1980s Flashcards
The shooting down of KAL 007 1st Sep 1983
On 1st September 1983, a major blow to Soviet-American relations came with the shooting down of KAL007 by a Soviet interceptor. The Soviets claimed that it was a spy plane on mission for the USA. This was immediately denied by the USA who accused the USSR of purposefully destroying an aircraft and causing the deaths of 269 people, including 61 Americans. This issue demonstrated the ever growing divisions and mistrust between the two sides.
In the wake of the KAL-007 incident Yuri Andropov the leader of the USSR issued a statement seeking to revaluate the perception of the Reagan administration. This is because it was viewed as pursuing a militaristic course that has abandoned détente and instead attempted to gain military superiority over the USSR.
Solidarity in Poland
By 1980, Poland was experiencing a severe economic crisis which triggered a response by a section of Polish workers. During July and August about 300,000 workers went on strike in response to government imposed rises in food prices rising up by 100% which were put in place to ease Poland’s foreign debts. In order to ease the unrest, the government agreed to officially accept the first independent Polish trade union of Solidarity led by Lech Walesa. Solidarity’s membership rapidly increased to about 10 million and strikes erupted which led to significant pay rises. The USSR, concerned about the influence of solidarity, started to carry out military manoeuvres along the Polish frontier. In June 1981, the Soviet Politburo decided not to take military intervention in Poland regardless of consequences as they feared armed resistance and Western economic sanctions. On 6 September 1981, General Wojciech Jaruzelski became Communist party leader in Poland and threatened to impose martial law. On 13th December 1981, General Jaruzelski and the Military Committee of National Redemption imposed martial law which imposed a curfew, gatherings being banned, only one state controlled TV/ radio etc. In addition, Solidarity leaders were arrested and the union itself was eventually banned. Martial law brought the crisis under control but it resulted in a deepening economic crisis. The USA imposed economic sanctions and trade and tourism suffered. Solidarity went into hiding and would fully emerge in 1989.
The Geneva Summit November 1985
There was a general agreement that both the USSR and the USA would work towards a goal of cutting offensive weapons by 50%. They also made plans for a provisional agreement on limiting and eliminating medium range nuclear weapons. Finally they discussed collaboration to end nuclear proliferation to other countries, to maintain rational control over these weapons as well as discussions on the ban of chemical weapons. They also stated sentiments that underlined the fact that Gorbachev had removed the ideological split between East and West as a factor in international relations. One issue came up at the summit that proved contentious which was Reagans SDI project.
The Reykavik Summit 1986
The purpose of the Reykvik Summit was to put Soviet-US relations back on track and the Summit accomplished this although it is often lost due to the lack of a concrete agreement over the elimination of nuclear weapons but Gorbachev would not discuss them unless Reagan agreed to abandon his SDI project. Reagan and Gorbachev also discussed human rights and humanitarian issues even though they agreed there would be no agreement there, just an exchange of ideas. Reykjavik was important in that both sides gained insights into each other but there was no clear result or joint statement at its conclusion.
The Washington Summit 1987
At this Summit, Reagan and Gorbachev signed the INF treaty which was viewed as the most significant step taken to bring the arms race to an end. The treaty ended the use of all intermediate range ballistic and cruise missiles, meaning that those that could travel between 500-5500km would be destroyed by June 1991. The USSR had more weapons (less powerful) than the USA and so by the June 1991 deadline the USA had destroyed 846 nuclear weapons to the USSRs 1846. A further outcome of the Summit came through Gorbachevs decision to withdraw from Afghanistan. He announced this in February 1988 and by May 1989 the last troops had withdrawn from Afghanistan. The Washington Summit was a success on all accounts, giving people aware of outcome of the summit a sense of optimism regarding disarmament and nuclear reduction.
After the Washington Summit 1987, how many weapons had the USA destroyed compared to the USA by the June 1991 deadline in the INF treaty?
The USA had destroyed 846 weapons compared to the USSRs 1846
What was the importance of the INF treaty?
-It was the first time that both the USSR and USA had agreed to remove a whole class of nuclear weapons and to accept that each state had the right to verify the removal on each others territory.
-It was also significant in that the Soviet Union made no demands that the treaty was to be conditional on the USA removing SDI.
-The USSR also made no demands that it should be able to retain one hundred SS-20 as defence against China
-The USSR also accepted that British and French missiles weren’t part of the deal.
The Moscow Summit May-June 1988
The official goal was to agree to the START treaty which was initially proposed at Geneva and intended to limit the number of nuclear weapons to 5000 for each side. Instead they made no headway on start and instead signed several agreements on cultural exchanges and human rights ie fishing rights and student exchanges. The Moscow Summit also gave Reagan access to the Russian people at Moscow State University where he took back his evil empire statement which reinforced the following of Gorbachev in the USSR itself. The SDI project also proved contentious.
The Carter Doctrine 23rd Jan 1980
The Carter doctrine translated into an American Commitment to prevent any further Soviet advances into the Persian Gulf area and Southwest Asia. It also emphasised the prospect of a military solution to any such expansionism and therefore focused on building up US strategic forces. Finally it reinforced the need for the USA to strengthen its relations with China.
Carter also went on to announce an increase in the defence budget of 1981. In effect he has linked Americas relations with the USSR and the future of détente to the Soviet Unions decision to maintain a military presence in Afghanistan. The USSR would have to submit to the USAs demands which represented an ultimatum. It was also questioned whether the USSRs actions did threaten the USA interests in the Persian Gulf and whether the Carter Doctrine was a massive overreaction.
What did the Soviets believe that the US leadership were using the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan as?
The Soviets took the view that the US leadership in 1980 had used the intervention in Afghanistan as a pretext that enabled them to dismantle detente, revive the nuclear arms race and build up a position for strength for the USA in the Persian Gulf.
Approx how much Soviet GNP was used from 1964 to 1982 was spent on bridging the gap between the USA and USSR?
Approximately 25% of Soviet GNP from 1964 to 1982 was spent on Soviet military supplies in hope of bridging the gap between the USA and USSR.
what was the economic impact of the arms race?
The nuclear arms race was particulary debilitating for the USSR as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 had renewed the cold war and threatened the wellbeing of the Soviet population. President Carters imposition of economic sanctions and the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, furthered Soviet economic detoriation and also contributed to the election of Reagan who set up the attempted Strategic Defense initiative in 1983 which accelerated the arms race yet again.
