Why did the Cold War end?

Question 1

In the 1960s, which two treaties signalled the era of Détente?

Answer 1

• 1967 Outer Space Treaty meant neither power could put nuclear weapons in space.
• 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty agreed that neither superpower would help other countries develop nuclear weapons.

Question 2

Describe features of the SALT 1 Treaty

Answer 2

• Signed 1972
• No further production of strategic ballistic missiles.
• Submarines carrying nuclear weapons would only be introduced when existing stocks of intercontinental ballistic missiles became obsolete.
• Both sides would be limited to two anti-ballistic missile systems (ABMs) each to ensure that no side was given a strategic advantage.

Question 3

What was the SALT 2 treaty?

Answer 3

• SALT 1 was only intended to be a temporary agreement.
• SALT 2 would be a permanent, long-lasting agreement.
• There were difficulties negotiating due to Western worries of being left undefended, but an agreement was made.
• Both sides would agree to reduce their nuclear warhead stockpiles to 2250.
• SALT 2 was signed in June 1979

Question 4

Why was the Apollo-Soyuz mission significant

Answer 4

It represented the beginning of superpower co-operation in space. Before, there had only been competition between the USSR and USA. Now, they were starting to work together.

Question 5

Describe key features of the Helsinki Agreements (1975):

Answer 5

Security:

• All borders accepted.
• All disputed settled peacefully.
• Countries won’t intervene in each other’s internal affairs.
• Countries would inform eachother of big military manoeuvres.

Co-operation:

• USSR and USA would start trade.
• Industrial co-operation
• Scientific co-operation
• Educational co-operation

Human rights:

• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of movement
• Freedom of religion
• Freedom of information

Question 6

Describe key events during the Kabul Revolution.

Answer 6

• April 1978
• Socialist revolution in Afghanistan
• New pro-USSR government led by Mohammed Taraki
• Personal rivalries in government.
• Civil war between government and Islamic fighters
• Taraki appoints Amin as prime Minister to control crisis.

However, Amin supporters assassinate Taraki and Amin becomes president.

Question 7

Why did the USSR dislike Hafizullah Amin?

Answer 7

• They did not trust him (many suspected him of being an American spy).
• He was highly unpopular and the USSR feared Islamic fighters would be able to topple him.

Question 8

Describe key events during the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

Answer 8

• December 1979
• USSR wants to get rid of Amin to prevent Afghanistan from becoming an Islamic state.
• Babrak Karmal convinced the Soviet Union that he had enough support to form a new Afghan government.
• Brezhnev thinks America will tolerate the invasion as it did with Czechoslovakia.
• Soviet troops kill Armin and make Karmal president of Afghanistan.
• Invasion, however, is a disaster. War lasted 10 years, 1.5 million people died and 15,000 Russian soldiers lost their lives.

Question 9

What was the Carter Doctrine?

Answer 9

The USA would not allow the USSR to gain control of territory in the oil-rich Middle East.

Question 10

Describe key features of the Carter Doctrine.

Answer 10

1. Alliance formed with Chin and Israel to support Afghan rebels (who were opposed to Soviet invasion).
2. CIA provided weapons and training for the Mujahideen, an Islamic group fighting the USSR.
3. Economic sanctions imposed on USSR. Virtually all trade stopped.
4. Diplomatic relations ended with Soviet Union

Question 11

Describe key events that signalled the end of détente after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Answer 11

• US senate refuses to ratify SALT 2 treaty, meaning it doesn’t become law.
• The US increased defence spending by 5% and began formulating new plans to win a nuclear war against the Soviet Union.
• In 1980, sixty countries followed the American lead and boycotted the Moscow Olympic Games. Alternative games held in Philadelphia - Russians mocked with ‘Gulag Bear’ mascot.

Question 12

What is meant by the ‘Second Cold War’.

Answer 12

• Between 1979 and 1985, the relationship between the USSR and USA declined.
• People feared nuclear war again.

Question 13

When was Ronald Regan elected president?

Answer 13

1981

Question 14

What was the Strategic Defence Initiative?

Answer 14

• Reagan wanted to take arms race to a new level.
• He proposes a ‘nuclear umbrella’:
• Plan to launch an army of satellites equipped with lasers that would intercept Soviet missiles in space and destroy them before they reached their destination.
• Reagan believed it would force the USSR to disarm.
• It was nicknamed the ‘Star Wars’ plan
• It broke the terms of the Outer Space Treaty signed in 1967 during the period of Détente.

Question 15

How did the Soviet Union respond to Reagan’s Strategic Defence Initiative?

Answer 15

• The USSR feared the capabilities of any new SDI.
• They knew that America had better space capabilities they did; it was possible they cold make this plan work.
• Soviet Union knew they lacked the finances to fund a new space project to counter the American initiative.
• The USSR knew they were behind in terms of computer technology; they distrusted computers because they could be used against the Communist Party.
• As a result, the USSR could not compete with Reagan’s proposals.

Question 16

When was Mikhail Gorbachev made leader of the Soviet Union? What was his intention?

Answer 16

• 1985

- He wanted to save communism

Question 17

Initially, why was Gorbachev’s relationship with the West difficult?

Answer 17

• Gorbachev had little foreign policy experience.
• He called Ronald Reagan ‘a class enemy’ that looked ‘like a caveman’.
• In 1986, Gorbachev initially tried to deny reports of the Chernobyl Crisis. However, the true nature of the crisis was uncovered by Western media.

Question 18

Why did Gorbachev recognise the need for reform within the Soviet Union?

Answer 18

• The Soviet economy was not as efficient as the US economy. There were frequent shortages and people would queue for basic goods.
• People had lost faith in the Communist Party.

Question 19

What was Gorbachev’s programme of perestroika?

Answer 19

• Reforming the Soviet economy to make it more efficient.

Question 20

What was Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost?

Answer 20

• The policy of openness; the censorship of the press would be relaxed.

Question 21

What were the outcomes the Geneva and Reykjavik conferences?

Answer 21

Geneva (1985);
- No formal agreements made but Gorbachev and Reagan were able to meet face to face an develop a personal relationship.

Reykjavik (1986):
- Reagan proposed to scrap all ballistic nuclear missiles, but Gorbachev didn’t agree because Reagan refused to abandon his SDI.

Question 22

Why did Reagan change his mind about the USSR and adopt a more co-operative policy?

Answer 22

• Public opinion was against spending money on another arms race and Reagan didn’t want to be seen as needlessly aggressive.
• Gorbachev was introducing changes in the USSR and was becoming very popular (both inside and outside of the USSR) as a result.
• Gorbachev and Reagan began to develop a personal relationship.

Question 23

What was the INF Treaty?

Answer 23

• Signed 1987
• Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
• Treaty eliminated all nuclear weapons with a range of 500-5500 kilometres.

Question 24

Why was the INF Treaty significant?

Answer 24

It was the first treaty to reduce the nuclear stockpiles held by both sides (previous treaties had just limited their growth).

Hundreds of missiles were destroyed as a result of the treaty.

Question 25

Why did Gorbachev sign the INF Treaty?

Answer 25

• He thought nuclear weapons were highly expensive and offered little benefit to the USSR.
• He was convinced by Reagan that the US wasn’t going to invade the USSR.
• The Soviet economy couldn’t recover unless it reduced its spending.
• Disarmament would win him popularity with the West and allow him to make profitable trade deals.
• Economic and political measures were important than military ones when it came to Russia’s security.

Question 26

What was the Malta Summit?

Answer 26

• 1989

- Began work on the CFE agreement and START 1 agreement.

Question 27

What was the CFE Agreement?

Answer 27

• Signed 1990

- Limits to the non-nuclear forces of NATO and the Warsaw Pact in Europe.

Question 28

What was the START 1 agreement?

Answer 28

• Signed 1991
• Both sides agreed to reduce their nuclear stockpiles by a third by destroying many of their weapons.
• It didn’t include all types of nuclear weapons, but covered most of them.

Question 29

Describe Gorbachev’s attitude toward Eastern Europe.

Answer 29

• In 1988, he announced that ideology should play a lesser role in foreign affairs. This meant that that trade shouldn’t be favoured toward communist countries over any other country.
• He wanted Eastern European states to achieve glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring).
• He withdrew Soviet troops from Eastern European bases to save money.

Question 30

Describe key events that defined the break-up of the Eastern Bloc.

Answer 30

• In 1989, Poland’s communist government is defeated in free elections.
• In 1989, free elections are held in Hungary.
• In 1989, popular protests lead to the overthrow of the communist government in the Czech Republic. This came to be known as the ‘Velvet Revolution’.

Question 31

Why did the Berlin Wall fall?

Answer 31

• Democratic elections are held in Hungary, leading to a mass of East Germans moving through Hungary to West Germany.
• East German government forced to announce greater freedom of travel for East German citizens.
• On the 9th November 1989, it’s announced that East Germans would be allowed to cross the border into West Germany.
• Thousands flooded through checkpoints and wall was dismantled in many areas.
• Fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of the reunification of Germany.

Question 32

When and why did the Warsaw Pact dissolve?

Answer 32

• Warsaw Pact dissolved in July 1991.

- It became a pointless organisation as many Eastern European countries moved away from communism.

Question 33

Describe the coup that was organised against Gorbachev.

Answer 33

• August 1991
• Group of senior government officials, the ‘Gang of Eight’ remove Gorbachev from power.
• Initially, coup is successful as Gorbachev is away from Moscow. They begin restricting civil liberties.
• However, Boris Yeltsin steps in defeats the coup by denouncing it as ‘illegal’ and calling for popular opposition.

Question 34

Describe the final events leading up to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Answer 34

• Gorbachev returns to Moscow and continues as leader of Russia.
• He attempts to save the Soviet Union by introducing a new constitution, but the constitution isn’t agreed on because countries such as Latvia wanted full independence.
• As a result, dissolution of the Soviet Union was announced on the 25th December 1991.
• Cold war had ended.