Key Developments 1985-89 Flashcards
(14 cards)
How many Gorbachev-Reagan summits were there between Nov 1985 and Dec 1988?
5
When was the Nuclear Weapons Agreement?
Oct 1986
What did the Nuclear Weapons Agreement aim to achieve?
An elimination of all Ballistic Missiles in a decade.
How was the Nuclear Weapons Agreement scuppered?
US refusal to abandon the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI or Star Wars)
What was the INF Treaty?
Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
When was the INF Treaty?
Dec 1987
How many missiles were destroyed on both sides due to the INF Treaty?
Soviets - 1846
US - 846
What did Gorbachev announce at the UN in 1988?
Huge reduction in soviet military force from Eastern Europe. 1/2 million troops, 10K tanks, 8.5K artillery systems, and 800 aircraft.
Why did Gorbachev seek to withdraw from Afghanistan?
15,000 Soviet deaths since 1979. The war was costing the USSR $7.8 bn per year.
When did the last Soviet soldier leave Afghanistan?
February 1989
What did Gorbachev replace the Brezhnev Doctrine with?
The Sinatra Doctrine. Essentially saying that the Eastern European States could do it ‘their way’.
What happened after the Sinatra Doctrine?
Communist Rule was swept away within months in Eastern Europe. Effectively ‘bloodless revolutions’
Which country was the exception to the bloodless revolutions?
Ceausescu’s Romania.
What happened in Romania in 1989?
Shootings of Demonstrators. In Dec the Presidential palace was stormed and the Army switched sides. Over 1000 deaths in these events.
