Rivalry, mistrust and accord

Role of Ideology;

• The ideas of Capitalism and Communism were incompatible and both sides felt threatened by the other, believing their way of life was in danger of attack from an opposing ideology

• The seed of ideological mistrust was sown in the 1920s following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917; the Red Scare in the USA, following the Communist takeover in Russia, indicated how distrust and fear of Communism entrenched domestic US politics by 1945

• Though there were initial attempts to create a post war settlement at Yalta and Potsdam, both sides increasingly viewed the others actions through an ideological lens

Role of Ideology; US perspective

Salami Tactics:

• In Yalta, Stalin agreed countries of Eastern Europe would be able to decide who governed them in free elections and this was perceived as a major victory for the USA and Britain. The British and Americans perceived this as the most significant wartime deals made with the Soviet Union

• Free elections promised by Stalin at Yalta weren’t held until 19th January 1947 and before the elections there was a campaign of murder, censorship and intimidation. It’s estimated over 50,000 people were deported to Siberia prior to elections

• For the Soviets to gain political control over Eastern Europe, they used ‘salami tactics’. 

  • Stage 1: the Soviets supervised the organisation of governments in Eastern European states, initially establishing abroad alliance of anti fascists

  • Stage 2: each parties were sliced off one after the other

  • Stage 3: the Communist core was left ad then ultimately the local Communists were placed with Moscow trained people

• By the end of 1946, ‘Baggage Train’ leaders had returned to Eastern Europe. These men were considered trustworthy by the Soviets. These leaders ensured post-war governments would be dominated by Stalinist Communists

The Czech Coup:

• The Soviets continued into 1948 to attempt to consolidate their control over Eastern Europe. Czechoslovakia was seen as moving towards the West and what worried Stalin was that Czechvlovakia had expressed interest in receiving aid from the Marshall Plan

• February 1948, Stalin organised for pressure to be placed on the Czechoslovak coalition government. 12 non-Communist members were forced to resign

• The Czech Communist Party leader demanded the formation of a Communist government and under heavy pressure from Moscow, the Czech president agreed. 

• 2 weeks later, the independent Czech foreign Minister was found dead in suspicious circumstances. President Truman responded by calling the events in Czechoslovakia a coup. 

Berlin Blockade:

• In March 1948, Stalin started putting a stranglehold on Western interests in West Berlin mainly through transport restrictions.

• In response to the introduction of new currency in Western Berlin, Stalin began a total blockade of Verlaine on 23-24 June in 1948. Roads, railways, and waterways linking West Berlin to Western Germany were all closed. USSR left the Berlin Kommandantur 

• This was the first crisis of the Cold War. But the West didn't try to defeat the blockade by fire but rather supplied Berlin from the air

• During the blockade, American and British planes flew more than 200,000 flights to Berlin in 320 days and delivered vital supplies of food and coal to 2.2 million West Berliners

• There was always the threat of a Soviet military response. By early 1949 it was clear Stalin’s gamble was failing and he ended the blockade in May of that year

  
  Cominform:

• This was the Communist Information Bureau set up in September 1947. It was created as an instrument to increase Stalin’s control over Communist parties of other countries

• It was initially composed of Communists from the USSR. the West was concerned this organisation would actively spread Communism in Western Europe

France and Italy:

• Communist parties in both ‘Western democracies’ grew stronger in post-war Europe and their membership increased due to economic deprivations and hardships experienced at the end of WWII

• The Americans and British were suspicious that Moscow encouraged these Communist parties and were concerned Italy and France would be weak links in anti-Communsit Western Europe

Greece:

• After WWII there were anti-imperialist, nationalist, and too an extent ‘pro-Communist’ rebellions in Greece and Turkey

• The British and the US believed these rebellions were being supported by the Soviets and Churchill in particular was annoyed at Stalin’s apparent disregard for the Percentages Agreement

Iran:

• The USSR tried to increase political control in Iran.

• At the Tehran Conference it was agreed both the British and the Soviets would withdraw their troops from Iran after the war.

• The UK took theirs out but Stalin left 30,000 of his in the north claiming they were needed there to help put down internal rebellion

• But these Soviet troops encouraged a Communist uprising and the Iranian government complained. The British and Americans demanded Stalin remove his troops and saw this as another breach in wartime agreements

• Stalin refused and believed that after the war he had as much right to Iranian oil as his former allies. 4 days later Truman wrote to his Secretary of State James Byrnes. Truman revealed he thought the USSR was planning an invasion of Turkey and the Black Sea Straits

• Iran had made a formal protest to the UN and this was the first crisis the UN had to deal with. Under this new pressure Moscow pulled its troops out

Overall:

• Salami tactics after 1945, the Czech Coup, the Berlin Blockade appeared to be motivated by a desire to spread Communism in Eastern Europe

• The newly established Cominform was seen as an organisation which was designed to promote worldwide revolution

• The rise of Communist parties in France and italy after WWII and the civil war in Greece were seen as being encouraged and funded by the Soviets

• Soviet activity in iran reinforced the belief that Stalin wanted influence outside of Eastern Europe

Role of Ideology; USSR perspective

From the Soviet POV:

• Capitalist ideology of the US drove the Cold War at the start and Soviet leaders believed Capitalist nations were seeking to ‘encircle’ the Soviet Union
  

Marshall Plan:

• The Marshall Plan was an example of ‘dollar imperialism’ and an attempt to extend influence over Europe and lure East European states away from the Soviet Union

• The Marshall Plan was designed in 1947 to give economic help to Europe. The problem of whether or not to allow the Soviets to join the plan or avoid specifically excluding them was solved by setting down strict criteria to qualify for American economic aid. This involved allowing the US to investigate financial records of applicant countries and the USSR would never tolerate this

• The US thus invited the USSR to join the Marshall Plan and claimed this aid was not directed at any country and the stated aims were to: revive European economies so that political and social stability could ensure and to safeguard the future of the US economy

• The bill allocating the four year aid programme of 17 billion dollars wasn’t passed by the US Congress until March 1948.

Soviet Reaction to the Marshall Plan:

• The Soviets rejected it as the US likely intended them to because the Americans had asked to see recipients’ financial records. 

• The Soviets saw this as American ‘dollar imperialism’, AKA the Soviets felt the US was establishing a European empire and that its method was economic domination and dependence, which would ultimately give it political control

• Previously the US had attempted to unite the West with economic tactics. Now it was on a path towards military unity.

Germany:

• In the London Conference in 1948, the Western powers in Berlin met to draw up a constitution for a new West German state - Bizonia

• As part of the plan, it was also agreed to introduce a new currency into the Western sectors. The old German currency had lost value and in many areas, Germans were operating a barter economy

Economy:

• US economic power and its drive to establish free trade across the globe and keep markets favourable to US interests seemed to indicate the possibility of US global economic domination

• US actions in Germany, especially its introduction of the new currency in Western zones appeared as an attempt to spread US influence

Role of Great Power Rivalry;

• The breakdown in relations between America and the USSR could also be the result of traditional Great Power Rivalries. 

• Historian Alexis de Toxcqueville predicted in 1835 before Karl Marx’s Das Kapital or the Communist Manifesto of the rivalry. Is it possible the conflict wasn’t really about ideology at all?

• Therefore the hostility that followed 1945 seems to be a constitution of policies they had respectively pursued since the 19th century. 

• Historian Walter Laferber writes: “they first confronted one another on the plains of Asia in the late nineteenth century.”

• The end of WWII heightened the likelihood of conflict as both countries emerged as superpowers. The power vacuums created by the decline of smaller states meant they naturally attempted to expand their influence

Role of Economic Interests;

Role of Economic Interests;

Aftermath of War:

• The fact both sides set up opposing economic systems in Europe by 1949 indicates the economic interests were important

• The economic destruction of Europe following war gave both sides the opportunity to impose their economic systems on Europe. 

• The US wanted to establish open markets and to prevent a return to the economic problems of the inter-war years

Bretton Woods:

• They set up the Bretton Woods system at the end of the war which included the World Bank. the USSR was involved in this but the thought conditions placed on applications for loans caused disputes between the superpowers

• The emphasis on free market Capitalism meant the USSR withdrew from the Bretton Woods system. To Stalin the US’s pursuit of the world’s markets looked like dollar imperialism. 

Marshall Plan:

• The Marshall Plan further reinforced this perception. It had a hidden ideological motive, to prevent Europe’s poverty leading to support for Communism. The Soviets  set up COMECON but the system established by COMECON tended to work to the advantage of the USSR and helped the regimes of Eastern Europe to impose Stalinist economic systems on their countries and thus, they like the US used economic measures to secure their ideological aims

Germany:

• Economic issues were also important in the superpowers’ different views of Germany. The US saw the economic recovery of Germany as key for a general European recovery and also as an important market for American goods

• Marshall Aid was used in West Germany to help generate prosperity but Stalin was determined to keep Germany economically weak so it couldn’t again threaten the Soviet Union. He dismantled much fo East Germany’s industrial plant and shipped it back to the USSR

• The West’s decision to introduce a new Western currency highlighted the recovery of economic confidence in West Berlin. This triggered the blockade that led to the permanent division of Germany in 1949

• Thus the different economic aims and actions of the superpowers played a key role in causing tension between the superpowers

Role of the Actions of the USA and USSR;

USSR’s Responsibility:

Role of the Actions of the USA and USSR;

USSR’s Responsibility:

WWII:

• It can be argued the US didn't intend to stay in Europe after WWII and that it was only the action of the USSR that made it reverse its decision to extricate itself from European affairs

• Roosevelt made it clear in Yalta that the US didn't expect to remain in occupation in Germany and thus Europe for more than 2 years. 

Bretton Woods:

• The US also expected the Soviet Union to remain part of Bretton Woods. 

• Thus the US were surprised by Stalin’s withdrawal from Bretton Woods institutions. 

Salami Tactics:

• Many US politicians continued to believe until mid 1946 that a continuation of the alliance was possible. But Stalin’s actions from 1945 made this unlikely:

• Stalin didn't keep to agreements made at Yalta regarding Poland and allowing free elections in other East European countries that the Red Army liberated. Using ‘salami tactics’ meant all the countries were under Communist control by the end of 1948. Thus his actions were perceived by the West to be expansionist and aggressive

Northern Iran:

• The Soviets exploited wartime agreements to retain military presence in northern Iran after the war until they were forced to leave in 1946

Berlin Blockade:

• The Berlin Blockade was ill conceived and seen by the West as a prelude to a possible attack on West Germany

Cominform:

• Establishment of COminform was an attempt to control Communist parties in Europe which was a sign that Stalin wanted to spread Soviet-style Communism

• This was the Communist Information Bureau set up in September 1947. It was created as an instrument to increase Stalin’s control over Communist parties of other countries

• It was initially composed of Communists from the USSR. the West was concerned this organisation would actively spread Communism in Western Europe

• Stalin’s suspicious approach to the West meant he interpreted all actions as deliberate attempts to weaken the USSR. His policies inside the Soviet Union indicate he wasn’t a leader who would support compromise. In fact, he promoted hostility to the West within the USSR to get support for his policies

Role of the Actions of the USA and USSR;

USA’s Responsibility:

USA’s Responsibility:

• It could be argued that Stalin had good reason for his actions after the war and that it was the overreaction of the US to these actions, along with its pursuit of economic interests that caused the breakdown of the alliance

History:

• The Soviet Union had experienced hostility from the West since the revolution in 1917. WWII had a devastating effect on the country with losses of over 20 million people and huge economic destruction

• This left it weakened and with insecurity. Thus the establishment of Soviet style governments in the Eastern states and Poland was an attempt to create buffer zones to deter future attacks

Sattelite States:

• At first, Stalin established broad-based coalitions in these countries as agreed at Yalta and also didn't supply weapons to greek Communists and in fact abided by the Percentages Agreement which recognised Greece as an area of British influence.

• Thus Stalin’s actions setting up Stalinist-style governments in 1947 and 1948 in Eastern Europe and introducing the Berlin Blockade can be seen as effects rather an causes of the Cold War, stemming from the US's actions

Economy:

• The US’s determination to impose its own ideas for a new world order after 1945 through open markets, democracy, self determination, and collective security was seen as dollar diplomacy. 

• The Marshall Plan was seen by the Soviets as ‘Capitalist interference’

• The introduction of new currency into Berlin was provocative and indicated to Stalin the West were trying to establish an anti-Soviet state on his borders

Ignorance:

• The US’s failure to take account of Soviet insecurity which stemmed from previous encounters with the West and the immense losses incurred in the war. The US failed to see Stalin’s actions were not about spreading Communism but defending the Soviet Union

• Truman’s exaggeration of the threat of Communism in his speech to Congress in order to get them support aid for Greece and Turkey

• The US’s interpretation after 1947 of Soviet action as being ideological made Americans ignore evidence to the contrary. This partly can be blamed for China becoming Communist but the Soviets had little to do with Mao’s victory

Defence:

• It can be argued that Soviet foreign policy was mainly in response to US actions and an attempt to defend itself from wha it saw as aggressive anti-Soviet actions

• The problem also lied in the fact that every action Stalin took in response to the West was to defend the USSR and this was seen by the West as further evidence of Soviet aggression

Role of Fear and Suspicion:

• Fear on part of the USA:

• This links to the view that ideology was the reason for the Cold War and that the USA was responding to its fear of Communism. This made it interpret Stalin’s actions as aggressive

• Although it can be argued Stalin’s actions were designed to ensure Soviet security, the US was afraid the USSR would go on expanding if it wasn’t resisted by the policy of containment.

• The developing Red Scare within the US further increased American fear of Soviet actions. Thus when the Czech Communists seized power, this was the final straw for Congress who passed the Marshall Plan as a way of stopping the further spread of Communism

• The Berlin Blockade was seen as further evidence and the establishment of COintern as evidence of its desire to spread revolution

• The detonation of the first Soviet atomic bomb in 1949 only increased the fear from the US and led to a nuclear arms race and the establishment of NATo

• When China became Communist and North Korea invaded South, the Americans were afraid the Soviets were expanding into Asia

Role of Fear and Suspicion:

• Fear on part of the USSR:

• Similarly it can be argued the USSR saw US’s actions as aggressive and was afraid they were pursuing dollar imperialism to win over the East European states with its economic aid

• The USSR was weakened economically after WWII while the US had experienced an economic boom. The US’s pursuit of open trade policies and other policies were seen by the USSR as aggressive actions

• The Soviets’ fear that the US was deliberately undermining the USSR and using its nuclear superiority and economic strength to stake out its primacy

• Historians have highlighted the paranoia and fear that dictated Stalin’s actions. Given his suspicious nature it’s not surprising he viewed the WEst’s actions as threatening

• How have Historians Interpreted the Origins of the Cold War:

factors which led to detente: Vietnam War:

Vietnam War:

Nixon:

• Détente was initiated by Richard Nixon, who was elected president of the USA in 1968, and his National Security Adviser, Henry Kissinger.

• Nixon wanted American withdrawal from the war. He wanted ‘peace with honour’. 

• Kissinger negotiated with NV who also wanted to achieve peace with honour but neither side wanted to compromise. The North demanded representation in South Vietnam and all has continued to try to win an advantage at the negotiating table. 

Attempts:

• The Americans tried through using airpower to pressure Communists, even bombing targets in the North. Another strategy was pursuing ‘detente’ with the Soviet Union And China so they would put pressure on the North to agree to peace settlement

• The Gulf of Tolkin Incident resulted in a sustained campaign of bombing NV, which was known as Operation Rolling Thunder. Anti-war protests in the US reached a peak and the aftermath of the Tet Offensive resulted in a significant change of strategy for the US. Bombing of the North stopped and peace talks were initiated. 

Realpolitik:

• Nixon needed to find a way of ending the Vietnam War and he also wanted the United States to follow a more realistic foreign policy, which would take account of the changing international situation – the pursuit of realpolitik:

• Henry Kissinger called for a ‘philosophical deepening’ of American foreign policy. By this he meant adjusting to the changed international order. 

• The Kennedy and Johnson administrations, Kissinger argued, had focused too much on victory in one rather isolated area – Vietnam – at the expense of the global balance of power.

• Therefore, Nixon hoped to use détente to get the USSR and China to put pressure on North Vietnam to end the war and, at the same time, to retain and ‘deepen’ the USA’s global role through negotiation rather than confrontation. 

• Finally a peace settlement was signed in 1973 and all American troops withdrew from Vietnam and both sides would respect the 17th parallel

factors which led to detente: Arms Race:

Arms Race:

Pre-1971:

• One of the factors pushing the superpowers towards an improvement in relations was the growing awareness of the dangers of nuclear war. 

• The early 1960s saw serious confrontations over Berlin and Cuba, and by the late 1960s both the United States and the Soviet Union were ready to take steps to reduce the risk of nuclear confrontation. 

Parity:

• This was also made possible by the fact that the USSR had reached nuclear parity with the United States, meaning it now had a similar nuclear capability to the USA, and so, for the first time, could negotiate from a position of equality. 

Dangers:

• Leaders in both the USA and the USSR saw the danger of nuclear weapons. Following an early hydrogen bomb test, President Eisenhower commented that ‘Atomic War will destroy civilization’. 

• Khrushchev was also appalled by the prospect of military use of nuclear weapons, and his policy of ‘peaceful co-existence’ meant that war with the West was not now inevitable

MAD:

• Despite the obvious dangers of nuclear weapons, both sides believed that there had to be a strategy that could be devised in which they could be used, otherwise what was the point of having them?

• Both sides should aim to target cities with the objective of causing the maximum number of casualties possible. The belief here was that if no one – Soviet or American – could survive a nuclear war, then there would not be one.

• This idea became known as ‘mutually assured destruction’ in 1972, or MAD, and it went back to the idea that the existence of nuclear weapons meant that there could never be a total war between the superpowers.

• Both the Soviet Union and the United States came to accept MAD. They continued to build up their nuclear weapons, but at this point both also saw the need for agreements on how to manage them. 

factors which led to detente: Economic Problems:

Economic Problems:

America:

• America spent billions of dollars on its involvement in Vietnam, while the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil embargo of 1973 also led to disruptions in oil supply, higher fuel prices, a stock market slump and other detrimental effects on the US economy. 

USSR:

• The Soviet economy, which had grown rapidly through the 1950s and 1960s, began to stall after 1970. 

• Of particular concern was a lack of growth in the agricultural sector, which caused food prices to increase by between 50 and 100 percent. Having to prop up several failing Soviet bloc states placed additional strains on the Russian economy.

• One of the key reasons the USSR needed better relations with the United States was that its economy was stagnating. 

• In order to deal with its economic problems, and also to improve the standard of living for Soviet citizens, it needed to be able to transfer economic resources from the production of armaments to the production of consumer goods. 

• It would also be able to import new technologies from the West.

factors which led to detente:Relations with China:

Relations with China:

Sino-Soviet Split:

• The Sino-Soviet split had ended in war in 1969 which threatened to plunge the powers into a full scale war, and it was now crucial for the USSR to keep China isolated from the West by seeking for itself an improved relationship with the West.

• It was later revealed that Soviet Russia had developed more nuclear battle plans against China than against the United States. 

American Perspective:

• American planners saw advantages in encouraging and widening the Sino-Soviet split. They did this through covert and diplomatic means, such as Richard Nixon’s visit to China in 1972.

Nixon’s Visits:

• Nixon’s visit created nervousness in the Kremlin, which was not on good terms with China and feared the possibility of a US-China alliance. 

• In May 1972, Nixon followed his visit to China with a state visit to Moscow. He conducted extensive meetings with Brezhnev, signing trade agreements and two treaties to reduce arms manufacture. 

• Nixon returned to the Soviet Union in 1974, while Brezhnev himself visited the United States in 1973.

• The world was shifting from a bipolar balance of power between Washington and Moscow to a multipolar balance shared among five great economic and strategic centres – the United States, the Soviet Union, Western Europe, Japan and China.

factors which led to detente: Events in Eastern Europe:

Events in Eastern Europe:

Ostpolitik:

• There was also pressure for détente from Europe. Events in 1968 had shown political instability in both Eastern and Western Europe 

• The new chancellor of West Germany, Willy Brandt, took the lead in trying to improve relations between the two Germanys. He believed that not only West Germany, but also the whole continent, would benefit from a reduction of tensions and greater links between East and West. 

• His policy encouraging the opening of channels between East and West became known as Ostpolitik. 

Basic Treaty 1972:

• Brandt pursued his own form of détente with East Germany – Ostpolitik – by signing the Basic Treaty in 1972, which recognized the existence of the two states. 

• They agreed to co-exist, to exchange ‘representatives’, to ease travel restrictions between the two Germanys, and to accept the status quo of European borders. 

• West Germany now recognized East Germany and agreed to increase trade links between the two countries.

• Opponents to his policy argued that recognizing the existence of East Germany meant accepting the division of Germany. However, Brandt saw calls for unification as unrealistic and argued that his policy was based on realism. Indeed, it brought a relaxation of tension and stability to this area of Europe.

• From the Soviet side there was also impetus for improved relations in Europe.

• A formal peace treaty accepting the new borders of Europe after World War Two had never been signed, and the Soviets wanted to win Western acceptance of the division of Germany and formalise the existing territorial situation in Eastern Europe.

Evaluate the impact of detente upon US-USSR relations up to the end of 1979

Success:

Evaluate the impact of detente upon US-USSR relations up to the end of 1979

Success:

Salt I:

• After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the USA and the USSR signed several arms control agreements. The most significant arms control agreement was SALT I (the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) signed in 1972. 

• It covered 3 areas:

1. The ABM Treaty: ABMs (Anti-Ballistic Missiles) were allowed at only two sites – each site containing no more than a hundred missiles.

2. The Interim Treaty: This placed limits on the numbers of ICBMs (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles) and SLBMs (Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles).

3. The Basic Principles Agreement: This laid down rules for the conduct of nuclear war and development of weapons, and committed the two sides to work together to prevent conflict and promote peaceful co-existence.

Aftermath:

• It was followed in 1973 by the Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War, which said that if a nuclear conflict looked imminent, both sides would ‘... immediately enter into urgent consultations’

• SALT I was followed by a spirit of co-operation as Nixon made visits to Moscow in 1972 and 1974, and Brezhnev visited Washington in 1973

• However, there were also severe criticisms of SALT I for not going far enough in limiting nuclear weapons, particularly because it did not mention MIRVs (Multiple Independently Targeted Reentry Vehicles).

SALT II:

The treaty was finally signed in 1979. This treaty had agreements on:

• a limit on the number of strategic nuclear delivery vehicles (ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers) for each side

• a ban on the testing or deployment of new types of ICBMs, heavy mobile ICBMs, and rapid reload systems.

This was the most extensive and complicated arms agreement ever negotiated. However, by the time it was signed, both Democrats and Republicans were criticising the arms control process as one that accomplished little and which gave advantages to the Soviets. It was never ratified by the US Senate.

Germany:

• Willy Brandt, the chancellor of West Germany was influenced by the détente

• Brandt pursued his own form of détente with East Germany – Ostpolitik – by signing the Basic Treaty in 1972, which recognized the existence of the two states. 

• They agreed to co-exist, to exchange ‘representatives’, to ease travel restrictions between the two Germanys, and to accept the status quo of European borders. 

• West Germany now recognized East Germany and agreed to increase trade links between the two countries.

• Opponents to his policy argued that recognizing the existence of East Germany meant accepting the division of Germany. However, Brandt saw calls for unification as unrealistic and argued that his policy was based on realism. Indeed, it brought a relaxation of tension and stability to this area of Europe.

Helsinki Agreement:

• Helsinki in 1973 was attended by 33 countries and produced a final agreement (the Final Act) on 1 August 1975. 

• This took the form of three so-called baskets:

  • Basket 1: This was the security basket. It followed Willy Brandt’s Ostpolitik negotiations with the Soviet Union and recognized that Europe’s frontiers were ‘inviolable’: that is, they could not be altered by force. Thus both East Germany and West Germany were now recognized by both sides of the Cold War divide.

  • Basket 2: This was the cooperation basket. It called for closer ties and collaboration in economic, scientific, and cultural fields.

  • Basket 3: This was the human rights basket. All of the signatories agreed to respect human rights and individual freedoms, such as freedom of thought, conscience, or religion, and freedom of travel.

• Given the Soviet attitude towards human rights, Basket 3 was clearly the most controversial of the agreement. 

• The West hoped that it would undermine Soviet control in the satellite states, and organisations were set up to monitor Soviet action against the principles

• However, for Brezhnev, the important aspects of the Helsinki Agreement were Baskets 1 and 2, and he was thus prepared to sign the agreement despite Basket 3.

Apollo–Soyuz Test Project

• Another result of détente was cooperation in space. On 17 July 1975, three US astronauts and two Soviet cosmonauts met up when their spacecrafts docked

• 140 miles above the earth. Co-operation in what was seen as a key area of Cold War conflict – the space race – seemed symbolic of the improved international atmosphere

Evaluate the impact of detente upon US-USSR relations up to the end of 1979

Limitations:

Limitations:

SALT:

• Many in the US felt the arms agreements were benefiting the Soviets – that the USSR was building up a strategic superiority based on its ICBMs – and that SALT I was effectively allowing the USSR to win the Cold War. 

Middle East:

• Secondly, actions in the Middle East and Africa seemed to indicate that the Soviet Union was continuing to expand its influence.

•  When the Yom Kippur War started in October 1973, the USA suspected that the USSR had known in advance about Egypt’s surprise attack on Israel.

• The USA and the USSR had signed promising to inform each other of any conflict that might threaten world peace, the attack on Israel and its aftermath damaged the trust between both countries

Africa:

• The Soviet Union was also involved in the civil war in Angola, supporting the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) with military aid. Soviet aid, along with aid given by Cuba, was key to the success of the MPLA.

• The Soviets and Cubans were also involved in supporting Ethiopia against Somalia in 1977. 

• The scale of Soviet intervention was worrying to the Americans and it seemed the Soviets were involved in some grand scheme of expansion in several key areas of the world. In fact, it was more a case of the Soviets randomly assisting Marxist rebels throughout the world. 

Helsinki:

• There was disillusionment over the Soviet Union’s attitude towards the human rights ‘basket’ of the agreement made at Helsinki. 

• Carter, elected president in 1976, tried to link US economic deals to improved human rights: for example, by allowing new trading agreements only if the Soviet Union would allow Soviet Jews to emigrate. This ‘linkage’ was deeply resented by the Soviet Union.

Soviet Critics:

• There were also critics of détente within the Soviet Union. When Israel struck back in the 1973 war the Soviets tried to negotiate a solution with the US within a détente framework, by using the UN Security Council to agree to a joint ceasefire. 

• Soviet attempts to get the USA to force Israel to abide by the ceasefire failed. 

• In addition, the Soviets were concerned that the US was still supporting anti-Communist governments in the ‘Third World’, such as the Chilean government.

Conclusion:

• James Fitzgerald: All of these factors meant that by the end of the 1970s ‘the complexities and contradictions of détente had become explosive’ 

Sino-Soviet:

Positive:

Sino-Soviet:

Positive:

The Sino-Soviet Treaty of Alliance:

• Once the CCP won the civil war, the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Alliance was produced. The USSR became enthusiastic about the CCP after its victory and the Soviet press poured admiration on Mao and the new PRC

• However, this treaty was a struggle. Stalin did not wish to sign it and only did it after negotiating.

• The Chinese were offended by the unfriendly treatment 

• Nevertheless, Soviet planners and engineers helped with projects. 

The USSRC, the PRC, and the Korean War:

• When the American forces came close to the Chinese border, Stalin encouraged the PRC to send troops into Korea. The Soviets gave material assistance to the 1 million Chinese troops engaged in battle

• However, Mao still complained when the Soviets demanded China pay them back for the weapons and supplies

Sino-Soviet Relations after Stalin 1953-56:

• There were tensions between Mao and Stalin and when Stalin died, there was a relaxation in the tension. 

• A truce was signed soon after Stalin’s death and the new Soviet leaders appeared willing to supply loans and tech to China

Sino-Soviet:

Negative:

Negative:

Secret Speech:

• In 1956 24th of Feb, Khrushchev made his Secret Speech attacking Stalin’s crimes against the party including comments about the cult of personality and Mao saw this as an attack to his leadership

Peaceful Co-existence:

• Khrushchev’s doctrine of peaceful co-existence with the West implied global revolution could be achieved by means other than armed struggle. Mao saw this as ideological heresy

• Mao saw these issues as a clear departure from Marxism and evidence the Soviet Union was dominated by revisionists. 

Conference of Communist Parties 1957:

• Mao attended this conference of the world’s Communist parties. Mao called on the USSR to abandon ‘revisionism’. He declared international revolution could not be supported by working alongside Western Capitalists. Mao believed that the USSR was initiating détente with the West to further isolate China.

• Deng was very embarrassing for the Soviets. Deng stated that the proletarian world revolution could only come about through force and that Capitalism had to be crushed in violent revolution. 

Khruschev’s Visit to Beijing 1959:

• Khrushchev attempted to ease the growing tension between the USSR and China by visiting Mao in Beijing. 

• However, things didn't go well, and Mao apparently went out of his way to make Khrushchev feel uncomfortable.

• For example, it was summer in Beijing and Khrushchev’s hotel had no air conditioning. Mao arranged one round of talks in his swimming pool, which was not so easy for Khrushchev who hated swimming. Khrushchev had to wear a pair of shorts that were rather too tight for him, and had to be helped to float by a rubber ring

• The talks, unsurprisingly, were not productive. Again, Deng used the occasion as an opportunity to attack Soviet policy, stating that:

  • the Soviets had betrayed the international Communist movement, the Soviets were guilty of viewing themselves as the only true Marxist–Leninists, the Soviets had sent spies posing as technical advisers into China.

Sino-Soviet Relations with the GLF

• In 1959, the Soviets called the rapid industrial change in the GLF faulty. Mao was furious 

• The Soviet government declared the concepts and applications used were unorthodox and the Soviet press denounced Mao

• Mao was now determined to strike back at the USSR for undermining them in the eyes of the international Communists. 

• The PRC would now back any Communist country that dissented away from Moscow

Albania:

• China got its opportunity to attack the USSR and support a ‘dissenting Communist state’ through Albania. 

• In 1961, the USSR withdrew aid to Albania. Soon after, the PRC offered to replace Soviet money and technical assistance given to Albania.

• This conflict led to the final severance of Sino-Soviet diplomatic relations. Khruschev referred to Mao as the ‘Asian Hitler’ and Mao and Khrushchev ‘a redundant old boot’

Sino-Soviet Relations and the Cultural Revolution 1966-76:

• Mao’s CR was launched in May 1966. 

• As there were no clear directives from the party as to how the ‘old culture’ should be disposed of, many attacks got out of hand. As many as half a million people died. 

• Khrushchev left office in 1964. However, there was to be no reconciliation between the USSR and the PRC. The Soviet leadership continued to attempt to isolate the PRC. 

• When Mao launched the Cultural Revolution the Soviets denounced the revolution as total fanaticism, and criticised Mao for creating a state of anarchy.

• Mao responded to these ‘false’ accusations by calling on other Communist countries to follow the Chinese model rather than the ‘revisionist’ Soviet system

China, the USSR, and Nuclear Weapons:

• A continuing theme in Sino-Soviet relations was the dispute over nuclear weapons. 

• In 1957, it appeared that the USSR had gained superiority over the USA with the launch of the Sputnik satellite. 

• Unlike the more pragmatic Soviet Union, Mao did not fear nuclear war, as he believed it was now an unavoidable part of the revolutionary struggle.

• The basic circular argument between them was:

• China: ‘If you are our friend, you should want to help us develop our own nuclear programme.’

• USSR: ‘As you are our friend, you do not need your own nuclear programme as we will look after you.’

Sino-Soviet border war, 1969

• The hostility between the Soviets and the Chinese Communists came to a head

• in violent clashes along their mutual border. 

• The PRC denounced the Soviets as ‘imperialists’ as they still had not returned territory taken from the Chinese in the 19th century.

• In 1969 the frontier dispute erupted into a proper war. According to the Chinese, the Soviets had violated China’s border 4189 times in the period up to 1969. 

• By August, there was clearly the possibility of all-out war between the two Communist states. If this happened, there was a danger of the conflict turning nuclear. 

• In the end, there was no escalation to all-out nuclear war. However, the war had brought the world’s two most powerful Communist countries to the brink.

Some historians view 1969 as the lowest point in Sino-Soviet relations for a number of reasons:

•  serious border incidents threatened to turn into full-scale war

•  the PRC and Soviet Union realigned missiles to face one another

•  there was an intensification of the rivalry to be the leading Communist nation.

Sino-US

Negative:

• When Mao Zedong and the CCP came to power in October 1949, the United States refused to recognize the PRC as a legitimate state. 

• They backed the Chinese Nationalists who fled to Taiwan

•  The Americans ensured it was the anti-Communists on Taiwan that were given China’s seat at the United Nations.

The Korean War, 1950–1953

• Mao condemned American action, but the USA justified its position by claiming that the North had been the ‘aggressors’. 

• Mao countered by claiming that the South had been the initial aggressors. 

• Although US forces arrived in South Korea under the UN flag in June 1950, the PRC’s Zhou Enlai asserted that the US troops were imperialist invaders.

• The PRC organised mass demonstrations in China and warned the Americans that it would be forced to intervene if there was any push into the North. 

The impact of the Korean War on Sino-American relations

• The Korean War led to open conflict between the USA and the PRC. 

• The Americans had previously been reluctant to guarantee long-term protection for Taiwan, but after the war they pledged themselves to the defence of the island. 

• Also, Mao was now less in awe of the potential military might of the USA.

• The key result of this war in terms of Sino-American relations was that the hostility between the People’s Republic of China and the United States now became a key factor in international relations.

Taiwan, 1954 and 1958:

• The PRC had not attempted to take Taiwan earlier for a number of reasons:

  • Taiwan was well defended and the PRC was not confident it had the air power or the landing craft necessary.

  • The US Navy Seventh Fleet, which had been based in the area to secure Taiwan for strategic reasons during the Korean War, was now present.

  • At the end of the Korean War, the United States stated it would protect Taiwan from aggression.

• In 1954, Mao decided to test the commitment of the United States and shelled the islands of Quemoy and Matsu. 

• Eisenhower responded strongly, even suggesting that nuclear weapons would be used against military targets in China if Taiwan was directly threatened.

• The United States had to show strength to its other allies in the region. It was also confident that the Soviet Union would not go so far as to support the PRC in a war. 

• In 1958, Mao began shelling Quemoy and Matsu again, and at the same time there was a build-up of PLA troops in the area. US Navy vessels were fired on in the Taiwan Strait. The USA prepared for war with the PRC. 

• In the end, no full-scale attack on Taiwan came. Mao had stepped back from the brink.

• The United States believed that the People’s Republic of China was an expansionist state and provided leadership for other revolutionary countries. This view of the PRC’s aims linked into the American domino effect theory and thus China’s goals were perceived as a genuine threat to the security of the West. 

• Therefore, the United States pursued the following policies in relation to the containment of China:

  • a US trade embargo with the PRC

  • obstruction of the PRC’s entry to the United Nations

  • huge economic and military aid to Taiwan

  • instigation of a regional containment bloc – SEATO

  • bilateral defence treaties with Asian states seen as under threat from the PRC.

Sino-US

Postiive:

Why did the US want to détente with the PRC?

• The situation in Vietnam had led the United States to believe containment was not possible there, and it wanted the PRC’s assistance in its exit strategy.

• The PRC had developed ICBM capability, so it was now the American view that it was more dangerous not to have contact.

• These reasons reflect the changing perspectives in the United States and they began to understand that Communist movements were not as ‘monolithic’ as it had long suspected

• Nixon suggested that the United States would now ‘deal with countries on the basis of their actions, not abstract ideological formulas’. 

Why did China want to détente with the USA?

• In the 1960s and 1970s the PRC saw the USSR as its main rival, so it wanted to reduce tensions with the USA.

• China could gain concessions on key foreign policy issues: for example, UN membership, Taiwan, US withdrawal from Vietnam and Indochina as a whole.

• The PRC was worried about a resurgent Japan, and wanted its power limited.

• Moderation of its stance against the West could improve the PRC’s standing in the developing world.

Ping-Pong Diplomacy:

• Where an American table-tennis team was invited to compete in China and secret talks took place between Henry Kissinger and Zhou Enlai. 

• The climax of this change in relations came with the historic visit in 1972 of President Richard Nixon to Beijing to meet the Communist leadership, including a very sick Mao Zedong. 

• During this meeting a joint communiqué was issued, establishing a new relationship between the two superpowers.

• Trade relations were eased

United Nations membership

• In the 1950s, as the General Assembly was dominated by Western countries. To become a member it would need a majority vote in the General Assembly. Every year a vote was taken on PRC membership, and each time it was defeated. 

• However, as UN membership grew, it was the non-aligned states and developing countries that began to dominate the General Assembly 

• In 1970, the General Assembly finally voted in favour of the Chinese UN seat transferring to Beijing. 

• However, the necessary two-thirds majority was not reached. In 1970, the United States initiated the ‘two Chinas’ policy. 

• This suggested that Beijing took the Security Council seat for China, while Taiwan still maintained representation in the General Assembly. This solution was rejected by both Chinas.

• Finally, in the summer of 1971, President Nixon announced his imminent visit to the PRC and also stated that the United States would no longer oppose Beijing’s admission to the UN. 

• The USA failed to prevent the expulsion of Taiwan. In reality, the Americans were simply accepting the inevitable.

1976:

• Following the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, the removal of the fiercely anti-American Gang of Four, and the Open Door Policy of Deng Xiaoping, relations between the PRC and the United States became more cooperative 

To what extent did the policy of peaceful co-existence improve superpower relations up to and including 1964? Pro

Pro:

Austria:

• An example of improved relations was agreement over Austria. 1955 The Austrian State Treaty made Austria an independent and neutral country.

• From this though, the Geneva Summit took place and the proposals proposed by each side were rejected by the other side with hostilities. 

• Despite the failure to achieve any concrete progress on disarmament, it was a breakthrough. 

• The discussion had cordiality and the summit led to better relations in terms of trade exhibitions, exchanging certain scientific information, and cultural exchanges. 

Ultimatum;

• By 1958 Eisenhower was confident about US nuclear superiority and contemplated a ban on atmospheric testing nuclear weapons. 

1959 Visit:

• Khruschev visited the US. The meeting with Khrsuuchev and Eisenhower produced few concrete results, their discussions generated a positive atmosphere. This optimism was short-lived. 

To what extent did the policy of peaceful co-existence improve superpower relations up to and including 1964? Cons

Cons:

Austria:

• Nothing concrete was achieved at the Geneva Summit regarding the arms race or the German question.

• However in 1956 February, Khrushchev gave his de-Stalinization speech which led to challenges to Soviet control throughout the Eastern bloc and the West was also involved in the Suez Crisis. This helped dissipate the good Geneva feelings. 

• The Crisis raised fears of growing Soviet influence in the Middle East and led to the Eisenhower Doctrine in Jan 1957 which state the US would help any Middle East country fight Communism

• Khrushchev visiting the US

Technology Race:

• Sputnik raised new fears of superior Soviet technology and of a ‘missile gap’. 1957 October 4th, the Soviets launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik. 

• This sent the Americans into panic as they became convinced of Soviet superiority in missile technology. Khrushchev further insisted he could wipe out any Western city.

• The US promoted the idea of a ‘missile gap’ which was confirmed by the Gaither Report, the findings of a top secret investigation committee. It recommended an increase in offensive defence power, and a massive building programme of fallout shelters.

Ultimatum:

• Khrushchev now issued an ultimatum to the West to leave Berlin in 6 months but backed down. By 1959, the Berlin Crisis subsided

• Khrushchev visited the US in 1959 and arranged a summit meeting with Eisenhower

The U-2 Incident 1960;

• Before the Summit in Pairs, the Soviets announced an American plane was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960. The Americnans claimed it was a weather plane which had gone off course, but the Soviets revealed the aircraft was a high altitude photo reconnaissance plane. 

• The pilot Gary Powers had also been captured and confessed to the spy nature of his task. Eisenhower admitted the truth about the U-2 spy planes 

• But at the Paris Summit, Eisenhower refused to apologise, saying aerial surveillance was a distasteful, but vital necessity’. 

• Khruschhev then cancelled Eisenhower’s planned visit to the Soviet Union and the meeting broke up with no further progress being made on a settlement for Berlin or a test-ban treaty. 

• By 1962 any thaw that was achieved was reversed with Cuba

Vienna Summit 1960:

• Kennedy first met Khrushchev at the Vienna Summit of 1961. The latter believed he might be able to exploit Kennedy’s relative inexperience in foreign affairs and also had an advantage where Kennnedy has just suffered the embarrassment of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion

• Khrushcev thus decided to renew his ultimatum on Berlin but Kenedy was determined to appear tough with the Soviets and wasn’t prepared to give any concessions to them

• Calling Berlin ‘an island of freedom in a Communist sea’. He announced in a television broadcast that the West wouldn’t permit the SOviets to drive them out of Berlin. He also responded with an increase in military spending and a civil defence programme to build more nuclear fallout shelter

Berlin Wall:

• With the tension growing over Berlin, the number of refugees moving from East to West increased. On 12th August 1961, 40,000 refugees fled to the West

• Khrushchev had no intention of starting a nuclear war over Berlin and so following Kennedy’s threat to defend Berlin ‘by any means’ and the growing crisis in East Germany, he bowed to Ulbricht’s pressure and agreed to the closure of the East German border in Berlin

• On the morning of 13th August 1961, barbed wire was erected between East and West Berlin and this was followed by a more permanent concrete wall

Cuba:

Tension:

• In Cuba, Castro takes power and asks the US for economic aid

• After the US refused to give Castro financial aid for economic development, Castro tried to the Soviet Union which offered economic aid in February 1960. This was an immediate challenge to the US

• In 1962, Khrushchev put intermediate range ballistic missiles into Cuba. this was a highly provocative act and was bound to cause a reaction from the US

• Khrushchev wrote in his memories that the reason was to protect Cuba and because ‘it was high time AMerica learned what it feels like to have her own land and her own people threatened”

• The US had missiles in Turkey which bordered the Soviet Union and putting missiles a similar distance away from the US was seen as redressing the balance

• 1962, Kennedy was presented with photos from a U-2 spy plane which showed evidence that launch pads were being constructed by the Soviets 

• In fact, positioning of the missiles in Cuba didn't really affect the worldwide nuclear balance. But it did increase the Soviets’ first strike capability and it meant warning time for missiles fired at the US would be far less than for missiles fired from within the Soviet Union

• More important was that to the US public, it certainly seemed that the balance of power had changed. 

• Thus Kennedy faced a crisis. The prestige of the US and also of Kennedy was at stake.

Solution:

• Kennedy announced the establishment of the ‘quarantine’ around Cuba to prevent the delivery of any nuclear warheads to the island. Khrushchev ignored the quarantine and Soviet ships containing missiles headed for Cuba

• On 26th October, Khrushchev sent a telegram to Kennedy saying the Soviet Union would remove the missiles in return for a US pledge not to invade Cuba. 

• Khrushchev sent a second more demanding letter to the US government, insisting on the inclusion of the removal of Turkish missiles in any deal over Cuba

• The crisis escalated after a US plane was shot down over Cuba. this action had been taken by military leaders in Cuba without authorisation from the Soviet Union and seemed a sign that events could easily spiral out of control

• The shooting increased pressure on Kennedy to take military action against Cuba. 

• Kennedy continued to see military action as a last resort and on the advice of a past US ambassador to the Soviet Union, he decided to accept Khruschev’s first offer and ignored the second

• On 28th October, Khrushchev cabled Kennedy and agreed to remove all missiles from Cuba in return for US assurance to not invade Cuba. there was no reference to US removal of missiles from Turkey

the most important reason for the end of the Cold War (1980-1991)? Economy:

Economy:

GDP:

• Under Brezhnev, the Soviets spent even more resources on foreign policy. Although involved in important arms treaties with the USA, it was under Brezhnev that the USSR achieved ‘parity’ with the USA in the nuclear field and, in some areas, surpassed it.

• This was achieved at a high price: by the mid-1980s, about 25% of the USSR’s GDP was being spent on the military; in comparison, the USA was spending 4–6 percent.

Maintenance:

• In addition, the cost of maintaining the USSR’s empire proved a drain on resources; ventures in Africa and Afghanistan were extremely costly. Vietnam received $6 billion as well as $3 billion in oil subsidies to its Warsaw Pact members

Old-Fashioned:

• Brezhnev’s era is also remembered as a period of stagnation and decline in the USSR. This is due to the serious lack of spending on consumer goods and on the domestic economy as a whole.

• Brezhnev left his successors an economy still based on the ‘command economy’ structure of Stalin’s day. It was falling behind in modern technology and industrial output was declining.

• A large proportion of the agricultural workers lived below the poverty line and grain was imported from North America. Workers had little incentive to work harder. Labour morale was low; there was high absenteeism and chronic alcoholism.

Gorbachev:

• When Gorbachev took over, he inherited an economy in serious trouble. 

• It could thus be argued that Gorbachev was forced to take the actions that he did in both internal reform and negotiations with the West. Given this situation in the Soviet Union, some historians argue that keeping the Cold War going through containment and détente played a role in bringing about the end of the Cold War rather than prolonging it.

the most important reason for the end of the Cold War (1980-1991)? Role of Raegen:

Role of Raegen:

1. Historian Fisher believes Raegen’s anti-nuclear stance was the main cause of the end of the Cold War. 

• Reagan was also interested in disarmament and had previously put forward to the Soviets an arms control proposal known as ‘zero option’, which would eliminate all intermediate-range missiles in Europe. 

• Reafen offered to share his SDI plan with the Soviets

• Gorbachev, unlike his predecessors, was prepared to discuss this option. This resulted in the two leaders meeting together in four summits to discuss arms control

  Many historians also give Reagan credit for this, and argue that it was his approach to the Soviet Union in the early 1980s that was crucial for pushing the Soviet Union into arms negotiations. 

• Historians, such as Michael McGuire, claim that Reagan played an important role, but believe this role was more connected to his views on eliminating nuclear weapons, which helped at the different summits to convince Gorbachev of the possibilities of halting the nuclear arms race. 

• Reagan’s character and willingness to engage with Gorbachev was also important. 

BUT:

• Before Gorbachev came into power, Reagan was responsible for increasing tensions  between the superpowers with his evil empire rhetoric

• The ‘Reagen’s victory school’ perspective is that Reagen’s increased military spending by 13% in 1980, was the main reason for the end of the Cold War, not the anti-nuclear stance. Reagen pursued the biggest arms build up in all history of America and developed the SDI

• Though Regen’s anti-nuclear stance was important, it was his arms build up which caused the end of the Cold War

• The Soviets, whose economy was on the verge of collapse, also knew that they could not compete with this new round of nuclear technology expansion.

the most important reason for the end of the Cold War (1980-1991)? Eastern European States:

Eastern European States:

• Historian Jones believes the challenge from satellite states were most significant. In East Berlin, there was a deep resentment for Soviet rule as they became aware of the higher living standards in West Berlin 

• The Berlin Wall in 1989 fell and the reunification of Berlin and Germany in 1990 occurred, completely eliminating Soviet control from their lives

• In Poland Solidarity won the first Polish free elections in 1989 and the Polish Community fell. The Communist Party had been defeated by a huge popular vote, and the government was the first in the Eastern bloc since the 1940s not to be controlled by Communists. Gorbachev had not intervened to support

  the old Communist regime

• Soviet control of Hungary and Czechoslovakia were deteriorating as well and they lost power. Hungary with their first free elections in 1990 and Czechoslovakia with the Velvet Revolution

Reasons:

1. The continued deterioration of living standards; industries in the satellite states were inefficient in terms of quality and quantity of goods produced. Consumer goods were in short supply. People in East Germany and Czechoslovakia, could see images of Capitalist living on West German television, and it looked decidedly superior to what they were experiencing in the East. The economic slow-down of the Soviet Union further impacted on the satellite states.

2. The growing disillusion with the Communist Party, which had shown itself as corrupt. By the 1980s, the regimes of Eastern Europe were led by men who had no interest in reform, and were out of touch with the people they ruled. They maintained their positions through a repressive police network.

3. The implications of Gorbachev’s reforms of glasnost and perestroika. Gorbachev also made it clear that he was unwilling to use force to maintain control over the satellite states.

Gorbachev:

• At home failure to bring about an improvement in the country’s economic situation meant that Gorbachev became increasingly unpopular.

• Events in Eastern Europe brought about calls for independence from the republics of the Soviet Union.

• Thus, during 1991, the Soviet empire disintegrated. In August, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania claimed their independence, as did the other republics that had been part of the USSR (see the map below).

BUT:

• Disintegrating control is linked back to the economy because economic problems in the Soviet state means their satellite state won’t do well. The satellites were connected through the centrally planned economy and had to provide resources for the Soviet state.

"Confrontation rather than reconciliation ended the Cold War." Discuss with reference to the period from 1980 to 1991 Reconciliation:

Impact of Mikhail Gorbachev:

• For the Soviet Union, Stalin’s ‘legacy’ meant that politically the Soviet Union remained authoritarian and economically was focused on producing military rather than consumer goods. 

• Mikhail Gorbachev is reported to have said ‘We can’t go on living like this’ 

Reagan:

• Many historians also give Reagan credit for this, and argue that it was his approach to the Soviet Union in the early 1980s that was crucial for pushing the Soviet Union into arms negotiations. 

• Historians, such as Michael McGuire, claim that Reagan played an important role, but believe this role was more connected to his views on eliminating nuclear weapons, which helped at the different summits to convince Gorbachev of the possibilities of halting the nuclear arms race. 

• Reagan’s character and willingness to engage with Gorbachev was also important. 

Perestroika and Glasnost:

• Gorbachev introduced two key reforming ideas – perestroika and glasnost. Perestroika aimed at restructuring the economy and glasnost was the principle that every area of the regime should be open to public scrutiny. 

• This represented a radical change in politics in the Soviet Union. It involved greater ‘democratisation’, with more people involved in the Communist Party and in political debate.

• Through these strategies, Gorbachev intended to make the Soviet system more productive and responsive, and he realised that part of this process also had to involve a reduction in military spending. 

• He knew that, if his reforming ideas were going to work, the Soviets could not rise to the challenge of matching Reagan’s SDI system. 

Reasons for Abandoning the Arms Race:

• The Chernobyl disaster in 1986, in which an explosion destroyed a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, heightened Gorbachev’s awareness of the dangers of nuclear power. 

Zero Option:

• Reagan was also interested in disarmament and had previously put forward to the Soviets an arms control proposal known as ‘zero option’, which would eliminate all intermediate-range missiles in Europe. 

• Gorbachev, unlike his predecessors, was prepared to discuss this option. This resulted in the two leaders meeting together in four summits to discuss arms control:

1. Geneva Summit, November 1985: No substantial progress was made but the two leaders established a personal rapport and they agreed that ‘a nuclear war cannot be won and must not be fought’.

2. Reykjavik Summit, October 1986: Talks ended without agreement, mainly because of disagreement over SDI. Gorbachev said that SDI should be confined, but Reagan refused to make any concessions. However, the talks also covered the most sweeping arms control proposals in history

3. Washington Summit, December 1987: At this summit, agreement was reached. An INF Treaty was signed, which actually agreed to abolish a range of weapons. This was an important first step in reducing the nuclear stockpiles of the two superpowers. 

4. Moscow Summit, May 1988: Again there was disagreement over SDI, but arms reductions negotiations continued. Standing in Red Square, Reagan confessed that he now no longer believed in the ‘evil empire’.

Other Foreign Policy:

• Other foreign policy initiatives put into action by Gorbachev were reassuring to the West. By 1988, Gorbachev had announced his plans to withdraw from Afghanistan, and he pulled back Soviet aid to its ‘allies’ in the developing world.

Economy:

• Under Brezhnev, the Soviets spent even more resources on foreign policy. Although involved in important arms treaties with the USA, it was under Brezhnev that the USSR achieved ‘parity’ with the USA in the nuclear field and, in some areas, surpassed it.

• This was achieved at a high price: by the mid-1980s, about 25% of the USSR’s GDP was being spent on the military; in comparison, the USA was spending 4–6 percent.

• In addition, the cost of maintaining the USSR’s empire proved a drain on resources; ventures in Africa and Afghanistan were extremely costly. Vietnam received $6 billion as well as $3 billion in oil subsidies to its Warsaw Pact members

• Brezhnev’s era is also remembered as a period of stagnation and decline in the USSR. This is due to the serious lack of spending on consumer goods and on the domestic economy as a whole.

• Brezhnev left his successors an economy still based on the ‘command economy’ structure of Stalin’s day. It was falling behind in modern technology and industrial output was declining.

• A large proportion of the agricultural workers lived below the poverty line and grain was imported from North America. Workers had little incentive to work harder. Labour morale was low; there was high absenteeism and chronic alcoholism.

• When Gorbachev took over, he inherited an economy in serious trouble. 

• It could thus be argued that Gorbachev was forced to take the actions that he did in both internal reform and negotiations with the West. Given this situation in the Soviet Union, some historians argue that keeping the Cold War going through containment and détente played a role in bringing about the end of the Cold War rather than prolonging it.

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War

• When Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as president of the USSR on Christmas Day 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. 

• The collapse of the Soviet Empire meant that the Cold War was definitely at an end. This monumental turning point in history had occurred, amazingly, with little bloodshed. Perhaps just as astonishing was that no one had predicted this rapid collapse of the ‘other’ superpower. 

• The United States and British intelligence services were as surprised as the East German border guards when the iconic symbol of the Cold War, the Berlin Wall, was torn down in November 1989. However, even before this happened, relations between the Soviet Union and the United States had changed dramatically.

"Confrontation rather than reconciliation ended the Cold War." Discuss with reference to the period from 1980 to 1991 Confrontation:

Confrontation:

Invasion of Afghanistan:

• In April 1978, the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan seized power.

• This was a pro-Soviet organisation and received economic assistance from Moscow. 

What was the American response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?

• The Soviets completely miscalculated the impact that their actions would have on the West. 

• The invasion was seen in the West not as evidence of maintaining control in an already existing sphere of influence but as evidence of Soviet expansionism. 

• President Carter stated that the invasion might pose the most serious threat to world peace since World War Two and imposed stringent measures against the USSR.

• The Carter administration took the following actions:

  • The ‘Carter Doctrine’ was announced – it pledged US intervention in the Persian Gulf if the Soviets threatened its interests there.

• After 1981, President Reagan’s more aggressive stance towards the Soviet Union involved a more direct approach in Afghanistan. 

• Reagan increased levels of aid, and, in the mid-1980s, began to send US supplies of arms to the Mujahidin and their Afghan allies

• By 1985, a very complex web of foreign support for the Mujahidin was in place in which the United States worked and cooperated closely with conservative Arab governments and voluntary organisations to jointly fund and operate key initiatives.

Afghanistan and its impact on détente

• The view of the right wing in the United States is that the invasion of Afghanistan was a key example of how the Soviets were still pursuing the Marxist–Leninist expansionism embodied in their political doctrine. Thus the Soviets were responsible for the breakdown of détente.

• The Post-revisionist view is that the Soviet Union was responding defensively to a genuine threat to its security. This threat was also in its sphere of influence. The

• The US response was cynical, and intended to take advantage of the unstable situation caused by Islamic fundamentalism in Afghanistan. It was in fact changes in US foreign policy – as championed by Carter’s adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and then by Reagan’s government – that led to the Second Cold War and renewed tension, not the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Reagan:

• He stepped up the arms race with the biggest arms build-up in the history of the United States. 

• There were new developments, such as the stealth bomber and the neutron bomb

• However, it was the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) that upset the Soviet Union the most. 

• This aimed to set up a space-based missile system that could intercept and destroy missiles before they reached the United States. 

• It was criticised by the Soviets, as well as by many of the United States’ allies. This was because it would have undermined the ‘assured destruction’ required for MAD and given the USA a first-strike capability, thus destabilising the international situation. 

• The Soviets, whose economy was on the verge of collapse, also knew that they could not compete with this new round of nuclear technology expansion.

• Indeed, some historians believe that it was the threat of SDI that led directly to the success of arms talks between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Reagan.

BUT:

• However, equally important was the changed thinking of Gorbachev, the new Soviet premier. 

• He argued that as nuclear war was not possible, security must therefore be gained by political rather than military means, and that negotiation and cooperation were as important as the continued build-up of the military. 

• He put forward the idea of ‘reasonable sufficiency’, which meant that the Soviet Union should have only enough weapons to defend itself, rather than enough to launch a pre-emptive strike or fight a preventative war. 

• This change in the Soviet mindset, along with the good relationship between Gorbachev and Reagan, would lead to an end to the arms race

The role of conventional weapons

• The fact that nuclear weapons could not be used, except as a last resort, meant that both sides needed to keep large conventional forces, which remained central to military strategy.

The space race

• Another arena of Cold War competition, which went alongside the arms race, was the space race.

• "The actions of individual leaders had a significant impact on the development of the Cold War." Discuss with reference to two leaders, each from a different region

Comparisons:

Both Leaders Ultimately Attempted to Improve Relations with the US:

Mao:

Minor Things:

• Détente between the two powers started in 1969 when the United States began to ease trade restrictions.

• In addition, the patrols conducted by the US Seventh Fleet in the Taiwan Strait were halted.

UN:

• However, the major turning point in Sino-American relations came when the United States changed its policy towards the PRC’s membership of the United Nations.

• This began with what has become known as ‘ping-pong diplomacy’, where an American table-tennis team was invited to compete in China and secret talks took place between Henry Kissinger and Zhou Enlai.

• The climax of this change in relations came with the historic visit in 1972 of President Richard Nixon to Beijing to meet the Communist leadership, including a very sick Mao Zedong.

• During this meeting a joint communiqué was issued, establishing a new relationship between the two superpowers.

• Both sides now seemed ready to give up attempts to attain hegemony in Asia. This was the key point of the February 1972 joint Sino-American statement, the Shanghai Communiqué.

Khrushchev:

Peaceful Coexistence:

• This was a move away from the Leninist doctrine of the inevitability of war. This peaceful coexistence meant Capitalism and Communism should accept the continuing existence of another rather than use force to destroy each other. There was no need to risk nuclear war

• Economic factors played a role to push the 2 superpowers into a friendlier relationship. In the USSR 1 ⁄ 3 of the economy was given to the military and the US 13% of the GNP. Improved relations can decrease military spending increasing the economy for both countries

Austria:

• An example of improved relations was agreement over Austria. The SUN proposed a peace treaty with Austria, the Austrian State Treaty made Austria an independent and neutral country.

• From this though, the Geneva Summit took place and the proposals proposed by each side were rejected by the other side with hostilities. 

• Despite the failure to achieve any concrete progress on disarmament, it was a breakthrough. The discussion had cordiality and the summit led to better relations in terms of trade exhibitions, exchanging certain scientific information, and cultural exchanges. 

Cuba:

• Kennedy summoned a crisis management team, ExComm, to deal with the threat of missiles in Cuba. This began what has become known as ‘The Thirteen Days’.

• On 26th October, Khrushchev sent a telegram to Kennedy saying the Soviet Union would remove the missiles in return for a US pledge not to invade Cuba. 

• The telegram might’ve defused the crisis but before Kennedy could respond, Khrushchev sent a second more demanding letter to the US government, insisting on the inclusion of the removal of Turkish missiles in any deal over Cuba

• The crisis escalated after a US plane was shot down over Cuba. this action had been taken by military leaders in Cuba without authorisation from the Soviet Union and seemed a sign that events could easily spiral out of control

• The shooting increased pressure on Kennedy to take military action against Cuba. The consequences would have been extremely serious as short range nuclear missiles were already on Cuba

• Kennedy continued to see military action as a last resort and on the advice of a past US ambassador to the Soviet Union, he decided to accept Khruschev’s first offer and ignored the second

• On 28th October, Khrushchev cabled Kennedy and agreed to remove all missiles from Cuba in return for US assurance to not invade Cuba. there was no reference to US removal of missiles from Turkey

• "The actions of individual leaders had a significant impact on the development of the Cold War." Discuss with reference to two leaders, each from a different region

Comparisons:

Both Developed their Technological Capability:

Khrushchev:

• Stepped the arms race in an attempt to establish parity with the US

The Technology Race:

• The Americans became increasingly worried about the Soviet threat against the US. 1957 October 4th, the Soviets launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik. 

• This sent the Americans into panic as they became convinced of Soviet superiority in missile technology. Khrushchev further insisted he could wipe out any Western city.
  

The Missile Gap:

• The US promoted the idea of a ‘missile gap’ which was confirmed by the Gaither Report, the findings of a top secret investigation committee. It recommended an increase in offensive defence power, and a massive building programme of fallout shelters.

• Actually, the US Air Force U-2 spy planes flying over the Soviet Union revealed there was no missile gap. Eisenhower still had to alleviate public anxiety is he supported NASA in 1958 to promote missile development

Mao:

Development:

• Developed own nuclear weapons in the 1960s, enabling China to position itself as another superpower the US had to take seriously

• Mao had said: “nuclear weapons as a paper tiger which, although they would not determine the outcome of a war, could still be used by great powers to scare and coerce.”

Soviets:

• Exploiting the Sino-Soviet alliance to advance nuclear cooperation, Mao’s China finally decided in early 1955 to develop these capabilities both because

  • they were judged to be essential for protecting Chinese security in the face of intense U.S. threats

  • They were seen as critical instruments of national power in the emerging Cold War order. 

• The Sino-Soviet split ended nuclear cooperation between the two nations in 1960, China continued its quest for nuclear weapons independently, conceiving them as insurance equally against the United States and the Soviet Union.

Achievements:

• The development of its own nuclear weapons was a huge achievement for China.

• It not only meant that the PRC would have to be taken seriously as an international power, but it also demonstrated to the USSR that it did not need Soviet support.

• To push this point, the Chinese code-named their first bomb ‘59/6’, which referred to the year and month the Soviet scientists began to pull out of China. 

• The success of China’s hydrogen bomb test has further broken the nuclear monopoly of United States imperialism and Soviet revisionism and dealt a telling blow at their policy of nuclear blackmail. It is very great encouragement ... to the revolutionary people of the whole world.

• With the launch of the first Chinese space satellite in 1970, the Soviet Union was worried that now the PRC had the potential to develop ICBMs.

• "The actions of individual leaders had a significant impact on the development of the Cold War." Discuss with reference to two leaders, each from a different region

Contrast:

Khrushchev was weary of nuclear confrontation while Mao was willing to provoke a nuclear strike

Khrushchev:

• Khrushchehv moved back from the ‘brink’ during the Berlin Crisis and Cuban Missile Crisis

Berlin Wall:

• With the tension growing over Berlin, the number of refugees moving from East to West increased. On 12th August 1961, 40,000 refugees fled to the West

• Khrushchev had no intention of starting a nuclear war over Berlin and so following Kennedy’s threat to defend Berlin ‘by any means’ and the growing crisis in East Germany, he bowed to Ulbricht’s pressure and agreed to the closure of the East German border in Berlin

• On the morning of 13th August 1961, barbed wire was erected between East and West Berlin and this was followed by a more permanent concrete wall
  

Cuban Missile Crisis:

• In 1962, Khrushchev put intermediate range ballistic missiles into Cuba. this was a highly provocative act and was bound to cause a reaction from the US

• Khrushchev wrote in his memories that the reason was to protect Cuba and because ‘it was high time AMerica learned what it feels like to have her own land and her own people threatened”

• The US had missiles in Turkey which bordered the Soviet Union and putting missiles a similar distance away from the US was seen as redressing the balance

• Kennedy announced the establishment of the ‘quarantine’ around Cuba to prevent the delivery of any nuclear warheads to the island. Khrushchev ignored the quarantine and Soviet ships containing missiles headed for Cuba

• On 26th October, Khrushchev sent a telegram to Kennedy saying the Soviet Union would remove the missiles in return for a US pledge not to invade Cuba. 

• Khrushchev sent a second more demanding letter to the US government, insisting on the inclusion of the removal of Turkish missiles in any deal over Cuba

• The crisis escalated after a US plane was shot down over Cuba. this action had been taken by military leaders in Cuba without authorisation from the Soviet Union and seemed a sign that events could easily spiral out of control

• The shooting increased pressure on Kennedy to take military action against Cuba. 

• Kennedy continued to see military action as a last resort and on the advice of a past US ambassador to the Soviet Union, he decided to accept Khruschev’s first offer and ignored the second

• On 28th October, Khrushchev cabled Kennedy and agreed to remove all missiles from Cuba in return for US assurance to not invade Cuba. there was no reference to US removal of missiles from Turkey

Mao:

Taiwan Crisis:

Origin:

• The key issue of the Nationalist enemies in Taiwan was not resolved. It resolutely wanted reunification with Taiwan and was furious about US support for the Nationalists.

• The PRC had bombarded islands off Taiwan in the early 1950s, but had been deterred from further action by US’s Seventh Fleet patrols of the straits 

Nuclear:

• Mao appeared willing to provoke a nuclear strike during the Taiwan crises and pressured the Soviets to support him with their weapons systems.

• In 1958, Mao decided to test the United States’ resolve again. Without discussing it with the Soviets, he ordered a build-up of troop manoeuvres in the region, giving the impression that the PRC was preparing for a full-scale attack on Taiwan. The United States responded by preparing for war with the PRC.

• Khrushchev said that he was not prepared to go to war with the United States and he accused Mao’s regime of being ‘Trotskyist’ in pursuing international revolution at any cost. The Soviets also saw this action as evidence of Mao’s lack of understanding of political reality, and his tendency towards fanaticism.

• The effects of the Taiwan crisis were negative for Sino-Soviet relations. The Soviets withdrew their economic advisers and cancelled commercial contracts with the PRC.

Soviets:

• A continuing theme in Sino-Soviet relations was the dispute over nuclear weapons. 

• In 1957, it appeared that the USSR had gained superiority over the USA with the launch of the Sputnik satellite. 

• Mao saw this as a tool to engage the USA in brinkmanship and begin to undermine the United States. Unlike the more pragmatic Soviet Union, Mao did not fear nuclear war, as he believed it was now an unavoidable part of the revolutionary struggle.

• However, Khrushchev wanted to use the apparent technical superiority as leverage to convince the United States to pursue ‘co-existence’. 

Test Ban Treaty:

• This disagreement between the two Communist superpowers intensified over the Test-Ban Treaty of 1963.

• The treaty was an agreement by the USSR and Western nuclear powers to stop atmospheric testing of atomic weapons.

• Again, Mao viewed this as the USSR abandoning its role as revolutionary leader and instead working with the imperialist powers.

• Khrushchev responded to the PRC’s criticism of attempts at superpower arms control by accusing the Chinese of wanting to see the USSR and Western powers destroy each other, leaving the PRC as the number-one power.

• Discuss the impact of two Cold War crises, each from a different region, on the development of superpower tensions

• Similarities Causes:.

Similarities Causes:

Both Initiated by the Soviet Union under Khrushcev:

Berlin Wall:

Origins:

• In 1958, Khsruhchev proposed a peace treaty which would recognise the existence of the 2 Germanys. On 27th November 1958, he demanded Berlin should be demilitarised, Western troops withdrawn, and Berlin changed into a ‘free city’. 

• If the West didn't agree to these changes within 6 months, Khrushchev threatened he would turn over control of access routes from West Berlin into Eastern Germany. 

Risk:

• This was clever diplomacy, it would allow the GDR to interfere at will with traffic using land corridors from West Germany. The Western allies would then have to negotiate with East Germany Which would force them to recognise the existence of East Germany

• It was dangerous. The West couldn’t contemplate losing face over Berlin or giving up its propaganda and intelligence base. But to resist Khrushcev could mean war

Cuba:

• In 1962, Khrushchev put intermediate range ballistic missiles into Cuba. this was a highly provocative act and was bound to cause a reaction from the US

• Khrushchev wrote in his memories that the reason was to protect Cuba and because ‘it was high time AMerica learned what it feels like to have her own land and her own people threatened”

• The US had missiles in Turkey which bordered the SOviet Union and putting missiles a similar distance away from the US was seen as redressing the balance

• Equally important was Khrushchev’s aim to seize a propaganda advantage after the humiliation of the Berlin Wall and to acquire a bargaining chip against the stationing of US nuclear missiles in Europe

• Historian Gaddis believes that Khrushchev put the missiles into Cuba mainly because he feared another invasion of Cuba. Khrushchev might have perceived the Bay of Pigs invasion as Kennedy’s determination to crush the Cuban revolution

Both precipitated by US economic policies:

• West Berlin appeared to be an example of what Capitalism could achieve. This along with the freedom West Berliners had, encouraged East Germans to escape from the hardships of the East to the West, through the open frontier in Berlin

• The exodus of mainly young and skilled East Germans which was encouraged by the West meant between 1945-61, about one sixth of the whole German population took the opportunity to move to the West. the divided city of Berlin also allowed the West to maintain a unique propaganda and espionage base deep into East German territory

• Concern over the failing East German economy

• Economically, West Germany was larger than East Germany with a larger population and greater industrial output. It had also received Marshall Aid. 

• West Germany in the 1950s and 1960s experienced what became known as the ‘economic miracle’ and, accordingly, the standard of living of most West Germans rapidly increased. 

• Meanwhile, in East Germany, leader Walter Ulbricht’s post-1949 programme of forced collectivization of farms, and of socialisation, was disastrous for the economy. 

• With the hardships and drop in living standards that this entailed, many East Germans fled to the West via Berlin.

• The origins of the Cuban Missile Crisis can be traced back to the overthrow of the pro-USA Cuban government by Fidel Castro in 1959

• Cuba lies close to Florida and the US considered it to be within its sphere of influence and was thus determined that any government in Cuba should reflect and protect US interests

• In the economic arena, the US companies controlled most of the financial, railway, electric and sugar industries. The US had an agreement with Cuba allowing it to establish a naval base at Guantanamo Bay

• The Platt Amendment of 1901 stipulated that the US would ;exercise the right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence’

• It was clear the US intended to decide what constituted Cuban independence and when a government was or wasn’t adequate

• The US still hoped to control events in Cuba through its economic interests and the presence of a large pro-US middle class

Both times Khurhshcev was under pressure from local Communist leadership to take action:

• As the numbers of refugees fleeing from East Germany via Berlin grew, the leader of East Germany grew frustrated with Khrushchev’s failure to solve this problem. He wanted Khrushchev to sort out the Berlin problem immediately and not in the context of a broader German peace settlement with the West

• Khrushchev hoped he would have more luck in getting concessions over Berlin with John F Kennedy

• Khrushchev had no intention of starting a nuclear war over Berlin and so following Kennedy’s threat to defend Berlin ‘by any means’ and the growing crisis in East Germany, he bowed to Ulbricht’s pressure and agreed to the closure of the East German border in Berlin

• The wall meant he was able to regain control over the situation and free himself from the continuing pressure from Walter Ulbricht and the danger that Ulbricht might act independently

• In Cuba, Castro pressured Khrushchev. After the US refused to give Castro financial aid for economic development, Castro tried to the Soviet Union which offered economic aid in February 1960. This was an immediate challenge to the US

• It’s clear that Casteo played a greater role in the development of this crisis. Especially significant was around 24-26 October where Castro was determined to make the most of the situation and he claims he wouldn’t have hesitated to use the nuclear weapons that were already in Cuba should the US have attempted a land invasion

• This is despite the fact it would’ve led to the destruction of the island

• The shooting down of the plane indicates the difficulties Khrushcehv and Kennedy had in keeping control of the situation
  
  

• Discuss the impact of two Cold War crises, each from a different region, on the development of superpower tensions

• Differences of causes

US Reaction to the Wall was less than the Missiles

Berlin:

• The US reaction to the construction of the wall was to merely condemn it, whereas it reacted strongly to the missiles going into Cuba and demanded their removal.

• For the Berlin Wall, Kennedy first met Khrushchev at the Vienna Summit of 1961. The latter believed he might be able to exploit Kennedy’s relative inexperience in foreign affairs and also had an advantage where Kennnedy has just suffered the embarrassment of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion

• Khrushcev thus decided to renew his ultimatum on Berlin but Kenedy was determined to appear tough with the Soviets and wasn’t prepared to give any concessions to them

• The Americans complained vigorously about the wall, at one point US tanks confronted Soviet tanks at Checkpoint Charlie for several hours but the US was actually relieved that  a war over Berlin had been averted

Cuba:

• In fact, positioning of the missiles in Cuba didn't really affect the worldwide nuclear balance. But it did increase the Soviets’ first strike capability and it meant warning time for missiles fired at the US would be far less than for missiles fired from within the Soviet Union

• More important was that to the US public, it certainly seemed that the balance of power had changed. 

• Thus Kennedy faced a crisis. The prestige of the US and also of Kennedy was at stake.

• Kennedy summoned a crisis management team, ExComm, to deal with the threat of missiles in Cuba. This began what has become known as ‘The Thirteen Days’.

• The president made the American position public by going on television to announce the establishment of the ‘quarantine’ around Cuba to prevent the delivery of any nuclear warheads to the island

Khrushchev used the Berlin Wall to push the US out of Soviet sphere, the Cuban missiles were the Soviets expanding into the US sphere of influence in America:

Berlin:

• Politically, West Germany had democracy. In East Germany there had been no free elections since 1946 and, by the 1950s, it was a rigidly Stalinist, authoritarian state. 

• Discontent with the situation in East Germany manifested itself in the riots of June 1953. Workers in East Berlin and elsewhere in the East rose up in revolt. The riots were quickly put down with the help of Soviet tanks. This was the first major rebellion within the Soviet sphere of influence.

• As a result of these differences, there were no further efforts by either side to reunite as one country. Changing the situation seemed more risky than maintaining the status quo. However, the potential for conflict remained – particularly in the increasingly untenable situation of Berlin, which Khrushchev described as ‘a fishbone in East Germany’s gullet’.

Cuba:

• The origins of the Cuban Missile Crisis can be traced back to the overthrow of the pro-USA Cuban government by Fidel Castro in 1959

• Cuba lies close to Florida and the US considered it to be within its sphere of influence and was thus determined that any government in Cuba should reflect and protect US interests

• In the economic arena, the US companies controlled most of the financial, railway, electric and sugar industries. The US had an agreement with Cuba allowing it to establish a naval base at Guantanamo Bay

• The Platt Amendment of 1901 stipulated that the US would ;exercise the right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence’

• It was clear the US intended to decide what constituted Cuban independence and when a government was or wasn’t adequate

• The US still hoped to control events in Cuba through its economic interests and the presence of a large pro-US middle class
  

Putting missiles in Cuba was Khrushchev’s idea, whereas with regard to Berlin, Ulbricht seized the initiative to build a wall

Cuba:

• In 1962, Khrushchev put intermediate range ballistic missiles into Cuba. this was a highly provocative act and was bound to cause a reaction from the US

• Khrushchev wrote in his memories that the reason was to protect Cuba and because ‘it was high time AMerica learned what it feels like to have her own land and her own people threatened”

• The US had missiles in Turkey which bordered the SOviet Union and putting missiles a similar distance away from the US was seen as redressing the balance

• Equally important was Khrushchev’s aim to seize a propaganda advantage after the humiliation of the Berlin Wall and to acquire a bargaining chip against the stationing of US nuclear missiles in Europe

• Historian Gaddis believes that Khrushchev put the missiles into Cuba mainly because he feared another invasion of Cuba. Khrushchev might have perceived the Bay of Pigs invasion as Kennedy’s determination to crush the Cuban revolution

Berlin:

• As the numbers of refugees fleeing from East Germany via Berlin grew, the leader of East Germany grew frustrated with Khrushchev’s failure to solve this problem. He wanted Khrushchev to sort out the Berlin problem immediately and not in the context of a broader German peace settlement with the West

• Khrushchev hoped he would have more luck in getting concessions over Berlin with John F Kennedy

• Khrushchev had no intention of starting a nuclear war over Berlin and so following Kennedy’s threat to defend Berlin ‘by any means’ and the growing crisis in East Germany, he bowed to Ulbricht’s pressure and agreed to the closure of the East German border in Berlin

• The wall meant he was able to regain control over the situation and free himself from the continuing pressure from Walter Ulbricht and the danger that Ulbricht might act independently