What ended the Cold War?

There were many things that ended the Cold War. Mikhail Gorbachev enacted reforms in the Soviet Union and opened more communication with the West. There was also increased economic unrest in the Soviet Union, and it could no longer support its anti-Western military defense. Increased nationalism in Soviet Bloc countries led to independence movements in places like East Germany, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine. The former Soviet Bloc nations declared independence. Gorbachev desired more peaceful relations with the West, yet he did not want the West meddling in former Soviet Bloc nations, as this would be a threat to Soviet security. Through a series of compromises that allowed the former Soviet Bloc countries to leave the Soviet Union while retaining strong ties—in addition to Gorbachev's willingness to enact domestic reforms and improve the Soviet Union's human rights record—the United States and Soviet Union established a better relationship. The most symbolic act of the end of the Cold War was the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany.

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