Cold War Crises Flashcards
The Cuban Missile Crisis
On 14th October 1962,an America U-2 spy-plane took pictures of what seemed to be launch pads for medium range ballistic missiles.
This could carry nuclear warheads capable of causing terrible damage to US cities.
American intelligence agencies informed President Kennedy that a fleet of Soviet ships was sailing to Cuba.
Khrushchev had previously told Kennedy that he wouldn’t put nuclear weapons on Cuba.
The Cuban Missile Crisis(2)
In Europe,NATO had missiles based in Turkey,just a short distance from the SU.
Khrushchev believed it was time for the USA to feel what it was like to be under threat.
It was also possible that Khrushchev’s real aim was to have the missiles in Turkey removed.
The building of the Berlin Wall was portrayed by many Soviet Critics as a failure for Khrushchev.
Khrushchev may also have wanted to put missiles in Cuba because he feared another American attack.If the Americans overthrow Castro,this would be seen as another defeat for communism.
What were Kennedy’s options at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
There are elections to the US Congress coming up in Novemeber.
The American people will see nuclear missiles in Cuba as a huge blow to the nations’s pride.
The negotiations over Berlin will get even tougher if Khrushchev thinks he can push Kennedy around.
The SU could have fired nuclear missiles at the USA from their own territory,so siting missiles on Cuba didn’t make a great deal of practical difference.
As far as Kennedy was concerned,the SU had to be stopped from siting nuclear missiles on Cuba.
The consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Both Khrushchev and Kennedy had come under pressure to take action that could have to led to full scale war.
This had not happened and both countries now wanted to make sure that future misunderstandings wouldn’t cause war.
Both leaders emerged with something from the crisis and both sides had shown restraint and the USA didn’t react to the loss of a U2 plane and the USSR didn’t react to a U2 flight.
Both allowed their opponent to retreat without too much loss of face and Kennedy didn’t boast of victory and paid tribute to Khrushchev’s contribution to peace.
While Khrushchev didn’t reveal the secret deal over Turkey,both powers honoured the agreements made.
Opposition to Soviet Control(Czechoslovakia)
In 1948,Stalin had supported a coup in Czechoslovakia which removed non communists from power and established a pro Soviet communist government under the leadership of the head of the Czech communist party.
The country was ruled by the SU,which used the secret police to maintain control.
The Czech economy was run for the benefit of the SU and there were few consumer goods for the Czech people.
There was no freedom of speech.
On Stalin’s orders,the Czech government carried out purges between 1949-54 and there were victims for eg.military leaders.
Protests against the low standard of living and lack of freedom grew.
The Prague Spring-Alexander Dubcek
He was elected as the First secretary of the Czech communist party.
The SU leadership approved of Dubcek and trusted him to make the government of Czechoslovakia more effective and popular.
He was commited to the Warsaw Pact and a devoted communist and believed that communism was the right political path.
He thinks citizens should be able to enjoy life,express their views in public and speak out against Communist Party decisions.
The ‘Prague Spring’
Censorship was relaxed and criticism of government actions was allowed.
Trade unions were given wider powers and government control of industry was reduced.
More power was given to the Czech regional governments.
Trade with the West increased.
Czech people were given greater freedom to travel abroad.
The idead of having multi party elections was discussed,though Dubcek and othet communists emphasied this wouldn’t happen for many years.
The ‘Prague Spring’
2
These reforms were met with great enthusiasm by the Czech people but were less popular in Moscow.
He was careful to assure Moscow that Czechoslovkia would remain in the Warsaw Pact and loyal ally to the SU.
Brezhnev disapproved of many of the measures Dubcek was proposing.
At this time,Romania was refusing to attend the Warsaw Pact meetings and Tito refused to accept control from Moscow.
What was the Soviet reaction to the Prague Spring?
Brezhnev urged not to endanger communism in Czechoslovakia by going too far with his reforms.
He ordered Warsaw Pact troops to carry out manoeuvres in Czechoslovakia to threaten Dubcek.
When Dubcek invited Ceausescu and Tito to Prague for talks,Brezhnev decided to take action.
On 20th August 1968,500000 Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia and ended the Prague Spring and there was tiny oppostion to the invasion.
What was the Soviet reaction to the Prague Spring?
2
Brezhnev had ordered the Czech army to remain in its barracks,just in case it tried to fight back.
The Czech people could do little against such a mighty force,though there were individual acts of bravery,such as blocking roads.
The invading forces were told that they had been invited to help restore law and order and they were shocked by the hostilty they met.
The impact of the Prague Spring and the Soviet Invasion in Czechoslovakia
The invasion ended the Prague Spring and the authories soon put things back to normal.
The impact of the Prague Spring and the Soviet Invasion on relations between other communist countries in Europe
Yugloslavia and Romania condemned the Soviet invasion,straining relations between their governments and Moscow.
The Communist Parties of Italy and France cut links to Moscow.
The governments of EG and Poland welcomed Brezhnev’s actions and could feel more secure they wouldn’t be challenged by reformers.
The suppression of the Prague Spring led to greater Soviet Control of the members of the Warsaw Pact.
This was reinforced by the Brezhnev Doctrine which emphasised members of the Warsaw Pact were under the close control of the SU.
The impact of the Prague Spring and the Soviet Invasion on relations between the USA and the SU
The USA and other Western governments were outraged by the invasion and many of them made strong protests.
There was an attempt to pass a formal resolution condemning the invasion in the UN but was vetoed by the SU.
The SU saw that while the USA might make protests,it wouldn’t take direct action to oppose the SU in Europe.
The impact of the Prague Spring and the Soviet Invasion on the USA’s international repution
The USA was involved in a costly war in North Vietnam and was beginning to adopt a policy of détente with the SU.
Other countries saw that the USA was keen to criticise the SU but much less prepared to take action.
Building the Berlin Wall
Khrushchev’s hard line on Berlin had forced Britian,France and USA to get involved in talks about the country’s future.
There was tension between East and West grew,just incase Khrushchev decided to close the border.
The EG leader,Walter Ulbricht,urged Khruschev to close the border and so on the night of 12th August 1961,EG troops build a barbed wire fence around Berlin and between EB and WB.
Work on a concrete wall,which would stretch 165km,began.
Berlin and Germany were to stay split in 2 and EG’s refugee problem was solved.
