The End Of The Cold War 1985-91 (unrefined)

Question 1

Who led the USSR between Brezhnev and Gorbachev?

Give dates.

What was significant about both?

Answer 1

1. Andropov - 1982-84
2. Chernenko - 1984-85

Both were very old and died in office - signaling how unstable the Soviet system had become

Question 2

When did Mikhail Gorbachev become leader of the USSR?

Answer 2

1985 (after the death of Chernenko)

Question 3

How was Gorbachev different from other soviet leaders (broadly)

Answer 3

He was pragmatic and a reformist

Question 4

Under what conditions in the USSR did Gorbachev inherit (5)

Answer 4

• economic stagnation/contraction caused by:

1. inefficient production
2. 70s oil crisis
3. Subsidies to satellites
4. Lack of incentive to work or be productive

• food shortages
• lack of investment in public services, healthcare and education
• technologically behind the west
• 37% total production of the US

All while Brezhnev had increased defense budgets

Question 5

On what day did the Berlin Wall come down?

Answer 5

9th November 1989

Question 6

what were Gorbachev’s 2 flagship policies

What did both mean?

Answer 6

• glasnost (openness) - encouraging criticism of the soviet regime to root out corruption and become more efficient
• perestroika (restructuring) - allowing market forces to enter the Soviet economy (capitalist reforms)

Question 7

What 3rd policy did Gorbachev enact?

Answer 7

• Reduction in arms spending
• subsidies to satellites cancelled
• 1968 Brezhnev doctrine renounced

Question 8

Where did Gorbachev and Reagan meet? (3)

Where did HW Bush meet Gorbachev?

When?

Answer 8

1. • Nov 1985 Geneva
   • 1986 Reykjavik
   • 1987 Washington
2. HW Bush - 1988 Moscow

Question 9

What was agreed between the US and USSR at Washington 1987?

Answer 9

INF treaty - agreement on arms reduction

Question 10

While Gorbachev was popular abroad, what issues did he have domestically? (5)

Answer 10

• Glasnost —> a lot of criticism of the system
• nationalism grew in soviet republics - calls for independence grew
• Gorbechev’s policies weakened authority of eastern bloc states - USSR promised not to intervene
• the 1968 Brezhnev Doctrine was abandoned
• USSR began defunding satellites

Question 11

Why was Poland so key to the USSR? (And why was solidarity so problematic)

(3)

Answer 11

• their army represented 1/3 of the Warsaw Pact
• largest population of satellite states - 36 million
• if it were to collapse - the eastern bloc would probably follow suit

Question 12

What was solidarity?

What were their aims?

Why did solidarity arise in Poland?

Answer 12

1. a trade union in Poland supported by intellectuals and the Catholic Church
2. • lower food prices
   • referendum on one party state (allow more parties)
3. because of the economic state of Poland in the mid 1980s:

• rising prices
• no western markets for exports
• outdated technology

Question 13

Where did solidarity begin strike action

Answer 13

In the Gdansk shipyards

Question 14

When were solidarity outlawed?

Answer 14

Oct 1982

Question 15

How did the western reaction to the banning of solidarity appear to show a divide?

Answer 15

France and FRG didn’t criticize the ban - Soviets viewed this as a split in western opinions

Question 16

Why did opposition to the USSR begin to become apparent in the 1980s?

Why did it only manifest in Poland at first?

Answer 16

1. • 1970s oil crisis caused economic turmoil
   • western culture infiltrated during the 70s and 80s - anti-soviet rhetoric
2. Quite simply, people were fearful of soviet retaliation

Question 17

When did the now illegal solidarity call for strike action (which led to reforms)

What reforms were granted? When?

Answer 17

1. 1988
2. 1989
   - solidarity made legal
   - right to strike granted
   - free elections in Poland

Question 18

How did soviet control of Poland formally end?

Answer 18

• The polish people elected a non-communist leader - 1989
• for the first time since 1945

Question 19

What happened in August 1989 that threatened the authority of the GDR?

Answer 19

Hungary opened their borders and 150 000 East Germans fled to FRG

Question 20

Which eastern bloc states fell first? (3)

Answer 20

In no particular order:

• Romania
• Poland
• Hungary

Question 21

What name was given to the collapse of Czechoslovakia?

Answer 21

Velvet revolution

Question 22

Why did the GDR collapse (broadly speaking) (2)

Answer 22

• it needed public support but was poor and totalitarian
• once protests started, it collapsed (Nov 9th protests in East Berlin)

Question 23

How many protested in East Berlin on Nov 9th 1989?

Answer 23

500 000

Question 24

What did Gorbachev state at the Malta summit?

When was this?

Answer 24

• That the ‘Cold War is over’
• Dec 1989

Question 25

After the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, why did discontent emerge in the USSR? (5)

Answer 25

• economic issues persisted
• basic commodities were scarce
• USSR became a net importer of oil due to inefficiency
• inflation worsened economic issues
• on top of this - glasnost allowed criticism of the government - now rife

Question 26

What agreement ended the division of Europe? When?

Answer 26

• Gorbachev agrees to German unification within NATO
• July 1990

Question 27

When was START 1 agreed?

What was it?

Answer 27

• August 1991
• agreement on reduction of nuclear weapons between US and USSR

Question 28

Where in the USSR fell first? When?

Answer 28

• Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia)
• March and May 1990

Question 29

How was Gorbachev viewed in the USSR after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and Baltic republics?

How was this evident?

Answer 29

• He was unilaterally criticized
• Aug 1991 coup (which failed)

Question 30

When did the USSR collapse?

Answer 30

December 1991 after Gorbachev resigned as president

Question 31

What was the USSR replaced by? (2)

Answer 31

• a multi-national organization called the Confederation of Independent States (CIS)
• this now has 9 member states, mainly those close to the Russian Federation politically