On the evening of December 25, 1991, the red flag of the Soviet Union was lowered from the Kremlin for the last time. The following day, members of the Soviet parliament voted unanimously to dissolve the USSR, thereby transferring most state functions to the newly formed Russian Federation.
Described by academics Matt Killingworth and Matthew Sussex as a major “seismic event in international relations,” the fall of the Soviet Union meant the end of the Cold War and the advent of the current unipolar world. It also marked the beginning of globalization, as 287 million people were suddenly thrust into the global economy. With capital now free to roam across a vast expanse that covered a seventh of the Earth's surface, new businesses were created, often emerging from state-run enterprises that were sold to the private sector.
But the fall of the Iron Curtain also had profound consequences for the rest of the world. Capitalism's expansion into the former Communist Bloc meant increased international trade and greater market integration, which led, in turn, to the unprecedented movement of people and goods across countries.
The impact of these developments was especially felt in the Global South, where a number of former colonies had earlier emulated the Soviet system in the hope of achieving rapid industrialization. However, with the dissolution of the USSR, the developing world was now left with no alternative model, prompting most of these nations to conclude that the capitalist approach was the only sensible way of organizing their economies.…
On the evening of December 25, 1991, the red flag of the Soviet Union was lowered from the Kremlin for the last time. The following day, members of the Soviet parliament voted unanimously to dissolve the USSR, thereby transferring most state functions to the newly formed Russian Federation.
Described by academics Matt Killingworth and Matthew Sussex as a major “seismic event in…