Excellent documentary of Discovery Channel about the Fall of the Soviet Union.

"Mr. President: Tear down the wall"

THE END OF AN ERA

"The End of the Cold War is Our Common Victory"
Mihjail Gorbachev (USSR, 1992)

Throughout the second half of the XX century, the Soviet Union fought an increasingly frustrating war around the world. At the same time, the Soviet economy faced the continuously escalating costs of the arms race. Dissent at home grew while the stagnant economy faltered under the combined burden. Attempted reforms at home left the Soviet Union unwilling to rebuff challenges to its control in Eastern Europe. During 1989 and 1990, the Berlin Wall came down, borders opened, and free elections ousted Communist regimes everywhere in eastern Europe. In late 1991 the Soviet Union itself dissolved into its component republics. With stunning speed, the Iron Curtain was lifted and the Cold War came to an end.
During the Cold War, the United States invested heavily in submarine technology to counter a much larger Soviet submarine force. Technological superiority proved a winning but expensive strategy. How expensive is hard to say. Determining the cost of any advanced military technological system produced in relatively small numbers raises complex problems. There are no price lists for nuclear-powered submarines.
it was the end of an era of confrontations which involved the development of technologies to create and to destroy, a world in crisis which had an urgent call: "Mr. President: Tear down the wall" (Ronald Reagan, 1987).

Read the article and watch the video to answer with your own words:

Why do you think the Fall of the Soviet Union took place? Explain.