A WOODROW PUBLICATION

Superpower Relations 1943-1991

By Abi

Third Edition

For the Edexcel History A GCSE Unit 1, sections 4, 5 and 6

1

Le guide to Le Cold War Timeline 1

The Peace conferences 4

Ideological differences 5

Soviet Control 6

US actions 6

The Berlin Blockade and Airlift 7

NATO and Warsaw Pact 9

Khrushchev 9

Hungarian uprising 10

Berlin wall 11

Cuban Missile Crisis 12

Prague Spring 13

Detente 14

Afghanistan 16

Reagan and Gorbachev 17

End of the cold war 18

How to Answer GCSE Questions on Superpower Relations 19

EXAMPLE QUESTIONS (including all past questions to date with answers) 20 Timeline

1943 Teheran conference, big 3 agree on 2nd front, Japan, UN and Poland, disagree on delayed front opening and Churchill suspicious of Stalin

1945 Yalta, big 3 agree on Japan, division of Germany, Nazi trials, free elections and sphere of influence, disagree over Eastern Europe

Potsdam, Stalin, Attlee and Truman agree on division of Germany, USSR occupation of some countries, demilitarization and reparations of Germany, Nazi party banned and disagreed on treatment of Germany (atom bomb announced and Stalin cries)

1946 Churchill make Iron curtain speech, not chosen to be Stalin's interior designer

1947 USSR needs to go on a diet, expanding all over the place

Truman doctrine, policy of containment

Cominform set up

Marshall aid offered to European countries

Comecon set up

1948-49

three zones of Berlin and Germany merge together to form TRIZONIA, USSR close all access to West Berlin, west airlift supplies into Berlin, Berlin blockade lasts 10 months

1949 NATO is set up

2

USSR develop atom bomb, likened to turning up to class 10 minutes late with a starbucks

1950 The Arms Race begins (MAD theory develops)

1953 Stalin dies and Khrushchev (or Triple H, as I like to call him) makes secret speech

Hungary replace Rakosi with Nagy, who freed prisoners, Nagy removed

1954 USSR not allowed to join NATO, Khrushchev cries :(

1955 Warsaw Pact is set up

West Germany joins NATO

1956 Polish uprising fairly successful

300,000 protesters try to get Nagy reinstated; USSR troops fight civilians in streets.

Nagy brought back as PM, fighting stops but new policies scare USSR and troops sent in to squash uprising, USA doesn't care

1957 Sputnik 1 launched, space race begins, everybody is shocked that the USSR did something right

1959 JFK comes into power

Fidel Castro seizes power from Batista in Cuba because of US nationalisations

1960 Just before talks begin over Berlin, a US U2 spy plane is captured, stopping negotiations

1961 20,000 refugees leaving E.Berlin every month

Khrushchev closes Berlin borders and builds a wall, irritating everyone

US stop diplomatic relations with Cuba, USSR increase economic aid

1400 men land in Bay of Pigs, trained by CIA, crushed

Cuba officially communist

1962 nuclear missile launchers plan to be set up in Cuba, to balance out with Turkish missiles

discovered by US by a spy plane in October

JFK alerts troops and starts blockade on Cuba, demands removal of weapons

Telegrams sent between two leaders, JFK agrees not to invade Cuba and disarm Turkey, Khrushchev agrees to remove missiles and dismantle sites

Hotline set up between Kremlin and White House in case of a crisis

Detente starts

1963 Nuclear test ban treaty signed but US, USSR and UK

US sell grain to USSR

Apollo programme launched

1965 Vietnam war, USSR and USA are at war by proxy

1966 France has a strop and leaves NATO, Europeans disliked Kennedy's actions without consultation

1967 Czechoslovakian leader Novotny challenged by Dubcek and Silk because of economic issues and harsh regime

1968 Non Proliferation treaty signed

Dubcek replaces Novotny as First secretary of the communist party

Svodba replaces Novotny as President

Socialism with a human face, reforms include free speech, press, less secret police, less travel restrictions, more democracy, workers councils

Social democrat party rival communists

Two Thousand words published, USSR fear NATO, spreading of ideas and western trade

3

USSR invade with Bulgarians, E.Germans, Hungarians and Polish, Romanians and Albanians refuse to help

1969 demonstrations against USSR invasion stop

Brezhnev doctrine created

US land on the moon

1972 Nixon visits china and Moscow as part of Policy of Linkage

SALT 1 talks starts of disarmament

1973 Yom Kippur war, with US funding Israel and USSR funding Syria and Egypt, the two sides are at war by proxy again

1974 Nixon visits Moscow and talks of disarmament

SALT 2 begins

1975 Americans and Soviets shake hands in space, very symbolic

Helsinki Agreements, USSR and US agree on human rights

1977 Jimmy Carter comes to power, openly criticises USSR

1978 Communism comes to Afghanistan, met with displeased Islamic groups called guerrilla movements such as mujahedeen

1979 NATO place long range missiles in Europe

Soviets invade Afghanistan to keep allies and stop American influence

Communist leader Amin is shot and Afghan soldiers desert

SALT 2 ends, delayed by invasion

1980 Carter Doctrine of defending Persian Gulf from communism, trade reduced and Olympics boycotted, so the Russians won everything, nothing has changed since

Reagan comes to power (not mad, nuts)

Detente ends

1983 SDI plans (star wars) show how much US willing to invest in weapons

evil empire speech

USSR build up arsenal again

1985 Gorbachev flies into power on a communist unicorn of awesomeness, with his sidekicks: glasnost and perestroika

Gorby and Reagan start a beautiful bromance in Geneva

1986 Star Wars talks break down

1987 INF treaty

1988 Mujahideen control 75% of Afghanistan

countries like E.Germany, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria face rebellions from workers, leading to end of satellite states

1989 USSR forces withdraw

CFE treaty

Hungarian border with Austria opened up, allowing the East and West to mingle

THE WALL COMES DOWN

1991 START treaty

Warsaw pact dissolved

Gorbachev almost removed but saved by Russian republicans, forced to start a multiparty system

end

4

The Peace Conferences

During WWII, the big three got together for a few meetings, cos everyone hates Hitler.

Teheran

The first meeting was held in Teheran in 1943, Stalin, Churchill & Roosevelt agreed on the following

A second front will open up in Europe

USSR will fight Japan

UN will be set up

USSR get some Poland

However, some strains in the alliance were revealed when they discussed:

The delayed second front (some would say they were Stal-in)

Churchills distrust of all things communist

USSR didnt help the Warsaw uprising, because they wanted a weaker Poland

Yalta

The three met again in February 1945, they agreed on some more stuff:

USSR will fight Japan

Divide Germany and Berlin into four

Hunt down Nazis and punish them

Give liberated countries free elections

Keep involved in the UN

USSR will get a sphere of influence in eastern Europe

But, there was still some tension:

Stalin wanted to cripple Germany, the others wanted to help rebuild it

Stalin wanted more Poland and influence in the government, but he agreed on free elections

Potsdam

Stalin met with Attlee and Truman in July 1945 to discuss the rest of the stuff, heres what the agreed on:

Divide and demilitarise Germany, as well as establishing democracy there

USSR would get most of the reparations and basic trading between zones

Ban the Nazi party and put them on trial

Participate in the UN

Extend Poland westward

Buuuut:

Stalin wanted to crush Germany and get more reparations

Truman wanted more democracy in eastern Europe and Stalin was all nope

USA announced the atomic bomb and Stalin threw a hissy fit

5

Ideological differences

You cant really blame these two for hating each other, well you can and should, but it is no wonder

WHY.

Even before LENIN was in charge, the western powers hated the commies, something about fairness and

equality being corrupt and evil.

The USA is all about the big Cs: Cheeseburgers, Corporations and Capitalism, we only need to worry

about the last one.

Communism Capitalism

There is one party, one government, nobody changes it.

Theres more than one party that changes so often nothing really happens.

No privately owned businesses, owning ANYTHING is the highest form of greed.

Of course you can own things, this is AMERICA GODDAMIT; how can you afford cheeseburgers if

you dont have land?

Everyone is equal, except the capitalist pigs Everyone has some opportunities, unless you are poor, or black, or female, or an immigrant, or look

funny, or think differently, or smell funny.

CENSOR ALL THE THINGS Say what you want, nobodys going to listen

Wants everyone to be communist Really scared of everyone being communist

All these tensions in ideologies made the superpowers scared of each other, like, imagine if all the

Americans had to give their cheeseburgers to some supreme overlord who administered them all some

carrots? There would be terror and anarchy.

But both sides were convinced that they were doing what was best, the USSR is seen as harsh and evil,

but really, all they cared about was:

Not being invaded by Germany for a third time

Separating itself from the Germans by having Poland as a buffer

Not being nuked

Whilst Americans were seen as over powering and selfish, but in reality:

They were concerned for the civil rights of Europeans

they didnt want to repeat the treaty of Versailles

They were over powering and selfish

The complete opposing ideologies living in so close proximity to one another had caused Europe to be split

down the middle; this starts a period of time (1945-49) which I like to call: The Allies divorce

Why this time like a divorce, the following themes were evident:

The USSR started eating her feelings and expanded everywhere

The USA tried to buy the love of the European countries

Churchill became obsessed with interior design and picking out curtains

They both allied off and bitched to their friends about their ex

6

Soviet control

The USSR took full advantage of the promise of a sphere of influence and started expanding into Eastern

Europe. This was done because:

They were promised a lot of this land in the percentages deal

Many of these countries (Poland, Hungary, Romania etc) hated the USSR and could attack

Poland would offer a lot of security, which they needed because Germany was always invading

Communism believes in expansionism, the more the merrier and all that

But the taking over and enforcement of this control was brutal, mean and a bit scary

In a lot of these countries, Stalin started by introducing a soviet presence in the government and then slowly

took over the media, civil services and army. All the opposition was purged and fixed elections were held.

These countries became satellite states.

In 1947, Cominform was set up. This was a body to control the policies and governments of the states, as

well as purge any leaders that refused to collectivise and communise.

Two years later, Comecon was set up to control the economies of these countries. It gave the USSR access to

their resources and turned the satellite states into one big factory for mother Russia.

US Actions

Truman was pissed and made a doctrine, which is basically taking an idea and making it policy.

Most of the cold war was fought in this way, thats why its commonly seen as a war of ideas over weapons

(but weapons are important too, never forget the weapons).

The Truman doctrine is the declaration of the cold war; it preached containment and the US intent to help.

This was put into effect by the Marshall Plan:

Britain was trying to stop a communist rebellion in Greece and ran out of money

USA realised that it was really rich now so could just throw money at the reds, it worked

USA realised they could throw more money at Europe, so offered them all some cash

By stopping poor people being poor, Truman ensured the support of capitalism in these countries

Stalin ensured that no satellites took the money through Comecon

It isnt paranoia if they are out to get you: the US did have an agenda; they would only get richer by making

sure that the businesses in Western Europe were American owned. At the same time, Stalin kept his own

people poor to make sure that they didnt see the obvious benefits of actually owning things like money.

Money from the Marshall aid was invested into machinery, food, technology and assistance. BUT IN RETURN

the countries had to agree to buy US goods and accept US investments. See it as a continental kick-starter.

Also, by putting a lot of consumerism very close to the satellites, the people were inspired to leave the

communist world for the joys of capitalism. Capitalism on the surface looks a lot better for the average Joe.

So what happened? Stalin threw a hissy fit.

7

The Berlin Blockade and Airlift

Causes

Stalin cut off all access to Berlin, because some smarty-pants thought it was a good idea to put it in his zone.

Actually the causes are quite clear:

The western zones had loads of investment and work done to it, but Stalin still hated Germany so

kept his zones really poor and war torn, his zone wasnt allowed to trade with the others

The affluent western zones of Berlin were right in the middle of his communist zone, he didnt want

the capitalist pigs there, making all the poor poor communists jealous of their cheeseburgers

So here is what happened that pushed the tensions to breaking point in 1948:

The British and American zone merged to form Bizonia

they had a really bad attitude and made the soviets walk out of the allied control commission

Soviet troops began searching transport into Berlin, whilst lots of money was pumped in from US

The French zone joined, Bizonia became Trizonia, with a new currency and all, the USSR copied

Song about the causes of the blockade, to the tune of Somebody That I Used to Know

[USA:]

Now and then I think of when we in alliance,

Like when we tried to defeat the third Reich,

tried to get together the big three,

But turned out to be bad company,

But those are post war conferences I still remember,

You can get addicted to expanding your sphere of influence,

taking Polands borders to the end, always the end,

So when we found that youd put up curtains,

we started giving money to our friends,

But I'll admit that we scared you would take over,

But you didn't have to block Berlin,

tried to starve out all our people and cut off access

And I don't even need your half

But youre passive aggressive and if feels so rough

we just wanted to merge our zones

form trizonia and introduce a new currency

I guess that well just contain you though

Now you're just an ally that I used to know

Now you're just an ally that I used to know

Now you're just an ally that I used to know

[USSR:]

Now and then I think of when you announced the A-bomb

But had me believing it was due to our lack of funds

8

But you went and sent that plane

to watch over every move we make

You said that youd leave us alone

And we could just remain allies that you used to know

[USA:]

But you didn't have to block Berlin

tried to starve out all our people and cut off access

And I don't even need your half

But youre passive aggressive and if feels so rough

we just wanted to merge our zones

form trizonia and introduce a new currency

I guess that well just contain you though

Now you're just an ally that I used to know

[x2]

An Ally

(I used to know)

An Ally

(Now you're just an ally that I used to know)

(I used to know)

(That I used to know)

(I used to know)

Key features

Stalin cut off all road, rail and canal access in an attempt to starve out West Berlin; he was sick of the

western influence in his zone and wanted them to withdraw from the capital.

Truman was facing a lot of criticism from the west, and was determined to be seen as a tough guy or

something; he needed Berlin to be a symbol of western might behind the iron curtain.

4,600 tonnes of supplies were flown into western Berlin from the allies every day. Truman also set up some

missiles in Britain so the USSR could be within bombing range.

The blockade lasted for ten months and the airlift only got stronger and more efficient, despite this, the

West Berliners were starving, even though only 3% took up the offer of moving into eastern Berlin.

Stalin called off the blockade and the Berliners danced in the streets.

Effects

This was seen as a victory for the west, and a great propaganda opportunity for Truman (luckily this wasnt

much of a PR disaster for Stalin, because he controlled all the media) but also really heated up the cold war.

East/west tensions increased dramatically, eastern Germany became the German Democratic Republic and

West Germany became the Federal German Republic.

Perhaps more importantly, the blockade directly led to the establishment of NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

This was when the cold war became global.

9

NATO and Warsaw Pact

In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty organisation was set up. Its main commitment was to prevent soviet

expansion by ensuring that western European countries had the military backing of the likes of the USA, UK

and Canada (because who doesnt want the military backing of Canada, eh?).

The members included the USA, UK, Canada, France, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Belgium,

Netherlands & Luxembourg.

The need for NATO was only heightened by the revelations that the USSR had developed the atomic bomb

way too early, probably with US secrets and spies. The arms race and MAD theory had properly begun to

take effect, with both side pouring massive amounts into developing weapons.

Also, Communism had just taken over in China and North Korea (communist) was about to invade South

Korea (Capitalist).

The USA was really scared of the communist domino effect; they were convinced that once one country

turned red, most of its neighbours would quickly follow. This sort of happened.

Also, McCarthy was tearing the place apart with his witch hunting and such, IT CANNOT BE EMPHASISED

ENOUGH HOW MUCH THE USA WERE TERRIFIED OF COMMUNISM LIKE ALL LEFT WING PEOPLE WERE

ALMOST THROWN OUT OF THE COUNRTY LIKE IT WAS A MASSIVE THING NOT TO BE SNIFFED AT.

In 1953, Stalin died and Khrushchev took over. He spoke of destalinisation and peaceful co-existence with

the west. The following year, the USSR was denied access into NATO.

So, in 1954, Khrushchev set up the Warsaw Pact as an opposing military alliance. It was basically all the

satellites promising to protect one another.

The members included the USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and

Romania.

Khrushchev

Khrushchev was seen as really nice; he made radical secret speeches about the reign of terror ending.

He even took actions that backed this stuff up:

He dismissed former supporters of Stalin (like the tyranty leader of Hungary, Rakosi), and replaced

them with more liberal ones (like Nagy).

He invited ex-enemies over for tea like Tito, who had been elected as leader of Yugoslavia only to be

expelled from cominform and then accepted the Marshall aid

He just, sort of, let Poland rebel and wasnt that upset by it

Everything was nice and nothing bad happened.

Lol, jk Khrushchev was also really mean after a while.

10

Hungarian Uprising

Background to Hungary

Stalin had gone in and didnt really leave when he was supposed to, even when the communists

were voted out very dramatically in 1945

In 1947, the opposing party members were purged and Rakosi became leader and joined cominform

Rakosi was really mean and purged everything, he banned religion, denied Marshall aid and his 5

year plan ruined the Hungarian economy by giving all their resourced to the USSR

Nagy became the new Prime minister in 1953, but Rakosi took back his role in 1955

Gero took over in 1956 and things didnt really change

Key Features

Students protested in Budapest, knocking down Stalin statues and demanding freedom.

Khrushchev sent in troops and tanks, 12 people were killed and over a hundred were wounded.

Nagy was reinstated as Prime minister that same day (25th Oct) and got the tanks withdrawn

After believing to have US support, Nagy released prisoners and published some proposed reforms

Khrushchev became anxious once more as parties were reintroduced and Hungary was leaving WP

In November, he sent in 200,000 troops and 6000 tanks, there was fighting until mid 1957

The US was too involved with Egypt to help Nagy, Kadar took over in 1958 & tricked him

Main reasons for the invasion:

Damage to WP

Pressure from Mao

Stamp of authority

To keep control

USA and UN preoccupied

Results of the Invasion

The rebellion was squashed, killing 20,000 Hungarians, around 7000 troops died

Kadar was a hard line communist and ensured USSR presence in Hungary

The world became disillusioned with Khrushchevs promises

The USSR maintained an empire of terror in Europe

200,000 Hungarian refugees fled to western countries during the uprising

11

The Berlin Wall

The problem with Berlin

Despite the whole blockade business, the city was still posing a problem for everyone involved.

The USSR was desperate to get rid of the allied because Berlin was still a window into the west deep in the

heart of communist Germany.

Between 1949-61, 4 million people had hopped over the iron curtain; East Berlin had run out of people to

runs its infrastructure and was also at risk of espionage. This is known as the brain drain.

In 1958, Khrushchev wanted to turn Berlin neutral, but Eisenhower didnt want to negotiate. The two met

twice in 1959 and both of the meetings were deemed successful.

Nine days before the two were to meet again in 1960; a US U-2 spy plane was shot down over a USSR city.

Khrushchev demanded an apology but Eisenhower refused. Khrushchev stormed out of the first session.

Khrushchev saw West Germany as a military threat as they had joined NATO and was growing quickly. The

brain drain had started to cause the East German economy to decline.

In 1961, he demanded that Kennedy remove western forces from Berlin so they could draw up a treaty.

Kennedy refused and upped defence budget. Khrushchev upped his budget and closed the border.

In a single day, a wall of concrete had been built splitting the city of Berlin, the Iron curtain had materialised.

Results of the wall

Families were split apart and travel restrictions made it impossible for them to see each other

Everyone crossing the wall was shot, this ended the brain drain

Kennedy was seen as weak for not going to war with USSR

Tensions in Europe eased overall as the east German economy recovered

Kennedy visited in 1963 and declared that he was a doughnut, he had overwhelming support

The USSR got a bad name globally, this was a golden US propaganda opportunity

It was clear that Europe would remain a deeply divided continent for the time being. Meanwhile, the world

was getting ready for certain doom...

12

The Cuban Missile Crisis

Arm racing

Up until 1962, the superpowers just kept spending more and, more on weapons. In 1957, Sputnik had

successfully launched into orbit, thus began the space race. NASA was swiftly founded and the American air

force and navy had many many many nuclear weapons.

Castro

In 1959, Fidel Castro had taken over as leader of Cuba from Batista, which is extremely close to the USA.

Castro ejected all US business from the country; in return the US refused to buy Cuban sugar and cigars.

The USSR quickly swooped in and started investing in Cuba; Khrushchev really needed some political gain.

In 1961, the US broke off relations with Cuba and Eisenhower had started training Cuban exiles for invasion.

Kennedy continued the scheme and planned to use them to overthrow Castro. The CIA trained the exiles,

spending around $45 million.

La Brigada 2506 had around 1500 members and invaded the Bay of Pigs in 1961, the epically failed, due to

the fact that people liked Castro, who knew about the invasion the whole time. Cuban planes had sunk ships

and 20,000 Cuban soldiers were all waiting on the bay, ready to arrest the exiles.

Kennedy was humiliated

Castro became friendlier with USSR

Cuba was seen as an example

Kennedy wanted to resist communism

nearby

USA was seen as imperialist and mean

Operation Mongoose began spying

Developments in Cuba

Cuba was officially aligned as communist by the end of 1961, concerning Kennedy. There was already Soviet

military presence on the island and Khrushchev wanted to match the US missile bases in Italy and Turkey.

Throughout 1962, Khrushchev pumped more military supplies into Cuba. In October, a U2 spy plane found

ballistic missiles being installed, these things could hit, like, Canada eh.

The Crisis

Kennedy set up a committee to decide what to do, a USA quarantine around Cuba was set up

US armed forces get ready as USSR ships attempt to ignore it, but ended up turning around

Kennedy demands the removal of all missiles, Khrushchev demands a promise to not invade Cuba

The next day, Khrushchev demands for the Turkish missiles to be removed, a U2 plane is shot down

Kennedy agrees to not invade Cuba, USSR take away missiles, USA removes Turkish bases

Results of the Crisis

USSR was seen as weak as USA withdrawals were secret; Khrushchev was sacked in 1964

The USA had started to sell wheat to USSR in an attempt to ease tensions

MAD theory came to the forefront of the picture, treaties restricting use of weapons were signed

A hotline between the white house and Kremlin was set up

France left NATO, Kennedy lost a lot of European support

13

Prague Spring

Background

In 1948, Jan Masaryk, the foreign secretary, was murdered in order to secure soviet control. Despite

this, Czechoslovakia had been fairly loyal and well behaved until the 1960s.

Novotny had been leader since 1957; he was mean, brutal and a massive dic-tator. He didnt even

want to destalinise and release political prisoners jailed under Stalin.

The economy was declining epically, because the USSR was taking all of their resources and wouldnt

let them produce consumer goods. In 1965 Novotny attempted to boost consumer spending with his

New Economic Model, but nobody could afford any of the products.

For these reasons, the Czechoslovakians began to demand change, in 1967 Dubcek and Sik challenged

Novotny at the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Dubcek invited Brezhnev to Prague so he could

see the opposition to Novotny.

Dubcek replaced Novotny as top of the communist party in 1968 with the support of Brezhnev. Later that

year Svoboda, who supported Dubceks ideas, replaced Nvotony as President.

The Spring

The Prague Spring was a series of reform introduced by Dubcek in 1968; the Czechs called it socialism with a

human face, because this was a more people-oriented form of communism, the changes included:

A multi party political system

Less media censorship

Freedom of speech

Less power for the secret police

More trade and travel with the west

Work councils to represent workers

These changes led to more opponents of communism to demand more change. A leading journalist called

Vaculik produced a manifesto called The Two Thousand Words, calling on the people to force more extreme

reform. A separate political party, the Social Democrats, began to form in opposition the communist party.

The USSR invade

The USSR decided to intervene for a few reasons:

Brezhnev was terrified that Czechoslovakia would leave the Warsaw Pact and join NATO, which

would divide the eastern bloc into two and put NATO on the USSRs border

There was a fear that these uncommunist ideas would spread to other Eastern European countries

The leaders of E.Germany and Poland were pressuring Brezhnev to stop the reforms

The trade links with W.Germany may allow a western presence to dominate Czechoslovakia

Soviet tanks remained in Czechoslovakia after some military exercises, so Dubcek reassured WP that they

would stay in the alliance and signed a declaration in his faith in communism. But soon after, the soviet

opponent Tito visited Prague and was met with enthusiasm and support. The Soviet Politburo spent three

days deciding what to do and, eventually, hundreds of thousands of WP troops entered Czechoslovakia.

14

Consequences to the invasion

Civilians threw petrol bombs and built barricades, students even swapped street signs to confuse the

soldiers. But there was no armed resistance and less than a hundred were killed.

Dubcek and the other leaders were arrested and taken to Moscow; they were forced to stop reforms

Demonstrations lasted well into 1969; Jan Palach set himself on fire in Wenceslas Square.

Husak, a hard-line communist, took charge after Dubcek forcibly resigned and was sent to Turkey.

Brezhnev made a doctrine (thats always bad news) redefining communism as a one party system.

WP relations deteriorated, Romania refused to send in troops and Albania left altogether in 1968.

The USA didnt really care because the Vietnam War was going on, but china criticised the USSR.

Comparing to Hungary

There are some key similarities and differences with the Hungarian uprising and these events:

Similarities Differences

Both had been caused by a tyranty leader and a bad economic situation

Hungary was going to leave WP, but Dubcek insisted that Czechoslovakia would not leave

Reforms had been introduced by popular liberal leaders

Hungary had the alleged support from America

Soviet invasion had been met with local resistance There was an armed resistance from the Hungarians and more casualties.

Hard-line communists had come into power as a result

The Prague invasion had led to tensions within the WP whilst the Hungarian invasion ensured control

The differences between the two tell us a lot about how the other flashpoints of the cold war affected the

mentality of the eastern people and the tactics of the USSR. The need for change was still evident, but the

USSR had become more reliant on other eastern European countries as their economies slowly grew. Also

the lack of aggression by both sides shows a fear of developing weapons and support from the west.

15

Detente

Key features and reasons

Detente was all about co-operation, disarmament and communication leading to decreased tensions.

After Cuba, everyone was terrified of nuclear war and treaties like the Test Ban Treaty in 1968

showed willingness by both sides to start some limited nuclear disarmament.

There was increased communication between the East and West with the establishment of the

telephone hotline; nobody was keen on bringing the world to the brink of war again.

Nixon really wanted to end the Vietnam War; he began a policy of linkage in order to persuade

Brezhnev to stop the communist North Vietnamese army. He visited china and the USSR.

The SALT I meeting in 1972 introduced many restrictions on nuclear weapons. The treaty was fairly

limited but it encouraged the introduction of mainstream disarmament for future talks.

In 1975, an astronaut and cosmonaut shook hands in space, earlier the US table tennis team played

the Chinese. These both demonstrated a willingness to co-operate in previously tense environments.

The Helsinki agreements of 1975 saw 35 countries (including USSR and USA) agree on European

borders, increased trade/cultural links, and the recognition of certain human rights.

SALT II started in 1974 and ended in 1979, the superpowers agreed on further nuclear disarmament

including limiting the number of weapons and restricting the development of new strategic arms.

A song about detente, to the tune of Call Me Maybe

Signed the partial test ban, so wont test bombs underground, make sure you wont place arms in outer space Wont give weapons abroad, this treaty is really flawed preventing nuclear war, stressed from the arms race Ping pong balls were flyin, Nixons really tryin Hot-line, war is freezin tensions are decreasing, baby! Hey, I might not bomb you, cos you will kill me, so use the hotline, and call me, maybe! It's hard to trust you but its for safety, so use the hotline, and call me, maybe!

Hey, I dont like you, because you hate me, but use the hotline, and call me, maybe! And ill stop making toys, to destroy you, so use the hotline, and call me, maybe! China joined the UN, maybe space race might end Nixon visits again, SALT 1 limiting arms stopping bio warfare Helsinki showing you care sending Russia some wheat due to failing farms treaties for the signin, in space, hands were shakin Hot-line, war is freezin tensions are decreasing, baby!

Hey, I might not bomb you, cos you will kill me, so use the hotline, and call me, maybe! It's hard to trust you but its for safety, so use the hotline, and call me, maybe! Hey, I dont like you, because you hate me, but use the hotline, and call me, maybe! And ill stop making toys, to destroy you, so use the hotline, and call me, maybe! Before we started the detente war was so close war was so close war was so so close Before we started the detente war was so close

as we all know war was so so close It's hard to trust you but its for safety, So use the hotline, and call me, maybe! Hey, I dont like you, because you hate me, but use the hotline, and call me, maybe! And ill stop making toys, to destroy you, so use the hotline, and call me, maybe! Before we started the detente war was so close war was so close war was so so close before we started the detente war was so close as we all know So call me, maybe!

16

Afghanistan

End of detente

There were already some limits to detente:

The USA invaded Vietnam in 1965, causing the superpowers to be at war by proxy

The 1968 Brezhnev doctrine showed that the USSR was willing to use force to protect communism

The USA continuously supported Israel against the soviet-funded Arab countries in conflicts

In 1977, Carter openly criticised the USSRs human rights records, embarrassing Brezhnev

2000 soviet troops had been sent to Cuba, so NATO set up long range missiles in Europe in 1979

But what really ended this period of decreased tensions was the soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979

Background

In 1978, the communist party PDPA overthrew the government, making Taraki prime minister

Decrees restricting religion and land had been introduced and misunderstood by everyone

Thousands of Muslim religious leaders had been imprisoned, tortured or murdered

In 1979, the deputy PM Amin, seized power from Taraki but the anti-Muslim policies remained

The Mujahideen, a guerrilla movement, declared jihad on the afghan government and its supporters

Amin became dependent on USSR support but didnt want to alienate the USA

Brezhnev was concerned that Islamic fundamentalism would spread and wanted to keep control

The invasion

50,000 soviet troops were sent in to protect the PDPA between Christmas and New Years Day. Amin was

shot on the 27th and was replaced by the Soviet exile Kamal. Afghan troops deserted to join the mujahideen.

85,000 soldiers were required to maintain communist power. Afghanistan had huge importance as the USSR

could get closer to oil in the Arabian Sea. Additionally, Afghanistan directly bordered the USSR and china.

Main effects of the invasion

Carter made a Doctrine pledging to protect western countries in the Persian Gulf region

The USA began to set up new military forces, draft in soldiers, and increased the power of the CIA

SALT II was delayed and THE SHIPMENTS OF WHEAT STOPPED AAAAAAAH, also other trade stopped

Carter decided to give assistance to the mujahideen (which turned out to be A GREAT DECISION)

The 1980 Moscow Olympics was boycotted by 62 countries, the USSR won all the medals

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Reagan and Gorbachev

Reagan was mental and hated peace and ugh

Reagan hated the USSR and communism, most of his policies were based on this

He made speeches about the USSR being an evil empire and was the system of Satan

He spent more than a trillion dollars on his defence programme BUILDING ALL THE BOMBS

The USSR spent so much money trying to compete, it almost crippled the entire soviet economy

THIS GUY WANTED TO PUT LASERS IN SPACE, REAL LIFE STAR WARS AGAINST THE EVIL EMPIRE WTF

He didnt even believe in MAD theory, ne was NUTS (Nuclear Utilization Target selection)

The announcement of the SDI programme caused the soviets to walk out or START talks in 1983

He secretly assisted a Polish trade workers union called solidarnosc

No but seriously he thought he could win the cold war by blowing everything up

Meanwhile, in USSR

There had been rapid change in soviet leadership 1982-85 (Brezhnev, Andropov & Chernenko all died). The

USSR was bumbling around not doing much, except boosting the US economy by buying loads of grain in

1983.

They boycotted the 1984 Olympics in LA; the WP supported this (apart from Romania and Yugoslavia) and

other communist countries. Nobody really cared because China still entered as well as 139 other nations.

In 1985, after Chernenko leader died, Gorbachev flew into power on a communist unicorn of awesomeness,

with his sidekicks: glasnost and perestroika. That same year, a beautiful bromance was formed in Geneva.

Glasnost and Perestroika

Gorbachev was all yeah, lets just, like, ending the cold war he did it his way, like Sinatra

The policy of Glasnost (openness) ended censorship and resulted in freeing political prisoners, there

was now a freedom of speech and religion

Perestroika (restructuring) reinvented the political system, introducing elections and allowing more

trade by abandoning the Brezhnev doctrine

He pulled out of Afghanistan and stopped investing in arms, this helped the economy massively, and

this is known as Uskorenie.

Peace Talks Development

Event Key features

Geneva 1985 Reagachev become canon: agree to make the world a safer place, but Reagan wouldnt give up on SDI

Reykjavik 1986 The two agreed to reduce overall arms but Reagan refused to drop SDI, Gorbachev blamed Reagan for the collapse in the peace process.

INF treaty 1987 Elimination of many missiles and agreement to inspect each others progress.

CFE treaty 1989 NATO and WP agree to reduce arms and cooperated over Hussein invading Kuwait

START 1990-91 Over 7 years, arms would be significantly reduced , signed with pens made from scrap missiles

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End of the Cold War

Eastern Europe

All over Europe, people were rising up and communism was fading

Poland: The US supported solidarnosc union won elections in 1989 and Mazowiecki became PM

Bulgaria: in 1990 there were democratic elections held, the communist party won

Hungary: An alliance of anti-communist groups formed the Democratic Forum and won elections

Romania: The secret police and president are overthrown by a rebellion, NSF win elections

Czechoslovakia: a huge demonstration began in 1989, leading to the resignation of the government

Germany

Gorbachev promised that troops will allow Germans to protest, so they did. In 1989 over a million people

began to protest in East Berlin. After the government announced that the border would be opened, people

began to dismantle the Berlin Wall. East and West Germany was formally reunited the following year. New

Germany joined NATO in 1991 and the Warsaw Pact was dissolved.

USSR

In 1990, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania declared themselves as independent. Moscow accepted this in 1991.

Most sections of soviet society opposed the leadership. In 1991, there was an armed rebellion against

Gorbachev.

The Russian Socialist Republic helped defeat the coup, but forced Gorbachev to resign. The USSR split up.

Gorbachev won a Nobel peace prize in 1990.

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How to Answer GCSE Questions on Superpower Relations

In general:

If a question gives you a time frame, stick to the time frame

Put things in chronological order

Include dates when you can to demonstrate chronological understanding

Learn how to spell things

Stick to recommended timings as much as you can

It is a good idea to attempt the biggest questions of each section first

Only answer the three sections you know, this guide cover 4, 5 and 6

2 mark questions

This will ask for a factor or a reason.

Give a factor e.g. Reagan refused to stop SDI

And then give a developing sentence e.g. this slowed down peace talks.

Aim for at least two sentences

Use the word because and use precise knowledge

Spend no more than 2 mins

6 mark question

This will ask for causes, features or effects

Give two/three points in PEEL paragraphs

Link all the points you make

Spend around 8 mins

12 mark question

This will ask for key reasons or factors of an event or change

Write an introduction, laying out your points in order of importance

Give three points in PEEL paragraphs, stating which one is the most important and why

Link all your points together

Write a conclusion, saying what the points are and why they link

Takes around 15 mins including planning

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EXAMPLE QUESTIONS (including all past questions to date):

Because Im so nice Ive included all the past paper questions with suggested points to answer them with.

2 mark questions:

Give one reason why the Allies met at Yalta in 1945 In order to discuss the future of Germany. Stalin wanted to cripple the German economy but the allies didnt

want a repeat of Versailles so wished to help her recover.

Describe one way in which the USA & the Soviet Union became rivals after 1945 The arms race. Both sides wished to develop the best weapons first, this caused distrust and for the MAD

theory to develop.

Give one reason to explain why there was a crisis over Berlin in 1961 Due to the rising West German economy, East Germany was losing many of her skilled workers. This led to a

decline in the East German economy in what was known as the brain drain.

Describe one way in which relations among the members of the big 3 strained during 1942-45. There was mutual mistrust between Stalin and Churchill due to the ideological differences between

communism and capitalism.

Describe one decision taken by Dubcek during the Prague Spring Dubcek liberalised the media and introduced freedom of speech. This led to more open criticism of the

establishment as people were free to say how they felt without fear of being purged.

Describe one reason why the summit conference between Eisenhower and Khrushchev collapsed. A U2 spy plane was shot down by soviets. Eisenhower agreed to stop spying but refused to apologise.

Describe one decision made about human rights in the Helsinki Agreements One of the decisions was that everyone had the right to freedom of speech. Despite the fact that in the past,

both sides were known to prosecute people for saying the wrongs things.

Describe one decision made by the Allies about the war against Germany at the Teheran To open up a second front. The USSR was fighting on the eastern front and the western front wouldve

meant the Germans would be surrounded.

Describe one reason why the hot line between the USA and the Soviet Union was set up. During the Cuban missile crisis, communication between the two superpowers was slow. The hotline was set

up for instant communication in another emergency.

Describe one reason why the USA boycotted the Moscow Olympic Games, 1980. The USSR had invaded Afghanistan and the USA was supporting the mujahideen, the guerrilla movement

against communism in the country.

Describe one factor that influenced Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe. Stalin wanted to create a buffer zone from enemy countries as he remembered that these countries had

attempted to harm USSR in the past such as Germany.

Describe one way in which Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe affected relations with the West.

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This caused tensions to increases because the allies had agreed on free elections in some of these countries

but Stalin had fixed some of the polls to ensure a communist victory.

Describe one way the Truman Doctrine worsened relations between the two superpowers. The Truman Doctrine had led to the Marshall Plan, America gave recovering countries money to help the

economies, and Stalin forced many of these countries to deny the aid.

Describe one way in which the Marshall Plan helped countries of Western Europe. Businesses in Eastern Europe had help recovering and this helped to boost the trade links between America

and countries that accepted the aid.

Describe one way in which the rivalry between the USA & USSR worsened in the years 1949-55. The rival organisations, NATO and The Warsaw Pact were set up, furthering the split of the two sides and

making nuclear war a threat.

Describe one decision taken by Imre Nagy as PM of Hungary. Not to release political prisoners after Stalins death, depite Khrushchevs policy of destalinisation.

Describe one reason why the Soviet Union wanted the Allies to leave West Berlin, The capitalism and consumerism in West Berlin was a hole in the iron curtain and reminded nearby

communists of the better standards of living in capitalist countries.

Describe one way in which relations between the USA & USSR worsened before the 1962 During the Berlin blockade and airlift, Stalin had cut off access to the western zone of the city, worsening

tensions by attempting to starve out the inhabitants of the zone.

Describe one way in which the USA developed its arms programme after 1957. More funding was given to set up NASA, starting the space race and threatening to place arms in orbit.

Describe one reason why the Soviet Union wished to increase its influence in the Caribbean area. It is near to America, so they could place missiles there could threaten American cities.

Describe one way in which the USSR changed its attitude towards USA after the Missile Crisis. A period of decreased tensions occurred and the Soviet Union started trading wheat with the USA after the

farms had failed.

Describe one way in which relations between the USA and USSR improved in the 1970s. Due to Nixons policy of linkage, the superpowers had increased trade and cultural links. In 1975 the space

links up saw an act of friendship occur in a place that had once caused lots of tension.

Describe one way in which the Helsinki Agreements improved US-Soviet relations. It was one of the first times the two sides agreed on human rights and increased trade links.

Describe one way in which the US-Soviet relations changed in the early 1970s. Tensions decreased due to Nixons policy of linkage. Nixon waned to end the war in Vietnam so attempted

to convince the USSR to stop the communist Vietnamese.

Describe one reason why Gorbachev ended the Cold War. Due to his policies of glasnost and perestroika. There was more openness in the soviet countries, leading to

open criticism of communism and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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Describe one reason why the Berlin Wall was dismantled. Due to the policies of glasnost and perestroika. There was more openness in the soviet countries, leading to

open criticism of communism and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Describe one reason why Gorbachev won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. Due to his policies of glasnost and perestroika. There was more openness in the soviet countries, leading to

open criticism of communism and the collapse of the Soviet Union, ending the cold war.

6 mark questions: remember to explain each one and link

Briefly explain the key features of the Potsdam conference o Agree on divisions of Germany and Berlin o Disagreed on treatment of Germany o A bomb announced

Briefly explain the key features of the Truman Doctrine o Containment of communism o Marshall aid given o Stalin denies it

Briefly explain the key features of the Marshall Plan o Aid given to recovering countries o Strengthen trade links with USA o Ensuring capitalism by people not being poor

Briefly explain the key features of the Berlin Blockade o Western zone of Berlin blocked o Allies fly in supplies o Stalin defeated after 10 months

Briefly explain the key features of the Cuban Missile Crisis o Spy plane saw missiles in Cuba o Blockade around country o Armies called up as two negotiate

Briefly explain the key features of the Yalta Conference o Agree on war in Japan o Agree on sphere of influence o Disagree on eastern Europe

Briefly explain the key features of the Hungarian Uprising o Nagy introduces scary policies o Threatens to leave WP o USSR invade and met by protests

Briefly explain the key features of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 o USSR feared Nato leaving and west o Invade to stop it happening o Romanians and Albanians refuse

Briefly explain the what the Allies decided about Germany at the Potsdam Conference o Divisions of Berlin and Germany o Demilitarisations o reparations

Briefly explain the key features of the conferences in the years 198588. o Geneva they agree on disarmement but not star wars o Reykjavik meeting Reagan wont agree o INF treaty signed eliminating missiles

Briefly explain the key features of the collapse of the Soviet Union in the years 198991.

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o Hungarian border with Austria opens up o Wall comes down o WP dissolved as part of peace process

Briefly explain the key features of Cominform (1947) and Comecon (1949). o Control bodies leading the sat states o Deny Marshall aid o Give resources to Russia

Briefly explain the key features of the Bay of Pigs invasion, 1961. o La brgada invade ($45m) o Met by army who overheard them o Kennedy was humiliated and Castro became communist

Briefly explain the key features of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, 1987. o Elimination of missiles o Inspect each other o Gorby mania began

Briefly explain the key features of the collapse of the Warsaw Pact in 1991. o Glasnost and perestroika meant more criticisms o Communism publically hated o New Germany joined NATO

Briefly explain the key features of the arms race in the 1950s. o Both sides had A bomb due to stolen secrets and espionage o MAD theory develops o WP created as enemy to NATO

Briefly explain the key features of the SALT treaty. o Start disarmament o Restricted nuclear development o Decreased tensions after Cuba

Briefly explain the key features of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. o Went to help fight mujahideen o Amin shot and troops desert o USSR wanted Arabian sea

Briefly explain the key features of relations between the USA & Soviet Union in the years 1972-9. o Decreased salt 1 o Space link up o Helsinki

Briefly explain the key features of Gorbachevs reforms in the Soviet Union. o Glasnost o Perestroika o Uskorenie

Briefly explain the key features of relations between the USA & Soviet Union in the years 1984-87. o Gorabchevs reforms o Geneva and Reykjavik o INF

Briefly explain the key features of the collapse of the Soviet Empire. o Open criticism of USSR o Non communist parties were sinning elections o Wall came down and Germany reunited

Briefly explain the key features of the arms race in the years 1987-91. o INF treaty o CFE o START

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12 mark questions: explain, link and prioritise them in an introduction and conclusion

Explain why relations between the USA & Soviet Union grew worse as a result of the peace conferences at Yalta & Potsdam

o The two sides distrusted each other o This led to disagreement over Germany o The bomb was announced

Explain why relations between the USA & USSR changed in the years 1957-69 o Berlin wall built up tensions o Culminated in Cuban missile crisis o Decreased due to fear

Explain why superpower relations worsened between 1949-56? o Berlin blockade o Nato and Warsaw pact o Khrushchev breaking promises

In what ways did superpower relations change in the years 1943-56? o Peace conferences increased o Blockade increased o Nato and WP

Why did relations between the USA & USSR change in the years 1975-90? o Afghanistan o Carter doctrine and Olympic boycott o Reagan and SDI

Why did relations between the USA & USSR change in the years 1985-90? o Gorbachev come to power and frees soviets o Geneva talks decrease tensions o Wall comes down

Explain why there was a crisis over Cuba in 1962 o Cuba alienated after bay of pigs o USSR placing missiles in Cuba o USA blockaded until agreements made

Explain why Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968. o Prague spring reforms scared Brezhnev o He was under pressure from China o Didnt want ideas spreading and trade links

Explain why relations between the USA and the Soviet Union changed in the years 198185. o Reagan comes in with SDI o USSR build up arsenal o Gorbachev come ins

Explain why relations between the USA and Soviet Union changed in the years 197983. o Afghanistan o Carter doctrine o Olympic boycott

Explain why there was an uprising in Hungary in 1956. o Rakosi purged and denied Marshall aid o Nagy became PM but Rakosi re replaced him o Gero took over and nothing changed, people wanted Nagy

Explain why Berlin was a Cold War flashpoint in the years 195763. o Brain drain causing headaches o Wall built o Iron curtain

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Explain why relations between the USA and Soviet Union changed in the years 1943-7. o Teheran and delayed front o Yalta and Germany o Potsdam and a bomb

Explain why the NATO & Warsaw Pact alliances were set up by the Superpowers after 1949. o Blockade was scary shit o Nato set up when USSR got A bomb o WP set up when Khrushchev denied access

Explain why relations between the USA & the USSR worsened in the years 1948-56. o Berlin blockade o Nato and Warsaw pact o Khrushchev breaking promises

Explain why relations between the Soviet Union & Czechoslovakia changed in the later 1960s. o Dubcek brings in Prague springs o USSR fear leaving NATO and trade o USSR invade and the demonstrations last for months ending in Brez doc

Explain why relations between the USA & Soviet Union changed in the years 1980-85. o Afghanistan o Carter doctrine o Reagan is NUTS