History Edexcel Notes

7/30/2019 History Edexcel Notes

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History EdexcelCold war 1943 to 1991

Unit One How did the cold war develop?

Tehran Conference: 1943

The Big three attended (Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill)

Things they agreed on:

That they Soviet union could have a sphere of influence inEastern Europe

Things they disagreed on:

Stalin wanted revenge on Germany for attacking Russia, and so wanted reparations Churchill and Roosevelt wanted to rebuild Germany as after WW1, they took many reparations and

Germany took revenge (treaty of Versailles).

Yalta Conference: Feb 1945

Allied leaders knew they had won the war and got on well


Stalin would enter war on Japan when Germany was defeated Germany would be split into 4 zones and Berlin into 4 sectors Nazi party was banned and leaders tried as war criminals Liberated countries would be able to hold free elections Agreed to all join the United Nations to keep peace after the war Eastern Europe would be seen as a Soviet Sphere of Influence


Stalin wanted to move the border of the USSR into Poland arguing Poland could move its border intoGermany. Churchill did not approve but couldn't do anything as the Red Army was in both these

countries. He agreed providing the USSR didn't interfere with Greece

Potsdam Conference: July 1945

Between Truman, Stalin and Attlee


Nazi Party to be banned and leaders tried as war criminals

A line was to be formed between Poland and Germany

Key:-

- Conferences Revolts Doctrines/plans Crises/blockades other


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Germany: Stalin wanted to cripple Germany to protect the USSR, Truman wanted it to recover. Stalinwas suspicious over why they wanted to protect Germany

Reparations as Stalin wanted huge compensation fromGermany but Truman didn't want to repeat the mistakes of

the first world war

Soviet policy in Eastern Europe as Stalin was setting upcommunist governments in Eastern countries despite

saying he wouldn't.

Stalin wanted a naval base in the Mediterranean butTruman and Attlee wouldn't let him as they saw no reason

for him to needed a base there.

(Tensions were caused due to: different leaders being present, Truman having a harsh policy with communists

and the creation of the nuclear bomb in the USA)

The Iron Curtain Speech: 1946

Speech by Churchill in 1946, Fulton, Missouri

'From Stettin on the Baltic to Trieste on the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across theContinent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of Central and Eastern Europe...and all are subject to a

very high measure of control from Moscow'

Churchill meant that there were now effectively two camps in the world, the democratic west andcommunist east. Stalin had cut off most contact with the west and had complete control of these

countries.

Stalin saw Churchills speech as a declaration of war.The Novikov Telegram, 1946

Written by the Soviet ambassador Novikov

He Said:

The USA wanted to dominate the world and believed it had a right to lead it. Since Roosevelts death the USA was not interested in co-operating with the USSR. Truman was very

anti-communism and wanted to contain it.

The US people were being prepared for war and that the US had money to spend on war, whichworried Stalin as the Soviet economy was weak after WW2 and faced with another war it was unlikely

they would win.

Long Telegram 1946

A secret report sent by the US Official in Moscow, George Kennan

He Said:

Stalin wanted to destroy capitalism as he feared the effects of capitalism and freedom on his peopleand he painted the west as evil and corrupt.

There would never be peace with Russia while it opposed Capitalism and that the USSR was buildingup its military power and working on the atomic bomb

The USSR would try to extend its power and influence by encouraging communists in other countriesto try to gain power. He recommended the USA try to contain the spread of Communism


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The Transaction of Greece: 1947

When the Germans left Greece in 1944. There were 2 rival groups, the Monarchists and theCommunists. The Communists wanted Greece to be a Soviet republic and the Monarchists wanted

the King to return.

Churchill sent British troops to Greece in 1945 tosupposedly restore order but they supported the

Monarchists and returned the King to the throne.

In 1947, the Communists tried to take control ofGreece by force and a civil war developed. Britain

couldn't afford another war and by February 1947

withdrew.

Truman stepped in and provided Greece with arms,supplies and money. The Communists were defeated.

This intervention by the Americans turned them away from Isolationism and made them take control of world

politics

Cominform: 1947

Stands for Communist Information Bureau Set up by Stalin in 1947 to co-ordinate the various Communist governments in eastern Europe The office was originally in Yugoslavia but moved in 1948 as Yugoslavia was expelled by Stalin for not

doing as it was told

Cominform ran meetings and sent out instructions to Communist governments about what the SovietUnion wanted them to do. Tightened Stalins control on his communist allies

Stalins response to the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid. Encouraged minority communist parties in countries like France to try to turn more people to

communism

Truman Doctrine: 1947

A Statement of intent made in March 1947 by President Truman.

It stated countries had a choice between a communist state and a democracy with capitalism. Itclearly divides the world into two opposing camps.

The USA had the responsibility to fight for liberty wherever it was threatened. The USA was leavingIsolationism behind and helping countries in need.

Policy of containment. Truman accepted that Eastern Europe was now communist and he aimed tostop communism from spreading any further

Marshall Aid: 1947

Truman believed that poverty might cause some people to look towards communism for help, so he wanted to

make Europe prosperous again. It was also important for American business to have trading partners in the

future but Europe's economies were still weak. US Secretary of State George Marshall visited Europe and came

up with a European recovery programme. This had two main aims:

to stop the spread of communism to help the economies of Europe to recover


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He recommended that $17bn was made available but Congress initially refused. However in March 1947,

Czechoslovakia became communist and a pro-American minister was pushed out a window. Congress

accepted the Marshall plan immediately.

Only 16 European countries accepted it, all western European states Stalin refused Marshall Aid for the USSR and banned eastern European countries from accepting it as he

believed the USA was trying to buy allies and it would weaken his control in Eastern Europe

Berlin Blockade and Airlift: 1948

In January 1947, USA & GB form Bizonia December 1947, London Conference to discuss future of Germany but USSR not invited January 1948, Stalin stops western literature in East Berlin April 1948, French zone added to for Trizonia June 1948, New country of West Germany created New currency introduced in West Germany to improve trade but causes chaos in the Russian zone

West Germany began to recover and prosper but in East Germany was poverty and hunger. Stalin saw theAllies deliberately building up West Berlin and when they introduced the new currency, this was the last straw

as he wanted Germany to fall, and the only way to make sure his people didnt realise the poverty they were

staying in was to attempt to control the West Berlin sector! He attempted to do this via a blockade (basically

try to starve them of all needed goods until they give in an ancient tactic used in the time of mote and

baileys)

On the 24th of June 1948, Stalin cut off all road, rail and canal links between West Germany and West Berlin,

hoping he could force the Allies out of the city. It seemed there was a real risk of war and the USA and Britain

faced a choice:

They could withdraw- but would be humiliating and may encourage Stalin to invade West Germanyand give greater power to the East

Open up land routes to Berlin-this would have led to war Bring in supplies by air-risky as the planes may be shot down.

They decided to airlift in supplies and the air lift continued until 12th of May 1949. Over 200,000 flights were

made into Berlin and brought in everything from food and clothing to oil and building supplies. Atomic bombs

were stationed in Britain as a warning to the USSR not to shoot down any planes.

It was a great success. However, it was the first real war between the two powers!

In May 1949 when it was clear the Blockade was not working, Stalin reopened communications. This was a

victory for the west but relations with the USSR were destroyed. The USA had a propaganda triumph and wasmade to seem stronger than the USSR The zone controlled by the USA, France and Britain became the Federal

Republic of German and the Soviet zone became the German Democratic republic

NATO: 1949

Stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

This was a military alliance containing most of the states of Western Europe, as well as the USA and Canada. If

one member was attacked, the other members would help to defend it. The USSR developed its own atomic

bomb in 1949 and so NATO was crucial in the defence of Western Europe; none of which had the atomic bomb

yet.

What NATO allowed:


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The USA was now formally committed to the defence of Western Europe Stalin did not see it as a defensive alliance but as a direct threat to the USSR The USA was able to build air bases in Western Europe where planes armed with nuclear weapons

could be stationed.

The Warsaw Pact: 1955

The Soviet response to NATO, was to set up the Warsaw Pact. This did the exact same as NATO apart from the

fact that the members were forced to join.

This was created by Khrushchev and the USA responded by increasing he number of NATO troops in Germany

Khrushchevs Secret Speech

Khrushchev made an attack on Stalin at the Communist party International. He dredged up gory evidence of

Stalins purges and denounced him as a wicked tyrant who was an enemy of the people and kept all the power

to himself.

He began a programme of de-Stalinisation:

He released more political prisoners He closed down Cominform He dismissed Stalins former Foreign Minister, Molotov He agreed to remove Soviet troops from Austria

Although he seemed to be signalling that countries in Eastern Europe would be allowed greater freedom, this

wasn't quite the case, as shown in Hungary in 1956

Hungarian Uprising: 1956

Causes: After the Second World War, the Soviets set up a communist army in Hungary under leader Rakosi

who closely followed Stalins rule. Hungarians hated Rakosi and his secret police (AVH).

Khrushchevs policy of de-Stalinisation caused problems as people in Hungary believed they would beallowed more freedom

The secret police (AVH) Russian control of the economy which made Hungary poor Russian control of what was taught in schools Censorship and lack of freedom Hungarians were religious but the Communist party banned religion Hungarians though the UN or the US president Eisenhower would help them On 23rd of October, student demonstrations caused a statue of Stalin in the capital to be pulled

down.

Events:

Imre Nagy became prime minister at his request; Soviet troops were removed from Hungary. Local councils replaced the Communist government Soviet books and flags were burnt in the street and AVH were hung Nagys government planned to hold free elections with more than one party, abolish the AVH and

restore farmland to private ownership.

He then planned to leave the Warsaw pact and become neutral in the cold war.


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Khrushchev couldn't accept this as it would leave a gap in the iron curtain and the buffer zone would be

broken. Soviet troops and 1,000 tanks moved into Hungary to crush the uprising

Consequences:

Between 2,500 and 30,000 Hungarians, mostly civilians were killed along with 700 Soviet troops. Over200,000 refugees fled to Austria

The uprising highlighted the limitations ofKhrushchevs policy of peaceful co-existence. There was no active support for the uprising in the West because the USA, Britain and France were

preoccupied with the Suez Crisis.

A new pro-Soviet government was set up under Janos Kadar. He re-established Communist control ofHungary but cautiously introduced some reforms. However he remained a member of the Warsaw

Pact.

Other satellite states in Eastern Europe did not dare to challenge the Soviet authority after the eventsin Hungary.

The Three Cold war Crisiss

Four Summits: 1959 1961

May 1959: Geneva US and USSR foreign ministers. No agreements were reached, however, it did lead the

path for more meetings between the actual leaders.

September 1959: Camp David Eisenhower and Khrushchev. They agreed they would meet again.

May 1960: Paris Eisenhower and Khrushchev. Disastrous meeting as Khrushchev was furious over the Gary

Powers event, whilst Eisenhower refused to apologise.

June 1961: Vienna Kennedy and Khrushchev. Neither side were willing to back down over the US presence in

Berlin. Khrushchev thought Kenney was weak and inexperienced and issued the 6 month ultimatum to remove

troops from Turkey. However Kennedy refused and began preparing for war. Khrushchev slammed hisshoe on

the table, went home, and built the Berlin wall.

U2 Crisis: 1960

A U2 spy plane is fitted with a high quality camera and the best cloaking devices available at the timewhich allows it to fly above the sight of radars.

On May 1st 1960 a spy plane was shot down by a Soviet missile and the pilot, Gary Powers was takenfor questioning and the plane was recovered by Soviet engineers.

The USA tried to cover it up but they didn't know Powers admitted to spying. On May 7th 1960, Khrushchev announced he had the pilot and plane with pictures and asked for a full

US apology but Eisenhower didn't give one.

This led to the breakdown of talks at the Paris Summit Gary Powers was sentenced to 10 years in prison but was swapped after 1 year for a Soviet spy. Showed how low relations had become

Berlin wall: 1961 (berlin wall crisis)

Reasons for the wall being built:

Berlin was a source of conflict between the Soviets and western Allies. Capitalist West Berlin,surrounded by the Communist state of East Germany, continued to be a problem for the USSR.


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Between 1949 and 1961, 3 million East Germans had fled to the west via West Berlin from where theycould travel to West Germany.

These skilled East Germans were crucial to maintain a fair and working communist societyWhy were there so many refugees?

East German government was unpopular People in East had little freedom compared to the West. Standard of living was much lower in East Germany than in the West East Berliners could see consumer goods in shops in West Berlin and the greater wealth they enjoyed.

Why was this a disaster for the USSR?

Disaster for Communism as the people who moved told the world what communism was really likeand not what the leaders liked to show.

Highly skilled people were leaving Berlin and so there were less people to fill in the important jobsthat the East Germans needed doing.

It undermined communism generally as people moved away for a better life under capitalism as heclaimed the East had a better standard of living than it actually did.

How did they solve the refugee problem?

Khrushchev offered the USA an ultimatum. He wanted the western troops out of West Berlin and forWest Berlin to become communist. He saw this as the way to solve the problem of people leaving

communism.

November 1958 Khrushchev declared that the whole of the city of Berlin officially belonged to theUSSR

He did not want a war to break looseThe building of the wall:

1961, Khrushchev and the East German leadership decided to act. Without warning on 13th of August 1961,

the East Germans began to build a wall surrounding West Berlin.

To begin with, the structure was just a barbed wire fence but by the 17th of August it was replaced bya stone wall.

All movement between East and West Berlin stopped. Impact of the Wall on Berliners Families and friends were divided People could not travel to their place of work. Those in the East desperate to get to the West risked

their lives trying to cross the wall

GDR soldiers had orders to shoot escapees Up to 200 died.

Consequences:

The flow of refugees was reduced to a trickle Tension grew: both sides started nuclear testing again. The West became more anti-communist The Wall became a symbol in the West of Communist tyranny.
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The Western Nations had to be satisfied with a propaganda victory only as there was little westernpowers could do to prevent the wall being built.

27th October 1961 Tension between the two Superpowers mounted. Soviet tanks pulled up to Checkpoint Charlie and refused to allow any more crossings to the east. Throughout the day US and USSR tanks faced each other. After 18 hours they both gradually withdrew.

Attitudes to the Berlin Wall:

Castro and the Cuban Revolution

Cuba under Batista

American Ally 160km from Florida Huge Naval base in Cuba at Guantanamo. America gave Cuba economic and military support. Cuban leader Batista was corrupt, unpopular and a dictator. The US only supported him because he

opposed communism.

He welcomed American business in Cuba and accepted bribes. People became fed up with Batista and he was overthrown by Castro. uba became communist after it

was taken over by Fidel Castro in 1958. He was popular in Cuba, partly because he gave land seized

from wealthy Americans to the Cuban people.

US response to Castro was to stop all trade and leave isolated. This only sent Castro looking for help with the

USSR which made relations worse.

Bay of Pigs

This breakdown in relations, and switching of power in Cuba led to a massively disastrous conflict known as

the Bay of Pigs (named after the bay the revolutionists landed on)

Attitude of the West

Kennedy said a wall is better than awar.

US portrayed the wall as a prison forthe East Berliners

West Berlin remained a symbol offreedom for the people of East Berlin

and the Eastern bloc.

Kennedy made a speech in Berlindeclaring 'Ich bin ein Berliner' to

show US support for West Berlin.

Attitude of the USSR

The wall stopped East Germans escaping to the west. It prevented a war with USA and allowed Khrushchev

to still appear strong.

Khrushchev told the East Berliners that the wall wasthere to protect the people from those who wanted

to prevent the building of communism.

He claimed that the west used West Berlin as a routein to East Berlin for spies (correct)

He said the west was undermining the east byrecruiting spies, sabotage and provoking disturbances.


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June 1960 Eisenhower secretly authorised the CIA to try to overthrow Castro. They provided supportand funds for Cuban exiles and investigated ways to disrupt the Cuban economy.

US companies refused to co-operate with any Cuban business allied with the USSR American media broadcast relentless criticism of Castro Castro assured Americans in Cuba that they were safe and let the USA keep their naval base. Summer 1960 he allied Cuba with the USSR. Khrushchev signed a trade agreement giving Cuba $100

million economic aid and also arms.

June 1961, USA broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba and Castro thought the USA wanted toinvade. They didn't intend to invade but planes to overthrow Castro continued under Kennedy.

Kennedy supplied arms, equipment and transport for 1400 anti-Castro exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow

him. However, before the troops landed, Kennedy had a fright, and thought that if they landed at their original

bay everyone would find out that the USA intervened. Kennedy also prevented any planes helping the

revolutionists. In April 1961 the exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs. However they were met by 20,000 Cuban

troops armed with tanks and modern weapons. They were all captured or killed within days.

They had expected people in Cuba to support them but they got none.

This told the USSR and Castro that despite its opposition to Communism, the USA was unwilling to get directly

involved. Khrushchev was scornful of Kennedy's pathetic attempt to get rid of the communists. This event

strengthened Castros position in Cuba.

Cuban Missile Crisis

May 1962-Soviet Union announced publicly it was supplying Cuba with arms. By September, thousands of Soviet missiles etc. were on Cuba. The USA would tolerate conventional weapons but not nuclear weapons. The USSR said they did not intend to put nuclear weapons on Cuba. 14th of October an American spy plane flew over Cuba and saw nuclear missile sites being built by the

USSR. They also reported Soviet ships were on their way to Cuba.

Kennedy was told on the 16th and formed a special team called Ex-Comm. They came up with 5 ways the US

could respond:

1. Do Nothing2. Surgical Air Attack3. Invasions4. Diplomatic Pressures5.

Blockade

The events in October 1962

16th - Kennedy was told Khrushchev was building missile sites on Cuba 18-19th - Kennedy holds talks with Ex-Com 20th - Kennedy decides on a Naval Blockade of Cuba 21st - Kennedy makes a broadcast to the American people warning them of the potential threat and

what he intended to do.

22nd - Kennedy announces the Blockade and calls on Soviets to remove missiles. 23rd - Khrushchev sent a letter to Kennedy saying they are ignoring the Blockade and doesn't admit to

the missiles presence.


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24th - The Blockade began, as Soviet ships approach the Blockade zone they stop or turn around.Khrushchev says that in the event of a war the USSR would use nuclear weapons.

25th - Kennedy wrote to Khrushchev asking him to withdraw missiles from Cuba, missile bases stillbeing built on Cuba.

26th - Kennedy receives a second letter from Khrushchev saying if the blockade was lifted they wouldremove the missiles.

27th - Khrushchev sends another letter saying the USA has to remove missiles from Turkey. A U-2plane is shot down over Cuba. The USA agreed to remove missiles from Turkey as long as it is kept

secret

28th - Khrushchev accepted and missiles are removed.Effects of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Immediate:

Reduction in Khrushchevs authority even though he tried to show he was a responsible peacemaker.China broke its alliance with the USSR

Kennedy's popularity increased. Cuba stayed communist but without nuclear weapons. Led to the 'Hot line' in June 1963: red telephone link between the Whitehouse and the Kremlin. Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: August 63, nuclear weapons could only be tested underground. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 1968, promise not to supply other countries with nuclear

technology.

Long Term:

USSR continued with the arms race until it was equal with the US in 1965 Greater stability between the two countries lead to MAD, a reason to avoid war. France left NATO; it didn't want to be drawn into a nuclear war.

Czechoslovakia Prague spring: 1968

Causes

The Czechs hated Russian control Russian control of the economy, with made Czechoslovakia poor and caused falling standards of

living.

Censorship and lack of freedom.

Some Czechs thought the USA would help them. Hatred of Novotny's hard-line regime Desire for greater freedom and democracy. Popularity of Dubcek, replaced Novotny in 1967. Activities of secret police.

Events

During 1967, students and writers were complaining about the lack of freedom and poor performanceof the Czech economy.

When Novotny asked Brezhnev for help, Brezhnev did not support him.


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Novotny fell from power and Alexander Dubcek took over. In April 1968, Dubceks government announced an Action plan for what it called Socialism with a

Human face. It removed state controls over industry and allowed freedom of speech.

For four months there was freedom in Czechoslovakia, until Dubcek announced he was going to allowanother party to form.

Dubcek stressed that Czechoslovakia would stay in the Warsaw Pact but in August, Marshall Tito ofYugoslavia, a country not in the Warsaw pact visited Prague.

At a meeting in Bratislava on 3 August 1968, Brezhnev read out a letter from some CzechoslovakianCommunists asking for help

Jan Palach burned himself to death in protest.Soviets Response:

Brezhnev worried the reforms would spread to other Eastern Bloc countries Czechoslovakia was important in the Warsaw Pact as it was centrally placed Brezhnev tried to slow down pace of change by arguing with Dubcek. Warsaw Pact troops performed training exercises on the Czech border. He thought about cutting off wheat supplies but thought they would turn to the USA Dubcek agreed not to allow other political parties but insisted on keeping other reforms. On the 20th of August, 400,000 Warsaw Pact troops entered Czechoslovakia, arrested leading

reformers and seized key cities.

Dubcek told the people to offer only passive resistance so there were few deaths. Dubcek was flown to Moscow where he talked with Brezhnev. He was forced to resign Dubcek was not killed like Nagy in 19 56, he was always loyal to communism and friendly with

Brezhnev. Instead he was gradually degraded and censored from everything.

The US did not interfere as it did not want Brezhnev to become involved in Vietnam.Brezhnev Doctrine, 1968

This was created by Brezhnev as a result of the Prague Spring. He argued that a threat to one Communist

country was a treat to them all (clearly echoed the Truman Doctrine and the American fear of the domino

effect). He also said that force would be used whenever necessary to keep Soviet satellites firmly under Soviet

influence.

The essentials of Communism were defined as:

One party system Remain a member of the Warsaw Pact.Unit 3 - How did the cold war end?

Dtente: 1970s

Detente is the relaxing of tension or hostility between countries. Relations between the USSR and USA

improved in the 1970s for several reasons but this was most evident at 3 key events.

1. 1972 - SALT Treaty between Brezhnev and Nixon Agreed there would be no further production of strategic ballistic missiles.


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Agreed that submarines carrying nuclear weapons would only be introduced when existing stocks ofintercontinental ballistic missiles became obsolete.

This was significant as it was the first agreement between the Superpowers that successfully limitedthe number of nuclear weapons it held.

2. 1975 - Apollo-Soyuz Space Mission A joint space mission in which a US Apollo spacecraft and a Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked in space. It ended the highly competitive space race of the 1960's. Further thaw in relations as showed they could work and even live together3. 1975 - The Helsinki Conference Held at Helsinki in Finland, 35 countries including the USA and USSR attended. The Western powers recognised the frontiers of eastern Europe and Soviet influence in that area. West Germany officially recognised East Germany. The Soviets agreed to buy American grain and export oil to the West. The Soviets agreed to allow greater freedom in the Soviet Union to western journalists and to allow

some inspection of human rights.

All countries agreed to improve human rights throughout the world. Both the USA and the USSR got what they wanted but in reality not all countries actually followed

their promises.

Collapse of Dtente:

Detente ended with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan on the 25th of December in 1979.

Afghanistan: 1979

Reasons for invasion

They were concerned about the Muslim revolution in neighbouring Iran, which could have spread toAfghanistan and other Muslim areas inside the USSR.

The political situation in Afghanistan was very unstable at the end of the 1970s and the Sovietswanted to maintain their influence in the area.

Afghanistan was close to the Middle East oil reserves of the western powers and the ports of theIndian Ocean. The Soviets wanted to develop their interests in this area.

Though Amin was a communist, the USSR did not trust him. The Soviet secret police reported he wasan American spy. He was also unpopular with a large number of Muslims and Brezhnev feared a

Muslim takeover.

The Kabul revolution:

The Kabul revolution involved an overthrow of its government. The new government was determined to build

Socialism in Afghanistan'. The new communist president, Mohammed Taraki, became an ally of the USSR. They

began a modernisation programme including land reform and education of girls which met opposition from

Muslim leaders. A civil war broke out between the Communist government and Islamic fighter (Mujahidin).

Afghan communists asked Moscow for help but Brezhnev was reluctant to get involved as he thought of it as

the USSRs Vietnam.

President Taraki was forced to accept Hafizullah Amin as the prime minister. In October 1979, Amin supporters

assassinated Taraki and Amin became president.

Consequences of the Afghanistan invasion:


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Within weeks of the invasion, Soviet troops were being killed by Mujahidin rebels who used very effective

guerrilla tactics. The USA secretly began to send very large shipments of money, arms and equipment to

Pakistan and from there to the Mujahidin. The campaign became unwinnable and a severe drain on its

finances.

Reagans policy on Afghanistan:

The USA hoped to bleed the USSR white. The Soviets couldn't win in Afghanistan for the same reasons the USA

could not win in Vietnam. Reagan was willing to give the mujahidin whatever money weapons they wanted.

The USA spent $2bn on this war. Osama bin Laden was one of the men who went to fight with the Mujahidin.

Most Afghans disliked the Soviet presence as Communism is anti-religion and so the Mujahidin was strong. The

Soviets couldn't win and suffered tremendous losses and were keen to reach a peace deal. They offered to

withdraw if the US stopped providing the Mujahidin with weapons but Reagan saw an opportunity to weaken

the Soviets and refused.

The Soviet defeat

In 1986, there was less restriction on the media and the war was reported more accurately in the USSR. People

began to demand withdrawal from Afghanistan. As Gorbachev became leader in 1985, and he wanted to make

changes, they withdrew. Early in 1987 Moscow pulled out its forces. Costs included:

15,000 Soviet dead and 37,000 wounded an estimated financial cost of $20bn to the USSR over 1 million Afghans killed and around 5 million displaced

Carter Doctrine The results of the Afghanistan war on relations:

Following the Soviet invasion, Carter made a statement that became known as the Carter Doctrine. Thedoctrine said that:

The USSR must not gain access to the oil in the rich Middle East countries. They ended all diplomatic relations and formed an alliance with China and Israel to support

Afghan rebels, CIA provided weapons.

He imposed economic sanctions by stopping trade.He also refused to sign SALT II which would have further limited the number of nuclear weapons.

He pulled the USA out of the 1980 Moscow Olympics and none of the US allies participated either. The USSR

retaliated by boycotting the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Evil Empire Speech, 1983

Reagan believed that any negotiation with the USSR was a sign of weakness and in a speech in 1983 he said

that:

Communism was bad as it was anti-religious and it undermined the moral value of America (story ofman and daughters)

We should pray for the people in the Communist parties and hope they find God. Also that the focusshould be on the individual not the state.

He said the Soviet Union was the modern evil and that the real crisis was not the bombs and weaponsbut the test of the US moral, will and faith.


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Gorbachev and Reagan (The four summits): 1985 1988

1. Geneva, November 1985: Did not start well as Reagan attacked the USSR's human rights recordand Gorbachev blamed the USSR for the arms race. They then went for a walk and chat and

found they got on well and decided to meet again.

2. Reykjavik, October 1986: Gorbachev proposed they remove all nuclear weapons from Europe andcut ICBM's by half. Reagan agreed but refused to give up SDI.3. Washington, December 1987: Gorbachev withdrew his condition that SDI must be included. The

INF treaty was signed. All nuclear weapons in Europe were dismantled. Became known as START

talks (strategic arms limitation talks)

4. Moscow, June 1988: Gorbachev pushed for joint troop reductions but Reagan put him off.INF Treaty: 1987

After several meeting Gorbachev and Reagan signed the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty which

removed all medium-range nuclear weapons from Europe. Gorbachev signed the treaty because:

he believed this would increase his popularity in the West the Soviet economy could not recover due to the amount being spent on nuclear weapons Reagan told Gorbachev he had no intention of invading the USSR.

The Collapse of the Berlin wall: 1989

The fall of the Berlin Wall came to symbolise the end of the Cold War. On the 9th of November 1989, the East

German government announced much greater freedom of travel for East German citizens, including crossing

the border into West Germany. Thousands of East Berliners went to the checkpoints in the Berlin wall and the

border guards let them pass. They soon dismantled the wall. With the wall down, West German Chancellor

Helmut Kohl proposed a reunification of Germany. Gorbachev was less enthusiastic as he expected a reunited

Germany to be friendlier with the West than the East.

After many negotiations, Gorbachev accepted the Germany reunification and even that the new Germany

could be a NATO member. On the 3rd of October 1990, Germany became a united country once again.

The Collapse of the USSR

Early 1990, Gorbachev visited Lithuania, who demanded independence. He said no but in March they did it

anyway. As soon as he returned to Moscow, he received a similar demand from Azerbaijan. He sent troops to

Lithuania but the crisis worsened and sent troops to Azerbaijan.

Reformers in the USSR itself began demanding an end to the Communist Party. In May, the Russian republicelected Boris Yeltsin as its President, who made it clear he saw no future in the USSR. He encouraged the many

republics to become independent.

In July, Ukraine declared its independence and other states followed. In January 1991, troops in Lithuania fired on protesters. In April, the Republic of Georgia declared its independence.

Gorbachev was struggling to hold the USSR together. In August 1991, hard-line Communist party members and

leading military officers attempted a coup to take over the USSR. They held Gorbachev prisoner in his holiday

home in Crimea and sent tanks and troops on to the streets of Moscow. The Russian President Yeltsin emerged

as the popular leader of the opposition and crowds strongly opposed the military coup. Faced by thisresistance, they lost faith in themselves and the coup collapsed. A few days later, Gorbachev returned to


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Moscow. In a televised speech on the 25th of December 1991, Gorbachev announced the end of the Soviet

Union, Comecon and the Warsaw Pact.

The Cold War was over!!

Okay, so they are the main events you really have to learn to do your history exam,

however, there are a few little things I missed out in the events. These extras are not

essential for an average grade, but if you want that A* I would learn them!!

Conflicting Ideologies

The two superpowers had very different ideologies

USA

Democratic government, chosen in free elections Capitalist country, privately owned business etc. Individuals can make profits but can also go

bankrupt

Believe in freedom of individual1920-30 followed isolationism, but now prepared to help countries who wanted democracy but werefaced with communism

USSR

Communist state

People could vote for the Supreme Soviet but only members of the communist party and theSupreme Soviet had no real power

Peoples lives were closely controlled Rights of individual less important than society as a whole Planned economy, government controlled productionThe Arms Race

The USA led the arms race in 1945 with the dropping of the first atomic bomb with ended theSecond World War. The USSR developed their own bomb in 1949.

America took the lead again in 1952 with the first Hydrogen bomb which is 1000 time morepowerful and by 1954 they had one small enough to be dropped from a bomber plane. By the end

of 1954, the USSR caught up. America kept ahead by developing U2 planes, the USSR developed the first ICBM meaning all

places on Earth could be reached by nuclear missiles.

The USSR launched Sputnik in 1957 meaning they could launch rockets out of the atmosphereand guide them to their targets. The USA launched a satellite in 1958.

By 1961, the policy of MAD had emerged which helped maintain peace as both sides coulddestroy each other.

Led to even more deadly weapons being built as each side competed. Huge amounts of moneywere spent on the Arms race.

Kept peace in Europe. 3 million troops in East Germany which could have defeated WestGermany but America placed nuclear missiles in Western Europe, preventing a Soviet invasion.


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The Space Race

The USSR launched Sputnik in 1957. This worries the USA as they now have more advancedtechnology and the USSR could put nuclear weapons in space or use the satellites to guidemissiles out of the Earths atmosphere. The USA launched its own satellite in January 1958.

The first man in space was Soviet Yuri Gagarin in 1961, again showing the USSR had moreadvanced technology. Kennedy promised to put a man on the moon by 1969.

The Outer space Treaty was signed by Brezhnev and Johnson in 1967 and was anagreement not to put nuclear weapons in space. This effectively ended the space race until1983 when Reagan announced his Strategic Defence Initiative. However the USSR could notcompete with SDI as the Soviet economy was too poor and it was lacking the computertechnology necessary for SDI.

SDI - Star Wars

This was announced after the new Soviet leader Andropov called for a non-aggression pact, that theWarsaw Pact and NATO don't attack each other. Reagan reacted by making even more hostileremarks about the USSR and leaders and then announced SDI.

This was a futuristic plan, never completed, to create a shield of lasers which would detect anddestroy any coming missile while it was still in space. If the plan would, this would lead to the end ofMAD as the USA would be able to attack the USSR without fear retaliation.

This made Reagans talk of rolling back Communism seem like a real threat. Soviet forces were puton special alert.

In 1983, a nuclear war seemed more likely than any time since the CMC.

Worsened the relationship between the Superpowers as it showed Reagan was unwilling to co-operate, increased tension as a nuclear war became more likely, and increased spending on both

sides on nuclear and conventional weapons.

Gorbachev's New Thinking

Became leader of the USSR in 1985 when the economy was stagnant as it was spending too muchmoney of the arms race and the unwinnable war in Afghanistan. The USA was ahead in the armsrace but also with the levels of their technology. There was also growing discontent in the satellitestate, particularly Poland.

The USSR had plenty of raw materials but shortages of food and other goods. Managers could notmake decisions and workers saw no point in working hard. Life expectancy of the Soviets had fallen,mainly due to alcoholism.

He set out reforms through two changes:

Glasnost: meaning openness, more freedom of speech Perestroika: meaning re-structuring, particularly of the market and jobs.Gorbachev could see the arms race was crippling the USSR and if he wanted changed it had to stop.

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