End of Cold War
How did the tensions reduce at the start?
Détente
Under leadership to Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger adopted Détente instead of containment+ confrontation
USSR and USA had the right to exist side by side as sovereign states and accept each other's SOI
Advantages:
USA: Allowed them to devote more time in ending its involvement in Vietnam war. Greatly drained resources and became increasingly unpopular back home
USSR: Felt more secure as it had caught up to USA in the arms race
This helped to manage superpower's competition without risking Mutually Assured Destruction
Various Treaties
To limit the number of nuclear arms, foster economic cooperation and improve political relations
How did communism end in Eastern Europe?
People's Revolutions
Corrupt and dictatorial govt and brutal secret police led to rise of nationalistic movements
Gorbachev's announcement at the UN led to a floodgate of revolutions in Eastern Europe
W/o soviet support, could not hold on to power- 1989, communist govts started to fall
From Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, East Germany, Czechoslovakia
Fall of Berlin Wall
East German Communist Party severely weakened by mass demonstrations
Govt cld not do anything when thousands of Germans gathered on both sides of the wall- symbol of the unification of Germany
Unification happened in 1990, and the Berlin Wall completely destroyed in 1991
Signalled end of USSR as a superpower
Increased cooperation between superpowers
Disintegration of USSR
Reunification of Germany
Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE)
First Gulf War
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 1)
USSR and USA cooperated for the first time in supporting UN's enforcement measures
NATO and Warsaw Pact members agreed on equal limits on conventional military weapons and equipment
Following INF, START 1 promised to remove 80% of strategic nuclear weapons by 2001
Germany unified once again and joined NATO
1991 Coup
On the other hand, many hardliners appalled at Gorbachev's reforms, wanted to take back control
Soviet Republics, led by Boris Yeltsin, wanted independence from Gorbachev, but he refused. He was willing to give more autonomy though
Hardliners launched a coup in Aug 1991 and placed Gorbachev under house arrest
Yeltsin saw hardliners as a bigger threat then Gorbachev, thus helped him and defeated the hardliners
8 December 1991, Belarus, Russia and Ukraine signed the Belavezha Accords, agreeing to dissolve USSR
Gorbachev then resigned as leader of USSR, effectively and formally dissolving the Soviet Union and ending the cold war in December 1991