1. The Fall of the Soviet Union 1970s to 1991 Cold War

2. Leonid Brezhnev and Détente  Post Khrushchev – why was he retired?  High-ranking officials were worried that he was trying to undercut their authority  USSR sees Arms race as unsustainable  DETENTE – the relaxation of Cold War tensions during the 1970s  Brought in to ease relations between the superpowers and restore Soviet dignity

3. The Prague Spring - 1968  Alexander Dubeck and Czechoslovakia want a little of what Poland and Hungary want  Students again…  People are tired of working for the state  Want to be independent bridge between superpowers  Soviets invade after “too much independence”  US watches…again

4. Brezhnev Doctrine  26 Sept 1968  “When forces…try to turn the development of some socialist country towards capitalism, it becomes…a common problem and concern of all socialist countries.”

5. US Finally Wins Space  Soviet tragedies set back program  US develops Saturn V rocket and learns secrets of linking crafts in space  16 July 1969 – Apollo 11

6. And then the 1970s…  Vietnam failure  Nixon and Watergate  Carter’s presidency  (1973) Oil crisis – OPEC decided to cut back on fuel production and that hurt US as fuel prices rose sharply  Soviets in Afghanistan  Iron Hostage Crisis  student revolutionaries took control of the US embassy in Tehran  Reagan released $8 billion in assets and the hostages were freed after 444 days  Three Mile Island and Love Canal  Nuclear meltdown

7. The Communists Strike Back  In the 1970s, communist movements spread into Africa, the Middle East, South America, and Central Asia  US stock falls

8. “Help us Ronald Reagan, you’re our only hope”  1980 election – Reagan runs to oppose spread of communism  Raises defense spending  Star War  Liberals see him as dangerous…what is he doing?

9. Afghanistan and Reagan  Afghan War spending combined with new US arms race, cause Soviet economic disaster  Social programs cut  Soviets can’t buy bread and guns at the same time…

10. Mikhail Gorbachev: The Last Hope  Perestrokia  Economic restructuring  Capitalism?  Glasnost  Social openness  Freedoms of press and speech

11. 1989  In the wake of Gorbachev renouncing Brezhnev…  Solidarity leads Poland (Lech Walesa)  Backed by Pope John Paul II (assassination attempt b/c of threat)  Berlin Wall falls 9 Nov 1989

12. Other States Fall…  Hungary  Bulgaria  Czechoslovakia (Velvet Revolution and Vaclav Havel)  Romania (Ceausescu)  Freedom!!

13. Christmas 1991  Aug 1991 – hardliners seize power and Gorbachev  Boris Yeltsin (President of the Russian Republic) “leads people to freedom”  25 December 1991 USSR bans communism

14. The Return of the Jedi