The End of the Cold War, 1970-91

• 1. Why was Detente practical for both superpowers?

  • Because the 1960s were marked by crises, both the USA and the USSR wanted to avoid other near misses
  • Boosting military power hadn't succeeded in reducing tensions - both countries recognised that a new strategy was needed
  • Both countries were also keen to reduce their military spending - the arms race was extremely expensive and led to falling standards of living
  • The USSR was especially worried about falling living standards in the Eastern Bloc - in the 1970s, there were riots in Poland in response to high living costs
• 2. What was SALT 1?

  • SALT 1 (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) was a treaty signed in 1972 by the USA and USSR - it limited the number of ABMs (anti-ballistic missiles) each country could have and placed a temporary limit soon the numbers of ICBMs on both sides
  • ABMs were designed to interrupt incoming missiles and had the potential to upset the delicate 'nuclear balance' between the USSR and the USA - by limiting the number of these, one country was less likely to hold an advantage over the other
  • In the short term, the treaty was a success because it slowed down the arms race
• 3. What was the Helsinki Agreement?

  • The Helsinki Agreement in 1975 was a pact between the USA, the USSR, Canada and most of Europe - all countries agreed to recognise existing European borders ad to uphold human rights
  • Both superpowers accepted the division of Germany and the USSR's influence over Eastern Europe
  • The West viewed the USSR's agreement to uphold human rights as great progress but the USSR didn't stick to its word - it didn't grant freedom of speech or freedom of movement to its citizens - this undermined the Helsinki agreement and made the USA distrust the USSR
• 4. What was SALT 2?

  • The SALT 2 Treaty was signed in 1979
  • The treaty banned the USA and the USSR from launching new missile programmes and limited the number of MIRVs (Multiple Independently targetable Reentry Vehicles) each country could have
  • However the treaty was never ratified (approved) by the US Senate, so it didn't come into effect
• 5. How did the USSR get bogged down into a war in Afghanistan?

  • In 1978, a civil war broke out in Afghanistan - Rebels were protesting at new radical reforms brought in by the Afghan communist government, which had close ties to the Soviet Union
  • The Afghan government requested help from the USSR, which invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 - justified by the Brezhnev Doctrine
  • The decision itself turned out to be a disaster - the USSR found itself in a seemingly unwinnable conflict - they fought against determined opposition in mountainous terrain with weapons supplied by the USA
• 6. Why was the war disastrous for the USSR?

  • 15,000 Soviet troops were killed and the government spent huge amounts of money, but the USSR couldn't win
  • The Soviet-Afghan War led to a loss of public support in the USSR for the communist regime - the soviet people were angry at falling living standards, which had deteriorated as a direct result of high spending in Afghanistan
• 7. Why was the war disastrous for Brezhnev?

  • The war was an embarrassment for Brezhnev and undermined the USSR's strong military reputation, which was essential for keeping its satellite states under control
  • In January 1980, the UN condemned the invasion - it proposed a resolution demanding Soviet withdrawal, but the resolution was vetoed by the USSR
  • The invasion also caused outcry in the international community - in 1980, The USA and 50 other countries boycotted the Moscow Olympic Games, in protest at the Soviet-Afghan war
• 8. How did the war affect detente?

  • The war cause tensions between the two powers to resurface
  • Soviet Intervention was interpreted by the USA as communist expansionism - in 1979 US President Jimmy Carter was so alarmed he stopped the SALT 2 treaty being debated by the Senate and instead called for an increase in the defence budget
  • The USA was also worried that the USSR was trying to gain influence in the Persian Gulf, close to the Afghan border - the oil-rich area had formed close economic ties with the West, and Carter though Soviet influence in Afghanistan threatened US influence there
• 9. What was the Carter doctrine?

  • Carter warned that the USA would use force to prevent the USSR from gaining control of the Gulf region
  • This warning became known as the Carter Doctrine
  • The Carter Doctrine was the first threat of aggression between the superpowers since detente
• 10. How did Ronal Reagan contribute to the beginning of the 'Second Cold War'

  • Ronald Reagan was a hardline anti-communist - his speeches were full of anti-Soviet rhetoric and he called the USSR an 'evil-empire' - this increased hostility between the two superpowers
  • Reagan didn't believe in the policy of detente - he was willing to negotiate with the USSR, but only from a position of strength
  • This meant he wanted to increase American defences - American intelligence gathered in 1976 also suggested that the USA had underestimated the USSR's nuclear strength, and the USA had to catch up
• 11. How did Reagan start the biggest arms build-up in American history

  • In the 1980s the USA spent $550 billion a year on conventional and nuclear weapons
  • Reagan also re-authorised some weapons programmes that had been abandoned during detente - the USA began to develop the neutron bomb, which was designed to cause maximum loss of life and minimum damage to property
  • This worried the USSR since it couldn't afford to match Reagan's spending
• 12. What was the SDI (Strategic Defence Initiative)

  • In March 1983, Reagan announced the development of the Strategic Defence Initiative, nicknamed 'Star Wars'
  • The program would develop weapons that would be deployed in space and could destroy nuclear weapons after they had been launched - it would be the ultimate defence system
  • If successful, the SDI would shift the balance of the Cold War in the USA's favour
  • By 1983, Detente was truly over
• 13. How did Reagan's attitude change after 1985?

  • When Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the USSR in March 1985, Reagan reassessed his attitude towards the USSR
  • Gorbachev proposed radical reforms and was far more open towards the West than previous Soviet leaders - Reagan recognised that the USSR was being steered in a new direction
  • The USA realised that this change could be good - although initiatives like the SDI weren't scrapped, Reagan thought negotiation was now the best way to protect American interests
  • Importantly, the two leaders got on well, creating a better relationship
• 14. How did the USSR lose control of its satellite states?

  • Gorbachev stated the USSR would no longer use force to uphold communism in its satellite states
  • In 1988, he announced the withdrawal of Soviet troops, tanks and aircraft from Eastern Europe
  • It was fear of Soviet military intervention that had kept opposition movements under control within the USSR's satellite states - without it, they had a chance to act
• 15. How did Gorbachev's new thinking lead to oppositions emerging?

  • The nature of Gorbachev's new policies encouraged reformist movements within Eastern Europe
  • Gorbachev's 'New Thinking' also caused splits in the Soviet Communist Party, making control of Eastern European countries from Moscow more difficult
  • Some members thought that Gorbachev's reforms weren't radical enough, and others worried they were too radical
• 16. The fall of the Berlin Wall:

  • In May 1989, communist Hungary opened its border with non-communist Austria - this let East Germans travel trough Hungary to Austria, and then into West Germany
  • Between August and September 1989, thousands left East Germany for West Germany - the East German government was unable to control the situation, and received no help from the USSR
• 17. The fall of the Berlin Wall part 2:

  • In October 1989, there were mass protests against the communist regime - the East German government finally agreed to open the border between East and West Berlin in November 1989 - Free elections were promised and the wall was torn down
  • The fall of the Berlin Wall showed that the relationship between the East and West was transforming, and that the USSR was losing its grip over communist territory
• 18. How did governments in Eastern Europe start to Collapse?

  • Free elections were also held in Poland in June 1989
  • In 1990, a new non-communist government came to power - the USSR didn't intervene
  • In December 1989, communist governments collapsed in Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania - Hungary's Communist Party suffered a large defeat in free elections in March 1990
  • In October 1990, communist East Germany and democratic West Germany rejoined to form a single state again
  • For many people this was a powerful symbol that the communist experiment was over
• 19. The republics of the USSR wanted independence

  • As the USSR lost its grip on the satellite states, it was undergoing a national crisis
  • In early 1990, some important regions in the Soviet Union demanded independence, especially the Baltic republics - Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia
  • They were encouraged by the recent success of revolutions across Eastern Europe and by Gorbachev's policy of 'glasnost' which gave greater power to individuals and encouraged constructive criticism of Soviet policy
• 20. The republics of the USSR wanted independence part 2

  • Gorbachev didn't want to lose the Republics - he granted them more power - but it wasn't enough
  • The leaders of the Soviet republics no longer listened to Gorbachev, and he lacked the authority to make them comply with Soviet wishes
• 21. How did the republics claim independence?

  • Lithuania declared itself independent in March 1990 - Soviet troops were sent to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, in January 1991, and several civilians were killed in the violence that followed - this only strengthened the independence movement
  • In April 1991, Georgia declared its independence, followed by Ukraine's declaration in August
  • As Gorbachev's authority weakened, independence movements gained in strength
• 22. Why was there a political crisis in the USSR?

  • By 1990, Gorbachev faced opposition from within his own party and the public - The Communist Party was divided - some members wanted more drastic reform and others wanted a return to former Soviet policies
  • The public were unhappy because Gorbachev's reforms hadn't lived up to their high expectations:
  • The USSR's economy hadn't improved - in 1990 a quarter of the population lived below the poverty line
  • Economic corruption was still rife, inflation was high and basic goods in low supply, war with Afghan also hindered reforms too
• 23. Why was there a political crisis in the USSR?

  • More traditional Soviet communists were worried that the Communist Party was so divided it was going to split up
  • They thought Gorbachev's reforms had gone too far and plotted a coup (taking control of government by force) in August 1991
  • They arrested Gorbachev, tried to force him to resign, and sent tanks onto the streets of Moscow to deter protestors
  • The coup didn't go to plan - it was condemned by Boris Yeltsin, a Soviet politician who opposed Gorbachev and wanted the USSR to adopt capitalism
• 24. What was the consequence of the political crisis?

  • Yeltsin went onto the streets to rally opposition against the coup
  • There were mass protests in major cities, showing that Soviets had clearly rejected communism - the coup failed
• 25. How did the Soviet Union finally collapse?

  • On Christmas Day 1991, Gorbachev resigned
  • The USSR was dissolved on the 26th December
  • The republics that made up the Soviet Union had become independent states - Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Belarus
  • The biggest of the republics was Russia - Yeltsin was elected leader and adopted Capitalism
• 26. How did the Warsaw Pact end?

  • As more and more countries declared their independence from the USSR, they ad also declared their intentions to pull out of the Warsaw Pact
  • This made it weaker and it eventually ended in July 1991
  • The Cold War finally ends.