AICE INTERNATIONAL HISTORY: THEME 3

1. AICE INTERNATIONAL HISTORY: THEME 3 The Crisis of Communism and the End of the Cold War

2. Sino-Soviet Conflict • 1950s • Death of Stalin • Incompatible personalities-distrust between Khrushchev and Mao • Different Interest of the Russian and Chinese Empires • Doctrinal Dispute

3. Sino-Soviet Conflict • Mao resented the fact that the Russians had done very little to help Chinese communists • Khrushchev visited Beijing in 1954-chief of world communism? • Mao- believed that he should be the world’s leading communist • Deterioration set in about 1956- disagreements over De-Stalinization (Mao not consulted)

4. Sino-Soviet Conflict • Khrushchev supports non-communists in Asia- India, Burma, Afghanistan • 1957- Khrushchev promised China samples of nuclear material and information about the construction of nuclear weapons • Mao- wanted to use Russia’s nuclear armory as a diplomatic advantage against the US • Mao- encourage revolutionary movements in Asia, Africa, and Latin America

5. Sino-Soviet Conflict • Khrushchev- did not support the Chinese view that the communist powers could do more • Chinese maintained the orthodox Marxist position that war was inevitable • Moscow was more worried than Beijing about the risks of escalation to nuclear war • Russians and Chinese disagreed over the methods to be used to turn Asia, Africa, and Latin America away from the US

6. Sino-Soviet Conflict • China only wanted to help communists- Russians willing to help non-communist revolutionary movements • Russians were not willing to support Chinese attempts to regain Taiwan • Khrushchev was willing to set up nuclear bases in China but only on the understanding that the Russians would be in control • Russians pulled support for the Great Leap forward

7. Sino-Soviet Conflict • August 1959- Khrushchev went to the US for talks with Eisenhower at Camp David • The Camp David negotiations left out Chinese interests- Taiwan • 1960- withdrawal of 12,000 Russian technicians from China

8. Sino-Soviet Conflict • 1964- Khrushchev was overthrown • Possible reconciliation between the Soviets and Chinese… • Chinese refused to attend a conference of communist parties in Moscow in 1965

9. Sino-Soviet Conflict • Russian embassy in Beijing was attacked in 1967 • China condemned the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia • 1969- Border disputes almost led to war • Russian forces in the east were increased in the 1970s and 1980s

10. Sino-Soviet Conflict • 1979- Russian threat to China was magnified by the establishment of Russian naval and air bases in Vietnam • 1970-71- China admitted to the UN (Security Council) • 1971- Nixon reversed American policy towards China when he established diplomatic relations with China

11. The Disintegration of the USSR • 1964-1982 Leonid Brezhnev • Domestic problems- economy, corruption • Empire in central and eastern Europe became unsustainable • By 1985 the USSR could neither feed its people nor provide an acceptable standard of living

12. The Disintegration of the USSR • 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev • Intelligent, courageous, and politically agile • Embarked upon a course of economic and political reform (glasnost, perestroika) • Glasnost- openness • Perestroika- restructuring of the economy

13. The Disintegration of the USSR • Glasnost • End to the falsification of economic performance • Inroads on censorship and habits of subservience • Abolition of the Communist Party’s monopoly of power • Reforming both the state political system and the economy

14. The Disintegration of the USSR • Perestroika • Greater independence for co-operatives and managers of state enterprises • Introduction of regulation by market forces • Difficulties in going from one system to another • Development of the reforms was tentative and shapeless

15. The Disintegration of the USSR • The political and economic transformation of the USSR was slowed by nationalist movements within the Soviet Union • 12 of the 15 republics all had grievances and disruptive separatist aspirations • Three Baltic republics, Moldavia, three in the Caucasus and five in central Asia. • http://www.history.com/videos/the-fall-of-the-soviet-union#the-fall-of-the-soviet-union

16. Comparing Policies- Writing Activity

17. The Disintegration of the USSR • Gorbachev’s failures? • Devalued and demoted the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (still wanted some modified form) • Economic policy was confusing and the economic situation catastrophic • No foreign exchange, a budget deficit, all industries losing money

18. The Disintegration of the USSR • Gorbachev successes? • Boldness in abandoning the Soviet empire in Europe • Initiatives in the mutual disarmament of the Cold war • Confronted the most daunting problems of the Soviet Union- failed political and economic system

19. The Disintegration of the USSR • System failure • Gorbachev failed because he was trying to reform the unreformable • Soviet communism relied on central planning and was not familiar with the function of a market economy • Lasted as long as it did because of the tyranny of the rulers- people sacrificed because they were afraid

20. The Disintegration of the USSR • The collapse of the Soviet Union condemned the communist system • Capitalism triumphant but deeply unsatisfying • 1991- Boris Yeltsin takes power and inherits not the Soviet Union but Russia

21. End of the Cold War • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmtNJdX0Q44 • What was the main idea of the video clip? Provide details to support. • What actions did Reagan take that accelerated the collapse of the Cold War? • Evaluate the strength of the Reagan foundation’s argument. • Does your group agree or disagree with the video’s argument regarding Reagan’s role in the Cold War?

22. End of the Cold War • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfLDKFwDSIg • What is the main idea of the video clip? Provide details to support. • What is meant by the term “hero worship” in the context of the end of the Cold War? • Evaluate the strength of the author’s argument. • Does your group agree or disagree with the video’s argument regarding what caused the collapse of the Soviet Union?

23. Soviets in Afghanistan • Muslim Afghanistan had remained a nonaligned nation in the Cold War until 1978 • Pro-Soviet government introduced radical reforms in education and family law- led to civil war • Islamic religious leaders objected to the change brought by the communist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan. • 1979- beginning of Soviet intervention

24. Soviets in Afghanistan • With the help of Soviet forces, Babrak Karmal tried to establish control over Afghanistan • 1979-1988- Soviet forces fought a brutal campaign against Afghan mujahedeen, or Islamic warriors • Weapons and money from the United States sustained the Islamic fighters in their struggle • CIA provided fighters with ground-to-air Stinger Missiles

25. Soviets in Afghanistan • 1986- Soviet leadership replaced Karmal with the equally unpopular Muhammad Najibullah • United Nations negotiated a cease-fire in 1988 and a full Soviet withdrawal took place the following year • Fighting cont. after the Soviet retreat with the Taliban gaining control of the country by 1996

26. Soviets in Afghanistan • Experience in Afghanistan demonstrated the declining power of the Soviet Union • Afghanistan: Soviet Union • Vietnam: United States • Taxed both nations and caused dissatisfaction with Cold War policies- undermined the prestige of the superpowers • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Vmx9Pg5Js

27. Soviets in Afghanistan • Draw/paint a picture or write a fictional story/poem about Afghanistan and its connection to the Cold War • Include facts related to the Soviet Union, United States, and the Taliban • Attempt to artistically answer the following question- What does history teach us about our current situation in Afghanistan?

28. Timeline: 234-240 • Create a timeline about 10 events in central and eastern Europe after Stalin’s death. • Focus only on areas of unrest. • Make sure to include the date and what happened.