Chapter 6: The End of the Cold War, 1985 - 1990

What was Gorbachev's role in ending the Cold War?
1. What was Gorbachev's role in ending the Cold War?
  1. Gorbachev abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine immediately
    1. This was a clear sign of radical change
  2. The Cold War was draining so much of the USSR’s wealth
    1. It was unable to develop economically
      1. The falling standard of living was creating unrest in the country
  3. Gorbachev wanted to reform the Communist Party in the USSR
    1. He wanted to modernise Soviet-style socialism
      1. He didn’t intend to abandon it
  4. There were 3 important strategies through which he ended the Cold War
  5. He initiated sweeping reforms in the Communist Party
    1. He introduced perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness)
  6. He ended the arms race with the USA
    1. He signed various arms reduction agreements
  7. He stopped Soviet interference in eastern European satellite states
    1. This included Poland and Czechoslovakia
2. How did Gorbachev's domestic policies help to reduce tension in the Cold War?
  1. Gorbachev wanted to maintain the USSR’s role of Superpower
    1. He knew he had to win over the Soviet people
      1. He needed to show the world that he would not threaten world peace
  2. Gorbachev had been in power only a month when he roamed around an industrial district of Moscow
    1. He visited supermarkets, chatted with workers at a truck factory, discussed computer training with teachers, and nurses pay with the staff at a hospital
      1. He dropped into a young couple’s apartment for tea
  3. When he visited the Baltic Shipyards in Leningrad, a spokesman for the workers began a monotone welcoming speech
    1. This expressed a wish that perestroika would develop even faster
  4. Gorbachev interrupted with playful cries of ‘Davai! Davai!
    1. This drew a big laugh from the crowds
  5. Dissidents were released from jail
    1. Banned books were published
      1. The Soviet people learned of the atrocities committed under Stalin
  6. Glasnost was a two-edged sword for Gorbachev
    1. The more freedom people gained, the more they wanted
      1. The more they began to criticise Gorbachev
        This made it hard for the Communist Party to keep power
  7. The economy had been damaged by the arms race, space race and the war in Afghanistan
    1. This was all done by a system that did not encourage incentive
  8. Perestroika and uskorenie (acceleration of economic development) brought some considerable changes
    1. Certain aspects of a free economy were introduced
  9. There were reforms in the political system
    1. There were elections for a local government
      1. This won Gorbachev support
        It enabled him to be equally radical in his dealings with the USA
How did the arms race end?
1. The 1986 summit meeting in Reykjavik
  1. The summit meeting collapsed after Reagan would not restrict SDI
  2. In a news conference, Gorbachev painted a bleak picture of US-Soviet relations leading up to the summit
    1. He said Reagan’s insistence on deploying SDI had ‘frustrated and scuttled’ the opportunity for an agreement
2. The Intermedia Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987
  1. A third summit was held in December 1987
    1. A breakthrough was achieved with the agreement of INF Treaty
  2. This treaty eliminated nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500-5500km
  3. By the treaty’s deadline, 1 June 1991, a total of 2692 of such weapons had been destroyed
    1. 846 by the USA
    2. 1846 by the USSR
  4. Under the treaty, both nations were able to inspect each other’s military installations
  5. Under the INF, there were to be no strict verification procedures to check that nuclear weapons were destroyed
    1. Reagan described INF as the realisation of ‘an impossible vision’
      1. Gorbachev stated it had ‘universal significance for mankind’
  6. Both leaders stressed that INF was only the first step towards an even more radical agreement
    1. They aimed to half long-range nuclear weapons
  7. This treaty was planned to be signed in Moscow in 1988
3. Gorbymania
  1. The final summit meeting was held in Moscow in May 1988
    1. By this time, much of the West seemed to be overtaken by Gorbymania
  2. It was evident that the wives of Reagan and Gorbachev pushed the leaders together
  3. Crowds were happy to watch them wherever they went
4. The CFE Treaty
  1. At the Moscow summit, there were more arms control talks
    1. There were troop reductions in Europe in 1989
  2. Gorbachev’s promise to withdraw troops from Afghanistan showed his peaceful intentions
  3. The summit led to the CFE Treaty
    1. This was signed by NATO and Warsaw Pact representatives in November 1990
  4. The CFE Treaty reduced the number of tanks, missiles, aircraft and other forms of non-nuclear military hardware held by signatory states
  5. George Bush and Gorbachev announced that the Cold War was over in a summit in Malta in 1989
  6. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, the two nations acted closely
    1. They followed the directives of the UN
      1. However, Gorbachev didn’t commit any USSR troops to the Coalition Forces that invaded Iraq
5. START Talks, 1990 - 1991
  1. At the Washington summit of 31 May – 3 June 1990, the two leaders discussed START
    1. On 31 July 1991, they signed START I
      1. It called for both sides to reduce their strategic nuclear forces over 7 years to
        1600 SNDVs and 6000 warheads
        4900 ballistic missiles
6. Arms limitation talks were renewed after it was clear that Gorbachev was keen to change relations with the West
7. A summit meeting between Gorbachev and Reagan was held in Geneva over 2 days in November 1985
  1. At the meeting Reagan would not give up his commitment to the SDI
    1. At the end of discussions both leaders spoke of the world being a ‘safer place’
8. The two leaders broke with convention and met together without advisers to discuss issues on their own
  1. Though nothing concrete was decided. The Geneva Accord was set out
    1. This committed the two countries to
      1. Speed up arms talks
      2. Work towards the abolition of chemical weapons
      3. Be more active on issues of human rights
9. Both leaders promised to meet again in the near future
  1. A second meeting was set for October 1986 in Iceland
Why did the Soviet Union collapse so quickly
1. East Germany
  1. 23 October 1989 - 300,000 people protest in Leipzig
    1. 4 November 1989 - 1mn people protest in East Berlin
      1. 9 November 1989 - Berlin Wall is opened
        1991 - Germany reunified into one country
2. Poland
  1. 1988 - Strikes throughout the country
    1. 1989 - Free trade union - Solidarity wins elections
      1. 1989 - Mazowiecki becomes for non-communist PM in eastern Europe
3. Hungary
  1. 1988 - Gorbachev accepts that Hungary can become a multi-party state
    1. 1990 - Democratic elections won by Democratic Forum, an alliance of anti-communist groups
4. Czechoslovakia
  1. 17 November 1989 – Huge demonstration against communism begins
    1. 24 November 1989 – Communist government resigns
      1. 9 December 1989 – Vaclav Havel becomes first non-communist President of Czechoslovakia since 1948
        1990 – Democratic elections won by Civic Forum – an alliance of anti-communist groups
5. Romania
  1. 16 December 1989 – Secret police fire on demonstrators in Timisoara
    1. 21 December 1989 – Huge crowd in Bucharest boos President Ceausescu, who flees but is later captured
      1. 22-24 December 1989 – Army joins rebellion and fights secret police, killing hundreds
        25 December 1989 – Ceausescu and his wife are shot by a firing squad
        1990 – Democratic elections won by National Salvation Front, containing many ex-communists
6. Bulgaria
  1. 1990 – Democratic elections won by renamed Communist Party
7. Changes in eastern Europe
  1. In May 1989, Hungary opened its border with Austria
    1. This meant that there was now a hole in the Iron Curtain
  2. This created a way for East Germans to move to the West
    1. It brought into question whether the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain could continue to exist
8. Events in East and West Germany
  1. Demonstrations occurred in East Germany in 1989
    1. There were calls for changes to the system of government
  2. On 4 November, the largest demonstration in East Germany’s history took place
    1. Over 1mn people in East Berlin demanded democracy and free elections
  3. Gorbachev visited Eat Germany in October 1989
    1. He informed political leaders that the USSR would not become involved in its internal affairs
  4. On the evening of 9 November, the border crossings into West Germany were opened
    1. The people began to dismantle the Berlin Wall
  5. Within a few days, over 1mn people per day had seized the change to see relatives and experience life in the West
    1. West and East Germany were formally reunited on 3 October 1990
  6. Tension in the world seemed to ease by the day while the power of the USSR seemed to decrease quickly
  7. The new Germany joined NATO
  8. In 1991, the Warsaw Pact was dissolved
9. The collapse of the Soviet Union
  1. Events in eastern Europe had a catastrophic impact on the USSR
    1. Many nationalities and ethnic groups saw how the satellite states were able to break away from Moscow
  2. In 1990, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania declared themselves independent
    1. This was accepted by Moscow in 1991
      1. This led to other demands for independence within the USSR
  3. There were fears that the USSR was about to disintegrate
    1. Gorbachev found that he was opposed by most sections of the Soviet society
  4. There was an attempted coup d’état in August 1991
    1. This was defeated by Boris Yeltsin
      1. Although Gorbachev was put back in power, he knew he had lost authority
  5. Gorbachev resigned in December 1991
    1. The Soviet empire split into several independent states
  6. The Cold War had officially ended in 1989
    1. Now the USA was the only Superpower left
10. Assessment of Gorbachev
  1. By 1990, Gorbachev’s actions had won him the Nobel Peace Prize
  2. Gorbachev and Reagan had become personal friends and had made some significant agreements
    1. These agreements meant that the USA no longer regarded the USSR as a major threat
  3. The INF Treaty was very important, as was the removal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, not interfering in the anti-communist revolutions in eastern Europe and glasnost
    1. These all combined to end the Cold War

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Chapter 6: The End of the Cold War, 1985 - 1990

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