Cold War (F)

What were the two reasons as to why the USSR wanted to expand? and explain them

Security - Russia had been invaded before and they wanted a buffer zone to protect themselves
Power - The USA believe the expansion was political

When was the Iron Curtain speech?

March 1946

Who spoke in the Iron Curtain Speech

Winston Churchill

What was said in the Iron Curtain speech?

That there was not a physical wall but a wall built through Europe which separated the soviet sphere of influence

What was the Soviet sphere of influence?

The communist countries that surrounded the USSR and was used as a “buffer zone”

What was containment?

The USA’s attempt contain communism to just the countries that it had been spread to in 1947

What was the Truman Doctrine?

Where Harry Truman, president of the USA, explained that they needed to contain communism as best as they could. This was in 1947.

What was Marshall Aid?

When the US gave countries in Europe money in order to help them become economically stable and therefore they would not need to resort to communism.

What did the USA offer in Marshall Aid?

Money, Equipment and Goods

How many countries accepted Marshall Aid?

16, all in western Europe

What catch was there to Marshall Aid?

In return the countries had to buy goods from the USA and allow US investments industry.

What happened in China in 1949?

There was a communist revolution

In what year was the Chinese communist revolution?

1949

Who led the communist revolution in China?

Mao Zedong

How did the Chinese and soviet leaders feel about each other?

Mao wasn’t afraid of Stalin. They were not suspicious of each other but not particularly friendly.

When did the Chinese and Soviets sign a treaty?

February 1950

What did the Chinese gain from the treaty with the USSR?

The USSR gave aid to China and provided mutual defense.

Which war did China get involved in during 1950?

The Korean War

Who did China view as their main enemy?

America, they needed to rid of the capitalists

Why did the USSR ask China to get involved in the Korean War rather than do it themselves?

They didn’t want to anger the USA by getting involved in a war

Who started the Space Race?

The USSR in 1957 by launching the worlds first satellite.

What was the first USSR satellite called?

Sputnik

Why was the development of Sputnik such a big deal?

The satellite could be used to launch a nuclear missile into any city in the world

What was the first US satellite developed and what happened to it?

Vanguard TV3 - instantly crashed after takeoff

What did the US launch after the Vanguard TV3?

The Explorer

When was the explorer launched?

1958

Who was the first man in Space and in what year?

Yuri Gargarin in 1961

What was the US’s retaliation to the USSR getting a man in space?

They sent someone of their own called John Glenn

When did John Glenn reach orbit?

1962

Who first sent a man to the moon and when?

America - Neil Armstrong in 1969

When did the space race end?

When President Nixon and Brezhnev attempted to make relations improve and they started to work together. A US and USSR spacecraft met and they exchanged gifts in 1975 which marked the end of the space race.

What was Détente?

When tensions began to ease between the USA and the USSR after 1970

What was the main issue with easing relations after 1970?

The war in Vietnam was still going.

What did the US do about the Vietnam war in order to ease tensions?

They pulled out and soon later the communists took over the whole of Vietnam.

How did the Soviet - Chinese pact breaking apart help Détente?

The US were able to help both China and the USSR and therefore improve relations.

Why did the China - Soviet split happen?

Mao didn’t share views with Khrushchev or Brezhnev and the US took this oppourtunity.

When did the Cold War end?

Late 1980s

What was the Prague Spring?

A period of popular protests in Prague

Why did the Prague Spring happen?

People were not happy with communism because the USSR forced them to produce materials for them.

Who was the Czech leader in the early 1960s?

Novotny

When did the Prague Spring start?

Early 1960s

In what year did which economist call for a reform?

Ota Sik in 1966

What happened when Ota Sik called for a reform in 1966?

People agreed and started to revolt

What did the USSR do once they had found out about the revolts in Czech?

The helped to rid of Novotny and put Dubcek in power instead

When did Dubcek come into power?

1968

Why did Brezhnev trust Dubcek to stop the revolts?

Dubcek and Brezhnev were on good terms and they were both dedicated to communism.

Why did Dubcek betray Brezhnev?

He wanted to improve the economy and he believed that communism didn’t have to be so restrictive.

What did Brezhnev do about the Prague Spring after Dubcek was elected?

He warned him that the revolts had gone too far. When Dubcek didn’t listen he launched an invasion on Czechoslovakia.

Why did Dubcek not leave the Warsaw pact?

He didn’t want to anger Brezhnev more than he needed to

When did the USSR invade Czechoslovakia?

August 1968

What happened to Dubcek after the invasion?

He was taken to Moscow and was forced to reverse his reforms

Who replaced Dubcek, when and why?

He was forced to resign in 1969 and was replaced by Gustav Husak

What did the USA think about the USSR invading Czech?

They criticised the USSR but didn’t do anything because they wanted to improve relations

How did other countries in the soviet sphere of influence feel about the Soviet invasion on Czech?

They would have felt captured, stuck and scared because they could not change their policies

What was the Brezhnev Doctrine?

When Brezhnev stated that anyone who criticises the USSR or goes against them will be invaded

What did the Brezhnev doctrine suggest about the USSR and their grip on other countries?

It could have shown that they didn’t have much power as they had to invade countries to stop them from rebelling but it also showed power as they could easily invade countries.

What did the UN do about the USSR?

They voted to condemn the USSR but it was rejected and they did nothing

What is a cold war?

A war in which there is no fighting but there are disagreements in ideologies

What is communism?

A system in which the government controls society and has all the money, supplying citizens with the minimum to survive.

What is Capitalism?

A system in which the government have a smaller role and private property is allowed to be owned and profit allowed to be made.

What alliance was created in August 1939?

The Nazi-Soviet Pact

Who did Hitler and Stalin invade together? and when?

Poland in 1939

When did the Nazi Soviet Pact end? and how?

In 1941 when Hitler invaded the USSR

How did the end of the Nazi Soviet Pact improve relations with America? What did they form?

The USSR and the USA now had a common enemy in Germany so had to work together despite their different ideologies. They then formed the Grand Alliance with Britain.

What was the name of the end of the Nazi Soviet Pact?

Operation Barbarossa

What were the three conferences in which the big three met?

Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam

When was the Yalta conference?

1945

What were Churchill’s aims at Yalta?

He looked to limit Soviet expansion. This would help him to maintain a close relationship with America who held a similar ideology.

Who was the leader of the USA in WW2?

Roosevelt

Who was the leader of Britain during WW2?

Churchill

Who was the leader of the USSR during WW2?

Stalin

What were Roosevelt’s aims at Yalta?

Help the USSR rebuild Europe but in a capitalist ideology.

What were Stalin’s aims at Yalta?

Create a buffer zone around the USSR to prevent a big invasion from happening again.

What was agreed about Germany at Yalta?

Split into four zones which France, Britain, the USA and the USSR would occupy. Berlin would be divided in the same way.

Was the Yalta conference sucessful?

Mostly, Majority of Europe was agreed upon however there were some disagreements to do with Poland.

When did the Potsdam Conference happen?

1945

Who was the president of the USA during Potsdam?

Truman

Who is the president of the USSR during Potsdam?

Stalin

Who is the prime minister of Britain during Potsdam?

Churchill

What did the USA posses that made them more powerful at Potsdam?

The Atomic Bomb

Why did the Atomic Bomb not help relations between the USA and the USSR?

The USA didn’t tell the USSR at first about the bomb as they didn’t trust them. The USSR then sent spies because they didn’t trust the USA and found out which made them suspicious

What was agreed about Germany at Potsdam?

That Germany was to be demilitarized and have free elections. Nazi party was to be banned and put on trial for war crimes.

What did Stalin do in Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and other countries nearby after Yalta and why did it not help relations?

In Poland he enforced a communist government even though they had agreed for free elections which made Britain and America worried.

In the other places he started to create a buffer zone for the USSR

What did the other allies do about the USSR’s expansionism before Potsdam?

Nothing, they couldn’t whilst the war in Japan was still happening

How strong was the alliance after Potsdam?

Not as strong as the main enemy, Germany had been defeated so they no longer had to unite as strongly

What did the USSR create in response to the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan?

Cominform and Comecon

What was Cominform? and when was it set up?

Set up in 1947 to organise communist parties throughout Europe. It also helped to ensure loyalty in the communist leaders.

When was Cominform set up?

1947

When was Comecon founded?

1949

What happened to betrayers of Cominform and Comecon?

Any members who betrayed the USSR e.g. Yugoslavia their leader would be executed.

What did the USSR claim Comecon was for?

To financially support countries in East Europe and allow members to trade with each other.

What was the real reason for Comecon? give examples

Give the USSR access to resources from other countries at cheap prices e.g. Poland was forced to supply coal to the USSR at 10% of its market value.

What was the ideological situation in Yugoslavia?

Yugoslavia was already a communist government so they had no loyalty to Stalin

Who was the leader of Yugoslavia and what did he do to anger Stalin?

Tito, he kept disobeying orders from the USSR and even accepted Marshall Aid.

What was Stalin’s response to Tito accepting Marshall Aid?

He sent multiple people to try and kill him however they were all captured until Tito sent a firm message to Stalin telling him to stop.

What did France, Britain and the USA do with their parts of Germany and when?

In 1948 they joined their lands, called Trizonia or West Germany, Introduced Deutschland, new currency, and started to redevelop Germany.

How did Stalin see the unification of West Germany?

As an direct attack on him and the USSR

What was Stalin’s response to the unification of West Germany?

He put a blockade between the East and West of Berlin stop all people going to the West as it was bad for the economy.

Why did Stalin introduce the Berlin Blockade?

People were constantly moving into East Germany as it was the nicer area and treated better which was bad for the economy of West Germany.

What was the West’s response to the Berlin Blockade?

Introduced a counter blockade which stopped trains travelling which was damaging for the East but Stalin still didn’t lift the blockade.