Chapter 28 – The Cold War Era Section 5 – The End of the Cold War

A Temporary Thaw China – Since 1949, US had not recognized the communist gov’t in China. In 1971, President Richard Nixon began secret talks to consider closer ties with China. China invited the American ping-pong team to a competition (movie?) President Nixon visited China in Feb 1972 US recognized China in 1979.

A Temporary Thaw, continued President Nixon was not finished with surprises. In May 1972 he became the first US President to visit the Soviet Union since the Cold War began. President Nixon tried to reduce tensions between USSR and US. This policy was called détente. Détente eased the Cold War by allowing trade and other contacts between USSR and US. SALT Agreement – Strategic Arms Limitation Talks agreement – USSR and US agreed to limit the number of nuclear warheads and missiles they built. Détente continued under the next two Presidents, Gerald Ford ( ) and Jimmy Carter ( ). USSR bought American wheat – US and USSR astronauts went up in space together – US and USSR signed SALT II Treaty.

New Tensions Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan Before Senate could ratify (?) SALT II, Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in December The troops seized cities and gave support to a pro- Soviet government. President Carter withdrew SALT II from the Senate. He also announced that the US would boycott (?) the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow (capital of Russia). Soviet troops stayed in Afghanistan for 8 years. Suffered many losses from Afghan rebels supplied by the US battled the communist government. Blowback (?) Détente ended with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Reagan’s strong stand President Reagan took office in 1981 and said the USSR was “the focus of evil in the modern world.” Reagan got Congress to increase military spending by more than $100 billion in his first 5 years in office. This included research into Star Wars (?) December 1981 Poland’s communist gov’t cracked down on Solidarity, an independent labor union (irony?). US verbally backed Solidarity and condemned Poland for declaring martial law (emergency military rule).

Reforms and Cooperation Mid-1980s – economic problems in USSR as they spent lots of money on weapons and not much on consumer products (?). Long lines for poorly made goods – Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the USSR at 54. Gorbachev began a policy of glasnost, allowing people and newspapers to speak out honestly and openly. He hoped that allowing public discussion of problems could help lead to solutions. Gorbachev decided he needed to cut military spending to improve conditions in USSR so he tried to improve relations with US. Reagan and Gorbachev met at several summit meetings (conference between the highest ranking officials of different countries) – US and USSR agreed to Intermediate Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty – they agreed to get rid of short-range and medium-range missiles – USSR pulled troops out of Afghanistan. Whenever communist governments in Eastern Europe had been threatened in the past, the USSR used its military to help the gov’ts. Gorbachev, instead, supported change – Poland had first free elections in 50 years. Poles voted into office all candidates supported by Solidarity and rejected the communist candidates. Lech Walesa who had been in jail 8 years earlier was elected to head the new Polish government. Also Communist gov’ts fell in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Albania, East Germany. East and West Berliners demolished the Berlin Wall.

Breakup of the Soviet Union USSR was made up of 15 former countries held together by Russia. They had few freedoms. Gorbachev announced moves toward democracy. For the first time in 70 years, he allowed political parties other than communist to form. August 1991 – Desperate communist officials tried to eliminate reforms by holding Gorbachev captive and sending military forces to surround the Russian parliament. SURPRISE!! Thousands of Russians went into the streets to block the military. A Russian politician named Boris Yeltsin led the crowd and got on top of a tank and shouted “Aggression will not go forward! Only democracy will win!” Region after region declared their independence from the USSR. December 1991 Gorbachev resigned and the USSR ended its existence.

Half a Century of Cold War When the USSR collapsed and broke into 15 countries (including Russia), US and other western nations began helping all 15 to move to a free market economy (?). Boris Yeltsin became President of Russia. From US spent over 6 trillion dollars on national defense. Truman’s policy of containment had been followed by 8 other US presidents (both parties) US slowed down or stopped communist expansion in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. On the other side – people had lived in fear of a nuclear war. Millions of young Americans fought in Korea and Vietnam. 1950s Red Scare. Support for military dictators. Teaching al Qaeda how to blow things up.