End of USSR

In 1976, the U**R placed ** 20s in Central Europe which could strike up to 5000km, so NATO suggested if an arms agreement couldn't be reached, Pershing and Cruise missiles would be deployed by 1983.

In November 1981, Reagan suggested both sides destroy medium range nuclear missiles, but the U**R saw the US would be faced with opposition from left-wing protest groups, and rejected this, so between 1983-7 the US placed the missiles in FRG, UK, NL, and Italy. 

SR Ashton argued that Afghanistan was the onset of the New Cold War. 

Causes: 

In April 1978, Hafizulla Amin became President, leading the Afghan Communist Party, in a coup. Reforms were made for women's rights and schooling, and this led to a rise in Islamic fundamentalist opposition which threatened the U**R with global encirclement while the US was becoming friendly with China. Amin had to be replaced. 

Events: 

Between 24-27 December, 50,000 Soviets entered, with 100,000 troops stationed in months. They flew to Kabul and executed Amin on 27th December 1979, replacing him with Babrak Kamal. They hoped they could withdraw troops soon but the Afghan army disintegrated quickly and Babrak Kamal was unpopular, leading to the mujahideen gaining popularity. 

200,000 guerillas countered the Soviets, and the Soviets only controlled 1/5 of the country, so they quickly gave up. The mujahideen in the mountains were hard to fight. 

The US issued the Carter Doctrine to defend the Persian Gulf, seeing a threat being made to it, while the Senate refused to ratify SALT II, the US boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and they banned grain exports. In 1986, Reagan gave the mujahideen ground-to-air missiles to counter Soviet superiority. By 1985 it was clear the war couldn't be won. 

China denounced the invasion and cancelled Sino-Soviet talks due to start in 1980.

France and the FRG were determined not to let it harm Ostpolitik and detente. 

In 1980 Poland was suffering from rising oil prices and a recession in Europe, preventing trade. The Solidarity movement led strikes in Gdansk shipyards over price raises, and in August it was recognised as an independent trade union with concessions, but more unrest broke out with national strike threats as the population rose to 8 million in the movement and refusal to spread concessions beyond the shipyards. The Catholic Church supported Solidarity as a Polish pope was elected in 1978.

Brezhnev and the Warsaw Pact leaders urged Stanislaw Kania, PM, to do something, and Honecker said on 28 November it would threaten Europe, but Soviet troops were not deployed in December as Kania promised he would intervene himself. At the ninth Congress, 1981, delegates attacked party members, and Karuzelski used martial law in December, as agreed by the U**R. In October 1982 Solidarity was outlawed. 

Schmidt and Kohl refused to comment on this. In May 1980, at Tito's funeral in Belgrade, he told Honecker that they must ensure the 'big brother's don't get nervous,' and he visited Moscow a month later to convince Brezhnev to negotiate…