The end of the cold war 1970-1971

what was detente

the relaxation of tension between states

why did america want detente

Nixon (US president) wanted to drive a wedge between china and the ussr because america wanted to stop the spread of communism in vietnam and china were supplying north vietnam with weapons (to fight south vietnam who america backed)

why did the USSR want detente

brezhnev wanted ‘peaceful coexistence’

detente would increase the USSR’s trade with the west which would boost their economy

defence spending would be reduced

what does SALT stand for

Strategic Arms Limitations Talks

what was SALT 1

An agreement between Nixon and Brehznev which limited the amounts of weapons each side could have

what were the terms of SALT 1

the USSR were allowed more weapons because american missiles could carry more than one warhead

Spy satellites were used to check the other side wasn’t breaking the limits

number of land, submarine, and aircraft missiles able to deliver nuclear warheads were frozen

ABM’s were only allowed at two sites

what were the weaknesses of SALT 1

the treaty didnt cover the latest technological developments

both sides still owned enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other in the event of a nuclear war

what were the strengths of SALT 1

improved international relations

both sides wanted to publicly demonstrate the improved relations

what were the terms of SALT 2

defined the limits on weapons not included in SALT 1

detailed the weapons available to each side up to 1985

when was SALT 2 signed

1979

when was SALT 1 signed

1972

why was SALT 2 not ratified by america

anger over the USSR’s invasion of afganistan

what was the Yom Kippur war

Syria and Egypt (supplied by USSR) attacked israel (supplied by america)

Brehznev suggested that a joint america-soviet force would intervene and save the egyptians

nixon refused because they supplied israel and so didnt want to fight them

a un peacekeeping force intervened and the war ended with a ceasefire

why did Nixon visit moscow

met with brehzvev

agreed to end the arms race

agreed to remove the danger of war

what was the space link up (17 july 1975)

three US astronauts met up with 2 USSR cosmonauts in space and there was a symbolic handshake between the two sides

what were the helsinki agreements

36 nations made declarations about security, cooperation and human rights

what was discussed in the ‘security basket’ in the helsinki agreements

recognition of europe’s frontier

USSR accepted the existence of west germany

what was discussed in the ‘cooperation basket’ in the helsinki agreements

there would be closer economical, scientific, and cultural links which would lead to closer political agreements

what was discussed in the ‘human rights basket’ in the helsinki agreements

each signatory agreed to respect human rights and basic freedoms

why did the soviet union invade afganistan

There was a new leader of afganistan (Amin) whom the soviet union did not trust and the USSR feared that afganistan would reject communism and encourage other nearby countries to do the same

who were the mujahadeen

Muslim guerilla fighters who were backed by america to resist the invasion of the soviet union

what was the carter doctrine

stated that the USA would repel by force any threat to american influence in the persian gulf

how did the invasion of afganistan impact soviet-american relations

ended detente

economic sanctions of soviet union by the usa

salt 2 abandoned

what were the olympic boycotts

the USA boycotted the olympic games which were held in moscow in 1980

over 60 nations supported the usa boycott

what was the ‘second cold war’

the election of us president ronald reagan which led to a period of tense and hostile relations

what was the strategic defense initiative

Satellites placed in orbit by Ronald reagan which carried powerful lasers that could shoot down soviet missiles before they hit the usa

how did the SDI impact soviet-american relations

SDI was against the Outer Space Treaty

the soviet economy could not afford to build its own SDI system

made relations more tense

who was Gorbachev

The new soviet leader who was appointed in March 1985

what were some of the problems in the soviet union at the time Gorbachev was elected

low standards of living due to enormous spending on weaponry

lack of human rights and lack of freedom in satellite states

what was Gorbachev’s new thinking

He wanted to reform communism in the USSR and improve relations with america

he introduced a series of policies

he dropped the brehznev doctrine and the ussr would no longer get involved in the domestic affairs of other communist countries

what was perestroika

the reorganisation and reconstruction of the soviet state

what was glasnost

allowed opposition to the government and gave people a better understanding of how the country was run

what was the american response to Gorbachev’s new thinking

reagan adopted a more open response to the USSR as he could see that there was a chance to end the cold war

what was the outcome of the Geneva Summit (November 1985)

Gorbachev and reagan met for the first time

no formal agreement

established a mutual desire to improve relations between their countries

what was the outcome of the Reykjavik Summit (October 1986)

Gorbachev wanted reagan to stop his SDI program

Reagan refused

No formal agreement reached

what was the outcome of the Washington Summit (December 1987)

the INF (intermediate range nuclear forces treaty) treaty was signed

abolished all land based missiles with a range of 500-5500 km

what was the outcome of the moscow summit (1988)

complex detail in the INF was resolved

what was the outcome of the Malta Summit 1989

Gorbachev met with Bush (new american president)

no new agreements made

both sides viewed this meeting as the end of the cold war

what was the end of the soviet hold on eastern europe

the soviet satellite states could choose how they would be governed

changes were introduced to improve the standard of living

when was the fall of the berlin wall

9 nov 1989

what was the significance of the fall of the berlin wall

it marked the end of the cold war and soviet control over eastern europe

what was the significance of the end of the warsaw pact

it marked the end of soviet control

countries were free to govern themselves and whether they wanted to be communist

why did gorbachev fall from power

many communists in russia blamed him for losing control over eastern europe and losing soviet security

a coup was staged against him

he resigned on dec 25 1991