... post-war Yalta Conference laid the foundation for the ongoing divide in ideologies between a Capitalist West represented by the United Sates, and a Communist East, represented by the U.S.S.R- a multi-ethnic state, composed of fifteen republics that were held together by extremely powerful central authority exercised by a Communist Russia. It is necessary to note that when one refers to the end of the Cold War, it is unquestionably a reference to the disintegration of the U.S.S.R; or the withdrawal of the main competitor. Hence, in order to understand the end of this war, one must analyze the factors that led to the fall of the Soviet Union, which in turn triggered a set of global political changes marking the end of the Cold War. In 1991, the U.S.S.R was officially dissolved with the step-down of President Gorbachev and the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe. While some analysts ...

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