Events of the "Thaw": Eisenhower and Khrushchev Flashcards
Why was the death of Stalin important for the USSR and for Soviet foreign policy?
It opened the door for Khrushchev to come into power and to make a few changes. Khrushchev’s policy of “peaceful coexistence” posited that capitalism and communism could coexist together; he believed that capitalism would eventually self-destruct, so there was no reason for the USSR to waste money combating a future less system. Despite its negative outlook on the future of the US, this idea did allow for greater communication between the 2 superpowers.
Was Khrushchev’s visit to the USA in 1959 an important step in helping to decrease Cold War tensions?
Yes and no. He was the first Soviet leader to come to the US since the Cold War had begun, which was a milestone in opening better communication/collaboration. It was also an action that showed he may be willing to act on his ideas on “peaceful co-existence.” Peaceful co-existence was his idea that the USSR and the USA could live together without conflict because the US would eventually fall apart due to its evil capitalist ways. Khrushchev very much believed that the US would eventually naturally experience a communist revolution and would join the USSR – Workers of the World, unite! Khrushchev got a chance to talk to farmers and workers in the US and brought back some new ideas to stimulate Soviet farming. On the other hand, he gave Eisenhower a moon rock, shoving in Eisenhower’s face that the USSR had made it to the moon first. He didn’t get to go to Disneyland, which was sad. He scared a lot of citizens when he gave some speeches that showed what an angry and vengeful person he could be – While speaking in Los Angeles, he threatened nuclear holocaust if things didn’t go his way. In 1960, after he returned home, his troops captured the American U2 pilot Gary Powers spying, and any progress made during the thaw quickly disappeared.
At the Geneva Summit of 1955, Eisenhower made an offer called the “Open Skies Proposal.” What was it and why was it important?
The Open Skies Proposal suggested that the US and USSR be able to do some legal reconnaissance on each other. It said that both sides should be able to fly planes over each other’s military installations to keep each other accountable. Khrushchev rejected the proposal; for the time being, Eisenhower did not pursue this policy, but in 1960, he sent a U2 plane to spy on the USSR and it was shot down, exposing the fact that Eisenhower had actually implemented the Open Skies Policy without the USSR’s approval.
Hungarian Revolt 1956
All wealth of whatever nature was taken from Hungary by the Russians who showed their power by putting thousands of Russian troops and hundreds of tanks in Hungary. Rakosi was forced to resign. In fact, the Hungarians had expected more but they did not get it. This situation, combined with 1) a bad harvest 2) fuel shortages 3) a cold and wet autumn all created a volatile situation.On October 23rd 1956, students and workers took to the streets of Budapest (the capital of Hungary ) and issued their Sixteen Points which included personal freedom, more food, the removal of the secret police, the removal of Russian control etc. Poland had already been granted rights in 1956 which had been gained by street protests and displays of rebellion. Hungary followed likewise.On October 31st, 1956, Nagy broadcast that Hungary would withdraw itself from the Warsaw Pact. This was pushing the Russians too far and Kadar left the government in disgust and established a rival government in eastern Hungary which was supported by Soviet tanks. On November 4th, Soviet tanks went into Budapest to restore order and they acted with immense brutality even killing wounded people. Tanks dragged round bodies through the streets of Budapest as a warning to others who were still protesting.Hundreds of tanks went into Budapest and probably 30,000 people were killed. To flee the expected Soviet reprisals, probably 200,000 fled to the west leaving all they possessed in Hungary. Nagy was tried and executed and buried in an unmarked grave. By November 14th, order had been restored. Kadar was put in charge. Soviet rule was re-established.
Sputnik- 1957
The world’s first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball (58 cm.or 22.8 inches in diameter), weighed only 83.6 kg. or 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race. the public feared that the Soviets’ ability to launch satellites also translated into the capability to launch ballistic missiles that could carry nuclear weapons from Europe to the U.S.Immediately after the Sputnik I launch in October, the U.S. Defense Department responded to the political furor by approving funding for another U.S. satellite project. As a simultaneous alternative to Vanguard, Wernher von Braun and his Army Redstone Arsenal team began work on the Explorer project. On January 31, 1958, the tide changed, when the United States successfully launched Explorer I. The Sputnik launch also led directly to the creation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In July 1958, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act (commonly called the “Space Act”), which created NASA as of October 1, 1958 from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and other government agencies.
First Berlin Crisis of 1958
On November 10, 1958, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev delivered a speech in which he demanded that the Western powers of the United States, Great Britain and France pull their forces out of West Berlin within six months. This ultimatum sparked a three year crisis over the future of the city of Berlin that culminated in 1961 with the building of the Berlin Wall. The division of Germany and its capital city of Berlin among the four victors of the Second World War was frozen in time by the onset of the Cold War despite the postwar agreements to unify the zones.
U-2 Incident
The 1960 U-2 incident happened during the Cold War on 1 May 1960, during the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower and the premiership of Nikita Khrushchev when a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down in Soviet airspace. The aircraft, flown by Central Intelligence Agency pilot Francis Gary Powers, was performing aerial reconnaissance when it was hit by an S-75 Dvina (SA-2 Guideline) surface-to-air missile and crashed in Sverdlovsk.
Initially the United States government tried to cover up the plane’s purpose and mission, but was forced to admit its military nature when the Soviet government came forward with the U-2’s intact remains and captured pilot as well as photos of military bases in Russia taken by the aircraft. Coming roughly two weeks before the scheduled opening of an East–West summit in Paris, the incident was a great embarrassment to the United States[2] and prompted a marked deterioration in its relations with the Soviet Union. Powers was convicted of espionage and sentenced to three years of imprisonment plus seven years of hard labor but would be released two years later on 10 February 1962 during a prisoner exchange for Soviet officer Rudolf Abel.
