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12 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Mikhail Gorbachev
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He is best known as the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1985 to 1991 & President of the Soviet Union in 1990–91. He contributed to the downfall of communism & the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 with the attempt to try to democratize the nation's political system. Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for helping end the nation’s postwar control of eastern Europe.
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Perestroika
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A program that Mikhail Gorbachev formulated to restructure Soviet economic and political policy during the mid–1980s. He decentralized economic controls and encouraged enterprises to become self-financing. Gorbachev also proposed reducing the direct involvement of the Communist Party leadership in the country's governance and increasing the local government's authority.
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Glasnost
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refers to the policy introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1986 that instituted maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in all governmental activities in the Soviet Union. Gorbachev established this policy with the hope of reducing corruption within the Communist Party. But as a result, the media and citizens within the Soviet Union became more critical of the government.
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Solidarity
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refers to Poland’s first independent trade union, which was founded in September 1980. This union was founded and led by Lech Walesa. Solidarity was the first non-communist labor group in the Soviet sphere as well. It faced early opposition from the government with martial law in 1981, but the government eventually ended up negotiating with the union.
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Lech Walesa
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He is widely recognized as the former President of Poland (from 1990-1995). He is also known as trade-union activist who eventually helped form and lead Solidarity. For his effort as an activist, he was arrested a few times as martial law was imposed and when Solidarity was once outlawed at one time. Walesa is also known for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983.
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Boris Yeltsin
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known for being the first President of Russia Federation in June 1991. His presidency ended in 1999. Upon assuming his responsibility as President, he promised to transform Russia’s economy into a free market economy. Even though he saw initial success with that goal while ending government subsidies over consumer goods in 1992, he began to face a series of political crisis. One example is that he illegally dissolved the Russian Congress. He died in 2007.
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Karol Wojtyla
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was widely recognized as the former Pope of the Roman Catholic Church by the name of Pope John Paul II (1978-2005). He held the second-longest documented term of being the Pope. He has been the only Polish Pope to date, and was the first non-Italian. He ended his role as the Pole with his death in 2005.
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Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
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former Shah of Iran from 1941 to 1979, who maintained a pro-Western foreign policy and fostered economic development in Iran. He is recognized for carrying out the White Revolution, which included construction of roads, dam and irrigation projections, the eradication of diseases, etc.
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Ayatollah Khomeini
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was an Iranian politician and religious leader. He is known for leading the 1979 Iranian Revolution which included the overthrow of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. He eventually took upon the highest ranking position of political and religious authority (in Iran) as Supreme Leader.
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White Revolution
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refers to a collection of reforms in Iran in 1963. It was instituted by Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. Its purpose was to strengthen the classes of people that showed support to the traditional system.
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1948 Arab-Israeli War
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also known as the War of Independence, was the very first outbreak of a series of wars between Israel and the Arabic people. It began right after Israel’s proclamation of statehood in 1948 and as a result of the continuance of the political tension within the Arab-Israeli conflict.
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Six-Day War
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the third war of the Arab-Israeli wars that took place June 5-10, 1967. Israel ended up victorious in this brief war with their capture of the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, etc.
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