The End of The Cold War 1970-91 Flashcards
What was the Olympic Boycott of 1980?
The USA led a boycott of 60 nations in the Moscow Olympics 1980
Why did the USA lead a boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow?
It was a protest against the soviet invasion of Afghanistan
Why was the Mosow Olympic boycott in 1980 so significant?
The boycott made the USSR look very bad
USSR was hoping to promote communism
How did the Soviet Union respond to USA’s boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games?
In 1984, the Soviet Union led a boycott of 15 communist countries in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics
What effect did the 1980 Olympic Boycott and the 1984 Olympic Boycott have on USA and USSR relations
Further deteriorated them
Why did Ronald Reagan’s tougher approach make the relations between the USA and USSR tenser?
Increased spending on military and anti-communist groups
Announced the Reagan Doctrine
What was the Reagan Doctrine?
The USA would now support anti-communist groups tyring to over throw commumist governments, aswell as anti-communist countries
Why did Ronald Reagan announce The strategic Defense Iniative (Star Wars) even though it was years from being ready?
To scare the soviet union so they spend money unnecassarily when there economy was not strong
Who was Mikhail Gorbachev?
In 1985, he became Soviet Union leader
What was the economy like in the Soviet Union in the mid 1980s?
Money was spent on developing arms to keep up with the USA
Investment in Soviet economy was low
What was Perestroika?
Gorbachev proposal that the soviet state and economy should be reformed
What does ‘perestroika’ mean in russian and why was it used to describe Gorbachevs proposal?
Russian for ‘reconstruction’.
Used to describe reogranising and restructuring the Soviet State
What did the policy of glasnost, made by Gorbachev, allow?
Allowed open opposition to the government
Gave people a better understanding of how the country was run
What did Gorbachev do to reform communism in the soviet Union?
Made the policy of glasnost
Discontinued The Brezhnev Doctrine
Reduce spending on arms and withdrew troops from Afghanistan
What happened in the Geneva Summit 1985? (First summit)
Gorbachev and Reagan met for the first time
No formal agreements but they established a good working relationship
What was the Reykjavik Summit 1986? (Second Summit)
Gorbachev reduce nuclear weapons if the USA stopped their STI progrsm
No formal agreement but an improvement in relations
What happened in the Washington Summit 1987? (Third Summit)
First agreement made - The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty
What did the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force Treaty, made in the Washington Summit 1987, include?
Abolishing of all land-based missiles with a range of 500-5500 km
What happened in the Moscow Summit?
Gorbachev made a speech at the UN that he would reduce the Warsaw pact troops and withdraw them from Afghanistan
What was the Malta Summit 1989? (Last Summit)
Gorbachev met new USA president, George Bush
They got on well and many marked this as the ‘end of the cold war’
What was the signifcance of the fall of the Berlin Wall?
Families and freinds reunited after 30 years
Symbol of the end of Soviet Control and the Cold war
When was the Warsaw Pact formally dissoolved?
1991
What happened to East and West Europe when the Warsaw Pact dissolved?
Reunited the East and West
Tension was lost
Soviet countries became independent
After the Warsaw Pact dissolved, what did each member of the ex-communist countries do?
They all abandoned communism
How did Gorbachev fall from power in 1991?
He was critized for losing control of Eastern Europe by communists
This damaged his authority so he decided to resign
What happened immediately after Gorbachev ressigned in 1991?
The break up of the Soviet Union
What did SALT 1 1972 restrict?
Number of missiles they could have
What did Salt 2 1979 limit?
2,400 strategic nuclear weapons each
What does détente mean in french?
Relaxing of tension
How manh countries signed The Helsinki Agreement?
35 countries including the USA and USSR
What was the Helsinki Agreement of 1975?
Countries signed to recognised the established european borders after WW2
What 2 things did the Helsinki Agreement make Western allies and Eastern Europe recognise?
Western allies recognised soviet control over Eastern Europe
The USSR must consider basic human rights
What evidence was there that tensions between East and West were easing in the early 1970s?
Us wanted to end Vietnam War
SALT 1
Arms race was too expensive to fund
Sino-soviet split
What was the Sino-Soviet Split?
Relations between USSR and China soured
How did relations become worse again after 1977?
Jimmy Carter, the new US President, critised the USSR for is human eight abuses
How did tension worsen after Jimmy Carters critism?
USSR began replacing nuclear missles.
US responded with the same.
Arms race was back on
Who were the Mujahideed?
An anti-communist islamic group who foight against the Svoiet invasion of Afghanistan
What led to the formation of the Mujahideed?
communists leaders imprisoned, tortured and murdered many isalmic leaders
What challenges did the Soviet Army face in Afghanistan?
They werent prepared for the desert and landscapes
Thr MuJahideen were familiar with the terrain and used it to their advantage
Mujahideen were extremely motivated as they were fighting for their homeland and religion
What was the Ultimate reason the USSR invading Afghanistan?
They wanted to prevent USA influence on the middle east
Felt obligated to fight against the Mujahideed
What was the Carter Doctrine 1980?
Jimmy Carter, extended the US policy of containment to the Middle East
What does the policy of containment in the middle east mean the USA will do?
The USA was prepared to use force to stop any country from gain control over oil rich states of the Middle east
When did the war in Afghanistan stop?
1988
Why did the war in Afghanistan stop?
It was expensive and embarrasing for the USSR.
A new leader, Gorbachev, also signed a deal to end it
Ronald Reagan became president in 1980. He decided to increase US Defence Soending by $32.6 billion dollars.
What did he spend it on?
SDI
Developing a neutron bomb
When did Mikhail Gorbachev become leade rof the USSR?
1985
What happened af Chernobyl 1986?
When a Ukranian nuclear power plant exploded
Why was the Chernobyl incident of 1986 so embarrasing for Gorbachev
Gorbachev tried to cover it up, however western powers already knew what happened
What was the Chernobyl incident of 1986 a oowerful symbol of?
A powerful symbol of the problems in communism
What did the helsinki Agreements 1975 focus on?
Security, Co-operation and human rights
The Helsinki Agreements of 1975 was a diplomatic success. However it wasnt FULLY successful. Why?
The USSR didnt fully honor the human rights part
