Cold war 🪖

Cards (50)

  • What are the orders of the 3 conferences?
    Tehran-Yalta-Potsdam
  • What and when was the Tehran conference?
    28 Nov-1 Dec 1943. Where they made plans for the reconstruction of Europe."marriage of convinence Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin decided the USSR would have a 'sphere of influence' in Eastern Europe where communism was respected. Securing the USSR with security. Western Europe would be the British and USA sphere of influence where capitalism would be dominant. However they didn't agree on Germany's future, Stalin wanting it to be fined, loose land and dismantled as an industrial nation. However Roosevelt and Churchill believed a prosperous Germany was key to a successful and peaceful Europe.
  • When and what was the Yalta conference?
    4-11th of Feb 1945.The big three met the day before the destruction of the Nazi's. Where Stalin agreed to send Russian troops to help the US defeat Japan. Roosevelt and Churchill agreed on a communist government in Poland.They made the 'Declaration of a liberated Europe' which meant they had to work for democracy in England. However they had different ideas on what democracy meant. Roosevelt believed different parties should compete in free elections while Stalin believed only a communist government could represent the people. They established the UN for world peace
  • Who were the new leaders in the Potsdam conference?
    Churchill was replaced by Clement Atlee and Roosevelt was replaced by Truman due to his death.
  • When and what happened to Germany in the Potsdam Conference?
    16 July 2 August ; Stalin, Truman and Atlee had to decide on what to do with Germany as they were at the heart of Europe. They decided to ban the Nazi party prosecute the Nazi war criminals reduce the size of Germany by a quarter and divided it into 4 zones France ,Britain and US occupying west and southern Germany and USSR in eastern Germany and taking reparations from their zones and traded with each other as the west had industrial equipment and East rich with coal.
  • What did Truman do in the Potsdam conference that ignited tension and what did he do+agreement did Stalin breach?
    Truman pushed back the conference to give time to the US scientists the test their nuclear bomb. Calling the bomb a master card ' and the ultimate weapon to push around Stalin. However Stalin refused to be pushed around but felt threatened so created the buffer zone between Russia and the Capitalist West. Stalin also broke his word with allowing both communist and capitalist in Poland government it was clear there was a division between the three superpowers.
  • What was the Truman Doctrine?
    The Truman Doctrine 1947, was an American foreign policy that aided countries that were under threat of communism military, economic and political assistance.
  • What was the impacts+how much did they spend on the Truman Doctrine?
    It showed that the world was divided by opposing ideologies of capitalism and communism and was the unofficial end of the Grand Alliance. The US spent $13 billion to help rebuild Europe. It made the US look powerful in comparison to the USSR.
  • When and what was the Marshall Aid and what were the reasons?
    The Marshall plan provided economic help to Europe after World War II as Truman believed it was a "breeding ground" for communism. The US secretary George Marshall proposed Marshall Aid.
  • What were the benefits for the US from the Marshall Aid and how did countries qualify?
    The benefits for the US is that it created reliable trading partners and they were able to make money by producing goods in factories that could be sold in Europe and creating a market for the US exports. In order to qualify European countries had to agree to trade freely with the US.
  • How was Marshall Aid put into action in Greece and how did Stalin resist the Marshall Aid and what did he describe it as?
    After WWI Greece were 'under threat' to communism and In 1947, Greece were under attack from communist rebels and asked the US for help which Truman offered arms,supplies and money to Greece. Communism in Greece was defeated in 1949 following a civil war. Stalin banned Eastern European countries from accepting Marshall Aid and described it as 'dollar imperial' and believed the US were trying buy their influence in Europe.
  • What was a satellite state and some examples?
    A Satellite state was a country that was ruled by another nation. Rumania ,Albania Czechoslovakia ,Hungary and Poland.
  • What did Cominform stand for and what did it do?
    Cominform stands for the communist information Bureau was set up in 1947 as a political union that represented all communist parties in Europe and coordinated all their activities under the Soviet Union. Cominform also ensured loyalty to Stalin. Government ministers and employees were regularly investigated,attacked and sent to prison if not loyal to Stalin. It encouraged parties in Western Europe to strike against American policies. In France 2 million workers went on strike telling the government to reject the Marshall Plan.
  • What did the Comecon stand for and what did it do?
    The council for Mutual Economic Assistance was made in 1949 and was made to encourage economic development in Eastern Europe to prevent trade with Western Europe and the US. Comecon was an communist alternative to the Marshall Plan. He ordered Eastern countries to boycott the Marshall Aid and limited the influence of the US in eastern Europe and the economic recovery in Eastern would remain in the USSR's sphere of influence.
  • Who was Gorbachev and what did he do?
    Gorbachev was the last president of the Soviet Union prior to its collapse in 1991. He came up with reforms to improve the USSR's quality of life and intentionally moved towards capitalism.
  • Why did Gorbachev come up with his reforms?
    He realised the USSR's economy couldn't keep w the West. The US had a better standard of living. There were shortages of everyday goods(people queued for hours for sausage). People living in the USSR lost faith in the Communist Party. As corrupt,untrustworthy and inefficient.
  • What were the two reforms Gorbachev introduced?
    Glassnot: openness-relaxing censorship in the press to allow a wider range of opinions and criticism to the Soviet Government
    Perestroika:restructuring-economic reforms to make the USSR wealthier and more efficient.
  • How did Gorbachev's reforms help to move the Soviet Union toward democracy?
    Gorbachev introduced more capitalist views like allowing criticism and freedom of speech. They could buy western Newspapers and the press published stories about the lives of past Soviet leaders and got a taste for individual freedom.
  • What were the strengths and weaknesses of the USA ?
    STRENGTHS -Leader of NATO with dependable allies ,Highly equipment army+space technology,High tech computers, reputations as 'leader of the free world', booming market economy
    WEAKNESS-A huge gap between rich and poor, fewer numb. of nuclear weapons.
  • What were the strengths and weaknesses of the USSR ?
    STRENGTHS-Leader of Warsaw Pact allies, largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world,huge amount of natural resources:coal,gas and iron
    WEAKNESS-failing state-controlled economy,fighting an expensive war in Afghanistan, old-fashioned technology,falling standard of living, Chernobyl nuclear accident
  • How did Gorbachev describe the US president Reagan?
    'Mentally retarded" "primitive" "class enemy"
  • What was Gorbachev's involvement in the Chernobyl Disaster?
    1986 ;A nuclear plant in Ukraine exploded. 4k killed, 336k relocated. Gorbs tries to deny it, West media show truth = awks for Gorbs, people know he was lying.. loss of trust
  • What were the causes of the Hungarian Uprising?
    -Hungary had lost land to other countries,Their resources were shipped to Russia while they were left hungry.
    -Cominform oppressed them, Non-communist political parties were abolished.
    -Russian officials controlled the government,police, army and what was taught in schools.
    -Executed political leaders + their supporters
  • Who was Hungary's dictator described as + acts?
    Rakosi; he was described as a Stalin's 'best pupil' but to the Hungarian public he was described as 'Bald butcher' and had 'Salami tactics' taking out one by one imprisoning 300,000+ people and executed over 2,000+ opponents
  • What were the reforms Nagy implemented?
    1.Said Hungary to leave the Warsaw Pact and become Neutral
    2. Communist government in Hungary should end
    3. Hungary should have a western-style democracy with free elections
    4.Hungary should ask the UN for protection against the USSR
  • What were the key features of the Hungarian Uprising?
    Hungarian students rioted and attacked Soviet troops with petrol bombs+ grenades after hearing Kruschevs speech. Police lost control over the mob of protesters in Budapest.
  • What was the detente of the 1970's and what did it include?
    A phased of relaxed tensions and improved relations between the US and USSR, included the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties (SALT I and SALT II), Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
  • What was the Outer space treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?
    Where they stopped the arms race from spreading to outer space.So no nuclear weapons would be put in space by either super powers. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty agreed that neither superpower would supply nuclear weapons to other countries.
  • What was SALT I, who signed it and what did it stand for?
    The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, limited the amount of nuclear weapons the USSR and USA could have and they agreed to stop making missiles that were short-range and easily move. Limited the production of long range missiles and was signed by Soviet leader Brezhnev and the US president Nixon
  • What was the Apollo-Soyuz mission?

    Where America and the USSR went on a spacecraft together and orbited the earth marking the beginning of the superpowers co-operation in space
  • What was the Berlin refugee crisis?
    The East German government was very unpopular so many East Germans tried to flee to West as it was more attractive and had the citizens had more freedom and wealth than countries in the Eastern Bloc.Over 2 years 2.7 million refugees-including many skilled workers moved from East to West. Led to a” brain drain”
  • Why was the Berlin refugee crisis a disaster for the USSR?
    It was a propaganda disaster for Krushchev because it proved that many people preferred the capitalist West to the communist East.
  • What was Krushchev's Ultimatum to Eisenhower and how was the battled?
    Khrushchev declared that the whole of Berlin officially belonged to East Germany and gave West German troops an ultimatum to leave within 6 months. Eisenhower didn't want to lose control over West Berlin nor cause a war so arranged a meeting. They met twice and still no conclusion was met. However Khrushchev decided to withdraw his ultimatum and they met one last time in Paris but the USSR had shot down a U-2 spy plane over Russia and captured the pilot before the conference. Eisenhower refused to apologise and Khrushchev walked out the conference in protest
  • How did Kennedy respond to the failed attempts of discussing Berlin's future?

    Another meeting was set between the superpowers as they both were not going to back down. As Kennedy was seen as new and inexperienced Khrushchev believed he would back down so gave him another 6 month ultimatum to get US troops out of Berlin. But Kennedy said he would not and started preparing for war giving American government an extra 3.3 billion dollars in defence spending and built 207 million dollars worth of nuclear fallout shelters
  • How did Khrushchev respond to Kennedy getting ready for war?
    Khrushchev was aware the USSR could not beat USA in an nuclear battle as at the time the US had 20X the amount of nuclear weapons than Russia and American bombs could reach the USSR directly while the USSR's couldn't. Kennedy's refusal to give in lead to Khrushchev having to back down.
  • Why was the Berlin wall built and what happened to people who tried to escape?
    On the 12th of August ,Khrushchev built a wall separating East and West Berlin making it impossible for East Germans to escape to the West. The East of the wall had an 'death strip' where anyone who entered would be killed by the soldiers who guarded it
  • Why was the Berlin wall significant?
    It ended the refugee crisis stopping East Germans from escaping to the West
    It allowed Khrushchev to avoid war with the US whilst still appearing strong
    It became a powerful symbol of the division of Germany and Europe between East and West.
    Kennedy said,'It's not a very nice solution, but a wall is hell better than a war
  • What were the consequences of the Hungarian Uprising?
    Khrushchev sent 200,000 Soviet troops to crush the new Hungarian government.After two weeks of fighting Nagy was defeated and went to the Yugoslavian embassy for protection where Khrushchev and the embassy agreed to allow Nagy to leave Hungary. However, when he left the embassy he was arrested and charged for treason where he was found guilty and hung. Khrushchev claimed this to be a 'lesson for the leaders of all socialist countries
  • What was the US part in the Hungarian uprising?
    The US encouraged and publicly praised their bravery and encouraged them to fight on ,but did nothing to help in fear of starting a nuclear war. They offered $20 million for food and medical aid. This deterred other countries under Khrushchev's sphere of influence to rebel or revolt as they would get no help from the US or the UN.
  • Who was appointed as the new leader after Nagy and what reforms did he introduce?
    Janos Karar was appointed and made a fifteen-point programme on Hungary's future which included:
    -Re-establishing communist control over Hungary
    -Using Hungarian soldiers to stop attacks on Soviet troops
    -Remaining in the Warsaw Pact
    -Negotiating the withdrawal of Soviet troops