Eastern European Conclusions :: Russian Government Essays

Eastern European Conclusions The year 1989 represents a paradox of the modern history. Not long ago the USSR was the biggest fear of the whole world. The Soviet Union exemplified an enormous political, economical, and military power. The revolution of 1917 gave birth to a giant child. That creation walked the earth very fast, and, by the end of 1960, it enforced communist structures all over the world. China, Cuba, Poland, Czechoslovakia illustrate ramifications of the system. In 1989 the child suddenly vanished. The German reunification, the rejection of the communist rules by the liberal Hungarian government, and the Romanian revolution, which solved with the execution of Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, speak about the instability of that time. It was the end of a historical epoch. Ten years have passed since those days. I still remember learning to write using the Latin alphabet instead of the Cyrillic, the Popular Front movement in Moldova, and the impressive demonstrations and rebellions showed on television. I was just a young child. Everybody was happy and excited. New bright times were supposed to come, and they did, but not for everybody. People soon found that the new discovered capitalism meant a drop in living standards, rising unemployment, reduced social benefits, and growing inequality. This started the period of transition, but life would improve... Life did improve. Hungary, Poland, and the Baltic countries proved that capitalism meant a brighter future and a better life. The statistics regarding the economical condition of Hungary show that the country obtained immense achievements and important developments in the political and economical spheres of life. (Nations, Online) The situation of the Baltic countries is not much different from those in the Western Europe. What happened to the rest of the post-soviet countries? Why is the present situation in Eastern Europe so deplorable? Corruption affects all level of society, but it has the worst effects when it comes from the top. The whole political and economical structure of the former USSR is influenced by this social malady. The analysts are looking for a drug to treat the disease, but this virus adapts with an incredible speed. Everybody is corrupt. Such a statement sounds very paradoxical, but it is very close to reality. "The American headlines about corruption in Russia are revolving around two separate and so far unrelated allegations. One is that Yeltsin and his daughters,