Events Flashcards
(24 cards)
Tehran
- The meeting was between Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt.
- A plan to invade Nazi-occupied Europe was drawn up.
- It was agreed that the Soviets would join the USA’s war against Japan once Hitler had been defeated.
- It was also agreed that countries in Eastern Europe would be divided between the East and West when the war was won.
Yalta
- The meeting was between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin.
- It was agreed that most countries in Eastern Europe would come under the Soviet sphere of influence.
- Germany and Berlin would be split between Britain, France, America and the USSR.
- It was also agreed that countries freed from Nazi occupation should have free elections.
- The USSR would be able to take reparations from Germany.
Potsdam
- This meeting was held between Atlee, Truman, and Stalin. This increased tensions, as Truman was far more anti-communist than Roosevelt.
- The USA had also successfully tested the first ever atomic bomb. This increased tensions, as it gave them a significant military advantage over the Soviets, and it meant that they would not need the USSR’s help in defeating Japan.
- At the conference, the plan to split Germany and Berlin was finalised.
- It was agreed Germany would give reparations to the Allies, primarily the USSR. However, there were disagreements over the punishment of Germany, with Stalin wishing for far harsher treatment than the West, who did not want to damage it too severely.
The Long and Novikov Telegram
In 1946, ambassadors in the USA and USSR sent telegrams to their respective countries claiming that the other side was only trying to expand their influence and could not be trusted.
Creation of satellite states
Satellite states were countries which seemed to be independent, but were under Soviet influence. After the war, many Eastern European countries were occupied by the Red Army, meaning that the USSR could put Communist governments in power, either through force or by putting pressure on voters.
The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine stated that Communism posed a great threat, and that they would work to contain Communism, and not let it spread further than it had already. It also stated that the USA would support any country under threat of becoming Communist.
The Marshall Plan
In an attempt to aid the countries in Europe economically struggling after the war and make Communism less attractive, the USA gave $13 billion in Marshall Aid to countries in Europe who denounced Communism and agreed to spend part of it on US goods. This aid was accepted by 15 countries, but all those in the Eastern Bloc were forbidden from accepting.
Cominform
Under Cominform, the countries of the Eastern Bloc came together to follow the policies set by Stalin in Moscow.
Comecon
The countries in Comecon agreed to work together and share resources to help rebuild their countries. However, this was tightly controlled by Stalin.
The Berlin Blockade and Airlift
In an attempt to force the USA, Britain and France to withdraw from Berlin, while still trying to avoid war, Stalin blocked all routes from West Germany into West Berlin, preventing any food, fuel, or medical supplies from reaching the city. Wanting to avoid war, but refusing to capitulate to the USSR, Truman and Atlee organised an airlift to send supplies to West Berlin. After nearly a year, Stalin was forced to back down, seeing that the West would not abandon Berlin.
The Hungarian Uprising
In 1956, Hungarian students began to protest in Budapest, demanding free elections and for a popular politician, Imre Nagy, to become the new Prime Minister. Rakosi was eventually forced to resign. He was eventually replaced with Nagy, who called for calm when fighting broke our between Soviet troops and protestors. Among his other promises of free elections and freedom of speech, Nagy also wanted Hungary to leave the Warsaw pact and become a neutral country. Khrushchev worried about the precedent this would set for other Eastern Bloc countries, and set Soviet troops back into Budapest. After two weeks of fighting, in which thousands of Hungarians were killed, and countless more fled, the Soviets regained control.
The Berlin Crisis
In an attempt to stop the refugee crisis, Khrushchev issued the Berlin Ultimatum, stating that the West had 6 months to withdraw from Berlin. A summit was later held in Geneva, but the issue was not resolved. Shortly before the next summit in Paris, a US spy plane was shot down by the Soviets. Eisenhower refused to apologise for the incident, and Khrushchev left the meeting without coming to a conclusion. The final summit was held in Vienna, between Kennedy and Khrushchev. Kennedy rejects the ultimatum, and the issue remains unresolved, as thousands of East Germans continue to cross into West Berlin.
The Berlin Wall
In August 1961, East German troops closed the border between West Berlin and East Germany, surrounding West Berlin with a barbed wire fence. Within a week, the barbed wire was replaced with concrete. The wall was incredibly well guarded, ostensibly to stop West German spies from entering East Germany, but in reality the Soviets just needed an excuse to stop the ‘brain drain’.
The Cuban Revolution
After being exiled 3 years prior, a young lawyer called Fidel Castro returned to Cuba with his supporters, and begin a two year guerrilla war against Batista’s government, gaining support over time. Finally, in 1959, Batista fled and Castro took power of Cuba.
The Bay of Pigs
The CIA drew up a plan to help Castro’s exiled opponents retake Cuba. The exiles were to be dropped off in the Bay of Pigs, where they would march to Havana under US air force cover, gaining support along the way. However, Kennedy pulled the air support shortly before the invasion, worried about the international reaction. Without the cover, the exiles were left exposed and the plan failed. 200 exiles were killed, and many more captured.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
Upon discovering nuclear weapons bases on Cuba, Kennedy introduced a quarantine zone and naval blockade of Cuba, trying to stop any ships from reaching the island. A few days later, Soviet ships approached Cuba, carrying nuclear missiles. Preparing for a possible invasion of Cuba, 120000 Us troops gathered in Florida. Meanwhile, Kennedy received a telegram from Khrushchev saying he will remove his missiles from Cuba if the US do not invade. Tensions rose even higher when the US discovered a Soviet submarine carrying missiles, which had lost contact with the Soviet Navy. Khrushchev sent a second telegram, promising to remove the missiles from Cuba, demanding that the USA’s missiles in Turkey and Italy are also removed. Kennedy agreed to the terms, stipulating that the removal of US missiles was to be kept a secret.
The Prague Spring
Novotny was forced to resign in 1968, and was replaced with Dubcek. Dubcek introduced ‘socialism with a human face’ - reforms which made life kinder on the Czechoslovakian people. These reforms included free speech, allowing the formation of trade unions and other political groups, and ending press censorship. The USSR initially permitted the reforms, but after they inspired students in Poland, Brezhnev, and other Warsaw Pact leaders, began to worry that it would set a dangerous precedent to the other countries in the Eastern Bloc. In an attempt at intimidation, the Czechoslovakian border was chosen as the site of Warsaw Pact military exercises. Finally, after Dubcek denied the Warsaw Letter, which demanded he revoke his reforms, the Soviets ordered an invasion of Czechoslovakia, which was met with peaceful protest, but little resistance. The Soviets quickly gained control of Prague, replacing Dubcek with Husak, who returned the country to Soviet-style Communism.
Détente
- SALT I - In an attempt to slow the arms race, the USA and USSR agreed to limit their nuclear weapons, but both sides could keep their existing stockpiles.
- The Helsinki Accords - At this summit, 35 countries, including the USA and USSR, agreed to improve human rights - allowing freedom of speech and press - recognise the borders of Eastern Europe, and improve economic and scientific cooperation between the East and West. However, many of these agreements were broken, and human rights in the USSR did not improve.
- SALT II - New weapons technology meant that the specific terms of SALT I were soon out of date, and both sides continued to develop and stockpile nuclear weapons. SALT II agreed to further limit nuclear weapons and ban ICMBs. However, Soviet leaders and the senate refuses to approve the treaty.
The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
Brezhnev decided to take advantage of Afghanistan’s instability and invade. Soviet troops quickly captured the capital, Kabul, and killed Amin, replacing him with pro-Soviet leader Karmal. Many Afghan soldiers deserted to join the efforts of the Mujahideen, so the Soviets sent 85,000 troops into Afghanistan to keep Karmal in power. They remained there for the next ten years.
President Reagan
Soon after Reagan was elected, US defence spending increased by 13%.
The US also developed new weapons, such as the neutron bomb, which was hugely destructive, and stealth bombers, which could fly undetected.
In 1983, Reagan described the USSR as an ‘evil empire’, likening the Cold War to a struggle between good and evil, like the Star Wars films.
Reagan announced the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI), which would destroy missiles before they even reached the USA using laser technology.
Gorbachev’s new thinking
- Glasnost (openness) - This aimed to restore the people’s trust in the government by allowing people to freely express new and different ideas, where before people were frequently punished for speaking out against the communist regime.
- Perestroika (restructuring) - This aimed to improve the economy by allowing businesses, rather than the government, to respond to customer demand, while also encouraging more involvement by foreign businesses.
The collapse of Soviet control in Eastern Europe
Protests broke out across the Eastern Bloc, particularly in countries like East Germany, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Between 1989 and 1990, free elections were held in Eastern European countries, and the communist governments eventually came to an end.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
On the 4th November 1989, around a million East Germans attended a demonstration in East Berlin to demand democracy, which led to them being granted some limited freedoms of travel. However, on the 9th November, the government relented and announced that the border between East and West Germany would be opened. Within a few days of the announcement, a million East Germans had crossed the border.
The collapse of the USSR and the end of the Cold War
In 1990, some republics in the USSR began gaining their independence. Lithuania left in March, with Estonia and Latvia soon following their lead.
In 1991, the Warsaw Pact was officially dissolved, marking the definitive end of the Eastern Bloc.
Later that year, a coup was attempted against Gorbachev, when a group of politicians and members of the KGB tried to seize control and remove Gorbachev from power. However, the coup failed due to lack of support. Despite this, the coup greatly undermined Gorbachev’s power, and at the end of 1991, he is forced to resign, signifying the official end of the USSR.
