Reasons the cold war ended Flashcards
thtIntroduction
From 1945-1990.the USA and USSR were in a “cold war”.This was due to their ideological differences with the USA believing in Capitalism which is little government involvement whereas the USSR believed in communism which sees mass amounts of government involvement
The USA and USSR were involved in many conflicts over the cold war supporting opposing sides such as the cuban missile crisis, Vietnam war, Berlin wall and Afghanistan war
(QUESTION . How important was the role of Mikhail Gorbachev as a reason for the end of the Cold
War?)
This essay will discuss(Defeat of the USSR in Afghanistan,Failure of communism in the eastern Europe,Role of mikhali Gorbachev and Role of Ronald Reagan)
This essay will discuss that the role of mikhali Gorbachev is the main reason for the cold war ending
failure of communism, in eastern Europe
K1)During the cold war the USSR controlled the “eastern block” which saw eastern European countries such as Poland and Hungary be controlled by the USSR
K2)In poland A trade union called “solidarity” gained mass support growing larger.Furthermore polish people were inspired due to pope john second,causing protests for religious freedom
A)The end of communism in poland was not stopped by the USSR,this meaning as a result other countries in eastern Europe further protested demanding their freedom.This undermining the USSR strenght potentially showing why the cold war ended as the USSR lost power, undermining itself
A+)However the changes in Poland would not have happened without Mikhali Gorbachevs leadership,as if it was a different leader perhaps the USSR would have stopped these protests,resulting potentially in the cold war continuing
USSR defeat in Afghanistan
During the 24th of December 1979 the USSR invaded Afganistan.
The soviet union invaded with around 100,000 TROOPS and fought a rebel group.Who used “STINGER MISSLED” often shooting down soviet helicopters
K2.The USSR faced the same problems America faced in Vietnam,and struggled in Afghanistan with around 14,000 SOLDIERSdying
A The USSRS failure to win afghanistan,hurt the countries morale.Furthermore if the USSR couldnt win against a small country like Afghanistan,how could they win against the USA ,this causing as a result relations to improve between America and the USSR.potentially ending the cold war.
A+ However the USSR still had the second biggest nuclear weapon arsenal in the world behind the USA and a bigger army than the USA showing they didnt truely fear defeat.
Role of mikhali Gorbachev
K) Mikhali Gorbachev was the soviet leader in 1985 becoming the youngest leader the country has ever had.
K2) under Gorbachev reforms were introduced such as Pestroika,this allowing private ownership of businesses leading to shops and restaurants
A This reducing government control,moved away from communism,this undermining the very nature of the cold war of capitlism vs Communism.This potentially showing why the cold war ended
A+However this did not fully introdce a capitalist system into the USSR,as communism still dominated the country,potentially showing this wasnt the reason the cold war ended
Role of Ronald Reagan
Under Ronald Raegan,he introduced a variety of different strategic strategies one was called “star wars”
“Star wars” was a anti-missle system that aimed to use lasers in space and ground missles to destroy nuclear missles
A)the prospect of “Star wars” terrified the USSR as if it sucedded the USSR would have no nuclear weapons that were useful,making their nuclear arsenal obsolete.Further giving America a huge advantage.This potentially ending the cold war as the USSR would have no chance if they were in a direct conflict with the USA
However although the soviets were worried about “Star Wars” it was deemed scientifically impossible, furthermore Reagan said he would share this technology with the soviets,this showing that potentially this didn’t end the cold war
Conclusion
In conclusion the role of Mikhail Gorbachev is the most important factor in why the cold war ended
In conclusion although the defeat of the USSR in Afghanistan saw the soviets loss morale and start to believe if they couldn’t win against Afghanistan,there was little chance of a victory against the USA,potentially ending the cold war.However the USSR still had the second largest nuclear arsenal,and had a larger land military than the USA.This showing why the role of mikhail Gorbachev is more important than the defeat of the USSR in Afghanistan as the USSR although,their morale was down was not truely scared of defeat against America.
In conclusion although the failure of communism in Eastern Europe saw,the end of communism, in poland and was not stopped by the soviets further undermining the USSR.However this only happended due to Gorbachev allowing it to,further indicating if it was a different leader protests and anti-communism marches would not have been allowed.This showing why the role of mikali Gorbachev is more important than the failure of Eastern europeon communism,as without Gorbachev allowing the protests,communism would not have fallen perhaps.
In conclusion although the Role of Ronald Reagan,saw the prospect of “star Wars” terrify the USSR,that their nuclear weapons would become obsolete and America having a huge advantage in the case of war,However this was an impossible task,deemed by many experts ,furthermore Reagan claimed he would share this technology.This showing that the role of Mikhali Gorbachev is more important than the role of Ronald Reagan,as although “star wars” terrfied the soviets is was never going to work.
