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The End of the Cold War. By James Walls, Luko Indie and Ben Walters. Content Summary. Chapter 1: The beginning of the end…. In November 1982, the Cold War seemed like it would last for ever. The tensions were back and were increasing.
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The End of the Cold War By James Walls, Luko Indie and Ben Walters
In November 1982, the Cold War seemed like it would last for ever. The tensions were back and were increasing. • Ronald Reagan, the new president of the USA, was a very strict anti-communist, did not help relations between the USA and the USSR. • Brezhnev, the (very) old Soviet leader had died, replaced by Andropov, who clamped down on any suggestion of reform.
Any dissident living in the USSR would have been very scared, and would not have seen any hope for reform inside the USSR. • (Don’t worry, the end is coming and the communism ends soon)
Chapter 2: US Foreign Policy • In the 1980s, Reagan’s Foreign Policy changes came out, which was seen as a shift in US foreign policy, in that it was more aggressive, strident and anti-communist than before.
The concept of militarised counter-revolution was one that would increase the US’s military spending, undermine the forces of communism, deploy nuclear missiles in Europe (supported by Thatcher), develop Trident submarines, Start the initiative “star wars” and keep the USA ahead of the Soviets in the arms race and maintain military supremacy over the Communists.
The Reagan Doctrine was introduced to try and halt the worldwide spread of communism, especially in the third world, by sending assistance to anti-communist insurgents and anti-communist governments. • For example, the USA supported a very unpopular right-wing government against a popular communist revolution.
It was designed to weaken the Soviet Union ‘at the edges’ and make sure that communism didn’t spread throughout the world. • In Afghanistan, the Mujahedeen were supplied with Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. • They also set up radio Broadcasts such as “Voice of America” and “Radio Free Europe” which aimed to encourage communist listeners to challenge their leaders.
Chapter 3: Why the Soviets were in trouble… • So what were some of the main reasons that the USSR was in trouble? • Economic issues • Calls for political reforms
Economic issues • There were clear signs that the Communist economies of Eastern Europe were not able to keep up with those of the West. • Since the 1950s, the quality and quantity of the goods that the Soviet countries produced was not in keeping with those of the west. • The countries had concentrated on heavy industry as opposed to consumer goods.
The technology that the USSR possessed was becoming more and more out of date, and the whole of Eastern Europe, who depended on soviet technology, fell behind the West. • The living standards of Eastern Europe were appalling; the citizens lived in terrible conditions, yet frequently heard about the decadent lifestyle of capitalists that was being portrayed to them over the radio.
The vast differences between those under communist regimes compared to those living in capitalist societies became apparent, and the citizens were not very happy with this. • From 1985 onwards, it seemed that the vast bureaucratic economic systems were grinding to a halt.
There was the very effective surveillance system by the Stasi in East Germany under the command of Erich Honecker. • Or the megalomaniac dictator Nicolae Ceausecu who ruled over Romania with his Securatate secret police.
Calls for Political reform • There were many internal arguments on how the countries within the Soviet union should have been run. • These arguments were between those who wished to maintain a hard line communist rule, and those who wanted reform. • The different regimes were all united by the fact that they ruled their people with little regard if they lived or died, just that they obeyed the laws.
The prospects of change and reform looked to be very slim at the beginning of the 1980s, however as time went on, reform became a lot more necessary and a lot more feasible.
Ronald Reagan His main influences on the end of the Cold War were: • That he caused difficulties for the Soviets in Afghanistan • He helped get financial aid to Poland and the Solidarity movement. But… • He may have slowed the end of the Cold War by his very anti-communist beliefs • Wasted money on the arms race that the Soviets didn’t even try to engage in • Sometimes supported regimes that were unpopular, and sometimes quite brutal. “The West will not contain communism, it will transcend communism. We will not bother to denounce it, we'll dismiss it as a sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages are even now being written.” Ronald Reagan was born in Illinois in 1911. He Developed a career as a radio broadcaster and Hollywood movie star before going into politics. He was the governor of California from 1967-75 and then became president in 1981, and served two four year terms. He was often seen as being very astute as opposed to intelligent, but was a very charismatic speaker and held firm beliefs. His personality helped him get along with other leaders. He was very opposed to communism, which he thought of as “evil”. This was a traditional American view at the time, and he was popular because of it. He increased the Nuclear arms development and the Star Wars program. He also started the Reagan doctrine to help anti-communist insurgents.
Mikhail Gorbachev He was influential because: • He inspired those who wanted to reform communism • He ended the Brezhnev Doctrine • He was prepared to make concessions to reduce arms and eventually the INF agreement of 1987 • His policies brought down the USSR and the Soviet Empire “If not me, who? And if not now, when?” Mikhail Gorbachev was born in the USSR in 1931. He came from a poor background, but went to study law at Moscow university and became a member of the communist party. He was the youngest member of the Politburo in 1980, and was elected as the General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1985. He served in this post until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. He established good relations with foreign leaders, as he was affable and honest. But he was prone to hesitation. He was a communist, but saw that the old system had to be reformed to make it more responsive to the people of the USSR. He also believed that the Arms Race took too many of the nation’s precious resources away from the more productive sectors of the economy He introduced the policies of Glasnost, Perestroika and Democratisation to the USSR
Margaret Thatcher • She was a strong supporter of Reagan, and presented his views in Europe. • Her decision to let Reagan deploy missiles in Britain was essential to the success of his policy. • Her strong personality gave her an advantage when it came to face-to-face meetings, but funnily enough established a good relationship with Gorbachev. But • She was pretty much a supporter of Reagan. “I dolike Mr Gorbachev, we can do business together.” Margaret Thatcher was born in 1925 to a grocer. She went into politics and became the secretary of State for Education and Science from 1970-74. She then became the leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, then the first female Prime Minister of the UK in 1979 until 1990. She was a very forceful and strong willed woman, and was dubbed as the “Iron Lady” by the media. She opposed all forms of communism and was a very strong supporter of the free market. She allowed Reagan to deploy Cruise Nuclear Missiles in Britain in the early 1980s. She also launched many, quite ferocious, verbal attacks on the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan.
Pope John Paul II He was influential because: • His speeches inspired those resisting communism, especially in his native Poland. • He visited Poland in 1979, 1983 and 1987. each time he reinforced his support of the Solidarity movement and helped it get power from the government. • Lech Walesa, the leader of Solidarity, was a devout Catholic, and very much influenced by the Pope. But… • The Catholic Church only really made an impact in Poland and the Baltic, not the rest of the Eastern European countries. “There are people and nations, Mother, that I would like to say to you by name. I entrust them to you in silence, I entrust them to you in the way that you know best.” He was born in Poland in 1920. he was the son of a Polish army officer and entered an underground seminary in Krakow in 1942. he became the Bishop of Ombi in 1958, and the Archbishop of Krakow in 1963. He then became pope in 1978, and died in 2005. He was said to have been inspiring and courageous. He was always willing to stand up for people’s beliefs, he has been said to have “heroic faith”. He was a conservative within the Catholic Church, but was a keen supporter of Human Rights and was very critical of the Communist regimes. He was very verbal about his views on Human Rights and how they were abused by governments of Eastern Europe.
Well, it was surprisingly sudden • In September 1989, there were the first free elections in Poland – Solidarity won and formed a government. • Also Hungary opens its border with Austria. • November 1989 – FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL
December 1989 – Malta summit between Gorbachev and Bush. • Also the collapse of communist regimes in Romania. Ceausescu is executed on Christmas day. • October 1990 – Reunification of Germany • August - December 1991 – Baltic States and Ukraine vote for independence from USSR
December 1991 – USSR IS FORMALLY DISSOLVED!
