Causes of end of the cold war Flashcards
1)Economic Weakness/Regans’ policy =root cause of end
- The Soviet Union’s GDP was 37% of the USAs
- Military spending was at 27% of GDP in 1989 compared to 7% in the USA
- The USSR was spending $134 billion a year on defence compared to the USA’s $254 billion in 1989.
Regan exploits -SDI - 200 billion
71 to 147 million millitary
1987 brilliant pebbbles costs 25 billion
Increases defense spending by 43%
253 million - 7% of gdp
128 - 27% of ussrs gdp
Collapse of USSR
New union treaty planned for August 19th 1991
-August 18th 1991 begins , Gorbachev is on vacation
-Declare control
- 3 killed , Yeltsin rallies
August 21st coup falls
August 24th 1991 - Dissolve the communist party
December 31st 1991 - The USSR ended
2nd detente
Gorbachevs final attempt to bring peace due to inability to sustain conflict economically – aims to maintain position as a global superpower
1984 – visits Thatcher, she famously states ‘he is a man I can do business with’
Geneva summit 1985- Regan and Gorbachev meet, agreements on culture and science
Rajykovik summit 1986 – Positive, discuss limiting nuclear weapons, agreements ultimately collapse
Washington summit 8th- 10th December 1987 – INF TREATY agreed, limits use of medium range weapons, by 1991 2692 missiles destroyed
Moscow summit 1988 – ratify INF treaty, Regan states he no longer views USSR as an evil empire
DEC 7th 1988 – Gorbachev makes and speech, Leninism/Marxism isn’t the key to ultimate truth
Malta summit 1989 – Agree they will not start a war. Peace agreement seen as end of the cold war
Gorbachevs reforms
11 March 1985 Gorbahcev leader - introduces glasnost
Decree on press freedom- Nov 16th 1986
-learn about Chernobyl and 50 million in tax payers money to Afghanistan
-learn of soviet elite
Introduced April 26, 1985
Poorly managed - left with 66 billion debt and 2 billion declining stock
GDP Growth: 1.5% in 1985; -4.5% in 1990.
Foreign Debt: $27 billion in 1989
Allows power to Oligarchs
Alchol sales limited - is 1/3 of income. 20 billion in loses
Article 6 repealed march 15th 1990
