The End of The Cold War

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  • The End of The Cold War
    • Détente- the relaxing of tensions
      • Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968)- An agreement to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons
        • Countries with nuclear weapons would not help other countries get them too
        • Countries without nuclear weapons would not try to get them
        • Countries with nuclear weapons (USA, USSR, UK, France and China) agreed to talk about disarmament.
      • SALT I: Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (1972)- Superpowers agreed to limit the number of nuclear weapons they had.
        • No further production of strategic ballistic weapons (short-range missiles)
        • No increase in number of ICBM's (though new ones could be added to replace old ones)
        • No new nuclear missile launchers; only new submarines that could launch missiles were allowed as replacements for existing launchers.
        • The Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty limited both sides to two ABM deployment areas
      • 1975 Helsinki Conference: representatives from 35 countries (including USA and USSR) agreed on security issues, cooperation, human rights and borders.
        • Countries to respect human rights- including freedom of speech, religion and movement of information
          • USSR didn't honour the human rights agreements from the Helsinki Accords
        • East Germany and West Germany accept each other officially
        • All disputes to be settled peacefully, through the UN if necessary
        • No country to interfere with the internal affairs of another country
        • Sharing of scientific knowledge (e.g. medicine) and education cooperation (e.g. foreign exchanges)
        • Trade cooperation (e.g. USA agreed to buy oil from USSR and USSR agreed to buy wheat from USA)
    • Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan (1979)
      • As during the uprise in Czechoslovakia the US didn't do anything; Brezhnev expected them to not do anything either with Afghanistan. However, this time they reacted very strongly.
        • Carter reacted strongly as he worried that the USSR would get more control in the Middle East and Afghanistan might mean Soviet influence in Iran. Iran could block Middle East oil exports at the Straits of Hormuz and Middle East oil was essential to the USA's prosperity
      • The Carter Doctrine (January 1980) in response to the invasion of Afghanistan
        • As during the uprise in Czechoslovakia the US didn't do anything; Brezhnev expected them to not do anything either with Afghanistan. However, this time they reacted very strongly.
          • Carter reacted strongly as he worried that the USSR would get more control in the Middle East and Afghanistan might mean Soviet influence in Iran. Iran could block Middle East oil exports at the Straits of Hormuz and Middle East oil was essential to the USA's prosperity
        • Carter threatened to use force if the USSR attempted to take control of the Persian Gulf
        • Economic Sanctions- no trade with the USSR
        • Set up alliances with China and Israel to back Afghan rebels (Mujahideen) against the soviets
        • USA broke off diplomatic relations with the USSR and refused to sign SALT II
          • SALT II (1972)- Planned to reduce stock to 2250 warheads per superpower and imposed limits on new launch systems
        • Boycott of 1980 Moscow Olympics (which led to the USSR boycotting 1984 Olympics in L.A)
      • Before the war the USSR had backed the socialist Afghan government. But the USA was secretly funding the Afghan opposition tot the government. So when the rebels started to fight the government, the government asked the USSR for help.
    • The Second Cold War 1979-85 (Ronald Reagan became US president in 1981 and believed that the USA had a mission from God to win the Cold War)
      • MAD- Previously, nuclear war was avoided due to MAD so it was too risky for either side to start one.
        • However, as Reagan wanted to win the Cold War, he launched a strategic defence initiative (SDI). This was a plan to have satellites in space that would destroy Soviet ICBM before the reached the USA (star wars).
          • This SDI was never built as planned
          • Development of the SDI was beyond the USSR's reach
      • Reagan described the USSR as the 'Evil Empire'
      • Reagan started the arms race again
        • US technology was developing fast in the 1980's, especially computing
        • USA poured money into developing new missile technology
        • USSR could not keep up with the USA
          • USSR's economy was in bad shape, partly because it spent so much money on weapons
            • Living standards were very low right across the Eastern Bloc
          • USSR was caught up in the Afghanistan war
          • USSR did not have USA's computing expertise
    • 1985- New/Last leader of USSR: Mikhail Gorbachev
      • Perestroika- restructuring. This meant new ways of doing things
      • Glasnost- openness. This gave people more freedom to say what they really thought
        • These led to many revolutions across the Eastern Bloc/ break up of the Eastern Bloc
          • Perestroika- restructuring. This meant new ways of doing things
          • LOOK AT TIMELINE OF REVOLUTIONS FOLLOWING PERESTROIKA AND GLASNOST!!
          • After the Hungarian revolution, people started leaving East Germany through Hungary. This forced the East German government to announce that East Germans could across the Berlin border. East Germans flooded into West Berlin and the Berlin Wall fell
          • And eventually the break up of the USSR. Although glasnost gave people more freedom perestroika only made the soviet economy worse. This meant that living conditions got even worse and many soviet republics demanded independence.
          • This meant that Gorbachev faced opposition too. In August 1991 a coup tried to take control and rescue the USSR. This was because glasnost had caused the break up of Eastern Bloc and was doing the same to the USSR;because Perestroika was ruining the economy and because some of the republics could turn on Russian people living there. Also some republics hated each other and would start fighting.
      • Tried to cover up nuclear accident at Chernobyl
      • Foreign relationships became more positive and open
      • Recognised that the economy was failing and that people were unhappy with the government, but he did not want capitalism- just a stronger socialism
      • Was very slow to allow democratic elections in the USSR
      • Desperate to get the USSR out of the war in Afghanistan
      • Summits
        • Geneva, November 1985
          • Gorbachev and Reagan met at this summit. They got on well and agreed to more meetings
        • Reykjavik, October 1986
          • Diplomats continued the discussions at this summit and came up with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty (signed in 1987).
            • This got rid of all 500-5500km nuclear missiles each superpower had (better than SALT I)
          • Reagan and Gorbachev said they would work to cut down the number of nuclear weapons they had. But, Gorbachev wanted an end to SDI in return but Reagan didn't agree to this.
      • Breakup of the Eastern Bloc
        • Gorbachev though Eastern Bloc countries should be free to run themselves how they want
        • Scrapped the Brezhnev Doctrine as he thought openness would make all Eastern Bloc countries better. Also the USSR had to improve trade relations with the West to rebuild its economy; the cost of troops and military was crippling the economy and the West would only improve trade if repression was introduced
    • The Fall of the USSR
      • The coup was defeated in a few days (resistance led by Boris Yeltsin) and Gorbachev returned to power, but he looked weak next to Yeltsin. Gorbachev tried to fix the USSR by giving republics more freedom but republics wanted full independence.
        • On 25 December Gorbachev dissolved the USSR and resigned.

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