Cold War Thaws Macdonald World History New Soviet

Cold War Thaws Macdonald World History

New Soviet Leaders n n n Stalin died 1953; Nikita Khrushchev new leader Hated Stalin b/c he killed innocent soviets Created policy of destalinization (getting rid of all memories of Stalin)

New Soviet Leaders n n Ppl didn’t like how Khrushchev dealt w/ Cuban Missile Crisis so removed Breschev new leader Dictator – limited ppl’s rights Used military to make satellite nations stay communist

Detente n n n Ppl began to grow tired of always bracing for war Pres. Nixon adopted new policy of détente – official policy of lessening Cold War tension Tried to deal w/ other nations in flexible manner

SALT n n n Nixon visited communist country for first time (China) Also visited Soviet Union and had series of mtgs called Strategic Arms Limitation Talks or SALT & agreed to limit number of missiles each country could have Many other countries also joined

Star Wars n n Reagan new president – strongly anticommunist Stopped détente New program – SDI (strategic defense initiative) or Star Wars to protect against enemy missiles Renewed Cold War tensions but not as strong as before

Gorbechav n n n Breshnev created much opposition in Soviet Union b/c restricted freedoms When he died, Mikhail Gorbachev became leader To deal w/ opposition, Gorbachev adopted: n Glasnost – openness in religion/ speech/ press n Perestroika – changes to economy to give ppl more authority over their businesses n Tried to make Soviets more efficient

Arms Race n Gorbechev realized his economy couldn’t keep up w/ arms race so signed Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty w/ US to limit nuclear missiles

Gorbechev’s Parties n n After Gorbechev, many satellite nations started calling for independence Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia declared independence PPl blamed Gorbahev Aug. 1991 pure communists demanded Gorbehev’s resignation

End of the Soviet Union n Soviets sent in tanks & military to defend himself Soldiers, though, joined rebellion to overthrow Soviets Boris Yeltsin stood atop a tank & declared the end of communism & a new gov’t

Cold War Ends n n Dec 1991 all republics of the Soviet Union declared independence Most other satellite nations declared independence (Hugary, Poland) East & West Germany reunited after huge demonstrators demanded free travel between the two Berlin Wall torn down in 1989 & Cold War was over