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The cold war > why did the cold war end? (1970-1991) > Flashcards

why did the cold war end? (1970-1991) Flashcards

1
Q

what is detente?

A

a policy put in place in the 1960’s and 70’s aimed at easing tensions and preventing war- specifically nuclear war between the USA and USSR

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2
Q

MAD

A

mutually assured destruction- the idea that if a nuclear war was started it would result in the destruction of both sides

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3
Q

why was detente started?

A

the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 brought the world to the brink of a nuclear holocaust- as a result efforts were made to ease tensions and prevent this from happening

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4
Q

what treaty was signed in 1963?

A

the test ban treaty, this stopped nuclear tests above ground

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5
Q

what treaty was signed in 1967?

A

the 1967 outer space treaty. It stopped the arms race spreading to space as it pledged that no nuclear weapons would be placed in space by either superpower

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6
Q

what treaty was singed in 1968?

A

the 1968 nuclear non-proliferation treaty. It agreed that neither superpower would supply nuclear weapons to other states or help other states develop nuclear weapons

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7
Q

what did the 1969 nuclear non-proliferation treaty stop?

A

superpower conflict engulfing other areas of the world

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8
Q

when did Nixon become president?

A

1968

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9
Q

what did Nixon promise?

A

to end the war in Vietnam as it had cost billions of dollars and resulted in the deaths of almost 60,000 soldiers

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10
Q

How did Nixon’s promise link to detente?

A

a policy of detente would mean less spending on weapons and would mean more money could go towards other issues

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11
Q

why did the USSR want detente?

A

the USSR was facing financial problems and wanted to cut spending on weapons in order to devote more resources to improving living standards and updating the economy

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12
Q

how many ICBMs did the USA have in 1964?

A

834

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13
Q

how many ICBMs did the USA have in 1974?

A

1054

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14
Q

how many ICBMs did the USSR have in 1964?

A

200

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15
Q

how many ICBMs did the USSR have in 1974?

A

1575

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16
Q

what is an ICBM?

A

intercontinental ballistic missiles are guided missiles with a minimum range of 5,500 km

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17
Q

what are SLBMs?

A

submarine launched ballistic missiles

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18
Q

who agreed to begin strategic arms limitations talk with the USA in 1970?

A

Brezhnev

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19
Q

when did the strategic arms limitations talks (SALT 1) take place

A

May 1972

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20
Q

what did SALT 1 do?

A

imposed limits on the nuclear capability of the USA and USSR. It was an anti-ballistic missile treaty

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21
Q

what was agreed in SALT 1?

A

ABMs (which tracked and intercepted ICBMs) would only be allowed on 2 sights with 100 missiles each

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22
Q

what did the basic principles agreement (agreed at SALT 1) do?

A

laid down rules for conduct of nuclear war. for example, no nuclear warheads were to be placed on the sea bed. Both countries agreed to exercise restraint in their relations

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23
Q

what did the interim treaty (agreed during SALT 1 and only applied until 1977) do?

A

placed restrictions on the number of ICBMs and SLBMs. The USA could have 1040 ICBMs and 740 SLBMs. The USSR could have 1618 ICBMs and 740 SLBMs

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24
Q

when were the Helsinki accords

A

1975

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25
Q

what was agreed at the Helsinki accords?

A

greater cooperation between the superpowers and European allies in terms of trade and fighting international terrorism
freedom of speech
freedom to move from one country to another
the USSR accepted the existence of West Germany
borders cannot be changed by force

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26
Q

what soviet violations of the Helsinki accords did President Carter complain about?

A

he criticised the soviet union’s poor record on free speech and freedom of movement. He sent a letter to soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov supporting the stand he was taking against the soviet authorities

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27
Q

in Eastern Europe what were the Helsinki groups set up for?

A

complaining about violations of agreements made at the Helsinki accords

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28
Q

when did Apollo- Soyuz take place

A

1975

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29
Q

what was Apollo- Soyuz

A

a joint space mission in which an American Apollo spacecraft and a Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked above the earth

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30
Q

why was the Apollo- Soyuz mission important?

A

the 1960’s had been dominated by an extremely competitive race to the moon but this marked the beginning of superpowers cooperation in space. 3 US astronauts and 2 USSR cosmonauts met in space, there was a symbolic handshake

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31
Q

when did SALT 2 happen?

A

1974-79

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32
Q

who signed the SALT 2 agreement in 1979?

A

Brezhnev and Carter

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33
Q

what was agreed at SALT 2?

A

further reductions in strategic weapons which would last until 1985 were agreed upon
a limit of 2400 strategic nuclear delivery vehicles
1320 MIRV
a ban on construction of new land based ICBM launchers
limits on the deployment of new types of strategic offensive arms

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34
Q

why did the USA refuse to ratify the SALT 2 treaty?

A

the USSR invaded Afghanistan

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35
Q

what did Islamic militants do in November 1979?

A

they captured the American embassy in Tehran. American diplomats and their families were humiliated and 60 were held hostage for 444 days.

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36
Q

what was a consequence of American diplomats being held hostage in Tehran

A

it made the USA look weak. many people wanted to see an end to detente and fro America to restore its position as a powerful nation that took strong measures against threats

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37
Q

who was Leonid Brezhnev?

A

the USSR premier

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38
Q

who was president Mohammed Taraki?

A

the first communist president of Afghanistan following the Kabul revolution. He allied with the USSR

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39
Q

who was General Hafizullah Amin?

A

the deputy president of Afghanistan who seized power from Taraki in 1979. He also allied with the USA

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40
Q

who was Babrak Kamal?

A

an Afghani communist who with the help of the USSR seized power after Amin was shot in 1979. his position as leader was almost entirely dependent on the Soviet Union

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41
Q

why was the USSR interested in Afghanistan?

A

after Iran overthrew their leader in 1979 and replaced him with a fundamentalist Muslim, Afghanistan was seen as an important buffer zone between the USSR and Iran as the USSR did not want Islamic fundamentalism to spread along its borders.
Afghanistan was also part of the oil rich middle east

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42
Q

why was the USA under pressure by 1979

A

Cuba began to send armed forces to Africa to help rebels in Angola in 1975. New soviet missiles were sent to eastern europe in 197. conventional forces of the warsaw pact were increased. There was a revolution in Nicaragua where communist guerrillas seized power in 1979

43
Q

when did the Kabul revolution happen and what was it?

A

the Kabul revolution happened in April 1978, and witnessed the dramatic overthrow of the Afghan royal family and the creation of a new government which was determined ‘to build socialism in Afghanistan’

44
Q

what happened to traditional elites under Taraki’s communist style reform programme?

A

thousands were imprisoned, tortured or murdered

45
Q

what was the Mujahideen?

A

a guerrilla movement which proclaimed to be on a holy mission from Allah. They declared jihad on the supporters of Amin

46
Q

why did Brezhnev see Islamic fundamentalism as a threat?

A

they could reject communism and encourage others to do the same

47
Q

what happened to Taraki?

A

he was assassinated by Amin

48
Q

why did Brezhnev believe that America would allow the invasion of Afghanistan?

A

they had allowed the invasion of Czechoslovakia during the Prague spring

49
Q

when did the invasion of Afghanistan happen?

A

25th December 1979-1st January 1980

50
Q

how many troops were send by the USSR to invade Afghanistan

A

50,000

51
Q

what treaty did Brezhnev claim to be complying with by invading Afghanistan?

A

the 1978 treaty of friendship and cooperation

52
Q

what happened on the 27th December 1979?

A

Amin was shot and replaced by Babrak Kamal

53
Q

what did the carter doctrine make clear?

A

‘let the US position be absolutely clear: an attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the united states of American, and such an assault will be repelled immediately by any means necessary- including military force’

54
Q

what was the US reaction to the invasion of Afghanistan?

A

exports of grain to the soviet union were stopped
the USA refused to ratify SALT 2
the CIA provided weapons and funds to the Mujahideen
America formed an alliance with China and Israel to support Afghan rebels who were not in support of the soviet union

55
Q

what happened at the 1980 Moscow Olympics?

A

Carter led a boycott. 61 other countries also refused to attend and instead held their own Olympic games, known as the Olympic boycott games

56
Q

what were relations like by 1980?

A

detente was dead and relations were at their lowest since the Cuban missile crisis

57
Q

what happened at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics?

A

in retaliation for the last Olympics, the USSR and 14 communist countries refused to go and instead held the friendship games as a communist alternative

58
Q

how long did the Soviet union remain in Afghanistan?

A

10 years, during this time 1.5 million people died, including almost 15,000 Russian soldiers

59
Q

what did the soviet invasion of Afghanistan play a large part in?

A

bankrupting the Soviet Union

60
Q

the second cold war

A

a phrase used to describe the period of time between 1979 and 1985 which marked a new low in superpower relations

61
Q

when did Reagan become president

A

1981

62
Q

what did Reagan believe?

A

the USA could win a limited nuclear war

63
Q

the zero option

A

USA would cancel deployment of new US intermediate range missiles in Western Europe and in return the soviets would have to dismantle comparable forces

64
Q

START

A

strategic arms reduction talks

65
Q

what did the evil empire speech show?

A

Reagan’s opinions of the Soviet union. He was a committed Christian and believed that the cold war was a fight between good and evil and that America fought with God’s blessing

66
Q

what was SDI (star wars)

A

a nuclear umbrella in space which would stop soviet missiles from reaching American soil- forcing the USSR to disarm. the plan for SDI was to launch an army of satellites equipped with powerful lasers into space which could intercept soviet missiles in space and destroy them before they could do the USA any harm

67
Q

who was Mikhail Gorbachev?

A

the last leader of the Soviet union from 1985 until its collapse in 1991. He had no foreign policy experience and saw the relationship with the USA in simple terms but hoped he could save communism

68
Q

what happened at Chernobyl?

A

in 1986 a nuclear power reactor exploded releasing huge amounts of radiation which killed many people. The soviet union tried to cover it up and it wasn’t until other countries began recording huge increases in radiation in the air that the soviet union had to own up. This made them look very bad as it seemed they didn’t even have things in the soviet union under control and they had tried to cover up something which could have very harmful impacts on people across the world

69
Q

what was Gorbachev’s new thinking?

A

glasnost and perestroika

70
Q

what was glasnost

A

openness. This meant that censorship of the press was to be relaxed, the powers of the KGB were restricted and criticism of the government was allowed. free elections were eventually held in 1990

71
Q

what was perestroika?

A

restructuring. this meant economic reforms designed to make the soviet economy more efficient . Gorbachev believed that the soviet union could survive only if it was completely rebuilt- even introducing elements of capitalism

72
Q

how did Gorbachev’s new thinking affect the relationship between the USA and USSR?

A

Gorbachev’s new thinking improved their relationship as Gorbachev was willing to reduce arms, incorporate elements of capitalism into the economy and eventually allow free elections

73
Q

what happened in 1989?

A

Gorbachev and President Bush were able to announce the end of the cold war

74
Q

what was the impact of the friendship between Raisa Gorbachev and Nancy Reagan?

A

their friendship eventually wore off on their husbands, their good relations improved those between the USA and USSR

75
Q

when was the Geneva summit?

A

November 1985

76
Q

what happened at the Geneva 1985 summit?

A

this was the first meeting between Gorbachev and Reagan, Reagan’s aim was to convince Gorbachev that he sincerely desired peace. Gorbachev was hoping to persuade Reagan to drop his plans for SDI

77
Q

what was in the Geneva accords?

A

both countries were committed to seed up arms talks
work towards the abolition of chemical weapons
be more active on human rights issues
no formal agreement on arms control was reached

78
Q

what happened at the October 1986 Reykjavik summit?

A

Reagan proposed scrapping all ballistic nuclear missiles and reducing nuclear arsenals, however Gorbachev was unwilling to agree as Reagan still refused to drop his SDI project

79
Q

what happened at the December 1987 Washington summit?

A

the intermediate- range nuclear force treaty (INF) was signed
it was the first treaty to reduce the number of missiles that the superpowers possessed rather than just limiting production of future missiles

80
Q

what happened at the Moscow summit?

A

the leaders finalised the INF treaty. they issued a joint statement which showed their friendship

81
Q

what happened at the New York summit?

A

this was the last summit between Gorbachev and Reagan and was also attended by George Bush. Gorbachev was going to speed up arms reduction and wanted to complete the START treaty before Bush became president

82
Q

what happened at the Malta summit?

A

Gorbachev assures Bush he would never start a hot war against the USA

83
Q

what happened at the Washington DC summit?

A

Gorbachev and Bush discussed strategic arms limitation and eventually came up with the treaty for the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms (START 1)

84
Q

what was START 1

A

it was signed in 1991 and meant that both superpowers would reduce 25-35% of all their strategic warheads

85
Q

what did Gorbachev announce in December 1988?

A

ideology should play a smaller part in soviet foreign policy- this meant that the USSR would no longer favour trade with communist states over capitalist
Gorbachev withdrew troops from eastern european bases to save money

86
Q

what did the Sinatra doctrine say?

A

Gorbachev would allow countries to go their own way and that he would not interfere in the politics of Warsaw pact countries

87
Q

what happened in Hungary in May 1989?

A

Hungarians begin dismantling the barbed wire fence separating Hungary and non- communist Austria

88
Q

what happened in Poland in June 1989?

A

free elections are held for the first time in Poland since the second world war

89
Q

what happened in September 1989?

A

thousands of East Germans on holiday in Czechoslovakia and Hungary refuse to go home, they escape to West Germany though Austria

90
Q

what happened in October 1989?

A

there are enormous demonstrations in east German cities when Gorbachev visits. Gorbachev tells the east German leader Eric Honecker to reform. Honecker orders troops to fire on demonstrators but they refuse. Gorbachev makes it clear that Soviet tanks will not move in to “restore order”

91
Q

what happened in November 1989 in Germany?

A

East Germans march in their thousands to the checkpoints at the Berlin wall, the guards throw down their weapons and join the crowds and the Berlin wall is dismantled

92
Q

what happened in November in Czechoslovakia 1989?

A

there are huge demonstrations in Czechoslovakia, the Czech Government opens its borders with the West and allows the formation of other parties

93
Q

what happened in December 1989 in Romania?

A

there is a short but very bloody revolution in Romania which ends with the execution of the communist dictator Ceausescu

94
Q

what happened in December 1989 in Hungary?

A

the Hungarian communist party renames itself the socialist party and declares that free elections will be held

95
Q

what happened in March 1990?

A

Latvia leads the Baltic states in declaring Independence from the USSR

96
Q

what happened to the Warsaw pact in 1991

A

it was formally dissolved

97
Q

what did the gang of 8 do in 1991?

A

they organised a coup which removed Gorbachev from power as they believed he had weakened communism rather than reviving it.

98
Q

what happened when the gang of 8 organised a coup in 1991?

A

initially the coup was successful as Gorbachev, who was away was prevented from returning to Moscow. The new government declared a state of emergency which overturned the freedoms gained through perestroika and glasnost

99
Q

who played a vital role in defeating the coup in 1991?

A

Boris Yeltsin, the future president of Russia described the new government as illegal and called on the people of Russia to resist the new regime

100
Q

how long did the new government created by the coup of Gorbachev last?

A

3 days

101
Q

what was a consequence of the coup?

A

it damaged Gorbachev’s reputation but made Yeltsin a popular hero

102
Q

what was Gorbachev’s final attempt to save the soviet union?

A

the introduction of a new constitution which granted the soviet republics such as Latvia and Ukraine much greater independence, however these countries wanted complete independence and so the new constitution was never accepeted

103
Q

when was the dissolution of the soviet union announced?

A

on the 25th December 1991, Gorbachev announced his resignation as president and the dissolution of the Soviet union

104
Q

what did the dissolution of the soviet union end?

A

the cold war and the superpower conflict as the USA was now the worlds only superpower

The cold war (2 decks)

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