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Class Notes:

Class Notes:. The Cold War Thaws. The Evolution of Soviet Cold War Policy. Nikita Krushchchev. Stalin died in 1953 and Nikita Khrushchev became Soviet Premier in “ Destalinization ” started – purging society of Stalin’s memory

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Class Notes:

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Presentation Transcript

  1. Class Notes: The Cold War Thaws

  2. The Evolution of Soviet Cold War Policy

  3. Nikita Krushchchev • Stalin died in 1953 and Nikita Khrushchev became Soviet Premier in • “Destalinization” started – purging society of Stalin’s memory • Khrushchev was more moderate and believed the USSR could beat the US economically

  4. Leonid Brezhnev • Leonid Brezhnev became Soviet Premier in 1964 • He was more like Stalin and limited rights for the Soviet people • Brezhnev Doctrine – USSR could use force to keep satellite nations from turning away from Communism

  5. MikhailGorbachev • Gorbachev took over soon after Brezhnev’s death in 1982 • He was younger and more reform minded • glasnost a policy of openness to ideas and information • perestroika  restructuring the Soviet economy with less decisions being made by the Soviet state and more locally • democratization  policy to open up the political system

  6. The Evolution of American Cold War Policy

  7. HarryTruman & Dwight Eisenhower • Followed policy of containmentand “domino theory” • Started build up of nuclear weapons under Eisenhower (“new look military”) • Emphasized American economic superiority – US was prosperous and free in society

  8. John F. Kennedy & Lyndon B. Johnson • Brinkmanship replaced containment (taking nation to the brink of war without backing down) • U-2 incident heightened tensions • Cuban Missile Crisis  example of brinkmanship and made use of nuclear weapons a real possibility • Vietnam War took center stage and was major campaign of Cold War

  9. Richard Nixon • Followed policy of détente (lessening of tensions) • Also realpolitik (dealing with each other realistically) • Nixon visited China and the USSR • SALT I limited numbers of ICBMs and submarine missiles

  10. Ronald Reagan • Détente had fallen apart with the two previous presidents • Reagan was a “cold warrior” – fiercely anti-communist • Increased military spending  SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) • NUTS  Nuclear Utilization Theory (you could survive a nuclear attack with “acceptable” casualties)

  11. The End of the Cold War

  12. Collapse of the Soviet Union • Dissent was getting stronger in Soviet satellite nations (even as early as 1956 in Hungary and 1968 in Czechoslovakia) • Gorbachev had loosened the grip of the Communist Party on all parts of Soviet life • The USSR could not keep up with the military spending of the US • December of 1991, the USSR ceased to exist (broke apart)

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