Labels:text | screenshot | poster OCR: THE FALL OF COMMUNISM SOVIET UNION OVERVIEW LEADERSHIP CRISIS Mc Donald's McDon 2 SOVIET UNION POLITICAL REFORMS FOREIGN AFFAIRS EASTERN EUROPE INCREASING TURMOIL LEADERS East meets West as McDonald's opens in Red Square 2: ECONOMIC CHAOS New political freedoms in the Soviet Union failed to strengthen communism's appeal. Mikhail Gorbachev's END OF THE UNION reforms to the system quickly ran into trouble. A few benefited from Western-style prosperity, but most saw standards fall as the economy was plunged into chaos. CHRONOLOGY . NEWSFLASH ..