 Soviet Union (Communism)  United States (Democracy)

 Eastern Europe was the first area of disagreement. › The United States and Great Britain felt that Eastern Europe should decide for themselves what government they should have › The Soviet Union felt that after they were freed from Nazi Germany, they should remain under Soviet control.

 March 12, 1947 › The United States would give aid to countries threatened by Communist expansion

 $13 billion dollars from the United States to rebuild war-torn Europe  Satellite States › Economically and politically dependent Eastern European countries of the Soviet Union › Excluded from Marshall Plan  Policy of Containment › Keep Communism within its existing boundaries and prevent further Soviet aggressive moves

 Allied Powers divided Germany (and Berlin) into four zones after WWII › Final peace treaty cannot be made › Germany and Berlin split into Allied West and Soviet East  Allies choose to airlift supplies into Soviet blockaded West Berlin › 10 months, 200,000 flights 2.3 million tons of supplies › Blockade lifted in May 1949 to avoid war

 The United States and the Soviet Union built up their armies and weapons › Nuclear weapons became increasingly destructive as each raced to build more and more deadlier bombs › Deterrence  Huge arsenals of nuclear weapons prevents war

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1945 Warsaw Pact 1955  NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Org.) 1945 › Organization created to provide mutual help if any country was attacked  United States and other European nations  Warsaw Pact 1955 › Soviet Union and many Eastern European nations formed their own military alliance

 1955: Becomes new leader of the Soviet Union › 1961: Oversaw the construction of the Berlin Wall in Germany › 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis › “De-Stalinization” › Reforms introduced to end the ruthless policies of the Stalinist period › Placed more emphasis on producing consumer goods and increase agriculture › Soviet economy declines  1964: Khrushchev voted out of office

 Replaces Nikita Khrushchev in 1964  Brezhnev Doctrine › Soviet Union had the right to intervene if communism was threatened in another Communist state  Détente › Relaxation of tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union  Dissidents › Those who spoke out against the regime › Punished under Brezhnev

 Declining economy  Rise in infant mortality rates  Surge in alcoholism  Poor working conditions  Emphasis on heavy industry continues 1. Central government was a huge, complex, but inefficient bureaucracy that led to indifference 2. Many collective farmers preferred working their own small private plots  Communist ruling class becomes complacent and corrupt

 1979: Soviet Union invades Afghanistan to restore a pro-Soviet regime › U.S. places an embargo on the Soviet Union › Refusal to send grain to the Soviets  Ronald Reagan becomes President › Refers to the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” › Military aid given to Afghan rebels

 1985: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes new leader of the Soviet Union  Perestroika: › Restructuring of the Soviet economy  Market economy with limited free enterprise › Political Reform  Soviet Parliament established with elected members  Glasnost: › Openness and honesty in discussing the problems the country faced

 Considered the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history  Explosion during a test of reactor number four  Released tons of radioactive particles into the atmosphere covering tens of thousands of square miles  Estimated that thousands died over time

 1987: Intermediate- Range INF Treaty › Eliminate intermediate-range nuclear weapons  Military support for Communist governments in Eastern Europe halted  1990: German reunification  Rocky Balboa defeats Ivan Drago

 Nationalist movements begin › Calls for independence begin in Georgia, Latvia, Estonia, Moldavia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Lithuania  1991: Failed government coup › Conservatives try to seize the government  Soviet republics begin declaring independence  1991: Gorbachev resigns and the Soviet Union ceases to exist

 Boris Yeltsin becomes President of Russia › Move to a free market economy › Rise in organized crime › Chechnya  A province in the South of Russia that desires to secede  Brutal force is used against Chechens › Russia inherits Soviet Union’s seat at the UN

 2000: Elected President of Russia › Former KGB officer  Reforms › Free sale and purchase of land › Joins WTO (World Trade Organization) › European Union  Growing Economy  Budget Surplus  Issues with terrorism › Chechnya › Crackdown on media outlets

 2008: Current Russian President › Vladimir Putin remains Prime Minister  Continued modernization of Russia  Battle corruption  Stated he will not run for reelection in 2012