cold war 3

• Détente


  The search for peace between the USA and USSR
• After the Second World War the USA and the USSR began an arms race, both developing missiles which could carry nuclear war heads into enemy territory
• Scientists continued to develop weapons and soon both countries had enough nuclear weapons to completely destroy their rivals, this was known as Mutually Assured Destruction or MAD
• During the late 1960s and 1970s, Russian and American leaders tried to ease the tensions in their relationship
• Razryadka


  The Russian term for détente
• The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 brought the world to the brink of a nuclear holocaust
• Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis


  1. Hot-Line set up between the Kremlin and the White House

  2. Test Ban Treaty signed to stop nuclear tests above ground
• The 1967 Outer Space Treaty stopped the arms race spreading to outer space as it pledged that no nuclear weapons would be placed in space by either superpower
• The 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty agreed that neither superpower would supply nuclear weapons to other states or help other states to develop nuclear weapons
• Richard Nixon


  Became President of the USA in 1968 and had promised to end the war in Vietnam
• The Soviet Union was facing economic problems and wanted to cut spending on weapons and devote more resources to improving living standards and updating the economy
• By the late 1960s, both Superpowers had spent huge amounts on the arms race and were looking for ways to reduce spending
• The result of Soviet spending on arms was that by the early 1970s the USSR had a distinct advantage in ICBMs and SLBMs
• SALT 1


  The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty signed in 1972 that imposed limits on the nuclear capability of Russia and the USA
• SALT 1 was significant because it was the first agreement between the superpowers that successfully limited the number of nuclear weapons they held
• SALT 1 showed that détente had created an environment in which the two sides could co-operate on important issues
• Weaknesses of SALT I

  • Unrealistic to expect that a piece of paper would prevent nuclear war from breaking out
  • Did not limit strategic bombers and number of bombs
  • Did not cover new technology such as MIRV
• In 1974 negotiations for SALT 2 begun
• Helsinki Accords 1975


  Stabilised the situation in Europe by agreeing greater co-operation between the superpowers and their European allies in terms of trade and fighting international terrorism
• The Helsinki Accords were the high point of detente as they agreed on Human Rights, security and co-operation
• The Apollo-Soyuz mission 1975 was a joint space mission in which an American Apollo spacecraft and a Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked high about the Earth
• SALT II


  Arms control agreement signed in 1979 that included limits on strategic nuclear delivery vehicles, MIRVs, and new types of strategic offensive arms
• Even before agreement was reached on SALT II, relations between the Superpowers began to break down
• In 1977 President Carter of the USA criticised the Soviet Union's human rights' record at the Belgrade conference
• The USA's recognition of the People's Republic of China in December 1978 proved annoying to the Soviet Union and led them to delay the arms control process
• In the late 1970s, officials in the Carter administration wanted to use arms control to curb Soviet activities in the Developing World
• In November 1979 Islamic militants captured the American embassy in Tehran, which damaged relations between the superpowers
• Relations between the Superpowers were damaged following revelations of a Russian combat brigade in Cuba in September 1979
• Flashpoint


  A place, event, or time at which violence or hostility flares up
• The Kabul Revolution of April 1978 witnessed the dramatic overthrow of the Afghan royal family and the creation of a new government, based in the Afghan capital of Kabul, which was determined 'to build socialism in Afghanistan'
• Hafizullah Amin assassinated Taraki, and began negotiations to form an alliance with the USA
• Brezhnev believed that America would allow the invasion of Afghanistan, as it had done in Czechoslovakia following the 'Prague Spring', to avoid war
• The USSR was concerned that as a result of the civil war, Afghanistan would become an Islamic state and influence nearby Soviet republics to do the same
• Between 25th December 1979 and 1st January 1980 more than 50,000 Soviet troops were sent to Afghanistan to restore order
• The Soviet Union remained in Afghanistan for 10 years, around 1.5 million people died, including almost 15,000 Russian soldiers
• The financial cost of the war was colossal and played a significant part in the bankruptcy of the Soviet Union in the 1980s
• The Carter Doctrine was the US President's response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, promising military aid to all countries bordering Afghanistan and the creation of a quick strike military force
• Carter's action did not force Soviet troops to withdraw from Afghanistan
• The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan marked the end of détente between the superpowers
• President Carter fused to ratify SALT II