Macdonald World History Cold War Thaws Macdonald World History
New Soviet Leaders 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 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 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 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 Reagan new president – strongly anti-communist 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 Breshnev created much opposition in Soviet Union b/c restricted freedoms When he died, Mikhail Gorbachev became leader To deal w/ opposition, Gorbachev adopted: Glasnost – openness in religion/ speech/ press Perestroika – changes to economy to give ppl more authority over their businesses Tried to make Soviets more efficient
Arms Race 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 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 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 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