1980-1989 Gorbachev and Reagan

Question 1

Who was Ronald Reagan?

Answer 1

Reagan became the new president in 1980. He was very anti-communist.
He called them an ‘evil empire’ and spoke about winning the cold war.

Question 2

What was the Strategic Defence Initiative?

Answer 2

A defence system that would allow the USA to destroy any nuclear weapons that the USSR fired towards the USA. The USSR argued this broke the ‘Outer Space Treaty’ signed during détente.

Question 3

What was Gorbachev’s ‘new thinking’ ?

Answer 3

Gorbachev became the leader of the USSR in 1985. He realised the USSR
was struggling to keep up with the west and needed to change. He
proposed two changes:
 Perestroika— new ways of running the economy to make it better
 Glasnost—a removal of censorship and more freedom

Question 4

What happened in the Geneva Convention 1985?

Answer 4

Reagan and Gorbachev met and got along, improving relations.

Question 5

What happened in the Reykjavik Convention 1986?

Answer 5

Discussions began about reducing nuclear weapons

Question 6

What happened in the INF Treaty 1987?

Answer 6

The USA and USSR agreed to significantly reduce the number of nuclear weapons they had.