Get a free audiobook with a 30-day trial today by signing up at audible.com/infographics.

今天在 audible.com/infographics 註冊就可獲得 30 天的有聲書免費試用。

Go to Audible.com/infographics or text infographics to 500-500 to get started.

前往 Audible.com/infographics 或簡訊傳送 infographics 到 500-500 開始試用。

Christmas day, 1991, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev announced we are living in a new world.

1991 年的聖誕節當日，蘇聯總統米哈伊爾・戈巴契夫宣佈我們活在新世界。

And with these seven words, the Soviet Union was dissolved and Gorbachev stepped down from his post.

而隨著這七個字的脫口，蘇聯解體、戈巴契夫也下臺了。

After 40 years of the Cold War and the threat of a nuclear holocaust,

經過 40 年的冷戰和核武大屠殺的威脅，

the world's largest communist state broke up into 15 independent republics, meaning the USA was now handed the accolade of new world superpower.

世界上最大的共產主義國家解體為 15 個獨立共和國，意味著美國現在獲得新的世界超級大國的榮譽。

At it's strongest, the Soviet Union had over 5 million soldiers stationed around the world, and they all stepped down without a shot being fired under the new regime.

在它最強大的時候，蘇聯擁有超過 5 百萬軍人駐紮在世界各地，而在新政權下，他們都是一槍未發就下臺了。

Today, we will explore exactly what came to pass in this episode of the Infographics Show:

我們今天將在 Infographics Show 本集節目中探討發生了什麼事情：

How and Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse?

蘇聯如何解體以及何以崩解？

In the late 1980s, the Soviet Union appeared to be somewhat of a power house,

在 1980 年代晚期，蘇聯看似某種權力機構，

exhibiting a rigid recovery from the invasion of Afghanistan and with an economy that appeared to be performing well.

展現了從阿富汗入侵中的僵硬恢復以及似乎表現良好的經濟。

The Union appeared from the surface as powerful as it was back in the 1950s, but looks can be deceiving.

聯盟從表面上看來，與 1950 年代時一樣強大，但外表是可以欺騙的。

Beneath the façade, the Soviet Union was splitting apart, and it had been happening for decades.

在表面之下，蘇聯正在分裂，而且這種情況已經發生數十年了。

Although there were many factors at play, some reasons were as follows:

儘管有許多因素在起作用，一些原因如下：

Mikhail Gorbachev rose to power in 1985, with plans to reform the nation with a hybrid communist-capitalist system similar to modern-day China.

米哈伊爾・戈巴契夫於 1985 年掌權，並計劃用類似現代中國的共產-資本主義混合制度改革國家。

He also planned to ease restrictions on freedom of speech and religion.

他也計劃放寬對言論和宗教自由的限制。

Before this, millions of Soviets were arrested for speaking out against the state.

在此之前，數百萬名蘇聯人因為反對國家的言論而被逮捕。

However, his plan backfired,

然而，他的計劃適得其反，

as he discovered that the loosening of control over the people and reforming political restrictions

因為他發現，降低對人民的控制並改革政治

meant the people used their new-found powers to critique the government until they eventually succeeded in pushing for reform.

意味著人民會利用他們新發現的權力來批判政府，直到他們最終成功推動改革。

This brand of Communism had operated historically on tight central control⏤the loosening control led to the abandonment of the entire construct.

這個共產主義品牌歷來都是靠嚴格的中央控制來運作，而控制鬆綁導致對整個結構的放棄。

Back in the days of Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Joseph Stalin, the Soviets were led with strong ideological beliefs tied to Marxism.

在弗拉迪米爾・列寧、里昂・托洛茨基和約瑟夫・史達林統治的時期，蘇聯人被領導的方式帶有與馬克思主義緊密相關的意識形態信仰。

By the 1960s, the radical policies of the past leaders were abandoned in favor of a more conservative approach.

到了 1960 年代，過去領導人的激進政策被放棄，改而採用更保守的手段。

By the 1970s, the Soviet people noticed the rise of the political elite who lived in posh homes, ate in fancy restaurants, and spent their vacations at luxury ski resorts while millions of average Joes died from starvation.

到 1970 年代，蘇聯人民發現政治精英的崛起，他們住在豪華房子、在高級餐廳用餐，並在豪華滑雪場度假，而數百萬名普通人卻死於飢餓。

Younger generations were less keen to toe the line as their parents had, and were willing to step forward and protest for change.

年輕一代不太熱衷於像他們的父母那樣遵守規定，並願意挺身而出、為變革抗議。

These newer generations were more in tune with world events, and, slowly but surely, began to pull at the strands of the political regime.

這些較新的世代對全球時事更加關注，並緩慢但肯定地開始拉動政治制度的繩索。

Cold War tensions with the United States rose in the '70s and '80s,

與美國的冷戰緊張局勢在 70 與 80 年代提升，

and with Ronald Reagan's leadership and the resulting increase in military spending, it seemed that the US had won the nuclear standoff.

而隆納・雷根的領導以及由此產生的軍事開支增加狀況下，美國似乎已經在核武對峙中勝出。

The strategic defense initiative, or SDI, claimed to be able to blast Russian missiles as they fell, meaning, in theory, the US could win the long-running battle of wits.

簡稱 SDI 的戰略防禦倡議聲稱能夠在俄羅斯飛彈落下時將其炸毀，這表示理論上來說，美國可以贏得這場長期的智慧之戰。

Reagan also managed to isolate the Soviets from the rest of the World economy, and without export sales and oil, the Soviet economy was severely weakened and limited.

雷根還成功地將蘇聯與世界其它經濟體隔絕，而沒有了出口銷售和石油，蘇聯的經濟被嚴重地削弱和限制。

The Soviets were unable to turn a corner, and in the 1980s, bread lines were commonplace as poverty soared.

蘇聯人沒能轉危為安，而在 80 年代，隨著貧困飆升，排隊買麵包的現象也很普遍。

Many people didn't have basic clothing or shoes, and under these conditions, it is only a matter of time before the people call out for regime change.

許多人沒有最基本的衣服或鞋子，而在這些情況下，人民要求更換政權只是時間早晚問題。

And then there is the nation structure itself.

然後還有國家結構本身。

When you have 15 radically different republics under one flag with different ethnicities, cultures, and languages, there are bound to be inherent tensions.

你在一面旗幟下，擁有 15 個完全不同的共和國，各有不同的種族、文化和語言，勢必會有固有的緊張關係。

1989 nationalist movements brought about regime change in Poland and Czechoslovakia as the Soviets' satellite nations began to split away.

1989 年的民族主義運動隨著蘇聯的衛星國開始分裂，帶動了波蘭和捷克斯洛伐克的政權變化。

As these nations began to pull away, the central apparatus was weakened until it finally collapsed.

隨著這些國家開始退出，中央機構被削弱，直到最後崩潰。

Due to all these factors, by 1991, the Soviet Union was unable to maintain a normal functioning economy and run a huge military simultaneously.

由於所有這些因素，蘇聯到了 1991年已經無法維持正常的經濟運作並同時經營一支龐大的軍隊。

Gorbachev, unwilling to go to war like his predecessors Lenin and Stalin might've done, instead, pulled the plug on the military and the 15 republics went their separate ways.

不願意像前人列寧和史達林可能會採取的戰爭行為，戈巴契夫反而選擇終止軍隊運作並讓 15 個共和國各奔東西。

Although a devoted Marxist, Gorbachev was an independent thinker who respected the need for reform and planned a restructuring of the economy.

雖然戈巴契夫是忠實的馬克思主義擁護者，他也是一個獨立的思想家，尊重改革的需要並計劃了經濟結構重整。

This, along with his vision to lessen the control held by central government and a move towards uncensored media, laid the path for total reform.

這一點，搭配他對減少中央政府控制的想法以及向未經審查的媒體邁進，奠定了全面改革的道路。

The seeds were planted, and the Soviet Union was no more.

種子已經種下，而蘇聯已經不復存在。

So, today, we looked at the downfall of the Soviet Union,

那麼，我們今天看了蘇聯的垮臺，

but if you want to know more about specific stories during the Cold War,

但如果你想知道更多關於冷戰期間的具體故事，

we suggest listening to an audio book on Audible called "Stalking the Red Bear: the True story of a US Cold War Submarine's Covert Operations Against the Soviet Union".

我們建議可以聽聽書名為《跟蹤紅熊：冷戰時期潛艇對蘇聯展開秘密行動的真實故事》這本有聲書。

Audible is offering our listeners a free audiobook with a 30-day trial membership, so you can check out this book risk-free.

Audible 提供給我們的聽眾 1 本免費有聲書以及 30 天的試用會員，所以你可以無風險地查看這本書。

The great thing about Audible is that you can switch seamlessly between your devices, picking up exactly where you left off, whether it's on your phone, through your car, from a tablet, or at home on an Amazon Echo.

Audible 的好處是，你可以在各種設備之間無縫切換，哪裡停止就哪裡開始看，不管是手機、汽車、平板電腦或是家裡的亞馬遜 Echo 上。

You can get through tons of books while doing almost anything.

你可以在做幾乎任何事情的同時聽完大量的書。

Go to Audible.com/Infographics and browse the unmatched selection of audio programs.

前往 Audible.com/Infographics 以瀏覽無與倫比的音訊節目選擇。

Download a title free and start listening!

免費下載一本書並開始聆聽！

It's that easy.

就是那麼簡單。

Go to Audible.com/Infographics or text infographics to 500-500 to get started today.

前往 Audible.com/infographics 或簡訊傳送 infographics 到 500-500，今天就開始試用。

So, what do you think?

那麼，你怎麼看？

Can communism work as a political model?

共產主義是否能作為一個政治模型？

For the countries that still operate under this system, what does the future hold for them?

對於仍在這種制度下運作的國家，它們的未來是什麼？

Let us know in the comments.

請在評論中告訴我們。

Also, be sure to watch our other video called "Most Common Ways People Died In The Middle Ages".

此外，務必觀看我們的另一部名為《中世紀人們最常見死亡方式》的影片

Thanks for watching, and, as always, don't forget to like, share, and subscribe.

謝謝各位觀看，另外，一如往常地，別忘記點讚、分享和訂閱。

See you next time!

下次見！