The Fall Of The Soviet Union In 36 Rarely-Seen Photographs

The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 following years of economic troubles, a failed coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev, and political unrest that led to massive protests.

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An old woman rests her bag on the fallen symbol of the hammer and sickle.

Moscow. November 1990.Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images

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The Baltic Way, a human chain that extended more than 400 miles across three countries, to demand freedom from the USSR.

Lithuania. August 23, 1989.Wikimedia Commons

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A woman tries to find anything she can on the empty grocery shelves that have become the standard in Moscow.

December 20, 1990.Shepard Sherbell/CORBIS SABA/Corbis via Getty Images

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A small child stands behind his parents, locked hand-in-hand with their neighbors in the long chain of the Baltic Way.

Vilnius, Lithuania. 1989.Wikimedia Commons

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Pro-democracy demonstrators stand atop a barricade in front of the Kremlin, the Russian flag waving overhead.

Moscow. August 1991.Alain Nogues/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images

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A woman and her child look at the empty meat section of their local grocery store and wonder where they will get their food.

Moscow. 1991.Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images

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A man in Azerbaijan tears away an image of Vladimir Lenin, celebrating his nation's freedom from the USSR.

Baku. September 21, 1991.Anatoly Sapronenkov/AFP/Getty Images

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Tanks on the street of Moscow are covered with flowers.

August 1991.Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images

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A woman weeps in front of the graves of those who died during Azerbaijan's Black January of 1990, in which more than 100 anti-Soviet demonstrators were massacred.

Baku, Azerbaijan. 1992.Wikimedia Commons

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A pro-democracy demonstrator pulls a Soviet soldier out of his tank, using force to fight against the coup d'etat by hard-line Communists.

Moscow. August 19, 1991.Dima Tanin/AFP/Getty Images

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Protesters fill the streets of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, rebelling against the rule of the Soviets.

February 1990.Wikimedia Commons

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Soviet tanks roll into Dushanbe, placing the city under martial law.

February 1990.Wikimedia Commons

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Protesters in Tajikistan face off with a line of tanks.

Dushanbe. February 10, 1990.Wikimedia Commons

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Two men walk casually through a line of tanks, getting used to the new normal of martial law in Dushanbe.

February 15, 1990.Wikimedia Commons

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A soldier stares out the window amid the occupation of Tajikistan.

Dushanbe. February 1990.Wikimedia Commons

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Lithuanians go out into the streets, demanding freedom from the Soviet Union.

Šiauliai, Lithuania. January 13, 1991.Wikimedia Commons

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Supporters of Boris Yeltsin and a democratic Russia march from the Kremlin to the White House.

Moscow. August 19, 1991.Wikimedia Commons

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Protesters march down Tverskaya Street in Moscow.

November 30, 1991.Wikimedia Commons

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Pro-democracy protesters set up a barricade near the Moscow White House government building.

August 22, 1991.Wikimedia Commons

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The people of Lithuania bury 13 people who were killed by Soviet troops for trying to fight for Lithuania's freedom.

Vilnius, Lithuania. January 1991.Wikimedia Commons

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A little girl decorates the grave of her father, who died fighting for Azerbaijan's freedom.

Baku, Azerbaijani. 1993.Wikimedia Commons

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Tanks drive into Moscow's Red Square during the August 1991 coup attempt. Public Domain

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The people of Lithuania come out to vote in a referendum that will decide whether they stay a part of the USSR or break off on their own.

Novy Vilno, Lithuania. March 17, 1991.Wikimedia Commons

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A massive independence rally in Lithuania in August 1988. Helicopters reportedly scattered Soviet propaganda pamphlets above the crowd. Alfonsas Vytautas Augulis/Wikimedia Commons

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Protesters erect barricades outside of the government building in Moscow known as the White House. August 1991.David Broad/Wikimedia Commons

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Russia's president, Boris Yeltsin, waves the Russian flag in Moscow while condemning the coup leaders. August 1991.ITAR-TASS/President of the Russian Federation

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A protest in Minsk, Belarus, in September 1991. The sign reads, "Return to the people their ancient symbols: The coat of arms of Pahonia and the white-red-white flag, as well as the name of the country LITHUANIA, the capital city — Minsk!" Jazep Stepanovič, Wikimedia Commons

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A man votes in Armenia's September 1991 referendum for independence from the Soviet Union.Armenian Musuem of Photo and Video Materials/Flickr

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Workers count the ballots that will determine whether or not Armenians voted to secede from the Soviet Union. September 1991.Armenian Musuem of Photo and Video Materials/Flickr

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A statue depicting a Soviet hammer and sickle is knocked to the ground in Ungheni, Moldova. 1991.Ion Chibzii/Wikimedia Commons

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Soviet citizens defend Moscow's White House from takeover by Communist coup leaders. August 1991.LibertySU/Oleg Kilmov/Wikimedia Commons

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Citizens of Ukraine celebrate their liberation from the U.S.S.R. September 1991. Микола Семиног/Wikimedia Commons

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Soviet leaders gather to sign the agreement that will dissolve the U.S.S.R. and establish the Commonwealth of Independent States. December 1991.U. Ivanov/Wikimedia Commons

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Mikhail Gorbachev gives his official resignation speech. Dec. 25, 1991.CBS News/YouTube

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Marchers in Moscow hold a sign that reads, "No to Fascism! Yes to Yeltsin! All on Strike!" August 19, 1991.ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images

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Residents of Moscow unfurl a massive Russian flag to celebrate the failure of the Communist coup. August 22, 1991. ANATOLY SAPRONENKOV/AFP via Getty Images

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The Fall Of The Soviet Union In 36 Rarely-Seen Photographs

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The fall of the Soviet Union didn't happen overnight. Communism in the USSR suffered a slow and prolonged death — an entire decade of economic collapse, political revolts, and military failures that slowly ate away at one of the most powerful empires on Earth.

By the 1980s, the Soviet economy was falling apart. Food and supplies were growing so scarce that people would have to spend hours lined up outside of their local stores, patiently waiting for their turn to scavenge what little was left on its shelves before they were completely stripped bare.

Political unrest reached its peak in 1989 when revolutions started to spread like wildfire across the Eastern Bloc. Countries throughout the region started standing up and fighting to topple their Communist rulers and weaken the Soviet grip on the world.

In response, the Soviet Army rolled in on tanks and armored carriers, trying to crush the dissidents that had risen up against the Kremlin's power. They massacred whole crowds of people for daring to rise up – but many kept fighting, no matter what Moscow threw at them.

Most of the protests were peaceful. Across the Baltic states, people protested the Soviet rule by simply holding hands; 2 million people grabbed hold of each other in a human chain that extended across Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, pleading for freedom from the USSR.

Then, as winter crept into the year of revolution, the Berlin Wall came down. On a November 9, 1989 press conference, East German ruling party spokesman Günter Schabowski misread an official memo about relaxed travel restrictions and told the people of East Berlin that they could travel freely to West Berlin, effective immediately — when the party had, in fact, wanted a slower transition. Crowds of thousands then rushed across the checkpoint that very night, and, shortly after, the wall was torn down.

In a single year, six countries seceded from the Soviet Union – and soon, their troubles would come to Moscow. In the last month of 1991, the hardline Communists made their last stand, staging a coup d'état to try to take control of the nation.

The last, dying struggle of the Soviets was over in just two days. The people wouldn't stand for their new rulers, and stood up, demanding democracy. The last leader of the Communist Party, Mikhail Gorbachev, accepted their demands. He stepped down, President Boris Yeltsin took over, and the Iron Curtain was torn down.

It was December 26, 1991, when the long, slow fall of the Soviet Union came to an end. That evening, the Soviet flag flapping above the Kremlin was taken down for the last time. In its place, the flag of Russia was raised.

After this look at the fall of the Soviet Union, check out some of the most incredible photos from the Soviet-Afghan War and the youth of the USSR in the 1960s.