How did the Cold War affect Europe? Notes #26

The Cold War was a period after WWII that involved the political, economic, and military rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union established satellite nations in Eastern Europe to expand its control over that area and to protect its western border. Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin (1922 – 1953)

When revolutions against communism occurred in the satellite nations of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union invaded these nations in order to maintain control.

In response, the U.S. used the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan to promote stability in Western Europe and contain the spread of communism. U.S. President Harry S. Truman (1945 – 1953) U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949 – present) The U.S., Canada, and other Western European nations formed a military alliance called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949 – present)

In response, the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations formed a military alliance called the Warsaw Pact. Warsaw Pact (1955 – 1991)

During the Cold War, West Germany and West Berlin were controlled by democratic nations, while East Germany and East Berlin were controlled by the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union tried to block West Berlin from receiving aid from democratic nations, but these nations began airlifting supplies in. Berlin airlift (1948 – 1949)

Eventually, the Soviet Union lifted its blockade, but later constructed the Berlin Wall to separate East Berlin from West Berlin. Berlin Wall (1961 – 1990)

When Mikhail Gorbachev became the new leader of the Soviet Union, he instituted policies of glasnost and perestroika to reform the Soviet Union politically and economically.

During Gorbachev’s rule, the Soviet Union faced the problem of ethnic minorities demanding the right of self-determination.

The destruction of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany symbolized the end of the Cold War and the collapse of communism.

Boris Yeltsin; President CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) After Gorbachev resigned, the Communist Party broke up, Boris Yeltsin took power in Russia, and the Soviet Union no longer existed. Boris Yeltsin; President of Russia (1991 – 1999) CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States)

Yeltsin with U.S. President Bill Clinton Under Yeltsin, Russia attempted to become a democracy, with a free-market economy. Yeltsin with U.S. President Bill Clinton

This switch to a free-market economy caused major economic problems in Eastern Europe and Russia.

The Soviet Union’s collapse also led to ethnic violence breaking out in some Eastern European regions.

For example, Chechnya fought with Russia over their right to gain independence, which Russia refused to give.

In the former Yugoslavia, ethnic violence has occurred between Serbs and non-Serbs.

Former Serbian President This resulted in Serb-led genocides, directed toward Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo, both of which the rest of the world failed to end. Former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic