My sense about the reasons why the Soviet Union dissolved: It was bankrupt (much like the US financial system is presently). The reasons for why the Soviet economic structure failed is complex (beyond the fact that competing with the capitalist west was impossible in the long term). The other reason, the same one that our gatito alludes to today is the advent of television becoming a consumer item in Soviet Russia. It was at this point that the man on the street saw state-controlled film footage of the Vietnam war-era protests and these scenes included flag burning and civil "disobedience" acts. What the Soviet viewing public actually saw was that the US had a system of government that had an allowance for protest that enabled the populace the right to protest without getting shot (except the Kent State incident). In the midst of these segments of examination of the west, one could also get a peek at the "lavish" (appearing) lifestyle of westerners. These two things were actually very influential in sowing the seeds of dissatisfaction amongst the Russian citizenry. Unfortunate for Gorbachev.