Unit 3, Lesson 4

End of the Cold War

Accession of Mikhail Gorbachev to power in the Soviet Union in 1985 eventually brought a dramatic end to the Cold War; Gorbachev encouraged glasnost (a policy of openness in discussions of public policy); his "New Thinking" (a willingness to rethink Soviet foreign policy) also led to stunning changes Gorbachev made an agreement with the US in 1987 (the Intermediate-range Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty) to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear weapons; Gorbachev hoped to make far-reaching economic & internal reforms; as its national debt tripled, US had moved from being a creditor nation (a country that exports more than it imports) to being the world's biggest debtor nation; by 1990, both countries knew their large military budgets would make it difficult for them to solve their domestic problems In another policy change, Gorbachev stopped giving Soviet military support to Communist governments in Eastern Europe; this opened the door to the overthrow of Communist regimes in these countries; a mostly peaceful revolutionary movement swept through Eastern Europe in 1989; reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990 was a powerful symbol of the end of the Cold War; in 1991, Soviet Union was dissolved; renewal of the rivalry between the 2 superpowers was now almost impossible

From Cold War to Post-Cold War

American-Soviet relations entered detente Grain & consumer goods were sold to the Soviet Union; however, beginning in 1979, the apparent collapse of detente began a new period of East-West confrontation

Upheaval in Soviet Union

Between 1964 & 1982, drastic change in the Soviet Union had seemed highly unlikely A dramatic turnaround happened in a very short time

The New Russia

Boris Yeltsin was committed to introducing a free market economy as quickly as possible, but the transition wasn't easy; economic hardships & social disarray were made worse by a dramatic rise in the activities of organized crime; Yeltsin used brutal force to keep province of Chechnya in Russia; he also opposed NATO's proposed expansion; after end of the Cold War, Poland, Hungary, & Czech Republic all tried to join NATO; since these countries were all former Soviet satellites, this was a significant change At the end of 1999, Yeltsin resigned & was replaced by Vladimir Putin, who was elected president in 2000; Putin vowed to adopt a more assertive international role & to bring the breakaway state of Chechnya under control; however, fighting in Chechnya continued, & guerrilla attacks occurred in Moscow & in Chechnya during 2003 In July 2001, Putin launched reforms to boost growth & budget revenues; reforms included free sale & purchase of land, tax cuts, & efforts to join World Trade Organization; since then, Russia has experienced a budget surplus & a growing economy

Why were November 9, 1989 & August 19, 1991 significant dates of the Cold War?

Both dates revealed victories over communism (in Berlin & in Moscow); fall of the Berlin Wall & the hardliners' failed opposition in Moscow signaled the end of the Cold War

Cold War Intensifies

Detente received a major setback in 1979, when Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan; Soviet Union wanted to restore a pro-Soviet regime there, which the US viewed as an act of expansion; President Jimmy Carter canceled American participation in the 1980 Olympic Games to be held in Moscow & placed an embargo on the shipment of American grain to the Soviets Cold War further intensified when Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980; Reagan called the Soviet Union an "evil empire" & began a military buildup & a new arms race; Reagan also gave military aid to the Afghan rebels, in order to maintain a war in Afghanistan that the Soviet Union couldn't win

Gorbachev & Perestroika

From the start, Gorbachev preached the need for radical reforms; the basis of these reforms was perestroika; at first, this meant restructuring economic policy, Gorbachev wanted to start a market economy, where consumers influence what's produced; this economy would have limited free enterprise (based on private ownership of businesses) & some private property; however, Gorbachev realized that an attempt to reform the economy without political reform would be doomed to failure At Communist Party conference in 1988, Gorbachev established new Soviet parliament called the Congress of People's Duties, whose members were to be elected; this parliament met in 1989 (the first such meeting in Russia since 1918); early in 1990, Gorbachev decreed that non-Communist political parties could organize; he also did away with a constitutional provision that guaranteed the Communist Party a "leading role" in government At the same time, Gorbachev strengthened his power by creating a new state presidency; position of first secretary of the party (Gorbachev's position) had been the most important post in the Soviet Union; however, as the Communist Party became less closely tied to the state, position of first secretary carried less power; in March 1990, Gorbachev became the Soviet Union's first & last president

Why was November 9, 1989 such a joyous occasion?

German civilians breached the Berlin Wall (a symbol of the Cold War & the division between democratic West Germany & communist East Germany); destruction of the Wall foretold the beginning of the end of the Cold War

End of Soviet Union

One of Gorbachev's most serious problems was the multiethnic nature of the Soviet Union; it included 92 ethnic groups & 112 different languages; iron hand of the Communist Party, centered in Moscow, had kept centuries-old ethnic tensions contained As Gorbachev released this iron grip, these tensions again came to the forefront; Nationalist movements emerged throughout republics of Soviet Union; in 1989 & 1990, there were calls for independence 1st in Soviet Georgia & then in Latvia, Estonia, Moldavia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, & Lithuania During 1990 & 1991, Gorbachev struggled to deal with the problems unleashed by his reforms; by 1991, conservative leaders of traditional Soviet institutions (army, government, KGB, & military industries) were worried; possible breakup of Soviet Union would mean an end to their privileges On August 19, 1991, group of these conservative leaders arrested Gorbachev & tried to seize power; however, their attempt failed when Boris Yeltsin (president of the Russian Republic) & thousands of Russians bravely resisted the rebel forces in Moscow Soviet republics now moved for complete independence; Ukraine voted for independence on December 1, 1991; a week later, leaders of Russia, Ukraine, & Belarus announced that the Soviet Union had "ceased to exist" Gorbachev resigned on December 25, 1991, & turned over his responsibilities as commander in chief to Boris Yeltsin (new president of Russia); by the end of 1991, one of the largest empires in world history had come to an end; a new era had begun in its now-independent states

Collapse of a Superpower

Ronald Reagan & Mikhail Gorbachev ushered in a new era of international relations Reagan's administration funded operations to limit Soviet influence worldwide, including providing military aid to Contras in Nicaragua & Afghan rebels to fight Soviet rule; such expenditures weakened the Soviet Union influence, but came at a high cost for the US budget; Gorbachev recognized that years of war & heavy military spending had limited his nation's ability to address domestic problems; Gorbachev began a series of radical reforms that paved the way for the dissolution of the communist government in the Soviet Union By the late 1980s, the Soviet Union & communism were losing strength due to economic & political troubles; by 1990, the Cold War had been fought for nearly 50 years

perestroika

Russian word for restructuring

dissident

someone who spoke out against the Soviet regime

Brezhnev Era

When Nikita Khrushchev was removed from office in 1964, 2 men (Alexei Kosygin & Leonid Brezhnev) replaced him; Brezhnev emerged as the dominant leader in the 1970s; he was determined to keep Eastern Europe in Communist hands & wasn't interested in reform; Brezhnev insisted on right of Soviet Union to intervene if communism was threatened in another Communist state (known as the Brezhnev Doctrine) Brezhnev benefited from the more relaxed atmosphere associated with detente; Soviet Union was roughly equal to the US in nuclear arms; its leaders thus felt secure & were willing to relax their authoritarian rule; under Brezhnev, regime allowed more access to Western styles of music, dress, & art, but dissidents were still punished In his economic policies, Brezhnev continued to emphasize heavy industry; however, two problems weakened the Soviet economy; government's central planning led to a huge, complex bureaucracy that discouraged efficiency & led to indifference; collective farmers had no incentive to work hard; many preferred working their own small private plots to laboring in the collective work brigades By the 1970s, Communist ruling class in the Soviet Union had become complacent & corrupt; party & state leaders (& leaders of the army & secret police (KGB)) enjoyed a high standard of living; Brezhnev was unwilling to tamper with party leadership & state bureaucracy, regardless of the inefficiency & corruption the system encouraged By 1980, the Soviet Union was seriously ailing, with a declining economy, rise in infant mortality rates, dramatic surge in alcoholism, & poor working conditions; many felt the system was in trouble; within the Communist Party, a small group of reformers emerged; one of these was Mikhail Gorbachev; a new era began in March 1985 when party leaders chose him to lead the Soviet Union

detente

a phase that American-Soviet relations had entered by the 1970s, which was marked by a relaxation of tensions & improved relations between the 2 superpowers