, a former KGB archivist who defected to the United Kingdom after the fall of the Soviet Union. Primarily, this collection contains items from his...
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The End of the Cold War

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about the surprising and swift collapse of the Soviet Union and its satellite countries beginning with Poland in 1989. Watch a map which shows the change from a single country, USSR, into many independent countries, and find out...
Website
Steven Kreis, PhD

The History Guide: Perestroika Defined (1987)

For Students 9th - 10th
Perestroika, as defined by Mikhail Gorbachev. This excerpt includes the many definitions and applications of the concept of perestroika when used to describe the internal reforms of the Soviet Union that occurred during the 1980s.
Website
AllRefer

All Refer Reference: Russia: Declining Health Care in the 70s and 80s

For Students 9th - 10th
A great article depicting the declining standard of living in the Soviet Union. Research showed rising infant mortality, falling life expectancy, among other grim statistics painting a bad picture of state of health in the Soviet Union....
Lesson Plan
Louisiana Department of Education

Louisiana Doe: Louisiana Believes: World History: Fall of Communism

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students develop and express claims through discussions and writing which examine tensions during the Cold War and actions taken as a result.
Website
PBS

Pbs: Int. With Nina Mihailovna Motova, Factory Worker

For Students 9th - 10th
You've learned about the fall of the USSR in history books, but what did it mean to a common citizen? Read the interview with Motova, a ballbearing factory worker in Russia, for insight on her thoughts.
PPT
New York Times

New York Times: Islam in Russia

For Students 9th - 10th
An interesting look into the spread of Islam in Russia. After the fall of the Soviet Union Islam has become more and more influential in Russian life. Audio and pictures tell the story of the spread of Islam in Russia.
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: Richard Nixon as President

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about Nixon's presidency, including his strategy to get the United States out of the Vietnam War, his foreign policy maneuvers with China and the Soviet Union, and his fall from grace due to the Watergate scandal.
Handout
Digital History

Digital History: Collapse of Communism

For Students 9th - 10th
Overview of the collapse of communism at the end of the 1980s and early 1990s ushered in by Mikhail Gorbachev and his reforms.
Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Cold War Events (1968 1991)

For Students 9th - 10th
Contains interesting facts and key dates of the major Cold War events from 1968 - 1991.