Class Notes:The Cold War Thaws

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The Evolution of Soviet Cold War

Policy 2

Nikita Krushchchev Stalin died in 1953 and

Nikita Khrushchev became Soviet Premier in

“Destalinization” started – purging society of Stalin’s memory

Khrushchev was more moderate and believed the USSR could beat the US economically

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Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Brezhnev

became Soviet Premier in 1964

He was more like Stalin and limited rights for the Soviet people

Brezhnev Doctrine – USSR could use force to keep satellite nations from turning away from Communism

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Mikhail Gorbachev Gorbachev took over soon

after Brezhnev’s death in 1982

He was younger and more reform minded

glasnost a policy of openness to ideas and information

perestroika restructuring the Soviet economy with less decisions being made by the Soviet state and more locally

democratization policy to open up the political system

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The Evolution of

American Cold War

Policy 8

Harry Truman & Dwight Eisenhower Followed policy of

containment and “domino theory”

Started build up of nuclear weapons under Eisenhower (“new look military”)

Emphasized American economic superiority – US was prosperous and free in society

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John F. Kennedy & Lyndon B. Johnson Brinkmanship replaced

containment (taking nation to the brink of war without backing down)

U-2 incident heightened tensions

Cuban Missile Crisis example of brinkmanship and made use of nuclear weapons a real possibility

Vietnam War took center stage and was major campaign of Cold War

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Richard Nixon Followed policy of

détente (lessening of tensions)

Also realpolitik (dealing with each other realistically)

Nixon visited China and the USSR

SALT I limited numbers of ICBMs and submarine missiles

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Ronald Reagan Détente had fallen apart

with the two previous presidents

Reagan was a “cold warrior” – fiercely anti-communist

Increased military spending SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative)

NUTS Nuclear Utilization Theory (you could survive a nuclear attack with “acceptable” casualties) 12

The End of the Cold

War13

Collapse of the Soviet Union

Dissent was getting stronger in Soviet satellite nations (even as early as 1956 in Hungary and 1968 in Czechoslovakia)

Gorbachev had loosened the grip of the Communist Party on all parts of Soviet life

The USSR could not keep up with the military spending of the US

December of 1991, the USSR ceased to exist (broke apart)

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