The Cold War 1970s

1972-SALT 1

-SALT 1 between the USA and USSR was signed.

-It successfully limited the number of nuclear weapons both sides had.

-The USA and USSR both agreed to not produce further ballistic missiles.

1972-Détente

The USA and USSR also met in Moscow, with clear evidence of a more positive relationship emerging in ‘détente’.

-Both sides committed themselves to ‘de-escalating’ tension through the reduction of nuclear weapons, as well as agreeing to holding a European security conference.

1973-Yom Kippur War

-The Yom Kippur War broke out between Israel (armed by USA) and Syria/Egypt (armed by the USSR).

-Brezhnev and Nixon managed to negotiate a ceasefire and resolve the issue peacefully.

1974-Met in Moscow again

-The USA and USSR met in Moscow again.

-Nixon and Brezhnev agreed that they would work together to attempt to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world and develop further co-operation between the two sides.

1975-Helsinki Conference

-The Helsinki Conference took place.

-In the conference, there were agreements on security: the USSR accepted the existence of West Germany (they had previously rejected this and claimed West Germany was a rebel section of East Germany).

-There were also agreements on Human Rights: each superpower agreed to respect their citizen’s human rights (eg free speech).

1975-Apollo-Soyuz mission

-Apollo-Soyuz mission: a joint space mission of USA astronauts and USSR cosmonauts took place.

-The US Apollo space craft docked with the Soviet Soyuz space craft and exchanged gifts in space.

April 1978-Afghanistan Communist Revolution

-There was a Communist revolution in Afghanistan (which shared a border with the USSR).

-A Communist government took over, but this led to opposition from Muslim leaders.

1979-Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

-The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979.

-This was because the Communist leader was assassinated, which made USSR concerned that the Mujahideen (Muslim leaders) would take over this country and reject Communism, encouraging neighbouring countries to do the same.

-The war with Afghanistan lasted for 10 years with approximately 20,000 Soviet deaths.