Gorbachev And The End Of The Cold War

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1. Who was the last leader of communism?

Back 1

Gorbachev

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2. When was he leader from and until?

Back 2

From 1985 until its collapse in 1991

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3. What did he oversee?

Back 3

The end of the cold war, the fall of the Berlin Wall & end of communism in Russia. But he never intended to undermine communism.

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4. How did he view the relationship with the USA at first?

Back 4

In simplistic terms. EG: He commented that 'Reagan is not just a class enemy; he is extremely primitive. He looks like a caveman and is mentally retarded.'

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5. What was Gorbachev relationship with the West tested over?

Back 5

The Chernobyl Crisis

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6. What happened in April 1986?

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The nuclear reactor in the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the Ukraine went critical and exploded.

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7. What did Gorbachev do initially?

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He authorized a cover story that denied that there had been any release of dangerous radiation. The western media were unconvinced by the story and the western governments put pressure on Gorbachev to tell the truth about the scale of the disaster.

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8. What did Chernobyl become a symbol of?

Back 8

Of the crisis in soviet communism

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9. What two things did Gorbachev recognize that communism in Russia faced many problems?

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1. The soviet economy was not nearly as effective as that of the USA. America in the 1980s enjoyed an excellent standard of living but everyday life in the USSR was dominated by food shortages. It was not uncommon for housewives in Moscow to queue up for 5 hours just for a packet of sausages.

2. Many of the people of the Soviet Union had lost faith in the communist party.

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10. What did Gorbachev's plan for reviving communism involve?

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A radical program of reform.

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11. What was one of the two words Gorbachev summed his program up in?

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PERESTROIKA: Restructuring: this meant economic reforms designed to make the Soviet economy more efficient. Gorbachev believed that the Soviet Union could only survive if the economy was completely rebuilt, doing away with the command economy which had existed since Stalin.

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12. What was the second word his program could be summed up in?

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GLASNOST: Openness: this meant that censorship of the press was to be relaxed. The powers of the KGB were restricted and criticism of the government was allowed. Free elections were held in 1990.

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13. What did Gorbachev assume?

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That these policies would strengthen the power of the Soviet Communist Party; although Gorbachev did talk about reform he had no intention of allowing democratic elections in Russia.

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14. Why was the Soviet Union bankrupt?

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* For 40 yrs it had supported Communist regimes around the world through COMECON. In 1977 Cuba had joined. Cuba depended almost totally on the Soviet Union for aid. *Prices in the Soviet Union were controlled and subsidised and this placed a tremendous strain on the government. The space program had been very ambitious and expensive. Huge amounts had been spent on trying to outdo the USA - yet though the SU had secured many firsts in the space race - first man, first woman - but did not win the race to the moon. USA achieved in 1969.

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15. Why was the Soviet Union bankrupt (2) ?

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*Military expenditure had continued to rise & this also helped to cripple the SU's economy. This stopped spending on consumer goods and in the end led to discontent the citizens of the SU, who saw that their Us counterparts had access to a wide range of goods. No Soviet leader dared offend the military in case he was overthrown by a coup. The Afghan War was merely the final straw for the SU economy. *Soviet exports were usually of poor quality. There was little incentive to workers to raise standards as everyone was guaranteed not only a job, but cheap housing and public services.

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16. Why was the Soviet Union bankrupt (3) ?

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*As a result of the many economic problems, there was an immense 'black market' in western goods and currency. Tourists would be offered roubles at 3 or 5 times the official exchange rate. Tourists returning to Europe would tell of Soviet citizens asking to buy the clothes such as Levi jeans that they were actually wearing. *Gorbachev knew that if the SU was to survive, he had to reduce expenditure on arms and space technology. But Gorbachev also needed foreign aid and new technology in order to compete. The only way of getting it was by making agreements to reduce arms with the West.

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17. What were the USA's strengths and weaknesses?

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Strengths: booming economy, excellent computer technology, excellent space technology, highly equipped conventional military forces, international reputation as 'leaders of the free world', NATO allies.

Weakness: fewer nuclear weapons that the USSR.

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18. What were the USSR's strengths and weaknesses?

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Strengths: warsaw pact allies, greater number of nuclear weapons than the USA

Weaknesses: committed to an expensive war in Afghan, failing economy, old fashioned technology, reputation ruined by the Chernobyl crisis.

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19. What did Reagan and Gorbachev do over the period of three years?

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They met at several summit conferences and eased the tensions of the cold war.

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20. During the period of the summits, what did Gorbachev do?

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He made several visits to European countries.

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21. What happened whenever he went?

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He was greeted by huge crowds. The term 'Gorbymania' was coined and he was mobbed everywhere he went. The world came to expect a great deal from him.

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22. How did the wives of the two presidents play an important role?

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Raisa Gorbachev was lively and outgoing and liked to dress fashionably. She was quite different from the wives of previous leaders. Nacy Reagan persuaded her husband to moderate his opposition to the SU. The two women got on well and their friendship wore off on their husbands.

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23. When was the first meeting?

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Geneva summit in November 1985.

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24. What position was Reagan and Gorbachev in and what were their aims?

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He was in the stronger position. His aim for the conference was to persuade Gorbachev that he sincerely desired peace between the superpowers. Gorbachev was hoping to persuade Reagan to drop his plans for SDI, although in the weaker position

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25. What was Gorbachev keen to establish?

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A working relationship with the US President. Prior to the meeting he sacked the long term Soviet foreign minister Andrei Gromyko and appointed Eduard Shevardnadze instead. This signaled an end to the aggressive policy that had been pursued by Gorbachev.

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26. Why was the Geneva summit significant?

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The two leader were able to talk face to face and develop a personal relationship but no formal agreement on arms control was reached.

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27. Why was the Reykjavik second meeting of October 1986 more ambitious?

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Reagan proposed scrapping all ballistic nuclear missiles. But Gorbachev was unwilling to agree to these proposals because Reagan refused to drop his SDI project.

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28. What happened after the meeting at Reykjavik?

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The US and Soviet diplomats continued to try to draft an arms reduction treaty.

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29. What was the result of this treaty?

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The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty.

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30. When was it signed and where?

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At their third meet in Washington DC in December 1987.

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31. What did the treaty eliminate?

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All nuclear missiles and conventional ground-based cruise missiles within a range of 500-5500 km.

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32. What else did the two sides agree?

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That within 4 years they would destroy hundreds of the missiles & there would be stringent procedures whereby inspectors checked the treaty was being followed.

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33. Why was the INF treaty significant?

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It was the first treaty to reduce the number of nuclear missiles that the superpowers possessed. It therefore went much further than SALT I, which simply limited the growth of Russian and American nuclear stock piles. It was seen as a great breakthrough.

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34. Why did Gorbachev decide to sign the INF Treaty?

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1. Gorbachev came to see that nuclear weapons were highly expensive but had nothing adding to Soviet security 2. Reagan persuaded Gorbachev that the USA has no intention of invading the USSR 3. Gorbachev realised that the SU economy could never recover as long as it was spending so much on nuclear weapons 4. Gorbachev believed that political and economic measures would be more efficient in guaranteeing Russia's security than military strength 5.

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35. What happened in May-June 1988?

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The leaders met again in Moscow for the 4th meeting, to finalise the INF as it had now been agreed by the US Senate. They issued a joint statement which showed their friendship.

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36. When & where was the first summit out of the three which further reduced weapons and led to the cold war?

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New York Summit, 1988

This was the last summit between Reagan & Gorbachev. It was also attended by President-elect George Bush. Gorbachev indicated he was going to speed up arms reduction wanted to complete the START Treaty before Bush became president. However, Bush and his own advisers were less trusting of Gorbachev than Reagan and this seemed to slow negotiations during the summit.

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37. When & where was the second summit out of the three which further reduced weapons and led to the cold war?

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Malta Summit, 1989

This summit was between George Bush, the new USA president and Gorbachev. Gorbachev assured Bush that he would never start a 'hot war' against the USA. Observers were quick to point out that if Yalta (1945) was the beginning of the Cold War, then Malta (1989) was the end of it. In 1989, Gorbachev and George Bush were able to announce the end of the Cold War

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38. When & where was the last summit out of the three which further reduced weapons and led to the cold war?

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Washington DC Summit, 1990

President Bush and Gorbachev discussed Strategic Arms Reduction and this eventually produced the Treaty for the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. It was signed on 31 July 1991. This meant reducing 25 to 35 % of all their strategic warheads. The US and the USSR would set a ceiling of 1,600 strategic nuclear delivery aircraft and 6,000 warheads for each country if the treaty was agreed.

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39. What happened following the work of the previous summits?

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The representatives of NATO and the Warsaw Pact signed the Conventional Armed forces Treaty (CFE) which led to the reduction of weapons based in Europe.