topic 3

• detente - 1972-1974


  • Vietnam war - US- soviet relations weren't effected as china was main communist party fighting
  • Nixon - first us president to visit Moscow caused Helsinki
  • SALT 1 (1972) - first step in limiting offensive arms, 5 year freeze ICBM's
  • Yom Kippur - detente fragile powers disagreed on how to end war US supported Isreal, USSR wanted a joint us-soviet force
  • Nixon (1972) visits Moscow again, showed improved cooperation and relieved tension
• Detente 1975-1979


  • helsinki (1975)- security, cooperation, human rights, US, USSR + 33 others
  • space link up (1975) - symbolic handshake, relations seemed to be improving
  • SALT 2 - limit of 2,400 strategic nuclear weapons, ratification didn't happen as us congress didn't think limit would be verified
  • jimmy Carter - did his best to promote peace , he was seen as weak due to Iran hostages, Carter doctrine - tough on communism
• relations after helsinki 


  • Carter pressured by soviets by linking arms limit to human rights
  • Carter supported an anti-soviet rebel - Brezhnev was furious
  • soviets violated human rights agreement of free elections
  • soviets sent huge amount of weapons to African States
  • Carter as a result asked for an increase in defence budget
• end of detente - Carter doctrine 


  • us- military aid to all countries bordering Afghanistan
  • rapid deployment force - intervene anywhere, quickly
  • called for 18-20 year olds to register for draft
  • called for congress to allow CIA to increase its intelligence gathering activities
  • us conceived all grain shipments to soviets
  • gave $700,000 to Mujahidin - side who fought soviets
• end of detente - Moscow olympics

  • 1980 - Carter pressured the boycott of Moscow olympics - 61 other countries followed US example
  • US alternative = liberty bell classic
  • American press ridiculed olympic mascot Misha bear 'gulag bear' after soviet prison camps
• regains 2nd Cold War - the mission 


  • determined to be tougher on communism
  • regains main policy was to confront USSR wereever possible, Reagan placed less emphasis on human rights
  • US -defence programme cost over a trillion - new stealth bomber - the neutron bomb
  • regains policy NUTS ( nuclear utilisation target selection ) - directed weapons at apparent weaponry not cities
• reagans 2nd Cold War - the actions

  • the zero options (nov 1981 ) - cancel creation of new US missiles if soviets dismantled similar forces, Brezhnev rejected and was called an evil empire while he compared the us to hitler
  • polish solidarity - gave secret assistance to polish workers movement. US criticised heavy handed approach to Poland banned all hi-tech trade with USSR
  • the SDI - 'Star Wars' put satellites in space and use lasers to shoot down soviet missiles mid flight programme created problem as soviet economy was crippled - soviets could no longer compete in the arms race
• Gorbechev's new thinking 


  • 'glasnost' (openness) - publishing previously banned books telling soviet atrocities under staling
  • double edged sword - people wanted more freedom and began to criticise USSR
  • 'perestroika' ( restructuring) - soviet economy, new businesses opened, could charge what they wanted
  • led to wage increases, but worse shortages which led to rationing
  • also political reforms like elections for local governments which won support for gorbechev, led to people like Yeltsin
• the 3 summits ( 1985-1987)

  • geneva (1985) - sped up arms talks,
  • -be more active on human rights - work towards abolition of chemical weapons
  • Reykjavik (1986) - meeting collapsed after agreement to reduce
  • nuclear arsenals and US refusal to restrict SDI
  • Washington (1987) - agreement of INF( 2692 weopons destroyed)
  • thought it would increase relations therefore encourage trade deals between USSR + WEST, led to CFE - 1989, START II -1991
• Collapse of soviet control in eastern Europe

  • Sinatra doctrine - rejected Brezhnev doctrine, told east they could make changes, USSR didn't favour trade with communist states
  • Hungary (1988-1990) opened border with Austria and alliance of anti-communists won democratic election
  • czech (1989-1990) - first non- communist president since 1948 an alliance of non- communists won democratic election
  • Romania - (1989-1990) president and family are killed by firing squad, national salvation front won democratic elections which contained anti-communists
• fall of Berlin Wall

  • after Hungarian election, there was a huge movement of East German citizens moving to the west through Hungary
  • 9th nov 1989 - East German gov opened border
  • within a few days 1 million had crossed the border
  • the wall was then dismantled
  • 3rd oct 1990 - germany was reunited
• • collapse of Soviet Union

  • the coop ( 1991) - hard line communists hated Gorbachev's new ideas and he was booed in Moscow
  • 19th aug 1991 - gang of 8 arrested gorbechev
  • response - gorbechev's authority was weak, Yeltsin emerged as an anti-communist hero
  • dissolution - counties want independence
  • Lithuania declared its independence and it was accepted by Moscow
  • 25th dec 1991 - gorbechev announced the end of the Soviet Union and his resignation
• end of Warsaw pact

  • the pact was first created to unite communist states against NATO so when its members started rejecting communism the pact no longer made sense
  • soviet unions economy was a mess as well as its military strength, they were also challenged with their withdrawal from Afghanistan
  • military cooperation stopped in early 1990's
  • by July 1991 Warsaw pact formally ended