Collapse of the USSR (pages 410,411) las 416, 417 solo dicen que todos

idolatran a Gorbachev
Why did Soviet control of Eastern Europe collapse in 1989?
1. Why did the cold war thaw in the 1970s?
For much of the 1970s superpower tensions eased. This was known as a Dtente
which means a relaxing of tension. The fact that superpowers were in contact at all,
was seen as a major achievement
Points of the dtente:
Worries about the arms race (1), nuclear testing damaged the
environment, cost a fortune and was seen by many as immoral. There were
anti-nuclear movements in the west that supported dtente.

Worries about the arms race (2), the space programmes of the USA
and USSR had been helped them to develop extremely complex missiles
that could carry many nuclear warheads. The new weapon was the
submarine-launched missile, this was impossible to detect. Also the arms
race was very expensive, superpowers recognized this money could be spent
more wisely to poor counties or improving the conditions on their own
countries.
Worries about the arms race (3) the leaders held summit meetings.
Brezhnev visited Washington and Nixon went to Moscow twice. The nuclear
arms limitation treaty, salt 1, was signed in 1972 and great process was
made towards a possible salt 2.

Washington and Brezhnev.

The end of the Vietnam War improved relationship between USA, USSR
and China.
Helsinki (capital of Finland) conference, august 1975. All countries
recognised the borders set up after ww2, including division of Germany.
Agreed to respect human rights, (example: freedom of speech, freedom to
move from one country to another.
High hand shake! American astronauts and soviet cosmonauts met up and
shook hands in space. This was a quiet literally the high point of dtente.

2. Why did the cold war freeze again in the 1980s?

For the late1970s there was increasing distrust and hostility between superpowers.

Revolution in Iran, the shah of Iran was overthrown in 1979; USA

supported the shah because needed Irans oil. The new government of Iran
was anti-American but also anti-communist; it wanted a society based on
Islamic values. The revolution changed the balance of power in the Middle
East and increased tension between the powers. (spowers worried about how
each other would react)
Civil wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador and in Angola, rebel
communist supported by the USSR and Cuba tried to overthrow these states.
USA funded government against rebels. In Angola USA and USSR helped to
fund a long-running civil war.
Human rights, carter (pres USA 77-81) criticised the USSRs suppression of
dissidents (people who spoke against the gov in ussr and estern Europe)
New nuclear weapons, in 1977 USSR replaced some out-of-date missiles
for new SS-20 nuclear missiles. The west saw these as threat and in
response Carter allowed the US military to develop a Cruise missile, by 1979
USA had stationed Pershing Missiles in Western Europe.
Collapse of SALT 2, (The nuclear arms limitation treaty) It was set up in
1974 and in June 1979 it was signed, relationship between USA and USSR
has deteriorated so much that USA congress refused to ratify salt 2.
Afghanistan, in 1979 the pro-soviet regime in Afghanistan was under threat
from its muslin opponents (the mujahideen) the soviet forces entered
Afghanistan 25 December 1979 to protect. USA was alarmed that the USSR
could get so close to the wests oil supplies in Middle East. USA secretly sent
money and supplies to Pakistan, soviet forces reminded there until early
1990s.
The Moscow and Los Angeles Olympics, in protest at soviet involvement
in the afghan war, the USA boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games held in
Moscow. USSR boycotted the Los Angeles held four years later.

Ronald Reagan, 1981 a Hollywood actor was elected as president. He

disliked communism and the USSR, and called it evil empire, he supported
anti-communist forces in Afghanistan and Nicaragua. He increased the USAs
defence. He introduced the Strategic Defence Initiative.

May 1989
Hungarians dismantling barbed-wired fence between Hungary and non-comm
Austria.
June
Poland: free elections. Solidarity wins almost all seats. Eastern Europe gets first
non-comm leader.
Cracks in Soviet domination of Eastern Europe appear and the complete collapse
begins with East Germany.
September
East Germans in Hungary and Czechoslovakia refuse to go home. They Escape
through Austria into West Germany.
October
Demonstrations in East Germany when Gorbachev visits. He tells the leader,
Erich Honecker to reform. Honecker orders troops to fire demonstrators but they
refuse.
Gorbachev makes clear that Soviet tanks wont move in to restore order
November
East Germans march to the checkpoints at Berlin Wall. Guards join the crowds. It
is dismantled.
November
Demonstrations in Czechoslovakia. The Government opens its borders with the
West and allows other parties.
December
Romania: bloody revolution where the comm dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, is
executed.
Comm party in Hungary renames Socialist Party and declares free elections for
1990. Bulgaria: demonstrations against comm gov.
March 1990
Latvia leads Baltic republics in declaring independence from USSR.

Reunification of Germany
Wall down, west German Chancellor Helmut Kohl proposed reunification.
Germans in both countries embraced it.
Gorbachev believed a new united Germany would be more friendly to the West
than to East. After months of hard negotiations he accepted the reunification
and that it would become a member of NATO. No small step as it was German
aggression in WWII that had cost 20 m Soviet citizens.

3 oct 1990, Germany reunited.

Before in 1989 the wall marked the end of the world, beyond lay darkness but
the opening of frontiers showed that Europe was becoming one whole again.
The Independent, Nov 1989
COLLAPSE OF THE USSR.
In 1990, Gorbachev visited Lithuania (part of Soviet Union). Its leaders were very
clear, they wanted independence. They didnt want to be part of the USSR.
Gorbachev wouldnt allow this. But in March he did it anyway.
As he returned to Moscow, Gorbachev received similar demands from the Muslin
Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan. He sent troops to end rioting there. He also sent
troops to Lithuania, But when summer approached the crisis got worse.
Reforms within the USSR itself demanded and end to the Communist Partys
domination of government.
MAY
Russian Republic elected Boris Yeltsin as president. He saw no future in a Soviet
Union.
JULY
Ukraine declared its independence. Others followed
JANUARY 1991
In Lithuania, soviet troops fired on protesters.
APRIL
Republic of Georgia declares its independence.
The USSR was disintegrating. Gorbachev was struggling to hold it together. In
August 1991, communist party members and military officers attempted a coup
to take over the USSR. The plotters included Gorbachevs Prime Minister, Pavlov,
and the head of the armed forces, Dimitry Yazov. They held Gorbachev prisoner.
They sent troops on to the streets of Moscow, as the old Soviet way to keep
control.
Huge crowds gathered in Moscow. The opposed this military coup. Yeltsin
emerged as the leader of the popular opposition. But conspirators, faced by the
resistance, lost faith and the coup collapsed.
The last-ditch to save the USSR had failed. Gorbachev returned to Moscow. But
he had not strengthened his position as leader, and had to admit that the USSR
was finished.
In a televised speech on December 1991, he announced the end of the Soviet
Union.

Tanks at the Coup attempt.