“Do you believe in miracles?” Al Michaels asked America as the last seconds trickled away in the Soviet-American Olympic hockey game. The Soviet Union hockey team had dominated the hockey world consistently for the past decade, this era of Soviet superiority came to an end as the underdog American team routed the Soviets four to three, moving to the next round of competition with a chance to win the gold medal in the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. The game symbolized confrontation between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) after decades of being locked in a proxy war. The Cold War, most notably defined by proliferating nuclear arms that shaped a new generation of weapons of
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Increasing competition brought on as a side-effect of the superpowers’ resolution to transcend the other country in the midst of a multi-decade arms race, slowed by the Mutually Assured Destruction Doctrine (MAD), shaped a suitable environment for the emergence of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). The program for the expensive and futuristic defense system launched in tandem with the staggering Soviet budget deficit and the Union’s indebted economy, ravaged from years of expensive research and construction of weapons, such as nuclear missiles. President Ronald Reagan created the Strategic Defense Initiative with the intention to prompt the economically-struggling Soviet Union to research and construct an alternative defense system, forcing the government to spend itself to the brink of …show more content…
Plagued by an ever-growing budget deficit according to intelligence gathered by the Central Intelligence Agency, life in the Soviet Union became increasingly difficult for it’s citizens. Many financial ailments directly resulted from the military and Department of Defense spending. Although not attainable immediately, SDI research produced incredible concepts for the world’s most advanced defense system. A defense system of these proportions produced an incredible impact on the course of the Cold War and the future of the Mutually Assured Destruction Doctrine. Controversy surrounded the defense initiative as it gained more popularity. Many scientists showcased skepticism about the reality of the Strategic Defense Initiative. The establishment of such a powerful hypothetical weapon, produced a palpable climate reflected in disarmament talks between the Soviet Union and America. Finally, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, caused by internal and external factors led to the end of the Cold War. Citizens of the Soviet Union lived everyday as a battle, low supply of many necessities such as clothing and food profoundly affected Soviet citizens. In Leningrad, currently known as St. Petersburg, dire food shortages led city leaders to claim that while sufficient food would be available for one month, there may not be enough food for the
Increasing competition brought on as a side-effect of the superpowers’ resolution to transcend the other country in the midst of a multi-decade arms race, slowed by the Mutually Assured Destruction Doctrine (MAD), shaped a suitable environment for the emergence of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). The program for the expensive and futuristic defense system launched in tandem with the staggering Soviet budget deficit and the Union’s indebted economy, ravaged from years of expensive research and construction of weapons, such as nuclear missiles. President Ronald Reagan created the Strategic Defense Initiative with the intention to prompt the economically-struggling Soviet Union to research and construct an alternative defense system, forcing the government to spend itself to the brink of …show more content…
Plagued by an ever-growing budget deficit according to intelligence gathered by the Central Intelligence Agency, life in the Soviet Union became increasingly difficult for it’s citizens. Many financial ailments directly resulted from the military and Department of Defense spending. Although not attainable immediately, SDI research produced incredible concepts for the world’s most advanced defense system. A defense system of these proportions produced an incredible impact on the course of the Cold War and the future of the Mutually Assured Destruction Doctrine. Controversy surrounded the defense initiative as it gained more popularity. Many scientists showcased skepticism about the reality of the Strategic Defense Initiative. The establishment of such a powerful hypothetical weapon, produced a palpable climate reflected in disarmament talks between the Soviet Union and America. Finally, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, caused by internal and external factors led to the end of the Cold War. Citizens of the Soviet Union lived everyday as a battle, low supply of many necessities such as clothing and food profoundly affected Soviet citizens. In Leningrad, currently known as St. Petersburg, dire food shortages led city leaders to claim that while sufficient food would be available for one month, there may not be enough food for the