The End of the Cold War: 1985 - 1991

What 2 General Secretaries succeeded Brezhnev?

• Yuri Andropov

• Konstantin Chernenko

When was Yuri Andropov General Secretary of the USSR?

1982-1984

When was Konstantin Chernenko General Secretary of the USSR?

1984-85

When was Gorbachev General Secretary of the USSR?

1985-1991

When did Chernobyl happen?

26 April 1986

Why did Chernobyl impact glasnost and perestroika?

The government concealed the scale of Chernobyl (against glasnost) and it further destroyed the economy because of the reparations that needed to be paid (further undermining perestroika)

What were 5 of Gorbachev’s policies?

• Demokratizatsiya

• Glasnost

• Khozraschyot

• Perestroika

• Uskoreniye

What was Demokratizatsiya?

The addition of democratic elements into the Soviet communist system

What was Uskoreniye?

An attempt to accelerate the Soviet economy

What was Khozraschyot?

The addition of capitalist elements to the Soviet economy

What was perestroika?

A restructuring of the whole communist system

What 3 things did perestroika entail?

• Individual ownership of businesses was allowed for the first time since NEP

• Businesses could trade abroad without going through the state

• Foreign businesses could invest in the USSR (as long as Russians held at least 51%)

What was Glasnost?

Openness - greater tranparency in the USSR, greater freedom of speech and information

What were 2 consequences of glasnost?

• The government lost control of the media

• More of the full atrocities of Stalin’s terror were revealed causing tension in satellite states that had received particular repression

What were 2 consequences of Chernobyl?

• Pripyat, a city of 50,000 was abandoned

• A total of 336,000 were resettled in total

When and where did Ronald Reagan make a speech calling “Mr. Gorbachev” to tear down the Berlin Wall?

Berlin, 1987

When was George H.W. Bush president of the USA?

1989-1993

What was the Sinatra Doctrine?

• Gorbachev’s policy of letting communist countries choose their own path rather than intervening

• Named after the Frank Sinatra song “I Did It My Way”

What did the Sinatra Doctrine replace?

The Brezhnev Doctrine

How do some historians classify the Cold War from start to end?

“From Yalta to Malta”

How many summits were there in the 1980s between the USA and the USSR and what were they?

• 5

• Geneva

• Reykjaik

• Washington

• Moscow

• Malta

When was the Geneva Summit?

Nov, 1985

When was the Reykjavik Summit?

Oct, 1986

When was the Washington Summit?

Dec, 1987

When was the Moscow Summit?

May-June, 1988

When was the Malta Summit?

Dec, 1989

What were 2 things discussed at the Geneva Summit in Nov, 1985?

• The goal of cutting down nuclear weapons by 50%

• Collaboration to end nuclear proliferation

What was the Geneva Summit in Dec 1985 characterised by?

The search for new policies and approaches

What hindered the Geneva Summit of December 1985?

Reagan’s SDI program (Strategic Defence Initiative Program)

What was the purpose of the Reykjavik Summit of Oct, 1986?

To realign US-Soviet relations

What did Reagan want to accomplish through the Reykjavik Summit in Oct 1986 and what did Gorbachev want?

• The elimination of nuclear weapons

• The abandonment of SDI

What 2 things were discussed at Reykjavik?

• Arms reduction

• Humanitarian issues (merely exchange of ideas, no agreement)

Why was Reykjavik significant?

• Gorbachev detached his desire for the abandonment of SDI in favour of nuclear disarmament and both sides strove to draft agreements

What was signed at the Washington Summit of Dec, 1987?

The INF Treaty (Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty)

What was regarded as the most important step towards the end of the arms race?

The INF Treaty

Who designed the INF Treaty?

George Shultz (US Secretary of State) and Eduard Shevardnadze (USSR Foreign Minister)

What did the INF Treaty do?

Ended the use of all missiles that could travel from 500-5,500 km

Give 2 examples of the importance of the INF Treaty:

• 1st time that the USA and USSR had eliminated a whole class of nuclear weapons

• There was no conditions on SDI

What was another outcome of the Washington Summit, other than the INF Treaty?

Gorbachev’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, announced in 1988 with troops withdrawn in 1989

How was the Washington Summit viewed?

With much optimism as a great success

What was the official goal of the Moscow Summit?

To agree to the START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty)

What was the focus of the Moscow Treaty, but what was left unsigned?

• Cultural exchanges and human rights issues

• No headway was made on START

What was the real impact of the Moscow Treaty?

It gave Reagan access to the Soviet people and improved general relations between the USA and USSR

What resurfaced at the Moscow Summit?

The tension over SDI

When did Reagan announce SDI?

March 1983

Why did the USSR fear Reagan’s SDI program?

Because it would give the USA nuclear monopoly by allowing them to remove any offensive missiles

Why was SDI instrumental in the collapse of the USSR?

Because it pushed Gorbachev to massive spending in order to compete and discourage the USA

Where did Bush and Gorbachev meet in Dec 1989?

In a cruise ship called the Maxim Gorky off the coast of Malta

What was the Malta Summit nicknamed?

The “Seasick Summit”

What was the significance of the Malta Summit?

• Gorbachev declared that he would never start a “hot war” against the USA and wanted to travel the road to peace, leaving behind “ideological struggle”

• Bush declared that US/Soviet relations could be transformed into “enduring cooperation”

Name 5 USSR satellite states where communism fell?

• Czecoslovakia

• GDR (East Germany)

• Hungary

• Poland

• Romania