Gorbachev and end of cold war Flashcards
When did Gorbachev come to power?
March 1985
Why did Gorbachev want to end the cold war?
- Because the Soviet Union didn’t have enough money to continue funding it; they were in financial ruin after Afghanistan and all the spending on defence
- The USA were miles ahead in technology and in the arms race
What made Gorbachev different to previous soviet leaders?
- He wanted a socialist style communism
- He empathised with the satellite states
- He was younger, so he had more modern ideas and wasn’t stuck in the past
- He travelled around the soviet union meeting the public and hearing their stories, realising that a change needed to happen
What were the two internal reforms Gorbachev introduced in the USSR?
Perestroika- changing some economic policies to allow more competition and incentives to produce goods so the economy was less govt controlled
Glasnost- openness in govt; uncensored press and re-releasing banned books etc.
What were the problems with Perestroika and Glasnost?
It allowed people to see what atrocities previous leaders had done, which meant they trusted Gorbachev less and they wanted more and more freedoms
Geneva summit -when, who, what, success or failure?
- November 1985
- Reagan and Gorbachev
- Speed up arms talks, work towards banning chemical weapons, be more active on human rights
- Success because -it was the starting point for more talks
- improved relations
- Failure because -USA wouldn’t give up SDI so nothing was actually signed
Reykjavik summit -when, who, what, success or failure?
- October 1986
- Reagan and Gorbachev
- Reductions in nuclear arsenals
- Failure because -USA wouldn’t give up SDI so nothing was signed
INF treaty -when, who, what, success or failure?
- December 1986
- Reagan and Gorbachev
- Eliminated certain nuclear weapons
- Allowed them to inspect each other’s military installations, SDI was abandoned
- Success because -2692 nuclear weapons destroyed
Moscow summit -when, who, what, success or failure?
- May 1988
- Reagan and Gorbachev
- Halved long range nuclear weapons, removed troops from Afghanistan
- Success because -it enforced Gorbachev’s good image
CFE (Conventional armed Forces in Europe) treaty -when, who, what, success or failure?
- November 1990
- Bush and Gorbachev
- Reduced number of non-nuclear weapons such as tanks, missiles, aircraft etc.
- Success because -it lead to the end of the cold war at a summit in Malta in 1989
START talks -when, who, what, success or failure?
- 1990-91
- Bush and Gorbachev
- Strategic arms limitations (START) signed and Treaty for reduction and limitations of strategic offensive arms (START 1) signed
- Success because it meant both sides had to reduce nuclear weapons hugely
When was the cold war officially ended?
In 1989 at at summit in Malta
What happened at the collapse of the Warsaw Pact in Poland?
- 1988- strikes over the country
- 1989- free trade union (called solidarity) win elections so Poland have a non-communist govt
What happened at the collapse of the Warsaw Pact in Hungary?
- 1988- Gorbachev allows them to become a multi-party state
- 1990- democratic elections won by democratic forum
- opened borders with Austria
What happened at the collapse of the Warsaw Pact in Czechoslovakia?
- 1989- demonstrations began
- communist govt resign - 1990- democratic elections won by Civic Forum (anti-communist)
