TO WHAT EXTENT DID THE PROSPEROUS ECONOMY IN THE EARLY BREZHNEV PERIOD TURN INTO A CATASTROPHE IN THE LAST YEARS OF GORBACHEV'S RULING?

In this project I will analyse the factors which determined the extent the Soviet economy was in by the end of the Gorbachev era and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.Many people in former USSR states, have blamed Gorbachev for the break of the Soviet Union and for the sharp economic downturn. To assess exactly how true this statement is, it is important to look at the state of the economy during his time, as well as looking at the USSR at the time of its best, which was the prosperous period of the late 60s and the early 70s. To do this effectively, I will look at, and analyse different areas of the economy such as agriculture, military and the social sector in the different periods of time, which will be the yearly Brezhnev period, the stagnation period and the Gorbachev era. I will also evaluate whether it was purely economic decisions which affected the state of the economy or whether some other things such as the characters of the leaders or political policies also had an effect on the economy. In comparing the difference between the successful economic growth of the early Brezhnev period of 1964-1973 and the decline of the Soviet economy in the late 1980s, as well as looking what has happened to the economy along the way and what contributed to its eventual decline, I can assess exactly how bad the economy was doing in the last years of the USSR and conclude whether, and if it did, then to what extent, the economy turn into a catastrophe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]