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Cold War Crisis 1956-1968 - Coggle Diagram
Cold War Crisis 1956-1968
Hungarian Uprising (1956)
Causes
After WWII Hungary came under Soviet control, Stalin appointed Rakoski, who was very cruel and oppressive
Soviet rule meant most of Hungary's resources were spread across other communist countries, causing shortages, and opposition was made illegal under one-party rule.
These factors made Hungarians very unhappy with communism and demonstrations took place in October 1956
Events
To prevent escalation, Khrushchev appointed pro-reform Imre Nagy
After Nagy was appointed, he announced radical new reforms: leave Warsaw Pact and become neutral; hold free elections, potentially ending communism; and UN protection from the USSR
This threatened new Soviet leader Khrushchev's hold on eastern bloc
on 4th November 1956, 200,000 Soviet troops entered Hungary to restore order
Consequences
Over 5,000 Hungarians and 1,000 Soviet soldiers died in following violence
Nagy was arrested, later executed, and replaced by more moderate Junos Kadar
The USA was powerless as they could not be in direct war with USSR and had to avoid escalation,
Berlin wall (1961)
Causes
After WWII, Berlin, deep in Soviet East Germany, was split into western west half and communist east
Many East Germans (2.7 million) used this to escape Communism
This left East Germany with a lack of skilled workers and a weak economy
Consequences
Propaganda failure for the USSR as they had to phyhsically stop people leaving for capitalism
Wall became symbol of democracy and freedom in the face of tyranny
Events
Several talks were held between the USA and USSR to resolve this (Geneva 1959, Camp David 1959, Paris 1960 and Vienna 1961)
These talks failed, Khrushchev's solution was the Berlin wall, which first went up in 1961
This barrier prevented people escaping the East, who faced armed guards, solving the immigration crisis without escalation
Cuban Missile Crisis (Oct 1963
Causes
Before its communist revolution, Cuba was a US-backed dictatorship
Cuba was taken over by anti-USA socialists in 1959 who seized all foreign assets for the new government, which the US refused to recognise
After several failed assassinations, the CIA planned a counter revolution to topple Castro, which failed terribly
This attempted coup moved Cuba closer to the USSR, and it was secretly agreed that Cuba would allow Soviet warheads to be stationed on Cuba as part of a security deal
Events
The landing pads were discovered in early October 1963 before the warheads were delivered, placing the world on the edge of nuclear war
After much discussion Kennedy announced a blockade he called a "quarantine" to prevent the warheads being delivered
a deal was struck that the USSR would remove the missiles in return the US promised never to invade Cuba and secretly removed missiles in Turkiye
Consequences
Hotline established between White House and Kremlin to ensure clear communication to prevent further crises
mutual agreement to move away from hostilities and towards improved relations after realising how close the world was to ending.