Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Mikhail Gorbachev and the end of Communism



Mikhail Gorbachev opened up the Soviet Union by adding more churches. He wanted people to talk about their society and what can they do to make it better. Mikhail Gorbachev made this idea called glasnost. This idea was made in the year 1985 which means openness. Mikhail wanted his people to come together and open about their society.

Another idea Mikhail Gorbachev created was called peristrokia. This idea was based on the economic system. Managers could finally take over their farms and factories. Also many people could make their own business. This is how the Soviet Union had become a better place.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Collapse of Communism

Commumism collapsed in Eastern Europe and the USSR because of their ethnic groups. Yugoslavia had six groups, which caused problems. Another problem that caused Eastern Europe to collapse was Poland. They were facing economic problems. Lech Walesa was a bad leader so they took him out of office. People torn down the Berlin War because West Germany and East Germany could not cross the border. They didn't like the thought of that. West Germany and East Germany could not meet each other. Then on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall torn down.

Monday, May 7, 2007

Creation of Israel

Zionism is a Jewish movement where it established in Israel. Some of the conflicts that occurred when Israel was created, was in 539 B.C., the Israelis went to Jerusalem to make a temple to pray there. It was then destroyed by the Romans. Another conflict was when Israelis took over Canaan but then Assyrians took over the Israelis. There temples and tribes were in ruins. The Palestinians were not getting along with the Israelis because of the 1948 war. The Palestinians had to leave their home. After the war, Israel took over the Palestinians country.

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid



An apartheid is a practice that separates people by their race. South Africa had this practice from 1948 to 1994. During this time the black people or also known as the Bantu people were not allowed to vote. Nelson Mandela was the leader of South Africa.

He is known for being a hero and establishing peace. He didn't believed in apartheid and wanted to demolish it. Nelson Mandela spend twenty-seven years in jail for being in a "anti-apartheid campaign." People were nervous because they thought that if he died in jail, everyone will kill each other. Luckily, he didn't die and was elected president. I think people find him a heroic person because he made very good changes in Africa. He was also awarded for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Today apartheid is banned all because of one heroic person.