What was the straw that broke the camel's (I mean Bear's) back and brought down the Iron Curtain?

Question

I vote for Gdańsk Shipyard and..."Solidarity!"

Answer 1

The cost of trying to keep up with America's military spending coupled with three years of poor harvests was the final straw.

Answer 2

I think the conflict in Afghanistan in the late 80's could be considered the last straw.  The Soviet Union went in to Afghanistan with one of the strongest militarizes in the world.  They left defeated by rag-tag guerrilla forces that were not so covertly armed by the United States.

Answer 3

Well, basically Nancy convinced Ronnie to come off his high horse and work with the man with the big birthmark on his forehead.

Answer 4

Glasnost and Ronald Regan.

Answer 5

When Gorbachev was visiting Margaret Thatcher, she lamented that fully 15% of all food that the U.K. produced spoiled before it could be distributed. Gorbachev said that in the USSR it was more than 50%. He then broke down and cried. Whichever straw it was doesn't matter. They had a system that simply didn't work. We proved that our system does work. Communism was dead two days before Lenin took over. But no one told him.    

Answer 6

A protest for solidarity in a Polish shipyard was certainly a significant load but Chewbaca and Hans Solo being in a place too far from the bear's path and the bear's inability to feed itself were the overriding factors that caused the bear two split in two, again, and again, and again... and then there was no iron for the curtain.