End of Cold War 1984-1995 Flashcards
When did the Afghan Communist Party overthrow the monarchy? What did it then do? What did the USSR fear?
- April 1978
- Began radical reforming programme which created widespread Islamist opposition
- The USSR feared the impact would be the development of Islamic Fundamentalism in its southern Republics
When did Soviet troops invade Afghanistan? What did they do? What did they hope?
- December 1979
- Executed the unpopular President Amin and replaced him with Babrak Kamal
- Hoped would be able to crush Islamic Fundamentalism within a matter of weeks
What happened in Afghanistan after Soviet occupation?
200,000 Mujahedin guerrilla fighters fought the occupation for ten years, maintaining their bases in inaccessible mountain territories bordering Pakistan
How did the US see the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan? What did different presidents do?
- Saw it as Soviet expansionism
- Carter suspended grain exports, boycotted 1980 Olympic Games and refused to sign SALT (II)
- Reagan financially supported the Mujahedin and in 1986 gave them ground to air missiles and shared military intelligence with them (China also helped)
How did the Western European powers view the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan?
- Britain under Thatcher supported US stances
- France and West Germany tried to maintain détente, and only condemned verbally
What developments did Reagan make in regards to US rearmament?
- Between 1981-85, he spent 30% of government funds on armament
- In 1983, he announced the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) or ‘Star Wars’ scheme
How did relations between the USSR and US deteriorate further in 1983?
- On the 1st September 1983, the USSR mistakenly shot down a South Korean airline, which they refused to take responsibility for
- Relations were so bad that Andropov feared an annually scheduled NATO exercised might be a nuclear attack
How did Russian leadership change 1984-5?
Andropov died in 1984 and his replacement, Chernenko, died March 1985 to be replaced by Gorbachev
What were the main problems with the Soviet economic system?
- It was poor at adapting to supplying competitive prices for consumer goods that were readily available for Capitalist states
- The total production of the USSR was only 37% of the GNP of the USA and could not adapt to inflation, rising oil prices and global economic depression of early 1980s
- Without any innovation in the economy, workers were apathetic, resorted to thievery and drunkenness which led to physical degredation
What two main policies did Gorbachev introduce and what was their purpose?
Perestroika - increase investment in technology, decentralize economy
Glasnost - open politics to the masses, ie reducing censorship so that investigative journalism could expose disasters like Chernobyl
How did Russia become more democratic between 1988-90?
- 1988-9 - New political organisations like the Democratic Union were introduced, religion tolerated and books by former dissidents were published
- May 1989 - The Congress of People’s Deputies was established and elections that represented the people occurred, although at this point it had no power
- February 1990 - Gorbachev cancelled Article 9 of the Soviet Constitution, which guaranteed Communist supremacy
- March elections - Most long-term Communist officials were rejected and Gorbachev elected as the first President of the USSR
Describe disarmament 1985-89
- In April 1985, Gorbachev stopped the number of SS-20 missiles installed in eastern Europe and, despite not getting Reagan to give up SDI in Reykjavik 1986, they agreed to withdraw medium-range missiles from Europe in Washington 1987
- The last Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan in 1989
Why was reform able to happen in Eastern Europe under Gorbachev?
In July 1989 he renounced the Brezhnev Doctrine and encouraged reform in East European states
Under Gorbachev, describe the reform in Poland
- In 1988, inflation in Poland was up to 200% and series of strikes led to Communists accepting Solidarity as a political party, which won elections widely in new Parliaments
- The USSR made clear that it would not intervene, so Communists shared power with them
- After the collapse of Communist rule elsewhere, Lech Walesa took over as President on behalf of Solidarity in November 1990, after the resignation of Jaruzelski
Under Gorbachev, describe the reform in Hungary
- Hungarian Communists took Gorbachev’s reforms on board and replaced Kader with Grosz, a reforming leader, in March 1989
- The Hungarian Socialist Party transformed into a more western democratic party and expected to do well in election s in 1990 (it didn’t)
