Red Army

:This article is about the armed forces of the Soviet Union. See Red Army Faction for the German militant group; Japanese Red Army for the Japanese militant group; and People's Liberation Army for the Chinese Red Army.

The end of the Soviet Union

From around 1985 to 1990, the new leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to reduce the strain the Army placed on economic demands. The Army was slowly reduced in size. By 1989, Soviet troops had completely left their Warsaw Pact neighbors to fend for themselves. That same year, the war with Afghanistan ended and all remaining Soviet troops were extracted. By the end of 1990, the entire Eastern Bloc had collapsed under the wake of democratic revolution. As a result, Soviet citizens quickly began to turn against the Communist government as well. In March 1990, nationalism in Lithuania caused the republic to declare its independence. A series of outer-lying republics would also declare their independence that year. Gorbachev's reaction was limited and the Army was not fully turned against its citizens and a crisis was developing. By mid-1991, the nation was in a state of emergency.

Related Topics:
Mikhail Gorbachev - Warsaw Pact

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In August 1991, the Army played a decisive role in the coup d'état of old guard communists and senior military commanders, who sent tanks into the streets of Moscow to overthrow Gorbachev and his reform-minded government. The coup failed as citizens took to the streets and tank crews refused to shoot at their compatriots.

Related Topics:
Coup d'état - Moscow - Gorbachev

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After the following collapse of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Army dissolved and the USSR's successor states divided its assets among themselves. The bulk of the Soviet Army, including most of the nuclear missile forces, became incorporated in the Army of the Russian Federation. Military forces garrisoned in Eastern Europe (including the Baltic states) gradually returned home between 1991 and 1994.

Related Topics:
Collapse of the Soviet Union - Nuclear missile - Army of the Russian Federation - Baltic states

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