The Cold War Ends

The Fall of the USSR

The Cold War: India’s Role

As the Cold War progressed, countries in all corners of the world chose sides.

India, the second largest country in the world, under its Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, decided to move more distant form the US and closer to the USSR. However, India never officially joined either side’s alliance and tried to assert itself as an independent country. Under Indira Gandhi, India also started a nuclear program due to their rivalry with Pakistan.

Margaret Thatcher: The “Iron Lady”• Under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher,

the United Kingdom became a closer ally of the US. Thatcher reformed the British government to make it more capitalist by reducing government controls on businesses. She took certain services that were government run and turned them over to private businesses.

• Thatcher also strengthened and asserted the UK’s military power by purchasing missile systems from the US.

• Her strong leadership earned her the nickname the “Iron Lady”

Thatcher is known as one of Britain’s greatest leaders, for strengthening her country’s economy and military.

Contributors to the fall of the USSR:The Arms Race

• The Cold War theory of deterrence suggested that each country needed to show great strength in order to deter its enemy from thinking it could successfully attack the other.

• Throughout the Cold War, both sides spent huge amounts of money on their armed forces. The US was able to afford the military spending, while the USSR’s spending put a serious burden on their economy.

These things aren’t cheap

The Failure of Communism• Communism proved to be a failed

economic theory and communist countries lagged far behind the West in economic growth.

• State controlled industry was capable of producing military supplies but was inefficient when it came to producing regular consumer goods.

• People in Communist countries did not enjoy the standard of living of those in Western Democracy.

• This caused many within communist states to reject the philosophy.

Communism could produce good products for the military, but not for the regular consumer.

Nationalism in the Iron Curtain• People in the Iron Curtain

countries became upset with the communist system and indirect rule by the USSR.

• A number of nationalist movement took place as countries wanted to rule themselves under a different system.

• Up until the 1980s, the USSR would swiftly crush any revolution. However, nationalist movements and protests continued to weaken their control.

The Prague Spring Movement was Crushed by the USSR. Other nationalist movements that followed would see more success

Poland• The movement began when a man

named Lech Walesa started a labor union, known as Solidarity and led a strike (both illegal in Poland’s Communist government).

• Solidarity grew in popularity in Poland and would win some initial reforms from Poland’s government.

• The USSR did not crush the Solidarity movement, but in 1981 allowed Poland to arrest Walesa and ban his activities. They initiated military rule.

• Poland’s economy failed to recover under military rule, and the Polish people who resisted Communism gained attention from the rest of the world. Discontent continued in Poland.

A new leader: Gorbachev

• In 1985 a new leader, Mikhail Gorbachev was given control of the USSR.

• Gorbachev was a younger leader, the first leader who had never lived under Tsarist Russia. He saw that the USSR was in drastic need of reform and started programs to try and improve the country.

• Ultimately, Gorbachev’s reforms would lead the USSR to collapse.

Gorbachev represented a departure from the older communist leaders

Gorbachev’s reforms

• Glasnost: Openness. Gorbachev wanted to lessen the strict control of the Communist party. He encouraged people to think of new ways to improve the USSR.

• Perestroika: Restructuring. Gorbachev also changed the USSR’s economy to try and make it more efficient. He would allow for some aspects of capitalism (ex. small private businesses).

• Democratization. Gorbachev also allowed for some free elections to take place that did not just include members of the Communist party.

USSR’s new Foreign Policy

• Gorbachev realized that the Soviet union could not keep up with the USA in an arms race.

• He met with US President Reagan and signed treaties to limit nuclear arsenals.

• Gorbachev also pulled his Soviet forces out of a costly war in Afghanistan.

• He encouraged E. Europe communist leaders to look for ways to improve their economies rather than to rely on aid from the USSR.

Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan. Their friendship helped ease the tensions of the Cold War

1989: Nationalism in E. EuropeWithout aid from the USSR, the Iron

Curtain started to lift and communist regimes fell.

• Poland 1989. Free elections were held and the communist party was voted out of office in favor of members of the Solidarity party.

• Hungary 1989. Hungarian communist reformers took control and dissolved their own party.

• Czechoslovakia 1989. Demonstrators demanded an end to the communist regime and forced their leaders to resign.

• Romania 1989. Military leaders overthrew Romania’s brutal dictator and established a new government.

Uprising in Romania, this time there would be no support for the Iron Curtain Countries

German Unification• The East German government had

resisted change and reform, but the East German people were hungry for change.

• Late in 1989, they staged huge demonstrations and forced the Communist leader to resign.

• The new communist leader decided to tear down the Berlin Wall and allow people to leave E. Germany. The exposure to democracy and capitalism made people unwilling to want to continue life under a communist dictatorship.

• The communist leaders would be forced to resign and Germany would reunite as a capitalist country the next year.

People Dancing on top of the Berlin Wall on the day it is torn down

The USSR dissolves• In August 1991, hard-line old

communists tried to regain control of the country in a military coup. They wanted to end Gorbachev’s reforms.

• However, the Russian people resisted the coup and members of the military refused to participate. The coup was a failure.

• Gorbachev was dedicated to the Communist Party, but was still unpopular after the coup.

• The 15 Republics of the USSR all declared independence. The Soviet Union was no more and the Cold War was totally over.

• Boris Yeltsin, already elected as President of Russia’s republic now had full control of Russia. Russia would inherit the nuclear arsenal of the USSR.

NATO’s new role

• By the end of the Cold War the Warsaw Pact had dissolved. However, NATO continued to exist and sought a new role.

• NATO expanded to include more countries, some of whom had formerly belonged to the Warsaw Pact.

• NATO continues to exist as an alliance, and has organized military action in the former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan.

• NATO is now committed to maintaining cooperation and peace in different regions of the world.