S01E05: Breaking Ranks | The Second Russian Revolution

Duration: 48'54''

Synopsis

The story of how the last of the world's great empires began to break up. Gorbachev and his colleagues encouraged nationalists - but soon they were demanding independence.

Further Information

More clips from The Second Russian Revolution

S01E01: Enter Gorbachev | The Second Russian Revolution

S01E01: Enter Gorbachev | The Second Russian Revolution

BBC Two | 1991 | 49'27''

The story of how Mikhail Gorbachev became president of the Soviet Union. Victor Grishin talks about how Gorbachev bea...

S01E02: The Battle for Glasnost | The Second Russian Revolution

S01E02: The Battle for Glasnost | The Second Russian Revolution

BBC Two | 1991 | 49'06''

In 1988 Gorbachev left Russia for a week - and hardliners moved to try and undermine his authority. The attem...

S01E03: The Yeltsin File | The Second Russian Revolution

S01E03: The Yeltsin File | The Second Russian Revolution

BBC Two | 1991 | 49'10''

How did Boris Yeltsin rise to the top as a Soviet Communist Party official? How did he come to fall out with Mikhail...

S01E04: Revolution from Below | The Second Russian Revolution

S01E04: Revolution from Below | The Second Russian Revolution

BBC Two | 1991 | 49'17''

In 1989 the First Congress of People's Deputies changed the face of Soviet politics. But Gorbachev had unwittin...

S01E06: End of the Beginning | The Second Russian Revolution

S01E06: End of the Beginning | The Second Russian Revolution

BBC Two | 1991 | 49'20''

How Gorbachev's last attempt to move to a market economy ended in failure.

More resources about The Cold War

S01E05: The Fall of the Berlin Wall | Days That Shook the World

S01E05: The Fall of the Berlin Wall | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2003 | 29'41''

Exploring the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 from the perspective of a Checkpoint Charlie Stasi guard comman...

S01E09: Chernobyl | Days That Shook the World

S01E09: Chernobyl | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2003 | 30'35''

Two days highlight the benefits and terrors of atomic power: Chernobyl's nuclear meltdown on April 26, 1986.

01: Comrades: 1917-1945 | Cold War

01: Comrades: 1917-1945 | Cold War

BBC Two | 1998 | 46'26''

Both the United States and the Soviet Union drifted apart after the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Russian Civil War and the Paris Peace ...

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster | Surviving Disaster

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster | Surviving Disaster

BBC One | 2006 | 59'35''

In April 1986 a blast at a Soviet nuclear plant emits 400 times more radiation than the bomb at Hiroshima-the UN claims it ha...

The Secret Life of the Berlin Wall

The Secret Life of the Berlin Wall

BBC Two | 2009 | 1'29'33''

Documentary exploring the story of the Berlin Wall, uncovering a world of flawed heroes and heroic villains, compromised victories and sad...

11: Vietnam: 1954-1968 | Cold War

11: Vietnam: 1954-1968 | Cold War

BBC Two | 1998 | 46'48''

After losing the Battle of Dien Bien Phu the French leave Vietnam. A stream of refugees flee to the south after the Communist north institu...

21: Spies: 1944-1994 | Cold War

21: Spies: 1944-1994 | Cold War

BBC Two | 1998 | 46'27''

Throughout the Cold War both sides sought intelligence about their opponents using spies, satellites and other means. For political reasons, ...

Red Dawn | Strange Days: Cold War Britain

Red Dawn | Strange Days: Cold War Britain

BBC Two | 2013 | 59'06''

Historian Dominic Sandbrook examines the Cold War. He looks at the first chilling years of the conflict, when the opposing ideologi...

S02E09: Cold War Spies: 1960 U-2 incident | Days That Shook the World

S02E09: Cold War Spies: 1960 U-2 incident | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2004 | 30'13''

This program focuses on the shooting down of the US U-2 spy plane in 1960.

The Looking Glass War | Strange Days: Cold War Britain

The Looking Glass War | Strange Days: Cold War Britain

BBC Two | 2013 | 59'00''

Dominic Sandbrook examines the Cold War years, looking at the frontline of the conflict as consumerism was pitched aga...

Learning Zone | Strange Days: Cold War Britain

Learning Zone | Strange Days: Cold War Britain

BBC Two | 2014 | 29'14''

A version made specially for schools of the BBC Two history series on Britain and the Cold War. Presented by Dominic Sandbrook.

02: Iron Curtain: 1945-1947 | Cold War

02: Iron Curtain: 1945-1947 | Cold War

BBC Two | 1998 | 46'25''

The wartime allies demobilise - the United States enjoys its economic strength and resurgence while Britain and the rest of Europe is ...

08: Sputnik: 1949-1961 | Cold War

08: Sputnik: 1949-1961 | Cold War

BBC Two | 1998 | 46'26''

As a consequence of the atomic spies, the Soviet Union joined the nuclear club, and the two superpowers compete to develop their nuclear ar...

23: The Wall Comes Down: 1989 | Cold War

23: The Wall Comes Down: 1989 | Cold War

BBC Two | 1998 | 46'29''

Gorbachev makes clear Eastern European countries were free to determine their own destinies. In Poland Solidarity enters into negoti...

Two Tribes | Strange Days: Cold War Britain

Two Tribes | Strange Days: Cold War Britain

BBC Two | 2013 | 59'08''

Dominic Sandbrook examines the Cold War years. In the 1970s and '80s, as the end of the world seemed a real possibility, everythi...

When The Wind Blows (1986)

When The Wind Blows (1986)

Channel 4 | 1997 | 1'20'54''

Based on the work of Raymond Briggs, this chilling yet humorous story follows an elderly couple as they muddle through a nuclear attack, placing t...

05: Korea: 1949-1953 | Cold War

05: Korea: 1949-1953 | Cold War

BBC Two | 1998 | 46'26''

Korea after the Second World War was occupied by both the Soviets and the Americans, who respectively installed Kim Il Sung and Syngman Rhee ...

09: The Wall: 1958-1963 | Cold War

09: The Wall: 1958-1963 | Cold War

BBC Two | 1998 | 46'36''

West Germany, and West Berlin, become more affluent, prompting a surge of East Germans to cross the borders in Berlin, kept open under the...

10: Cuba: 1959-1962 | Cold War

10: Cuba: 1959-1962 | Cold War

BBC Two | 1998 | 46'25''

Fidel Castro comes to power following the Cuban Revolution. Cuba aligns itself with the Soviet Union and the government starts nationalising A...

Moscow 1980: The Cold War Olympics | Moscow 1980: The Cold War Olympics

Moscow 1980: The Cold War Olympics | Moscow 1980: The Cold War Olympics

BBC Two | 2008 | 2'58''

Steve Cram recalls how the Moscow Olympics of 1980 came to symbolise the intensity of the Cold War.