Zusammenfassung der Ressource
End of the cold war
- Individuals
- Gorbachev
- glasnost
- 1986-perestroika
- Didn't
enforce
Brezhnev
doctrine
- democratisation
- Wanted to free
up money from
military spending
- 1985 became Soviet premier
- 1988-89
abandonment of
Brezhnev
doctrine
- a country should "find it's
own path to socialism"
- 1986 Reykjavik summit offered to
eliminate all nuclear weapons by
2000
- First premier to take a new stance
- Good personal relationship with
Reagan- often went off together
with only translators
- START agreement with US reduced
nuclear arsenals by 30%
- 1988 announced Soviet forces in
Easter Europe would be reduced by
500,000
- Ended financial support to Ethiopia,
Vietnam, Cambodia, Nicaragua and
Angola
- Reagan
- Foreign Policy
- Reagan Doctrine
- Gave military or
financial help to
anti-communist
govts or forces
seeking to oust
communist govts
- e.g. the contras
in Nicaragua
- Only direct use of US troops in
Grenada 1983 to depose left wing
govt
- Anti-aircraft missiles
supplied to
Mujahedeen in
Afghanistan
- Radio stations established in
Eastern Europe to encourage protest
e.g. radio free Europe and the voice
of America
- SDI
- Very expensive
- A similar
programme would
cripple the Soviet
economy
- Announced March 1983
- Soviet scientists concluded it was
impractical, imposed limited pressure
- Rejected detente as a
'communist trick'
- Technology
- December
1981 Reagan
restricted
Soviet access
to to US
developed
enery
exploration
technology
- June 1982 restricted Soviet access to US
oil, gas and related technical data
- 1974 US banned sale of
advanced computers to USSR
and its allies
- By early 80s only 50,000 PCs in Russia, 30 millon in US
- October 1981 53% increase in defense spending to fund:
- B1 bomber
- neutron bomb
- stealth aircraft programme
- navy expansion
- deployment of MX missiles
- Thatcher
- Bridged the gap
between Reagan
and Gorbachev
- 1984 invited
Gorbachev to London
- "This is a man I can
do business with"
- Supported the
Reagan doctrine
- Promoted it to other Western European countries
- Agreed to place US cruise
missiles on British
soil November 1983
- Pope John Paul II
- Fist Polish pope
- Supported Solidarity
- Catholicism became
rallying figure for
anti-communists
- Visited Poland in 1979
- 12 million Poles saw him
- Gave speeches
promoting
democracy and
encouraging
anti-communism
- E.g. "do not be afraid"
- Endorsed Solidarity through
papal visits in 1983 and 1987
- Economics
- Soviet empire
- 1981-86 USSR
provided Cuba with$4
billion of aid and oil
subsidies and
Vietnam with $6 billion
- Warsaw Pact countries
received $3 billion due to
cheap oil from Soviet
Union
- Arms race
- Mid-80s soviet
military
spending
accounted for
25% of GDP, US
military
spending 7% of
GDP
- Military spending accounted for
40% of state budget by mid 80s
- 1980-1990 Us military spending
increased by $112 billion
- Military spending increased
by 53% in 80s
- Soviet industrial growth fell
from 2-0% between
1980-87
- 25th December 1991 Soviet Union
declared bankrupcy
- People power
- Failure of central
economic planning
- repression
- Moral bankruptcy of
communism
- Change occurred rapidly and
often peacefully
- Growing trade with West
during detente
- Greater interest in free markets
and communism
- Saw higher standards
of living in the West
- Living standards
in Eastern Europe
declined in 1980s
- Prices and unemployment rose
- Food and consumer goods
were in short supply
- Large debts were
owed to the West
- USSR cut back on oil
subsidies and natural gas
supplies to satellite states
- Hungary introduced multi party
elections in 1983 and set free
elections for 1990
- More due to reformers in
the govt than people power
- In Poland Solidarity defeated
the communist party in general
elections 1989
- Demonstrations in East Germany led to a new
leader Krenz who opened the Berlin Wall
- Czechoslovakia:
Velvet revolution
- November 1989
public
demonstrations
forced the govt to
make reforms
- Civic forum
coordinated
campaign
against the
communist govt
- 1989 Vaclav
Havel:
anti-communist
elected president
- Romania
- Police ordered Laszlo Tokes (priest
who had allowed poetry to be read in
his sermons) to transfer out of the
area, he refused
- Crowds demonstrated in his
support, Ceausescue sent army,
open fired on demonstrators, 71
killed, tried to keep knowledge of
this quiet but the news spread
- Booed by demonstrators at a rally in
Bucharest a week later, army unwilling to
take action against crowds, Ceausescue and
his wife fled but were later arrested
- Securitate
stayed loyal to
Ceausescue until
his execution on
Christmas day
- By end of 1989 every pro-soviet
communist govt in Eastern Europe
had gone
- Summits
- 1985:Geneva Summit
- Gorbachev proposed
reduction of nuclear
weapons by 50%
- Wanted Reagan to stop SDI
- Reagan refused
- No agreement
reached
- 1987: Intermediate-range
nuclear forces treaty
- cut 1750 Soviet missiles
- cut 850 US missiles
- 1986 Reykjavik Summit
- Gorbachev
proposed to
eliminate all
nuclear missiles
by 2000
- Requested no SDI
- Reagan refused