End of the Cold War but other Tensions EMERGE… CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF THE FALL OF THE SOVIET UNION
STAR WARS President Reagan supported Strategic Defense Initiative, or "Star Wars," Soviets accuse the U.S of violating an Antiballistic Missile Treaty. Soviets forced to spend heavily to match the program …predict what happened? what conflict were they involved in?
1979 –1988 Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan 100,000 Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan as communists attempted to seize control of the government. U.S.-backed Muslim freedom fighters waged a war against the Soviets for nearly a decade before Soviet troops withdraw in 1988 An expensive failure for the Soviet Union Soviet people suffered from food shortages and lack of basic necessities
1985 - Gorbachev comes to power On March 11, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union. Gorbachev ushered in an era of reform. Perestroika economic reform- restructuring to allow more private ownership Glasnost means openness, allowed greater free expression and criticism of Soviet policies in gov’t
Impact of Glasnost and Perestroika: Sparked demands for democracy and independence by Eastern European satellite nations The Soviet Union no longer had the power to stop them!
1989 – The Berlin Wall falls Gorbachev ends the Cold War policy, which had been to pledge to use Soviet force to protect its interests in Eastern Europe. Remember cases in the 50s and 60s? After massive public demonstrations in East Germany and Eastern Europe, the Berlin Wall fell in November, 1989
1990 – German unification At a September 12 meeting in Moscow, the United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain, France and the two Germanys agreed to end Allied occupation rights in Germany that had existed since 1945 On October 3, 1990, East and West Germany were finally re-united as the Federal Republic of Germany.
Unexpected Consequences in Eastern Europe… The Communist dictator of Romania is assassinated The Velvet Revolution- Czechoslovakia peacefully breaks into two different nations
SOLIDARITY AND FREEDOM IN POLAND 1980, shipyard workers created a labor union called Solidarity grew to 9 million people Glasnost propelled the movement Lech Walesa became head of the Solidarity Labor Union In 1990, Walesa became President of a democratic Poland
Civil War in Yugoslavia Yugoslavia was created as a result of WWI…remember the “powder keg” Became communist but not aligned with Soviet Union during Cold War ethnic tensions during the Cold War were kept under control because of Totalitarianism With the collapse of the Communist bloc, ethnic and religious tensions spilled over into Yugoslavia It dissolved into separatism and warring states: Roman Catholic Slovenia and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina was mixed with Muslims (40), Serbian Orthodox (30) and Catholics (18) Bosnian independence was announced in 1992- Civil War breaks out There was violence on both sides, but Orthodox Serbs commit ETHNIC CLEANSING in an attempt to rid the state of Muslims
After the Civil War… US and NATO TROOPS SENT IN TO MAKE / KEEP PEACE Yugoslavia was broken into six separate nations Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic was tried for war crimes (died of a heart attackin prison before verdict)
WHAT NEXT? Vladimir Putin