Mikhail Gorbachev and The Collapse of Communism

Mikhail Gorachev was a young leader Russia. His new ideas and theories seemed to have formed a loop-hole around their nations economy problem. He introduced a policy of glasnost which was a policy of openness / freedom of speech. Under the old government, this was impossible. With the thoughts of his people in his mind he had passed the policy of perestroika which gave people to own and open small private businesses. This was the plan of Economical Reconstruction. With this new system, the nation was able to loose satellite states.

The Collapse of Communism

During the time of the Cold War, the United states and Russia were the worlds main superpowers. After WW2, these two nations were neck-and-neck in various types of competition. Even though they had the largest and strongest armies, they never had a battle during the Cold War. The mere cost of keeping up with each other was high for both countries. However, Russia soon collapsed, along with communism. The collapse of the USSR destroyed many economies around the world. The fall of the Berlin Wall raised the iron curtain that had fallen on Europe ever since WW2. The collapse made the U.S. the world's only leading superpower and reshaped Europe once again.

African Independence

During European imperialism, the European countries came to Africa and started declaring their own colonies. This upset the African people because their borders were being defined by the will of those new to their countries. The Africans also had no say in their own government. This was one of the more critical parts that had affected the African people because they were supposed to abide by laws that they had no say in. After WW2, the Africans had little money left. This resulted in the formation of many new African nations.
Many African countries demanded thier independence. These countries fought hard. For example, Nelson Mendela was famous for this. He felt it was his duty to free his country, but do this without any means of violence. In the end many of their efforts had worked and their countries were free.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid.

Apartheid is a policy of legal racial segregation.
Nelson Mandela was raised in South Africa. He lived in a part under the Apartheid system. This meant that he would be treated unfairly just because of the fact that his skin was black. People were treated very unequally. For example, if a white man and a black man had the same job. The white man could possibly make more money in a week than the black man could make in an entire year. Living conditions were harsh in South Africa.
Nelson Mandela lead an underground movement. However, it didnt last long because he was sentencedf to life in prison in 1964. 27 years after his imprisonment, he was freed. Less than five years later, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and elected president of South America.
Did you know?
In 2001, Nelson Mandela was diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer.