Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of Communism

Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the leaders of Russia while it was still Communist, and he helped the country tuen Democratic and Capitalist in a big way. He decided that keeping the country in the dark wasn't helping anyone, so he started the policy of "glasnost". Basically this let people let their ideas be heard, and it stopped the silence of opinions. He also introduced another policy called "perestroika". That basically means that people could speak freely about what they thought about the economy and the country. He also gave the people much more power, he stopped the government from regulating everything that workers and farmers did, and he let them be on their own. He also introduced the policy of letting the people vote for their leader, something that really helped the country become Democratic. Without Mikhail Gorbachev, the people in the Soviet Union would have had a lot less power, and Communism would have gone on for much longer.

The Collapse of Communism

Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe and the USSR because of knowledge. People were realizing that communism wasn't working well, and they wanted a change.The Soviet Union stopped being Communist after many many reforms and years of protesting citizens, the totalitarian government ended, and in its place a democracy was made. Also the Berlin Wall, the wall separating East and West Germany. was destroyed. After seeing the Soviet Union become democratic, other countries took their example and overthrew their governments and became democratic as well. If you think about it, it's like the opposite of containment, instead of Communism spreading, Democracy was.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

Apartheid was a policy of segregation in South Africa. Basically, in a country where the majority of people were black, the black people were treated worse than the white people. Black people couldn't vote, marry someone who was white, or even use public places for white people. Nelson Mandela is a South African who was in jail for almost 30 years, just because he wanted to help his people. He hated the unequal treatment in South Africa, and fought to change it. But even with him in jail, no one forgot him, and when South Africa finally did become independent, the people voted Nelson Mandela, a man who had just gotten out of 30 years of prison, as their leader. Not even in prison could he be silenced, and he truly changed the world by showing one person really could make a difference.