By 1945, the Soviet Union was a founding member of the United Nations and a  global superpower controlling half of Europe. By 1991, with five thousand nuclear missiles at its disposal and an army four million strong, the USSR was a formidable rival for the United States. But by the end of the year, the union would meet its untimely demise.

Most historians have argued that the fall of the USSR was inevitable, but Vlad Zubok author of Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union sees things differently. In his book, Zubok offers a major reinterpretation of the last years of this seismic event revealing how nationalist separatism and the misguided reforms of former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev ultimately destroyed the Soviet Union.

On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Ismail Assafi and  Professor Vlad Zubok revisit those final years of the USSR exploring whether it could’ve been saved, and what precedents its fall set for modern day geopolitical climates. 

BOOK: Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union

GUEST: Vladislav Zubok

PRODUCER: Ismail Assafi

MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton

PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino.

SHOW NOTES: Link to Vlad Zubok’s work