The End of the Cold War

These vocabulary flashcards cover the key figures, policies, and events leading to the end of the Cold War and the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

Mikhail Gorbachev

The leader of the USSR from 1985 to 1991 who introduced the 'New Thinking' domestic and foreign policy reforms.

Glasnost

A policy meaning 'openness' that encouraged transparency, honesty in facing problems, and the relaxation of censorship on media and history.

Perestroika

A series of economic and political reforms meaning 'restructuring' that allowed for private ownership of small businesses and reduced the Communist Party's direct governance.

Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI)

Also known as the 'Star Wars' programme, a costly US initiative designed to develop technology to protect the USA from nuclear attacks.

Able Archer 83

A 1983 NATO military exercise that was so realistic it caused the USSR to mobilise its nuclear forces, bringing the superpowers close to war.

Command Economy

An economic system where the state makes all decisions regarding production, resource control, and fixed targets rather than using innovation.

Detente

A French term meaning 'easing of tensions' that characterized a period of improved US-Soviet relations and cooperation during the late 1960s and 1970s.

SALT I

The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty I, signed in May 1972 by Nixon and Brezhnev, which limited each side's production of nuclear weapons.

Brezhnev Doctrine

The Soviet policy of intervening in other countries to support communist regimes, which Gorbachev abandoned in favor of each country's right to choose its own system.

Economic Liberalisation

President Reagan's policy of encouraging individual enterprise, cutting national budgets, and selling off national assets to private companies.

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

A 1987 agreement where Reagan and Gorbachev agreed to remove mobile nuclear missiles deployed in Europe.

Berlin Wall

A symbol of the division between the communist east and democratic west; its destruction in November 1989 marked the collapse of the Soviet bloc.

Union Treaty

A 1991 proposed agreement that would allow Soviet republics to make their own rules while the central government managed foreign policy and security.

August 1991 Coup

An unsuccessful attempt by Communist hardliners to overthrow Gorbachev to prevent the signing of the Union Treaty.

Boris Yeltsin

The President of Russia who opposed the August 1991 coup, banned the Communist Party of Russia, and criticized Gorbachev's pace of change.

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

The entity formed by former Soviet republics, excluding the Baltic states, following the official dissolution of the USSR.