Nuclear Arms Testing & Reduction

Post-1945 Nuclear Development  United States decides to continue work on development of nuclear weapons " for the good of mankind and to end all world wars."  Need for a test site leads to choice of Marshall Islands (US protectorate) as best location  Island of Bikini Atoll chose as test site because of its isolated location and small population

Bikini Atoll  An example of the effects of surface/atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons  1946: US chooses Bikini Atoll, a small island in the Marshall Islands, as location for its post-war nuclear testing (Operation Crossroads) Crater from 1954 Hydrogen bomb test

Bikini Atoll  167 residents are evacuated to nearby islands  Two nuclear bombs are tested later that year  Site would continue to be used until the late 1960s  Three small islands vaporized during tests  The island remains uninhabited today - 56 of the original relocated residents are still alive

A Nuclear Arms Race  1949: Soviet Union detonates its first atomic bomb  1950s: Both sides engage in a nuclear arms race, building more powerful bombs and developing more effective means of firing them at an enemy  Initial means of "delivery" - by air (bomber)  Late 1950s - development of rocket technology (space program) makes delivery by missile possible  October 1957: Soviets launch first space satellite (Sputnik 1) - beginning of the "space race"

Aftermath of Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)  Superpowers US & USSR realize need to limit nuclear arsenals, testing, and spread of nuclear technology in order to prevent possible nuclear war  White House - Kremlin "hotline" installed as means to deal directly with any future crises  Negotiations commence on series of treaties designed to reduce tensions between the two sides in the Cold War

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963)  US, USSR & Britain agree to prohibit nuclear testing in the atmosphere, underwater and in space  Only below-ground testing permitted (to reduce environmental impact)  France & China (also nuclear powers) refused to sign at this time but eventually did so

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968)  US, USSR and Britain agree that nations possessing nuclear capabilities will not transfer the technology to other countries  Nations without such weapons agreed not to acquire the ability to make them  Nuclear powers will work toward eventual elimination of ALL nuclear weapons  Over 100 nations eventually signed this treaty

Reducing the Nuclear Arsenals  During the 1970s, US - USSR negotiations began in an effort to reduce the number of nuclear warheads each side had in its arsenal  1972: Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty I (SALT I) signed, setting limits on the number of American and Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)

Reducing the Nuclear Arsenals  Agreement on Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty II signed in 1979 by Jimmy Carter & Leonid Brezhnev  US Senate refuses to ratify treaty after USSR invades Afghanistan  Both sides attempted to abide by its terms voluntarily

Most Recent Arms Agreements  Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty (1987): US & USSR agreed to eliminate all short & medium range nuclear weapons  Strategic Arms Reduction (START) Treaty (1991): Provisions made for reducing nuclear arsenals by 30 % between 1991 and  START II (1993) led to further reductions

Most Recent Arms Agreements  Treaty of Moscow: Signed by the United States and Russia on May 26, 2002  Both sides agreed to reduce their nuclear warheads from 6,000 to 2,200 by the year  Once ratified, it will replace the START II treaty.

The Spread of Nuclear Weapons  Since 1949, several other nations have acquired nuclear weapons  1974: India conducts its first underground nuclear tests, demonstrating its nuclear capabilities to the world  1998: Pakistan conducts its first underground nuclear tests  2006: North Korea conducts its first underground nuclear test

Fall of the Soviet Union

The Soviet Union

Prelude to Collapse October 1964:  "Hard liner" Leonid Brezhnev succeeds Khrushchev as Soviet leader  Return to Soviet policies of centralized power and suppression of all forms of dissent  Brezhnev dies and is succeeded by two elderly leaders in succession (Andropov & Chernenko)  Andropov grooms a young Mikhail Gorbachev as his eventual successor Leonid Brezhnev

The USSR Under Gorbachev 1980's saw a dramatic decline in an already impoverished standard of living in the USSR. The result was increasing civil unrest. Gorbachev decides to tackle this problem with a two-pronged program of reform:  Perestroika - an organizational restructuring of the Soviet economy and government  Glastnost - an emphasis on a new opennes in discussing the USSR's social, political and economic problems

Impact of Gorbachev's Reforms  State control of economy and civil liberties loosened, individual initiative encouraged  Power of Communist Party weakened, and power of elected legislatures in republics strengthened  Soviets withdrew troops from Afghanistan, established amicable relationship with Communist China, and enter into new arms control agreements with the US  Reforms result in rising nationalist sentiment in Soviet Republics outside of Russia, especially the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

The Beginning of the End  government of Estonia demands greater autonomy within USSR, followed by similar moves in Latvia and Lithuania  Gorbachev decides not to use military force to crush revolutions in Eastern Europe  Fall of the "Berlin Wall" leads to reunification of East and West Germany  Gorbachev pressured from many directions - Communist hardliners vs. reformers; Russian nationalists vs. "secessionists" in outlying republics  1990: Boris Yeltsin named President of Russian Republic by Russian Supreme Soviet

"August Days" August 1991: situation comes to a head  August 19 - Communist hardliners kidnap Gorbachev and seize control in a coup d'etat  Massive protests staged in Moscow, Leningrad and other major Soviet cities  When coup organizers tried to bring in military to quell the protesters, the soldiers refuse to fire on civilians  After 3 days, coup leaders surrender and Gorbachev returns to power  Demonstrations prove that people would accept nothing short of democracy

The Final Collapse Gorbachev immediately takes action:  Reformers placed at head of military and KGB (secret police)  Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania permitted to become independent republics  December Gorbachev resigns as President of USSR and announced its dissolution  Yeltsin elected as first President of Russian Republic by popular vote and oversees the transformation of the USSR to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

The Aftermath  State control of Russian economy ends - most industries privatized  15 newly formed independent countries emerge from the USSR

End of the "Cold War" With the collapse of the USSR, the world entered a new phase in its history. The tensions between Communism and the Western world that had dominated international politics and created numerous regional crisis disappeared - only to be replaced within a matter of years by a new and different foe terrorism.