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Detente in Action
US and USSR became open to cooperating with each other and with less friendly countries
Started to visit each other countries and discuss important issues like nuclear weapons
In June 1973: Brezhnev visited US to sign Agreement on Prevention of Nuclear War, where both sides agreed to do anything to avoid nuclear war
Decline of Detente
Carter abandoned detente and became aggressive to USSR
US and USSR began criticizing each other actions again and accused each other of breaking their promises
Carter blamed USSR for not settling disputes peacefully where by USSR was making things worse by supplying weapons to allies in war zones like Angola
Brezhnev countered that the US was doing the same in Central and South America
Decline of USSR in the 1970s and 1980s
Here comes a Sarang
Soviet Economy before 1970s
Soviet command economy was based on the state deciding which areas of economy should receive investment and be developed
Controlled resources, production and vital aspects of economy
USSR relatively backward and many lived in poverty and squalor
However, USSR later transformed into modern industrial power with impressive growth rates and became a modern economy with industries and infrastructures
Weaknesses of Soviet Economy
USSR began to experience a decline in growth rate
Industrial output decreased from double to single digit
Agriculture output decreased from 4.8% to 1.8%
Weaknesses of Soviet Economy
Structural Weaknesses of Command Economy
Soviet economy worked relatively well with small numbers of large industries
But overtime the Soviet economy grew and Soviet economy became overwhelmed by increasing demands
Unable to cope with many companies making many different goods
Weaknesses of Soviet Economy
External Burdens on the Economy
USSR fought proxy wars and supported money, technical equipment to many allies
Soviet troops entered Afghanistan to maintain power of pro-soviet government, but tied down by Mujahideen
Mujahideen new the territory and had more experience in guerrilla warfare and supplied with money and weapons by US and Saudi, detrimental to USSR
USSR invested too much in military power, Afghanistan war was expensive
Weaknesses of Soviet Economy
Poor Standard of Living
Command economy prioritize industry and military spending over consumer goods
Workers wages were not increasing
Over-investment in military took money away from areas such as education, R&D in universities
Weaknesses of Soviet Economy
Disillusionment of Workforce
Soviet workers found their bosses were appointed due to personal connections or bribes
Wages tightly controlled with limited incentives for workers to work hard
Those protested risked being arrested by secret police
Opposition to Communism in Eastern Europe