end of cold war

detente

the us and ussr trying to improve relations and co-operate in areas like arms and trade

SALT and what is it?

Strategic arms limitations talks : high level bilateral talks between the US and the USSR to place limits on the number of nuclear missiles and bombs held by each side.

Note that SALT II was not signed due to the USSR’s invasion of afghanistan.

helsinki accords+date+purpose

Signed between the 30 other nations, the aim of the helsinki accords was to try to resolve international disputes by diplomacy and to protect human rights

Why was detente abandoned? (turning point)

After the Soviets invaded afghanistan in 1979, the US began to take more aggressive position towards the USSR.

Both the nations accused the other of trying to get around various nuclear arms limitations treaties.

Significance of the fall of detente?

The decline of detente created an atmosphere of distrust and increased hostilities which prevented treaties from being signed and ratified (as shown by SALT II). It also meant the renewal of the US’s Cold War rhetoric.

How did the soviet economy function before the 70s?

The state decided which areas of the economy would receive investment, in addition to production, price, wages and other vital parts of the economy.

In the 1920s, the USSR was relatively backward economy with high rates of death from disease and alchoholism.

What change did the USSR undergo from 1928 to 1940?

The USSR was transformed into a modern industrial power with imoressive growth rates. The USSR had industries, impressive infrastructure such as roads railways, dams and power stations.

What the soviet econony looks like in the 1950s-1960s?

The soviets were able to defeat nazi germany in WW2. In the 1950s, the soviets saw economic growth, had guaranteed kobs, good healthcare, and free education till the university level.

What was the “era of stagnation”?

definition: the steady long term decline in the USSR’s rate of growth.

In the 1970s, the soviet econonmy had begun to slow down, with industrial output dropping from a double digit percentage to a 3 to 4% decline.

What were the weaknesses of the Soviet command economy?

While the soviet economy had worked well when the soviets had a small number of large economies (such as coal steel and electricity), and the governement could make decisions about these industries which would be inplemented quickly.

However, the growth and expansion overwhelmed the soviet economy. The soviet government acted too slowly and struggled to cope with many companies making different goods.

What were the external burdens on the soviet economy in the 1980s?

The USST fought proxy wars, providing money, arms and medical supplies which were fianancial burdens (war in afghanistan)

The USSR invested nearly 30-50% of its resources to military, which posed a significant financial burden to its economy.

What was the standard of living like during the era of stagnation?

Soviet people wanted better standards of living like in the USA: commodities like telephones, and TVs were unaffordable because the military spending was prioritized over consumer goods.

Worker wages were low, and due to the overspending on the military, research and development were lacking in funding.

What did the USSR workforce look like in the era of stagnation?

There was a lot of corruption in the workforce, with many workers’s wages being tightly controlled.

The soviet workers wanted reform to the system and a better standard of living.

How was the USSR tied to the eastern european states?

Comecon (commity for mutual economic assistance) binded the USSR to the eastern european nations. As the USSR began to struggle, it found itself in an economically weak alliance.

How did the eastern european states function? to edit qn

Eastern European states borrowed heavily from western banks, which were willing to loan money as they thought the Soviet Union would come to the aid of its nations as a secure creditor.

Hence, the soviet union had extremely high debt levels.

What was the Brezhnev doctrine?

The Brezhnev doctrine was a policy that all eastern european states would be one party states led by the communist party.

Any attempt in these states to reverse communism would be seen as a threat, and all other communist states were expected to intervene by sending in troops.

What were two negative impacts of the Brezhnev Doctrine?

Since USSR was expected to send troops to nations where the communist party was at risk of rebellions, it’s overstretched military was placed under more burden.

Secondly, it became obvious that the communist states relied on the force of USSR for support, causing resentment in Poland specifically.

What was the impact of aging leadership on the fall of communism?

The aging USSR leader were ill-equipped to deal with the challege of ongoing economic stagnations and rejuvenated US leadership.

The politburo was made up of aging politicians in comparison to the US leaders who were younger.

When did president Regan come to power, and what was his approach to the USSR. content bit iffy

Regan took office in jnaury 1981, and he viewed the USSR as an “evil empire.”

He also believed that businesses needed to be liberated from government regulations and government taxes needed to be cut, giving people incentives to start their own businesses.

What were Regan’s views on businesses and government regulation?

He believed that government regulations stifled trades and innovation in businesses, and that governments should spend less and limit their involvement in people’s lives.

Historians believe that these liberalisation policies contributed to the economic boom in the US.

What did Regan do with the US military in the 1980s? + What was the SDI?

Since Reagn believed in taking a hardline apporach with the USSR, he supported anticomunist forces in afghanistan.

He increased the US military budget by $32 billion dollars and he supported the strategic defense initiative (which was a system use satelites and lasers to destroy missiles before they hit their targets.)

Who was Mikhail Gorbachev, and what reforms did he introduce to the USSR?

Gorbachev was a 54 year old leader who believed that despite the problems plaguing the USSR, it could be reformed with new ideas.

While he did not want to dismantle communist rule, he wanted to create new domestic policy (the two main ones being perestroika and glasnost.)

What was the policy of Glasnost? Was it effective?

[long answer strap in]

Glasnost called for open discussions on the government policy, allowing the media to criticism the government in