Attitudes to the USSR and China Flashcards
(8 cards)
What was the general attitude toward the USSR in the 1970s?
Détente—relations cooled down after previous Cold War tensions, though underlying fears about Soviet influence in Eastern Europe remained.
What event in 1978 heightened concerns about Soviet activity in the UK?
The assassination of Bulgarian defector Georgi Markov in London, allegedly by the KGB.
Who was Georgi Markov?
A Bulgarian defector who criticized his country’s communist regime and was murdered in London in 1978.
How were UK–China relations before the 1970s?
Strained and limited.
What major event changed Western relations with China in 1971–72?
U.S. President Nixon announced a thaw in relations and visited Mao Zedong in 1972.
How did Britain respond to the U.S.–China rapprochement?
The UK exchanged ambassadors with China in March 1972.
What role did Edward Heath play in improving UK–China relations?
He visited China multiple times from 1974 and was named “People’s Friendship Envoy” by the Chinese.
What was the state of UK–China relations by the end of the 1970s?
Warm and significantly improved.
