The Cold War

Flashcards about the Cold War, Detente, and the USSR.

Détente

A period of easing of Cold War tensions between the U.S. and USSR from 1963 to 1979.

Vietnam War

The U.S. was distracted by this conflict and wanted a stable Europe.

Interlocking treaties between the FRG, USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the GDR (1970-72)

Recognized the frontier of 1945 and the legal existence of the GDR.

Four-Power Treaty on Berlin (1971)

Regulated the status of Berlin and eased tensions.

Nuclear Weapon Treaties

Treaties controlling the development of nuclear weapons, including the Test Ban Treaty (1963), the Non-proliferation Treaty (1968), SALT I (1974), and SALT II (1979).

US-PRC rapprochement of 1972

An agreement between the US and PRC in 1972 prompted by deteriorating Sino-Soviet relations, pushing the USSR to seek détente with the US.

Sino-Soviet split

Competition between the USSR and PRC to win the support of Third World states and liberation movements.

The Congo

The US supported Mobutu to replace Lumumba to marginalize Soviet influence.

Resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Agreement by Khrushchev to dismantle missiles in Cuba in exchange for a guarantee from Kennedy that the US would not invade Cuba and the removal of NATO's nuclear missiles from Turkey.

Eisenhower Doctrine

It determined that the US was ready to support Middle Eastern nationalism as long as it received no assistance from the USSR.

Soviet support in Angola and Ethiopia

A success for the Soviets that cost further détente in Europe.

USSR in the late 1970s and early 1980s

It had a centralized command economy in rapid decline.

Gorbachev's economic reforms

The partial introduction of free market principles to modernize the Soviet economy.

Collapse of the USSR

The liberation of eastern Europe from communism set precedents for the republics of the USSR to abandon the USSR and communism.