33:5 The Cold War Thaws

Soviet Policy in Eastern Europe & China – Soviet Union established firm grip on satellite nations – Nations forced to develop industries that meet Soviet needs – More moderate Soviet leaders come to power after death of Stalin; nations allowed more independence, but must remain allies – 1950s-1960s: protests in Eastern Europe

Destalinization & Rumblings of Protest: – 1953: Joseph Stalin dies – Nikita Khrushchev becomes Soviet leader – 1956: Khrushchev denounces Stalin for jailing and killing Soviet citizens – Destalinization: purging the country of Stalin’s memory; destroy monuments of former dictator, call for “peaceful competition” with capitalist states

– Satellite nations protest lack of change in Eastern Europe – October 1956: Hungarian army overthrows Soviet-controlled government – Liberal Hungarian Communist leader Imre Nagy forms new government – Nagy promises free elections, demands removal of Soviet troops

– November 1956: Soviet tanks, infantry enter Budapest – Thousands of Hungarian freedom fighters arm themselves with pistols and bottles; overwhelmed by Soviet forces – Pro-Soviet government installed; Nagy executed

The Revolt in Czechoslovakia: – Khrushchev removed from power following Cuban Missile Crisis – 1964: Leonid Brezhnev takes power; adopts repressive domestic policies – Strict limits on freedom of speech, worship – Government censors control press – Secret police arrest many dissidents – 1970 Nobel Prize winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn expelled from U.S.S.R.

– 1968: Czech Communist leader Alexander Dubcek loosens controls on censorship; policy of socialism with “a human face” – Period of reform known as the “Prague Spring” – August 20 th : Warsaw Pact armed forces invade Czechoslovakia – Brezhnev Doctrine: Soviet Union has right to prevent satellites from rejecting Communism

The Soviet-Chinese Split: – Mao, Stalin sign 30-year treaty of friendship – China resents living in Soviet shadow – China spreads their own brand of Communism to Africa, Asia – 1959: Khrushchev refuses to share nuclear technology with China – 1960: U.S.S.R. ends technical economic aid – Border disputes widen split

From Brinkmanship to Detente Brinkmanship Breaks Down: – 1960: U-2 incident prevents meeting between U.S. and U.S.S.R. to discuss buildup of arms – Superpowers’ use of nuclear weapons becomes real possibility during John F. Kennedy administration following Cuban Missile Crisis

– Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara admits world had come very close to disaster – 1963: JFK assassinated; Lyndon B. Johnson becomes president – Johnson escalates U.S. involvement in Vietnam to stop spread of Communism

The United States Turns to Détente: – Widespread protest of Vietnam War influences U.S. anti-Communism approach – Détente: policy of reducing Cold War tensions that was adopted by the United States during the presidency of Richard M. Nixon – Détente grows out of realpolitik philosophy; dealing with other nations in a practical and flexible manner

Nixon Visits Communist Powers: – February 1972: Nixon becomes first U.S. president to visit Communist China – May 1972: Nixon travels to Soviet Union – SALT (Strategic Arms Limitations Talks): series of meetings in the 1970s, in which leaders of the U.S. and U.S.S.R. agree to limit their nations’ stocks of nuclear weapons

– Nixon, Brezhnev sign SALT I Treaty; 5-year agreement limits amount of intercontinental ballistic and submarine- launched missiles – 1975: 33 nations join the U.S. and Soviet Union in signing the Helsinki Accords; commitment to détente and cooperation

The Collapse of Détente – U.S. improves relations with Soviet Union during presidencies of Nixon and Gerald Ford – President Jimmy Carter’s concern over harsh treatment of protestors in the Soviet Union threatens second SALT agreement – 1979: Carter, Brezhnev sign SALT II agreement

– Congress refuses to ratify SALT II following Soviet invasion of Afghanistan – Concerns over nuclear power grow as China and India begin building their own nuclear arsenals

Reagan Takes an Anti-Communist Stance: – President Ronald Reagan takes strong anti- Communist stance – Reagan moves away from détente; increases defense spending drastically – 1983: Reagan announces Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI); program meant to protect against enemy missiles – “Star Wars” program not put into effect

– Tensions increase as U.S. activities such as arming Nicaragua’s Contras pushes U.S. and Soviet Union further from détente – 1985: relations improve with new Communist leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev – Cold War begins to thaw – 1991: Soviet Union dissolves