1.3 The Modernising Space Race Flashcards
By what year did the USA overtake Britain as the worlds largest economy?
1900
In 1950, what percentage of global bank reserves were in dollars?
60%
What is the USSR?
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republicans.
It was formed when the four Soviet Socialist Republics merged in 1922 after the communist Russian Revolution of 1971 and the following Russian Civil War (1918-21). Also known as the Soviet Union, it is sometimes referred to by the name of it’s largest and powerful constituent republic, Russia.
In what year did the USSR break up?
1991
The USA is to Capitalism, as Russia is to …
Communism
What did Karl Marx believe in?
A classless society, communal ownership of property, and equal wealth distribution. The state owns land, banks, resources, industry, transport and the media; it controls what will be made and how much.
How many sub-Saharan African countries did the USSR offer military assistance to?
17
What is the IMF?
The International Monetary Fund.
The IMF was formed in 1944 at Bretton Woods, USA, to stabilise currencies after the Depression of the 1930s and the devastation caused by WW2. 44 Governments initially joined, to create a fund (mostly paid for by the wealthiest countries) that could be loaned out to help those countries in debt - thus helping to stabilise their currencies and economies.
How are the votes from the IMF shared?
Voting rights are proportional to the amount invested:
- The USA: 17%
- EU counties: 25.7%
- Western developed countries as a whole: 54.5%
- The BRICs: 9.7%
What were the two changes, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, to the USSR?
Perestroika: relaxed economic controls, allowing business to sell their products privately.
Glasnost: greater political freedom, such as freedom of speech and of the press, and the establishment of rival political parties.
Why did Mikhail Gorbachev introduce these perestroika and glasnost?
To combat political and social discontent, and economic stagnation.
