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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 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Class Notes:The Cold War Thaws
1
The Evolution of Soviet Cold War
Policy 2
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
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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
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Mikhail Gorbachev 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
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The Evolution of
American Cold War
Policy 8
Harry Truman & Dwight Eisenhower Followed policy of
containment and “domino theory”
Started build up of nuclear weapons under Eisenhower (“new look military”)
Emphasized American economic superiority – US was prosperous and free in society
9
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
10
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
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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) 12
The End of the Cold
War13
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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