Reagan and Second Cold War Flashcards
What immediately happened after Reagan was elected
Made no efforts to get detente up and running again
Described the SU as an “Evil Empire”
Started arms race again
US tech was developing fast in the 1980s
US poured large amounts of money into developing new missile technology
Explain the crisis in the Soviet Union
S.U could not keep because it could not up with the USA
Economy was in poor shape partly due to it spending so much on weapons
Living standards were very low across Eastern bloc
S.U could not keep pace with the USA’s new missile tech
Explain the crisis in the Soviet Union
S.U could not keep because it could not up with the USA
Economy was in poor shape partly due to it spending so much on weapons
Living standards were very low across Eastern bloc
S.U could not keep pace with the USA’s new missile tech
How much did Reagan increase spending on n.weapons 1982
13% in 1982
What did the increase in spending lead to
Development of stealth missile, cruise bomb and neutron bomb
What did Reagan initiativise fr.
Strategic Defence Initiative
System would destroy nuclear weapons before it would reach USA
Rendering nuclear missiles impotent and obsolete
He capped ab ts, US were decades away from being able to produce such
What did Gorbachev realise
Realised that SU was burned its effort and keep up with the arms race
Rigid Soviet system stood very little chance at producing the kind of innovators and developers that was emerging in the USA
What did Perestroika mean
Ressurection
What did Glasnost mea
Openess
What did Gorbachev do in relation to perestroika
Introduced economic reforms to address the inefficiencies and stagnation of the Soviet economy
Aimed to increase productivity, efficiency and innovation by decentralizing economic decision making, allowed limited market mechanism and encouraged private ownership
Allowed THE BBC IN
FIYA FI DAT :FIRE:
What did Gorbachev do in relation to Glasnost
Promoted political openness and transparency through the policy of glasnost. Involved greater freedom of speech, press and public discussion, allowing for increased public scrutiny of government policies and practices.
What was agreed at the Washington Summit
1987 - reduction of land-based missiles
INF treaty
What was agreed at the Washington Summit
1987 - reduction of land-based missiles
INF treaty
What did the INF treaty lead to
Destruction of 846 US missiles and 1846 SU missiles
Both agreed to remove missiles from Europe within 3 years
Within 4 years what did Gorbachev do
Turned his back on the Brezhnev doctrine
Reduce amount of soldiers committed to the W.P by 500,000
