Question 2 Flashcards
Write narrative account analysing the key developments of the collapse of the Soviet Union from 1989
- Gorbachev’s ‘new thinking’
- the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)
Gorbachev announced his ‘new thinking; where he stated that the Soviet state should take into account successful capitalist regimes. This included perestroika which meant ‘reconstruction’ as well as glasnost which meant ‘openness’. This allowed for less corruption and allowed for people to have more freedom in their say. Following this, at the Geneva Summit in 1985, there was a clear desire for both the USA and the Soviet Union to reduce tensions. This was the first meeting of Gorbachev and Reagan and, although there were no agreements, both sides saw progress as they had a good working relationship.
In 1961, the Berlin Wall was put up to solve the refugee problem, where people on the side of East Germany were fleeing over to West Germany. This meant that many professionals, who were needed to work for the economy were moving into West Germany. This was a key development because it showed that, when given a choice, people preferred capitalism over communism.
In 1963, President kKennedy gave a speech in Germany where he said: ‘Ich bin ein berliner’ - ‘I am a Berliner.’ This showed his solidarity and pushed the Soviet Union into taking down the Berlin Wall because it was clear that it had no effect. This was a key development in the collapse of the Soviet Union because it showed that the Soviet Union were the weaker superpower. Furthermore, in 1989, when Gorbachev met with new US President George Bush at the Malta Summit, the end of the Cold War as well as the fall of the Soviet Union was marked. This was because the Soviet Union was economically struggling after the Second Cold War with Reagan and had poor living standards.
Write narrative account analysing the key developments of Gorbachev’s impact on the Cold War from 1985-89
- Glasnot
- The Malta Summit, 1989
The USSR was spending lots of money on war with Afghanistan and had a poor relationship with the USA, which was under anti-communist leader President Reagan. This led to a desire by the Soviet leaders to change policies and appoint a younger leader with new ideas. Therefore, Gorbachev was appointed leader of the USSR in 1985. He introduced new policies such as glasnost (openness) and perestroika (reconstruction) to stop the spending of money on the arms race.
Gorbachev’s new policies made Reagan realise he could make a deal with the USSR. Therefore, the Geneva Summit took place in 1985, which was the first meeting of Reagan and Gorbachev. Although there were no agreements, both sides saw progress as they had a good working relationship. Gorbachev wanted disarmament (limiting and reducing spending on weapons) so he met with Reagan twice more, in Reykjavik in 1986, where the superpowers said they would work to cut down the number of nuclear weapons they had, and in Washington in 1987.
Gorbachev managed to agree the INF Treaty with the USA in 1987. The INF treaty meant that all land-based missiles with a range of 500-5500km would be abolished. This led to reduced tensions because both sides had come to an agreement, which made Gorbachev want to do more. Therefore, Gorbachev ended the Brezhnev Doctrine, which had declared the USSR would not allow any of the Eastern European countries to reject communism, even if it meant war. In addition, the USSR removed troops from Afghanistan and the number of Warsaw Pact troops was reduced.
Write narrative account analysing the key developments of the Hungarian Uprising (1956)
One cause of the Hungarian Uprising 1956 was that Hungarians hated communist rule. For example, they were forced under communist rule by the dictatorial leadership of Raoski which caused them to protest about their lack of political freedom. This was because Raoski’s regime imprisoned 400,000 and caused 2000 deaths. Another important cause of the Hungarian Uprising was the replacement of Hungary’s dictator to Imre Nagy. This was important because Nagy believed there should be more personal freedoms which allowed the Uprising to take place.
One significant event of the Hungarian Uprising were the protests in Budapest in October against communist rule. This event was significant because they were supported by the Prime minister Nagy, who asked the USSR to remove troops from Hungary. Another significant event was the threat to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact. On 3rd Nov 1956, Nagy announced that Hungary would leave the Warsaw Pact. This was significant because it led to Khrushchev ordering a Soviet Invasion of Hungary.
A major consequence of the Hungarian Uprising was the establishment of Soviet control. Subsequently, 20,000 Hungarians were killed and Nagy was replaced with Janos Kadar, a pro-Soviet communist. Another consequence of the Hungarian Uprising is the effect it had on international relations. Due to the fact that the uSA and its allies opposedSoviet invasion of Hungary but refused to provide direct military support, Khruschchev became more confident in dealing with the USA. This caused rising tensions between the two superpowers.
Write narrative account analysing the key developments of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan 1979
- the Carter Doctrine
- Olympic boycotts
The Soviet Union saw Afghanistan as under its sphere of influence because it was bordering the Soviet Union. This meant that President Taraki’s government had to be communist and Soviet-backed. However, when Taraki was assassinated during the civil war and replaced by Hafizullah Amin, the Soviet Union’s influence in Afghanistan was threatened. Furthermore, it seemed as if Amin was going to ask the USA for support because it looked like fundamentalist Muslim groups might overthrow him. This made Brezhnev act to stop Amin from getting support from the USA.
On 24 December 1979, Brezhnev ordered Soviet troops to invade Afghanistan and claimed that they had been invited by Amin to support his government against terrorists. On 27 December 1979, Amin was assassinated, alongside many of his supporters, and pro-Soviet Babrak Karmal replaced him. In order to keep Karmal in power, Soviet troops remained in Afghanistan, fighting opponents of Karmal, known as the Mujahideen, who were secretly funded and provided assistance by the CIA.
The Americans saw the invasion of Afghanistan as an attempt to spread communism abroad, which they fought hard to resist. This led to President Carter issuing the Carter Doctrine, which said that the USA would repel by force, if necessary, any threats to American interests in the Persian Gulf. In addition, Carter also withdrew SALT 2 from Senate and increased spending on arms. The invasion of Afghanistan also led to the 1980 Olympic Boycotts in which over 60 countries supported the USA by not attending the 1980 Moscow Olympics. This embarrassed the USSR and increased tensions between the superpowers.
Write narrative account analysing the key developments of the creation of Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe from 1941 to 48
- the Warsaw Uprising, 1944
- the ‘Iron Curtain’ speech
During World War 2, Stalin’s Red Army pushed Germany out of the Soviet Union and then kept pushing further west towards Germany, ‘liberating’ the Eastern European countries from Nazi rule. However, after the War ended in May 1945, Stalin was reluctant to give up control of these Eastern European countries because they acted as a useful ‘buffer zone’ between the USSR and Germany to protect the USSR from any future attacks from Germany.
Before the War, some countries such as Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were already conquered the Soviet Union in the early 1940s. This meant that they were always treated as though they were part of the Soviet Union and became part of the buffer zone early. However, from 1945-1949, other countries were manipulated into becoming communist. For example, in Poland, the Red Army allowed a rebellion against the Nazis (Warsaw Uprising, 1944) to be crushed before moving in to install a communist government. Other countries that were also pushed into becoming communist satellite states included Bulgaria and Romania by 1945 as well as Hungary by 1949.
As a result of the creation of the buffer zone, Truman’s thinking was affected. This was because he saw the buffer zone as evidence that Stalin wanted to spread communism worldwide. This made relations worse because Truman feared the spread of communism and led him to announce his Truman Doctrine. This was announced while these satellite states were being established in May 1947 and became known as the policy of containment because it stated that the USA would help any nation resist communism in order to prevent its spread. In addition, Winston Churchill also announced the ‘Iron Curtain’ speech where he described the division in Europe between the communist East and capitalist West. This meant that a clear line was drawn between the two sides of the Cold War and made relations more tense.
Write narrative account analysing the key developments of the Grand Alliance from 1941-46.
- Tehran Conference (1943)
- The ‘Iron Curtain’ speech
In June 1941, the Nazis launched operation Barbarossa and invaded the Soviet Union with 4 million men. This led to the formation of the ‘Grand Alliance’ because the ‘the Big Three’ (US, Britain, USSR) were allies against Germany and wanted to mastermind their defeat.
By 1943, the Soviets were pushing the German army back out of the Soviet Union and a German defeat was certain. Therefore, the Big Three met at Tehran to plan their winning strategy, including how they would open a ‘second front’ against the Germans and how Stalin would help the USA defeat Japan once war in Europe was over. However, in 1945, when the Grand Alliance met at Potsdam, Roosevelt had been replaced by Truman and Churchill by Clement Atlee. This is important because Truman was a hawk and adopted a ‘get tough’ policy with Stalin. Furthermore, at Potsdam, Stalin had found out about the successful atomic bomb test by the USA and became furious that he had not been informed of the USA’s huge military advantage over all other countries. These factors caused early tension between the superpowers.
By 1946, the Grand Alliance started to break down. This was because of Stalin’s dislike toward Truman due to the way Truman had tried to push him around at Potsdam as well as Truman’s lack of trust toward Stalin after he found out that Stalin had lied about promises made over Poland in the previous conferences. Furthermore, as a result of the Soviet creation of the buffer zone, Britain and USA believed that Stalin wanted to spread communism worldwide. This led to the Truman Doctrine, a policy of containment of communism, as well as Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ speech which condemned the Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe. The speech demonstrated how there was a clear divide between capitalist Western Europe and communist Eastern Europe.
Write narrative account analysing the World War Two Conferences from 1943-45
- Tehran Conference 1943
- President Truman
In June 1941, the Nazis launched operation Barbarossa and invaded the Soviet Union with 4 million men. This led to the formation of the ‘Grand Alliance’ because the ‘the Big Three’ (US, Britain, USSR) were allies against Germany and wanted to mastermind their defeat.
By 1943, the Soviets were pushing the German army back out of the Soviet Union and a German defeat was certain. Therefore, the Big Three met at Tehran to plan their winning strategy, including how they would open a ‘second front’ against the Germans and how Stalin would help the USA defeat Japan once war in Europe was over. However, in 1945, when the Grand Alliance met at Potsdam, Roosevelt had been replaced by Truman and Churchill by Clement Atlee. This is important because Truman was a hawk and adopted a ‘get tough’ policy with Stalin. Furthermore, at Potsdam, Stalin had found out about the successful atomic bomb test by the USA and became furious that he had not been informed of the USA’s huge military advantage over all other countries. These factors caused early tension between the superpowers.
After the Nazis surrendered in May 1945, most of the agreements made and repeated at the thfree wartime conferences happened. For example, Germany was divided into 4 zones and so was Berlin. This showed the superpowers had been able to work towards a common aim as allies. However, the tension between Truman and Stalin set the stage for the Cold War to proceed. This was because Stalin disliked the way Truman had tried to push him around at Potsdam and Truman didn’t trust Stalin because he had lied over promises made about Poland.
Write narrative account analysing the key developments of the ‘Bay of Pigs’ incident (1961)
- The Cuban Revolution
- President Kennedy
Cuba was ruled by corrupt leader Batista who angered the working class by making profits from organised crime and allowing American companies to dominate the Cuban economy, especially sugar-cane plantations. Due to this, there were many democratic protests, however these were rejected by Cuban courts. This led to Fidel Castro, who was a Cuban revolutionary and politician, resolving to launch an armed revolution because he realised the cuban regime could not be replaced through legal means. To do this, Fidel Castro and his brother, Raul, founded a paramilitary organisation known as ‘The movement’. Led by Castro, a revolution started in July 1953, however, it wasn’t’t until December 1958 until they got rid of Batista.
After Castro had overthrown Batista in 1959, President Kennedy, alongside the CIA planned the Bay of Pigs Fiasco. This is because Castro had become allied to the Soviet Union, which caused anxiety in the USA because a lot of Cuban industries were owned by Americans and Castro had also threatened to nationalise all land and businesses and make them Cuban again. In the Bay of Pigs Fiasco, 1,400 ex-Cuban nationals were sent back to Cuba to overthrow Castro. However, this was a total failure. As a result of this failure, Operation Mongoose was initiated, which was a plan to sabotage and destabilise the Cuban government and economy by removing the communist Castro regime.
Due to the failure of the Bay of Pigs fiasco, Castro wanted more security, which led him to agreeing to let the USSR keep ICBMs on Cuba soil. This led to the Cuban Missile crisis because, in the ‘thirteen days’ from 16 to 28 October 1962, Kennedy called his Executive committee to discuss how the use should react everyday for 13 days. This led to JFK placing a naval blockade around Cuba to stop the fleet of Soviet ships that were delivering more missiles to Cuba. This threatened nuclear war, however, the Soviet ships turned around in October 1962. Due to how close both sides became to nuclear war, they tried to improve communications through the 1963 hot Line and stop the testing of nuclear weapons through the 1963 Test Ban Treaty.
Write narrative account analysing the key developments of the Arms Race between the USA and the USSR from 1945 to 1958
- Potsdam Conference (1945)
- Geneva Summit (1955)
Write narrative account analysing the key developments of the USA’s use of financial aid to fight communism in post-war Europe
- The Marshall Plan
- Cominform (1947)
