The Brezhnev Era, 1972–1985: The Second Cold War - new personalities Flashcards
What did Reagan say about the USSR leaders?
“How am I supposed to get any place with the Russians if they keep dying on me?”
What is a gerontocracy?
a state governed by old people
Why were the USSR in an era of stagnation?
Less trade w/ USA as detente ended
Fewer allies w/ Sino split
Expensive satellite states
Old leaders
Who followed Brezhnev after his stroke in 1982?
Yuri Andropov
Also old
Suffered kidney failure one month into job
Had to work from bedside
Died 1984
Who followed Andropov?
Chernenko
Older
Already poor health, heart problems
Often represented by Gorbachev
Dies in 1985
Politburo finally appoint Gorbachev
Why did the Politburo keep appointing old people?
Don’t want reforms
Wants to keep power with old guard of soviets
What did the Soviets economic growth fall from from 1960 to 1980?
4.4% to 0.6%
Features of Reagan
Republican
Strongly anti-communist
Worked with Thatcher who was also critical of detente
Good speaker
How did Reagan view detente?
Believed the USA’s trust in the USSR was misplaced
Actively abandoned detente, resumed unilateralism, to end the cold war
What did Reagan say about detente?
It was what “a farmer has with his turkey until thanksgiving”
When was Reagan’s Evil Empire speech?
March 1983
What did Reagan say in his ‘Evil Empire’ speech?
Reagan referred to the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” and as “the focus of evil in the modern world”
When did Reagan announce SDI?
On national television, March 1983
What was SDI
The Strategic Defence Initiative
Nickname ‘Star Wars’
The goal of the SDI was to defend the US from incoming nuclear missiles using land and space-based weapons.
Largely unfeasible
