The fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s can be attributed to various factors, including economic stagnation, political instability, and social unrest. The Soviet economy was heavily centralized and inefficient, leading to shortages and declining living standards. Additionally, the policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) implemented by Mikhail Gorbachev aimed to reform the system but instead weakened central control. Nationalist movements grew within the republics, demanding independence from the Union. The failed coup in August 1991 further destabilized the government, ultimately leading to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December of that year, marking the end of the Cold War.