Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91 Revision

Vocabulary flashcards covering key events, individuals, policies, and developments from the Year 11 History unit on Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91.

Fulgencio Batista

The pro-US, anti-communist dictator of Cuba who was overthrown by Fidel Castro's revolutionary movement and fled the country on 1 January 1959.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

A failed April 1961 invasion of Cuba approved by President Kennedy and carried out by CIA-backed Cuban exiles, which strengthened Castro and deepened his alliance with the USSR.

Intermediate Chain (Cuban Revolution to Missile Crisis)

The multi-stage historical progression: Cuban Revolution → property nationalisation and US hostility → Soviet economic support → failed Bay of Pigs invasion → Cuban insecurity → closer Soviet military alliance → deployment of Soviet nuclear missiles in 1962.

Mátyás Rákosi

The hardline communist leader of Hungary whose rule was characterised by AVH secret police terror, harsh censorship, and unpopular Soviet-style economic policies.

AVH

The Hungarian communist secret police under Mátyás Rákosi that persecuted political opponents and opened fire on student-led protestors in Budapest on 23 October 1956.

Secret Speech (1956)

A speech delivered by Nikita Khrushchev criticising Joseph Stalin, which raised hopes across Eastern European satellite states like Poland and Hungary that Soviet control might relax.

Imre Nagy

The reform-minded communist politician appointed prime minister of Hungary on 24 October 1956, who announced political reforms, a ceasefire, and withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact before being arrested and executed in 1958.

1 November 1956 Turning Point

The date Imre Nagy declared that Hungary would leave the Warsaw Pact and become neutral, a direct strategic threat that triggered the massive Soviet military invasion on 4 November.

János Kádár

The pro-Soviet communist leader installed by Moscow to head the new Soviet-backed Hungarian government after the 1956 uprising was crushed.

Suez Crisis

A simultaneous Middle Eastern crisis in autumn 1956 that distracted Western powers and, combined with the risk of superpower war in the Soviet sphere, prevented US military intervention in Hungary.

Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945)

The summit between Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin, and Clement Attlee (replacing Winston Churchill) that divided Germany and Berlin into four occupation zones but exposed deep disagreements over reparations and Poland.

Oder-Neisse Line

The revised western border of Poland established at the Potsdam Conference, which caused massive population movements and heightened superpower tensions over Eastern Europe.

Berlin 'Brain Drain'

The economic crisis caused by approximately $2.7\text{ million}$ people—disproportionately young, educated, and skilled workers—fleeing communist East Germany (GDR) to capitalist West Germany (FRG) via Berlin between 1949 and 1961.

Berlin Ultimatum (November 1958)

A diplomatic ultimatum issued by Nikita Khrushchev demanding that Western powers withdraw their military forces from West Berlin within six months to leave it a demilitarised free city.

Walter Ulbricht

The leader of East Germany who placed continuous pressure on Khrushchev to solve the refugee crisis by closing the border, culminating in the construction of the Berlin Wall.

Berlin Wall

The physical barrier initially constructed from barbed wire and fences on 13 August 1961 that halted the refugee flow between East and West Berlin and became the defining symbol of the Cold War division.

Checkpoint Charlie Standoff

An October 1961 incident in divided Berlin where US and Soviet tanks confronted each other directly at close range, demonstrating the acute danger of superpower military clash.

Détente

A period during the 1970s of relaxed tension and increased diplomatic cooperation between the USA and USSR, producing agreements such as SALT I (1972) and the Helsinki Accords (1975).

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan (December 1979)

The military intervention by the USSR to support a client communist regime, which President Jimmy Carter viewed as Soviet expansionism, effectively ending détente and starting the 'Second Cold War'.

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

A high-technology missile-defence project announced by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 (dubbed 'Star Wars') that threatened the logic of Mutually Assured Destruction and placed immense economic strain on the USSR.

Cruise and Pershing II Missiles

Advanced US nuclear missiles deployed in Western Europe by NATO in 1983 in response to Soviet SS-20 missiles, escalating the renewed European arms race and prompting Soviet walkouts from arms talks.

'New Thinking'

The foreign policy approach adopted by Mikhail Gorbachev after becoming Soviet leader in 1985, which pursued improved relations with the West, arms reductions, and an end to the Second Cold War.