Unit 1.3 - 1952-57 Arms Race Key Dates, New Leaders and Sputnik Flashcards
NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
1949
Warsaw Pact
1955
USA drops ______ bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
1945
Russians create their own atomic bomb
1949
USA successfully tests _______ bomb
‘hydrogen’ - 1952
Soviets successfully test _______ bomb
‘hydrogen’ - 1953
Soviets, followed shortly after by the US, test first ICBM
1957 - ICBM = Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
Stalin’s Death
1953
Who was the next Soviet leader after Stalin’s death?
Nikita Khrushchev
When was Khrushchev elected?
Three years after Stalin’s death he became the effective ruler - 1956
Khrushchev’s Secret Speech
At a closed session on the last day, Nikita Khrushchev gave a speech denouncing Stalin. It became known as “The Secret Speech.” The open sessions, which had been reported on by U.S. diplomats in the U.S.S.R. , had included criticism of Stalin, especially the concept of one-man rule.
Effect of Khrushchev’s Secret Speech
Evoked hope from Satellite States who were unhappy with Stalin’s communist dictatorship - when Khrushchev publicly condemned Stalin’s rule, the countries under Soviet Rule believed that his election might be an opportunity for change.
Who replaced Truman and when?
Dwight Eisenhower
Elected in 1952 and took office in January 1953
What was SPUTNIK?
A satellite which could orbit the earth in 1 and a half hours.
When was Sputnik launched?
1957
