End of the Cold War (1980 – 1991)

Second Cold War & The Collapse of Communism

Key Players – Ronald Reagan 1981 – elected President Former Hollywood film actor – was questioned as part of HUAC

hearings of the 1950s Staunchly anti-Communist and anti-USSR – called them the Evil Empire Supported anti-Communist forces in Afghanistan & Nicaragua Supported by many European leaders in his tough stance against the

USSR Bold plan – escalate the arms race in order to end it (spend, spend,

spend so the USSR could not keep up or go broke trying) Defence spending increased to $32.6 billion

1982 – implemented the Strategic Defence Initiative (Star Wars) Multi-billion dollar system designed to use satellites and lasers to

destroy missiles before they could hit their targets

Key Players – Mikhail Gorbachev

Born 1931 One grandfather was a kulak (land owning peasant) – sent to

gulags by Stalin for resisting policy of collectivisation Other grandfather a loyal Communist Party member

Studied law at Moscow University (1950s) – became a persuasive speaker

Worked as local Communist Party official in his home area By 1978 – part of Central Committee in charge of Agriculture 1980 – joined Politburo Close friend and supporter of Andropov (Soviet leader 1983-85) and

his ideas about reforming the USSR. 1985 – became leader of the USSR 1990 – awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

Reform in the USSR When Gorbachev came to power in 1985 he inherited significant

problems USSR’s economy had continued to shrink (approx. half the size of

USA in 1985) Spending too much money on arms race Locked into costly war in Afghanistan No economic reform since Stalin (1940s)

Regardless of their nuclear weaponry, the USSR effectively resembled a third world country and not a superpower Living standards were low, infant mortality was high, and life

expectancy was declining.

Reform in the USSR Gorbachev very concerned about the attitude of Soviet people to

work They were protected under Soviet system from economic

problems Guaranteed a job and a home (no matter what) Issue – the system gave no incentive to work harder or better

Communist slogans would not be enough to solve the problem so he developed new policies and released them slowly.

Reform in the USSR Gorbachev slowly implemented a four-part program to overcome

these issues. The four parts were: Glasnot (openness)

Cultural freedom and reduced censorship Perestroika (restructuring)

Restructuring and reform of the economy 1987 – under perestroika the Soviet economy was exposed to

market forces for the first time Democratization

Spreading of democratic processes through Soviet institutions Novomyshlenie

New foreign relations with the West and and en end to hostility.

Reform in the USSRGorbachev was popular but his policies were not successful

After two years of perestroika, it was clear that the economy could not be modernised as quickly as people wanted Led to dissent from the masses

Soviet Collapse in Eastern EuropeEconomic troubles plague all of USSR

March 1989 Gorbachev tells leaders of eastern European countries that they

would no longer be propped up on the Red Army They would be forced to listen to their people

Re-unification of Germany November 1989

Demonstrators in Berlin began to pound away at the Berlin Wall Wall was dismantled within five days

Following removal of wall, West German Chancellor Helmut Khol proposed a speedy reunification of Germany Idea enthusiastically embraced by Germans in both countries Initially Gorbachev was hesitant about reunification – believed

unified Germany would be friendlier to the West than the East After many months of negotiation Gorbachev accepted

reunification and Germany becoming a member of NATO 3 October 1990 – Germany officially reunifies

Collapse of the USSR1990 – Gorbachev visited Lithuania (part of USSR)

Leaders made clear desires to be independent country and not part of the USSR

Gorbachev disallowed this, but they did it anyway in March 1990

Almost immediately Azerbaijan made a similar demand Gorbachev sent troops to Azerbaijan and Lithuania to end rioting

Reformers in USSR itself demanded an end to the Communist Party’s domination of government

1990 – Russian Republic Boris Yeltsin elected President Made it clear that he saw no future in the USSR for Russia

Collapse of the USSR July 1990 – Ukraine declared its independence and was

followed by other republics

January 1991 – events in Lithuania turned bloody as Soviet troops fired on protesters

April 1991 – Republic of Georgia declared its independence

USSR disintegrating and Gorbachev was struggling to hold it together

August 1991 – hard line Communist Party members & leading military officials attempted a coup

Collapse of the USSRHuge crowds gathered in Moscow protesting the coup.

Russian President (Boris Yeltsin emerged as the leader of the opposition)

Faced with this resistance, the conspirators lost faith and the coup collapsed

25 December 1991 – In a televised speech, Gorbachev announced the end of the Soviet Union