Was Reagen responsible for the split of the USSR?

There was certainly a lot of credit given to Reagan regarding the split of the USSR in the 1980s. Reagan and USSR’s leader Mikhail Gorbachev came together to sign an arms treaty. Reagan frequently tried to convince Gorbachev to “tear down that wall.” Reagan was referring to Germany’s Berlin Wall. That wall that was in another country symbolized the separation of a communist country versus a free country.

Since the USSR had a communist government, Reagan was trying to convince Gorbachev to stop communism in his country. It would take a few more years after Reagan’s presidency for Gorbachev to step down and communism to end in the USSR. Therefore, Reagan is often given credit for helping the country of Russia to break ties with this type of government.