Changing Cold War Relations - 1980s changes in the ussr

Changing Cold War Relations - 1980s changes in the ussr

1. Changes in the USSR

2. The Cold War 1945-1990 In the 1980s the USSR went through many changes which would ultimately lead to the end of the Cold War. What were these and why did they happen?

3. The Cold War 1945-1990 At the start of the 1980s, the USA and USSR’s relationship was worse than ever. The USA did not take part in the 1980 Moscow Olympics , and the USSR did the same in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics .

4. The Cold War 1945-1990 Both sides went through significant political change. In the USA right-wing politician Ronald Reagan was elected President. Reagan – a former movie actor – was very anti-Communist.

5. The Cold War 1945-1990 The Soviet Union also had several changes in their political leadership. The most significant was the appointment of Mikhail Gorbachev as General Secretary of the Communist Party.

6. The Cold War 1945-1990 Gorbachev once told his wife, Raisa , when speaking about the USSR, that “we can’t go on living like this.” Under his leadership, the Soviet Union went through massive political , military and economic reforms .

7. The Cold War 1945-1990 Gorbachev tried to build better relationships with western leaders, including Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher . Gorbachev met Reagan several times, and proposed plans such as phasing out nuclear weapons.

8. The Cold War 1945-1990 Gorbachev made several reforms in the Soviet Union, notably: Perestroika Glasnost Democratisation Ending Brezhnev Doctrine

9. The Cold War 1945-1990 Perestroika Before perestroika, the government controlled all businesses across the Soviet Union. Perestroika meant a change in the economy to allow more private companies to be set up.

10. The Cold War 1945-1990 Due to perestroika Soviets could own businesses without government control, including factories , restaurants and also shops . At first the government made these businesses pay high taxes , but eventually these were reduced.

11. The Cold War 1945-1990 This change also led to more foreign companies being allowed to invest in the Soviet Union. This famously led to a McDonald’s restaurant (often seen as a sign of capitalism) to open in Moscow in January 1990 .

12. The Cold War 1945-1990 Glasnost Glasnost means ‘openness’ . As the USSR was a secret state, Gorbachev wanted it to have less secrets . This meant many things, including having a more free media and allowing banned books to be published.

13. The Cold War 1945-1990 One change was that the Soviet government allowed newspapers to criticise politicians. Before this such opinions would have been banned , and could have seen anyone trying to publish them get arrested .

14. The Cold War 1945-1990 It also led to Soviets finding out more about life outside the USSR. More books and movies – including those from the USA – could now be viewed. Before this the Soviet government decided what movies could be shown.

15. The Cold War 1945-1990 Democratisation This change allowed more people to influence politics and the Communist Party. For instance more candidates were allowed in elections.

16. The Cold War 1945-1990 Ending Brezhnev Doctrine The Brezhnev Doctrine was that the Soviet Union would intervene in any Communist country which might support capitalism . Gorbachev said that this would no longer happen.

17. The Cold War 1945-1990 The Soviet Union also pulled out the Afghanistan War in 1989 . Like the USA in Vietnam, the Afghanistan War was an embarrassment to the USSR. They could not afford the financial cost of continuing.

18. The Cold War 1945-1990 Countries in Eastern Europe had revolutions to end Communist rule, including in Romania, Hungary and Poland. Most famously, the Berlin Wall was knocked down in 1989. East and West Germany were reunited.

19. The Cold War 1945-1990 Gorbachev was temporarily removed from power in August 1991, and the Soviet Union began to collapse. In December 1991 the Soviet Union was officially dissolved. The Cold War was over .