1. Soviet Union & Cold War Study Guide
Study all terms, definitions, & notes for your test this Thursday

2. Ideas to study & know for test about the Soviet Union & the Cold War
1) NATO – North American Treaty Organization, a defense alliance signed in 1949 to join the countries of Western Europe, Canada, & the United States under the agreement that they would defend one another if attacked. 2) Iron Curtain – An invisible barrier between the people of Eastern & Western Europe after World War II that reflected the being restricted from traveling outside their respective countries. 3) puppet government – a government that is controlled by an outside force 4) one-party system – a system in which there is only one political party to choose from when voting & only one candidate to choose from for each government position.

3. Ideas to study & know for test about the Soviet Union & the Cold War
5) Joseph Stalin – He was the ruler of the Soviet Union from ) collective farm – a government-owned farm that employees large numbers of workers. 7) Warsaw Pact – A treaty signed in 1955 that established an alliance among the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, & Romania. 8) Cold War – After World War II, A period of political non-cooperation between the members of NATO & the Warsaw Pact, & these countries refused to trade or cooperate with each other. 9) communism – An economic & political system in which property is owned collectively & labor is organized in a way that is supposed to benefit all people.

4. Ideas to study & know for test about the Soviet Union & the Cold War
10) concentration camp – prisons where civilians, political prisoners, & sometimes prisoners of war are held, typically under harsh conditions. 11) Nuclear weapons proliferation –Spread of nuclear weapons to countries that don’t have them 12) Space race -competition with the U.S. & the S.S.S.R. to launch satellites & land on the moon 13) Nikita Khrushchev – ruler of the Soviet Union from 1958 until ) Mikhail Gorbachev – leader of the Soviet Union who began to reduce Cold War tensions with the United States in 1985.

5. Ideas to study & know for test about the Soviet Union & the Cold War
Questions to answer for the test
1) List the countries behind the Iron Curtain? East Germany, Poland, U.S.S.R., Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, & Bulgaria.
2) What country was split in two? Germany
3) What marked the end of the Cold War? The destruction of the Berlin Wall in 1989
4) How many countries were formed from the former U.S.S.R.? Which was the largest? 15 independent countries developed & Russia was the largest

6. Ideas to study & know for test about the Soviet Union & the Cold War
Starting in the mid-1980s, Communist Party leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced sweeping reforms to Soviet structure of government. He was in favor of improving relations with the U.S.A. & other countries in the West. His policies angered some members of the U.S.S.R. government. He regained some authority & ended all activities of the Communist Party.

7. Ideas to study & know for test about the Soviet Union & the Cold War
In 1989, communist countries in Eastern Europe- Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, & Hungary broke away from the Soviet Union. This was partly the result of the weakened Soviet military presence in Eastern Europe. In general, the transition from communism gave former Soviet countries greater political & economic freedom. These countries established their own non-communist governments. In November 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down, & Germany began the process of unifying. People around the world celebrated. East & West Germany were made one country in The Cold War was over. When the U.S.S.R. officially ended in 1991, then 15 independent countries were created with Russia being the largest.

8. Cold War Map People living in countries controlled by the U. S. S. R
Cold War Map People living in countries controlled by the U.S.S.R. could not leave. Armed guards watched over the borders. In a 1946 speech, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill warned that an “Iron Curtain” had fallen across the continent of Europe, meaning that the dividing line now existed between Eastern & Western Europe.