Economic Demise of the Soviet Union Online

Economic Demise of the Soviet Union (EDSUO) lessons offer teachers an opportunity to apply economic reasoning in their classroom, helping students identify and explain the factors that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. In line with FTE’s commitment to teaching economic reasoning, these lessons also serve as models for incorporating economics into history-focused curricula.  

Each lesson teaches a single economic concept, offering examples and illustrations from the seemingly mindless chaos of everyday economic life in the USSR. From the powerful Planning Ministries, to the hapless householders standing hours in line to get their weekly necessities, every level of Soviet society faced increasing frustration in the waning years of the 20th century. The Economic Demise of the Soviet Union Online course details the perverse incentive system at the heart of the empire’s economic failure.

EDSUO Course Specifics Details: 

• Registration Fee: $175 
• Course Length: 8 weeks 
• Curriculum: lectures, PowerPoints, videos, and lessons that include background information, chronologies of events, economic data, simulations, and testing instruments 
• Registration: approximately 20 students per section, first-come, first-served, based on receipt of registration fee payment 
• Optional graduate credit: 2 semester hours graduate credit available from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs for an additional fee of $120/credit unit.

FTE thanks the Calvin K. Kazanjian Economics Foundation for funding support in the creation of The Economic Demise of the Soviet Union and The Economic Demise of the Soviet Union Online.