The Cold War: “Super” Collision

1960s, 1970s & 1980s

U.S. versus U.S.S.R.

The Cold War: 1960s• Leadership of the

1960s• John F. Kennedy

(1960 –1963)• Nikita

Khrushchev (1953 –1964)

The Cold War: 1960s• Flexible Response• Called for mutual deterrence

at strategic, tactical & more conventional levels

• In other words, the U.S. can respond to aggression across a broad spectrum of warfare; not only to nuclear arms

• Began with the construction of ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles)

The Cold War: 1960s• Cuban Missile Crisis (October, 1962)• Major confrontation between the US &

USSR– Nuclear missiles site discovered in Cuba– Kennedy placed blockade on the island– Khrushchev agreed to remove missiles– A “Hot Line” was established between the

White House and the Kremlin– US agreed to remove nuclear weapons from

Turkey

The Cold War: 1960s• Berlin Wall• The Berlin

Wall began construction in 1961

• Separated East and West Berlin

• What does this mean?

The Cold War: 1970s• Leadership of the 1970s• Richard Nixon (1969-1974)• Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982)• Policy of Détente• A policy of “relaxation” in

the relations between the US and Soviet Union

• This DOES NOT mean that the US stopped fighting communism…just relaxed…

• Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I)

• The US & the USSR signed a 5 year agreement to limit the number of “intercontinental ballistic and submarine launched missiles”

The Cold War: 1970s

The Cold War: 1980s• Leadership of the 1980s• Ronald Reagan (1981 –1989)• Mikhail Gorbachev

(1985 –1991)

The Cold War: 1980s• Gorbachev’s Policies• Glasnost (openness)– Free flow of ideas– Churches opened, dissidents released from

prison, reporters could resume criticisms• Perestroika (economic restructuring)– Revive economy – Small businesses allowed to open–Managers given more control over farms

and factories

The Cold War: 1980s• Fall of the Berlin Wall• By the late 1980s, the east Germans

were furious that their government had completely closed its borders; no one could leave

• Horrible conditions – PROTESTS!• On November 9, 1989 the Berlin Wall

was finally opened • Completely destroyed by 1990

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The Cold War: 1990s• By December

1991, all satellite nations had declared independence from the Soviet Union

• Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

• Loose federation of the former USSR• Marks the death of the Soviet Union