The End of the Cold War - 1970-1991 Flashcards
(162 cards)
1
Q
When was the period of detente?
A
In the 1970’s.
2
Q
What previously hadn’t worked which led to the two superpowers wanting to try and change tactics?
A
Boosting military power hadn’t succeeded in reducing tensions. Both countries recognised that a new strategy was needed.
3
Q
Why did the arms race lead to falling standards of living?
A
The arms race was extremely expensive.
4
Q
(Briefly) What did the superpowers agree to during the period of détente?
A
To reduce arms and co-operate.
5
Q
What happened in 1975 that showed that the two superpowers had developed a closer relationship under detente?
A
Soviet and American spacecraft docked together in space.
6
Q
How was the most significant progress made between the USSR and the USA?
A
Diplomacy.
7
Q
What does SALT 1 stand for?
A
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty 1.
8
Q
When was SALT 1 signed?
A
1972
9
Q
Who signed SALT 1?
A
USA and USSR
10
Q
What did the SALT 1 treaty limit?
A
- the number of ABMs (anti-ballistic missiles)
- and placed a temporary limit on the number of ICBMs on both sides
11
Q
What were ABMs designed for?
A
ABMs were designed to intercept incoming missiles.
12
Q
Why did they limit ABMs in SALT 1?
A
They had the potential to upset the delicate ‘nuclear balance’ between the USSR and the USA.
If one side could use ABMs to destroy the other side’s missiles then they could launch a first strike and destroy any retaliation.
13
Q
What did the limitation of ABM’s in SALT 1 reduce the likelihood of?
A
One country holding an advantage over the other.
14
Q
What was the short term outcome of SALT 1?
A
It was a success.
It slowed down the arms race.
15
Q
What agreement was made in 1975?
A
The Helsinki Agreement.
16
Q
When was the Helsinki Agreement made?
A
1975
17
Q
Who was involved in the Helsinki Agreement in 1975?
A
USA, USSR, Canada and most of Europe.
18
Q
What was agreed with the Helsinki Agreement of 1975?
A
That all countries would recognise existing European borders and uphold human rights.
19
Q
What did both superpowers accept at the Helsinki Agreement in 1975?
A
- That division of Germany
- The USSR’s influence in Eastern Europe
20
Q
What was the outcome of the Helsinki Agreement in 1975?
A
The West viewed it as great progress.
The USSR didn’t stick to it’s word. It didn’t grant freedom of speech or freedom of movement to its citizens - this undermined the agreement and made the USA distrust the USSR.
21
Q
What did the USSR do to undermine the Helsinki Agreement in 1975 and lead the USA to distrust them?
A
They didn’t stick to their word and didn’t give their citizens freedom of speech or movement.
22
Q
When was SALT 2 signed?
A
1979
23
Q
What did SALT 2 stand for?
A
Strategic Arm Limitations Treaty 2
24
Q
What did SALT 2 ban?
A
The USA and the USSR from launching new missile programs.
25
What did SALT 2 limit?
The number of MIRVs (Multiple Independently targetable Reentry Vehicles) each country could have.
26
What was the outcome of SALT 2?
There was no outcome because it was never ratified (approved) by the US Senate.
27
Why did SALT 2 never come into effect?
Because the US Senate never ratified (approved) it.
28
How did the period of detente affect the arms race?
Both countries took important steps towards limiting their nuclear arms.
But both countries continued to hold vast stockpiles of weapons.
29
What event destroyed the trust that had been building up between the USA and the USSR during the period of detente?
The Soviet War in Afghanistan.
30
When did a civil war break out in Afghanistan?
1978
31
What were rebels protesting during the 1978 civil war?
New radical reforms brought in by the Afghan communist government, which had close ties to the Soviet Union.
32
Who did the Afghan government request help from during the rebel civil war?
The USSR.
33
When did the USSR invade Afghanistan?
December 1979
34
What was the outcome of the USSR invading Afghanistan?
It turned out to be a disaster - they found themselves in a seemingly unwinnable conflict.
35
What did the USSR use to justify the invasion of Afghanistan?
The Brezhnev Doctrine.
36
Why was the invasion into Afghanistan such a disaster?
- they had to fight in difficult mountainous terrain
- determined opposition
- who were supplied with weapons by the USA
37
How many Afghan civilians were killed?
Around 1 million.
38
How many Afghan civilians became refugees?
Over 6 million.
39
What are MIRVs?
Weapons which can carry several missiles at once and deploy them to different targets.
40
How many Soviet troops were killed in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?
15,000
41
How did the Soviet people feel after the USSR invaded Afghanistan?
They were angry at falling living standards because of the high spending in Afghanistan.
42
Why was the Afghanistan war so disastrous for the USSR?
15,000 Soviet troops were killed.
The government spent huge amounts of money.
They lost public support in the USSR for the communist regime.
The Soviet people were angry at falling living standards.
43
How did the war in Afghanistan impact the USSR's military reputation?
It undermined the USSR's strong military reputation, which was essential for keeping its satellite states under control.
44
When did the UN condemn the invasion of Afghanistan?
January 1980
45
How did the UN respond to the invasion of Afghanistan?
They condemned it in January 1980.
And proposed a resolution demanding Soviet withdrawal but the USSR vetoed it.
46
How did the world respond to the Afghanistan invasion?
In 1980, the USA and over 50 other countries boycotted the Moscow Olympic Games.
47
In what year did the USA and over 50 other countries boycott the Moscow Olympic Games?
1980
48
What year was the Moscow Olympic Games?
1980
49
When was the 'Second Cold War'?
1980s
50
What caused the period of Détente to end?
The war in Afghanistan.
51
How did the USA interpret the USSR invading Afghanistan?
An act of communist expansionism.
52
Who stopped the SALT 2 treaty being debated by the US Senate?
US President Jimmy Carter
53
When did US President Jimmy Carter stop the SALT 2 treaty being debated by the US Senate?
1979
54
When was the SALT 2 treaty stopped from being debated by the US Senate?
1979
55
How did US President Jimmy Carter respond to the USA invading Afghanistan?
He was so alarmed he stopped the SALT 2 Treaty from being debated by the US Senate.
Instead he called for an increase in the defense budget.
56
What else was the USA worried that the USSR where trying to do as well as spread communism through their invasion of Afghanistan?
Trying to gain influence in the Persian Gulf, close to the Afghan border.
The oil-rich area had formed close economic ties with the West, and Carter thought Soviet influence in Afghanistan threaten US interest there.
57
What did Carter warn the USSR of in relation to the Persian Gulf?
Carter warned that the USA would use force to prevent the USSR from gaining control of the Gulf region.
This warning became known as the Carter Doctrine.
58
What was the Carter Doctrine?
The warning that President Jimmy Carter gave to the USSR saying that the USA would use force to prevent the USSR from gaining control of the Gulf region.
59
What was the first threat of aggression between the superpowers since détente?
The Carter Doctrine
60
Who replaced US President Carter in January 1981?
President Ronald Reagan
61
Who did President Ronald Reagan replace in January 1981?
US President Carter
62
When did Reagan replace Carter?
January 1981
63
What was Ronald Reagans views on communism?
He was a hardline anti-communist.
64
What were Ronald Reagans speeches full of?
Anti-Soviet rhetoric and he called the USSR and 'evil empire'.
65
What did Ronald Reagan call the USSR?
An 'evil empire'.
66
What was Ronald Reagans approach to the détente?
He didn't believe in the policy of détente. He was willing to negotiate with the USSR, but only from a position of strength.
67
What did Ronald Reagan want to do militarily when he became president?
Increase American defenses.
68
Who started the biggest arms build-up in American history?
US President Ronald Reagan.
69
How much money did America spend on conventional and nuclear weapons in 1980s?
$550 billion a year.
70
Why did America's spending worry the USSR?
Because they couldn't match the USA's spending.
71
What else did Reagan do that directly opposed agreements made during détente?
He re-authorised some weapons programs that had been abandoned during détente.
72
What did the USA begin to develop under Reagans leadership?
The neutron bomb, which was designed to cause maximum loss of life and minimum damage to property.
73
What was the neutron bomb designed for?
Maximum loss of life.
Minimum damage to property.
74
What did Reagan announce in 1983 that worsened superpower relations even more?
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
75
When did Reagan announce the SDI?
March 1983
76
What was nicknamed 'Star Wars'?
The Strategic Defense Initiative.
77
What was the Strategic Defense Initiative?
The ultimate defense system which would develop weapons that would be deployed in space and that could destroy nuclear missiles after they had been launched. (Even nuclear missiles already heading towards the USA could be stopped).
78
How would the SDI affect the Cold War?
It would shift the balance of the Cold War in the USA's favor.
79
When was détente truly over?
1983
80
When did Mikhail Gorbachev become leader of the USSR?
March 1985.
81
How was Gorbachev's attitude different from previous USSR leaders?
He was far more open towards the West.
82
What did Gorbachev do when he came to power?
He proposed radical reforms and was far more open towards the West that previous Soviet leaders.
83
How did the USA respond to Gorbachev becoming USSR's leader?
- Reagan recognised that the USSR was being steered in a new direction.
- The USA realised that this change could be good.
- Initiative like the SDI weren't scrapped but Reagan thought negotiation was now the best way to protect American interests.
84
How were relations between Gorbachev and Reagan and how did this impact USA and USSR relations?
The two leaders got on well, creating a better relationship between the two superpowers.
85
Why did the 'Second Cold War' create a crisis in the USSR?
The arms race and the war in Afghanistan were hugely expensive and the Soviet economy couldn't support this level of spending.
86
What laid the foundations for the collapse of the USSR?
Gorbachev and his 'New Thinking' radically changed Soviet policies.
87
When did Gorbachev become General Secretary of the Communist Party?
1985
88
Who became General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1985?
Gorbachev
89
What two major policies did Gorbachev introduce?
perestroika and glasnost
90
What where perestroika and glasnost part of?
What is known as Gorbachev's 'New Thinking'.
91
What does perestroika mean?
Restructuring
92
What did Gorbachev aim to achieve with perestroika?
- a more efficient Soviet economy
- less centralised industry
- allowed private business ownership and trade with the Western powers
93
What did Gorbachev want for the Soviet economy when implementing perestroika?
A more efficient Soviet economy.
94
How did Gorbachev hope to change Soviet industry with perestroika?
He moved away from the centralisation of industry - the government no longer told businesses exactly what they had to produce.
95
How did Gorbachev's perestroika policy affect businesses?
He allowed private business ownership and allowed Soviet businesses to trade with the Western powers.
96
What does Glasnost mean?
Openness
97
What did glasnost give Soveit people?
- new rights
- free speech
- less censorship
98
How many political prisoners were released due to glasnost?
Thousands.
99
What did Gorbachev create with glasnost in relation to politics?
The USSR's first elected parliament - Communist Party officials were chosen by the public for the first time.
100
When did Gorbachev create the USSR's first elected parliament?
1989
101
What did the glasnost policy consist of?
- it gave Soviet people new rights
- thousands of political prisoners were released
- free speech was allowed and censorship was relaxed
- USSR's first elected parliament
102
What was signed in 1987?
A disarmament treaty - the INF treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces).
103
When was the INF treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) signed?
1987
104
What did the INF treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) state?
The USA and USSR agreed to remove medium-range nuclear missiles from Europe within three years.
105
When were the first missiles dismantled after the INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) was signed?
1988
106
Why was the INF treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) a milestone in American-Soviet relations?
Both countries actively reduced weapons for the first time.
107
What did Gorbachev announce in 1988 in relation to Afghansitan?
That all Soviet troops would withdraw from Afghanistan.
108
What did Gorbachev announce in 1988?
- Soviet troops would withdraw from Afghanistan
- immediate reduction of the USSR's weapons stockpile
- immediate reduction in the number of troops in the Soviet armed forces
109
What did Gorbachev do about the Brezhnev Doctrine in 1988?
He decided to abandon it.
He told the UN that Eastern Europe now had a choice - the USSR wasn't going to control it any longer.
110
When did Gorbachev decided to abandon the Brezhnev Doctrine?
1988
111
What did Gorbachev's new thinking encourage in Eastern Europe?
Encouraged reformist movements.
112
How did Gorbachev's new thinking affect the Soviet Communist Party?
It caused splits because some members thought his reforms weren't radical enough, others worried they were too radical.
113
Why were there splits in the Soviet Communist Party after Gorbachev's new thinking?
Some members thought his reforms weren't radical enough, others worried they were too radical.
114
How did Gorbachev's new thinking impact the control the USSR had over Eastern Europe?
His new thinking made it hard to control Eastern Europe from Moscow.
115
What was the intention of Gorbachev's 'New Thinking'?
To modernise communism.
116
What did Gorbachev state in his 'New Thinking' in relation to the satellite states?
The USSR would no longer use force to uphold communism in its satellite states.
117
When did Gorbachev announce the withdrawal of Soviet troops, tanks and aircraft from Eastern Europe?
1988
118
When did the Berlin Wall fall?
November 1989
119
What happened in November 1989?
The Berlin Wall fell.
120
What did communist Hungary do in May 1989?
They opened its border with non-communist Austria.
121
When did communist Hungary open its border with non-communist Austria?
May 1989
122
What did the Hungary-Austrian border opening allow?
This let East Germans travel through Hungary to Austria, and then into West Germany.
123
How many East Germany citizens left East Germany between August and September 1989?
thousands
124
What happened in October 1989?
There were mass protests against the communist regime.
125
What did the East German government agree after protests against the communist regime in October 1989?
To open the border between East and West Berlin.
126
When did the East German government agree to open their border to West Berlin?
In November 1989 after mass protests in October.
127
What was promised in November 1989?
Free elections.
128
When where free elections promised East Germany?
November 1989.
129
What did the fall of the Berlin Wall show?
That the relationship between East and West was transforming and that the USSR was losing its grip over communist territory.
130
When were free elections held in Poland?
June 1989
131
What happened in Poland in 1990?
A new non-communist government came to power.
And USSR didn't intervene.
132
What happened in December 1989 in regard to communist governments?
Communist governments collapsed in Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania.
133
What happened in December 1989?
Communist governments collapsed in Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania.
134
When did Hungary's Communist Party suffer a large defeat in free elections?
March 1990
135
When did communist East Germany and democratic West Germany rejoin?
October 1990
136
What happened in October 1990?
Communist East Germany and democratic West Germany rejoined to form a single state again.
137
What was the rejoining of East and West Germany a powerful symbol of for some people?
That the communist experiment was over.
138
What happened in early 1990 within the Soviet Union?
Some important regions in the Soviet Union demanded independence, especially Baltic republics - Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
139
How did Gorbachev respond to regions within the USSR wanting independance?
Gorbachev didn't want to lose the Republics. He granted them more power -but it wasn't enough. The leaders of the Soviet republics no longer listened to Gorbachev, and he lacked the authority to make them comply with Soviet wishes.
140
What were regions within the Soviet Union encouraged to ask for independence by?
- recent success of revolutions across Eastern Europe
- Gorbachev's policy of 'glasnost' (openness), which gave greater power to individuals and encouraged constructive criticism of Soviet policy
141
When did Lithuania declare itself independant?
March 1990
142
How did the Soviet Union respond to Lithuania declaring themselves independent from the USSR?
Soviet troops were sent to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, in January 1991, and several civilians were killed in the violence that followed.
143
Where were Soviet troops sent within Lithuania in January 1991?
To Vilnius the capital of Lithuania.
144
What happened in January 1991 in Lithuania's capital Vilnius?
Soviet troops were sent their and several civilians were killed.
145
What was the result of sending Soviet troops into Lithuania in January 1991?
It only strengthened the independence movement because several civilians were killed.
146
When did Georgia declare their independance?
April 1991
147
When did Ukraine declare their independence?
August 1991
148
How hadn't the economic reforms worked?
- the USSR's economy hadn't improved, and in 1990 a quarter of its population was living below the poverty line
- there was economic corruption
- inflation was high and basic goods were in short supply
- the cost of the arms race and the war in Afghanistan hindered the reforms
149
What stopped the economic reforms from working?
The cost of the arms race and the war in Afghanistan.
150
What was the USSR's economy like in 1990?
It hadn't improved and a quarter of its population was living below the poverty line.
151
What happened within the communist party in August 1991?
More traditional Soviet communists were worried that the Communist party was so divided it was going to split.
They though Gorbachev's reforms had gone too far.
So they plotted a coup against the government in August 1991.
152
When did the traditional Soviet communists plan a coup?
August 1991
153
What happened in the traditional Soviet communists coup?
They arrested Gorbachev, tried to force him to resign, and sent tanks into the streets of Moscow to deter protesters.
154
Who condemned the Soviet coup in 1991?
Boris Yeltsin, a Soviet politician who opposed Gorbachev and wanted the USSR to adopt capitalism.
155
What did Boris Yeltsin do in protest to the coup in 1991?
He went onto the streets to rally opposition against the coup.
156
What was the overall response to the Soviet coup?
There were mass protests in major cities.
Showing the Soviets had clearly rejected communism.
The coup failed.
157
When did Gorbachev resign?
Christmas day 1991
158
When was the USSR dissolved?
26th December 1991
159
What happened to the republics that made up the Soviet Union?
They became independent states.
160
What was the biggest republic after the Soviet Union was dissolved?
Russia
161
Who was elected leader in Russia after the Soviet Union was dissolved?
Boris Yeltsin was elected leader.
162
What type of government did Yeltsin adopt when he became leader of Russia?
Capitalism.
