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end of cold war Flashcards

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1
Q

What factors adversely affected the US economy in the 1970s?

A

The Vietnam War and global oil crises.

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2
Q

What economic policies did President Reagan implement to counter the oil crises?

A

Economic liberalisation, encouraging individual enterprise, reducing government reliance, cutting national budgets, and privatising national assets.

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3
Q

What was the outcome of Reagan’s economic policies in the USA and Western Europe?

A

A period of economic prosperity followed.

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4
Q

How did US economic prosperity in the 1980s involve international partners?

A

Economic partners like West Germany and Japan contributed to the prosperity.

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5
Q

How did the growth of the American economy impact the arms race?

A

It allowed the USA to renew the arms race, putting pressure on the Soviet Union.

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6
Q

What was the purpose of the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) or ‘Star Wars’ program?

A

To use space-based technologies to detect and destroy potential nuclear attacks on the USA.

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7
Q

How did the Soviet Union respond to the SDI program?

A

The Soviet Union lacked the financial and scientific resources to match the USA’s space-based military technology.

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8
Q

What was the purpose of the ‘Able Archer 83’ military exercise?

A

NATO’s joint exercise with mobile Pershing II missiles in West Germany.

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9
Q

How did the Soviet Union react to ‘Able Archer 83’?

A

They feared it was a real nuclear first strike and heightened their alert.

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10
Q

What were the consequences of ‘Able Archer 83’ on US-Soviet relations?

A

It brought the two superpowers close to nuclear war and led Reagan to reconsider his aggressive policies.

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11
Q

How did Reagan’s foreign policy shift after ‘Able Archer 83’?

A

He became more open to negotiations and nuclear disarmament talks with the Soviet Union from 1985.

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12
Q

What was a major reason for the stagnation of the Soviet economy from the 1970s?

A
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13
Q

What are the characteristics of a command economy?

A

Government control and ownership of all production aspects, founded on communist ideology, and prohibition of private enterprises.

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14
Q

What factors led to the failure of the Soviet command economy?

A
  • Lack of accurate information for resource allocation.
  • Widespread corruption and inefficiency.
  • Lack of motivation due to unrewarded hard work and innovation.
  • Focus on quantity over quality.
  • Harsh control that prevented criticism and feedback.
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15
Q

How did Stalin’s Five-Year Plans impact consumer goods in the Soviet Union?

A

They emphasized industrial production at the expense of consumer goods.

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16
Q

How did Cold War military spending affect Soviet living standards?

A

Resources were diverted to the military, reducing availability of consumer goods.

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17
Q

What exacerbated the resentment among Soviet citizens regarding consumer goods?

A

The disparity between shortages in communist countries and excesses in capitalist countries, and the exclusivity of luxury goods stores for high-ranking officials.

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18
Q

How did Reagan’s arms race renewal affect the Soviet economy?

A

It forced the Soviet Union to spend more on defense than it could sustain.

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19
Q

What were some external economic burdens on the Soviet Union?

A
  • Subsidies to Eastern Europe through discounted oil prices.
  • Economic bartering with satellite states.
  • Heavy borrowing by Eastern European countries from Western banks.
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20
Q

How did the war in Afghanistan impact the Soviet economy?

A

It drained military, financial, and human resources, worsening the economic strain.

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21
Q

What historical events illustrate resistance within the Soviet bloc?

A
  • Hungarian Revolution (1956): Overthrew the communist regime and Soviet forces intervened.
  • Prague Spring (1968): Democratic reforms attempted, but Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces intervened.
22
Q

How did the treatment of dissidents affect Soviet international relations?

A

It led the USA to emphasize human rights, increasing pressure on the Soviet Union for political reforms.

23
Q

What was the impact of Soviet repression on dissidents?

A

Many were arrested, persecuted, or executed, which led to increased pressure for reform.

24
Q

When did Mikhail Gorbachev come to power and what did he believe was needed?

A

March 1985; he believed the Soviet Union needed reform in both internal and foreign policies.

25
Q

What were Gorbachev’s main focuses for reform?

A

Economic and political reforms to address Soviet Union’s problems.

26
Q

What did Gorbachev do to strengthen his position within the Communist Party?

A

He replaced old supporters of the Soviet military-industrial complex with his own supporters.

27
Q

What was the period of ‘new thinking’ introduced by Gorbachev?

A

A series of reforms to bring about significant changes in Soviet policy.

28
Q

What does Glasnost mean and what was its purpose?

A

‘Openness’; to introduce greater transparency and freedom of expression in the Soviet Union.

29
Q

What measures were taken under Glasnost?

A
  • Public debates and abolition of media censorship.
  • Release of Soviet dissidents from exile.
  • Transparency of vital information and reconstruction of Soviet history.
30
Q

What were the negative consequences of Glasnost?

A
  • Increased loss of faith in the government.
  • Greater nationalistic tendencies in Eastern Europe and the communist bloc.
  • Discontent among citizens due to exposure to previously hidden information.
31
Q

What does Perestroika mean and what was its focus?

A

‘Restructuring’; focused on reforming the Soviet economy through economic and political changes.

32
Q

What were the economic reforms introduced under Perestroika?

A
  • Establishment of small cooperatives.
  • Allowance of private ownership in service and manufacturing.
  • Relaxation of wage controls and price setting by entrepreneurs.
  • Replacement of state banks with private regulation of money supply.
33
Q

What were the political reforms under Perestroika?

A

Elections for party candidates and general elections for varied organizations.

34
Q

What were the negative consequences of Perestroika?

A
  • Many unprofitable enterprises needing government support.
  • Persistence of old command economy issues, such as corruption and shortages.
  • Gorbachev faced criticism from both conservatives and liberals.
35
Q

What were the key points of Gorbachev’s UN speech in 1988?

A
  • Right of countries to choose their own political and economic systems.
  • Withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
  • Respect for human rights through criminal code amendments.
  • Allowance of foreign broadcasts in the Soviet Union.
  • Recall of Soviet troops from Eastern Europe and reduction of military forces.
  • Continued talks with the USA on nuclear disarmament.
36
Q

How did Gorbachev’s UN speech impact the Cold War?

A

It paved the way for the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and accelerated the end of the Cold War.

37
Q

How did Gorbachev’s UN speech impact Soviet control over Eastern Europe?

A

It led to the disintegration of the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.

38
Q

How did Gorbachev’s approach differ from the Brezhnev Doctrine?

A

Unlike the Brezhnev Doctrine, which emphasized intervention in allies’ politics, Gorbachev advocated for withdrawal and less control.

39
Q

What was the ‘domino effect’ in Eastern Europe during this period?

A

Eastern European regimes collapsed one after another due to popular revolutions.

40
Q

List the countries and months/years when their communist regimes collapsed:

A
  • May 1988: Poland
  • Jan 1989: Hungary
  • Oct 1989: East Germany
  • Dec 1989: Czechoslovakia
  • Dec 1989: Bulgaria
  • Apr 1990: Romania
41
Q

What was the Berlin Wall a symbol of?

A

Communist oppression in Eastern Europe.

42
Q

When did the Berlin Wall begin to be dismantled, and how was it initially opened?

A

It began being dismantled in June 1990. It was initially opened for ‘private trips’ on 9 November 1989, but many crossed the border immediately.

43
Q

What was the significance of the fall of the Berlin Wall?

A

It symbolized the fall of the ‘Iron Curtain’ and the collapse of the Eastern communist bloc.

44
Q

Why was Gorbachev unpopular at home despite international acclaim?

A

His domestic reforms (Perestroika and Glasnost) failed to improve the Soviet economy and society.

45
Q

What was the impact of Gorbachev’s reforms and foreign policies on Soviet superpower status?

A

They contributed to the loss of the Soviet Union’s superpower status.

46
Q

Who was one of Gorbachev’s harshest critics and what was his position in June 1991?

A

Boris Yeltsin; he was elected President of Russia.

47
Q

What happened during the August 1991 coup attempt against Gorbachev?

A

Hard-line Communist Party members attempted a coup, but it was unsuccessful due to opposition from Yeltsin, Russian military officers, and pro-democracy protesters

48
Q

What were the key events leading to the end of the Soviet Union?

A
  • Yeltsin’s opposition to the coup and suspension of the Communist Party.
  • Declaration of independence by Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus on 8 December 1991.
  • Gorbachev’s resignation on 25 December 1991.
49
Q

When was the Soviet Union officially dissolved?

A

On 25 December 1991.

50
Q

What did Gorbachev’s reforms reveal about the people’s desires?

A

They opened up long-suppressed desires for greater freedom.

51
Q

What happened when the fear of the communist party was removed from Eastern Europe and the Soviet Republics?

A

There was nothing to stop people from achieving their desire to end communist control.

52
Q

What did people in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Republics embrace after the failure of communism?

A

Democracy and capitalism.

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