A key factor that contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union was the economic failure and inefficiencies of its centralized planned economy. Starting in the 1970s, the Soviet economy struggled with stagnation, shortages, and low productivity, leading to social discontent and diminishing public trust in the government. The policies of Mikhail Gorbachev, including glasnost and perestroika, aimed to reform the system but inadvertently accelerated calls for independence among various republics. The culmination of these factors, combined with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the rise of nationalist movements, ultimately led to the official dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.