What were two things severely hurting the soviet economy just prior to its fall?
a. the agricultural and manufacturing sectors were not meeting peoples' needs.
b. it was in the middle of fighting a protracted and unwinnable war in pakistan.
c. falling oil prices caused loss of income for the soviet union export business.
d. russia had managed to find itself in a major trade deficit, which proved unhealthy.

the roman army grew in size and became dominant in the mediterranean region.

the catholic church withhold people's access to the bible during the middle ages.

people could go to church and listen to the teachings, but it was absolutely forbidden to own and/or read the books of both the old and new testaments. it was also prohibited to translate the books (which where originally in biblical hebrew) to any other language.

this was done so the church could remain in control of what their teachings were and to enhance their importance and power, while also being able to judge people's actions through information that was unavailable for the general public.