The Cold War- 1980s
Brezhnev Doctrine The Brezhnev Doctrinewas a Soviet foreign policy which had begun in 1968. In 1968, prior to the Brezhnev Doctrine, Czechoslovakia had a new First Secretary of the Communist Party (Alexander Dubcek) come to power. He attempted to institute some reform as the old regime had been extremely repressive. This became known as the Prague Spring in which Dubcek introduced measures to modernize and liberalize the economy. This included wider powers for trade unions, expansion of trade with the West, and freedom to travel abroad. WHOAAAA!!!! He also went about abolishing censorship and encouraged criticism of the gov. WHOAAAA!!! Dubcek tried to reassure the USSR that he was not removing his country from the Warsaw Pact, but the Soviets didn t have any of it. In August, the USSR rolled tanks into Czechoslovakia and installed a new government under Gustav Husak, who was Brezhnev s puppet.
Leonid Brezhnev reiterated it in a speech at the Fifth Congress of the Polish United Workers Party on November 13, 1968, which stated: "When forces that are hostile to socialism try to turn the development of some socialist country towards capitalism, it becomes not only a problem of the country concerned, but a common problem and concern of all socialist countries." In practice, the policy meant that limited independence of communist parties was allowed. However, no country would be allowed to leave the Warsaw Pact, disturb a nation's communist party s monopoly on power, or in any way compromise the cohesiveness of the Eastern bloc. Implicit in this doctrine was that the leadership of the Soviet Union reserved, for itself, the right to define socialism and capitalism". Following the announcement of the Brezhnev Doctrine, numerous treaties were signed between the Soviet Union and its satellite states to reassert these points and to further ensure inter-state cooperation. The principles of the doctrine were so broad that the Soviets even used it to justify their military intervention in the non-warsaw Pact nation of Afghanistan in 1979.
April 1978-the People s Democratic Party (PDP) of Afghanistan seized power. This was a pro-soviet organization that received aid from the USSR. They promoted land reform, women s rights, and secular education. These ideals came into conflict with fundamentalist Muslims and some within the PDP. A coup will take place and a faction of the PDP will take over led by HafizullahAmin. His rule will be challenged by Afghan Muslims who will join the Mujahedin. A jihad will be declared against the supporters of Amin. Although Aminbecame more dependent on Soviet aid, it is believed he began to initiate contact with the U.S. gov. through the CIA. In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded the country, killed the sitting president HafizullahAminand installed the more Soviet-friendly BabrakKarmalon the presidential post. The Soviet troops stayed in Afghanistan to help the communist government and did not leave until 1989.
The Official Soviet Reasons for the invasion The USSR did not want Afghanistan to turn into Iran. If the Mujahedin won, it could mean US involvement in Afghanistan. http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/d54f5ff0968c.j pg The USSR would look weak if it allowed the pro-soviet gov. to fall. Other unofficial reasons Why not? It was Afghanistan. Detente was already falling apart. Might not have happened a few years earlier. American response to the invasion Carter Doctrine-US intervention in the Persian Gulf if the Soviets threatened our interests. The Carter Admin. decided to assist the Mujahedin with weapons.
Reagan will increase the level of aid to the Mujahedin in the 1980s. Our aid will definitely give the rebels the firepower they needed to fight the Soviets. Results The war will take the lives of more than a million Afghans and 25,000 Soviet troops. It cost the Soviet Union over $8 billion a year. Mikhail Gorbachev, who will take over in 1985, will pull the USSR out of Afghanistan by 1989. Afghanistan and détente The right wing-example of the USSR attempting to expand communism. They firmly believed it was the USSR s fault for the breakdown of détente. Post-revisionist view-the USSR was responding defensively. This threat was in its sphere of influence. Like Cuba is to the US. Those holding this view place more of the blame for the failure of détente on the US.
The Second Cold War Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980 in part due to his aggressive anti-communist stance. Reagan will go about significantly increasing defense spending. New nuclear weapons and subs. Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars). Reagan Doctrine-the purpose was to give assistance to anti-communist insurgents and governments (i.e. the Contras fighting the Sandinistas in Nicaragua). Called the USSR the evil empire. Speech-March 1983 H:\My Recordings\IB History\Reagan-Evil Empire.flv What does a speech like that do to the relationship between the U.S. and the USSR?v\ Brezhnev died in 1982 and will be replaced by Yuri Andropov. He will be replaced by Konstantin Chernenkoin 1984, who will only live another year. During this time the relationship between the two nations will continue to be strained. Mikhail Gorbachev will become the premier in 1985. He will significantly alter the relationship between the two nations and take the USSR on a different course.
Reagan s goals seemed to be peace, arms reduction, good trade relations with the USSR, and détente. However, how he went about trying to achieve these goals seem to be odd. In March, 1983 he called the USSR the evil empire. Most Americans agreed with his goals, but wondered how they were to be achieved using that kind of language. Reagan will go about massively increasing defense spending. This, however, did not stop the Russians from continuing their weapons build up. http://zfacts.com/p/318.html It became evident to many in Europe that their continent was where a potential war would be fought. In November, 1983 cruise missiles were placed in the UK and West Germany. We had over 9,000 nuclear warheads, while the Soviets had more than 7,000. By 1985, the US was spending $300 billion a year on defense spending.
By the mid 1980s, some Americans began to protest the excessive defense spending. We were spending half of our defense budget on the defense of Europe. Reagan s economic polices seemed at odds with his stance against communism. He had no problem trading grain to the Russians. However, what was peculiar was that he tried to prevent America s European allies from trading with Eastern bloc nations. Reagan had abandoned nearly all of the restrictions and embargos that Carter had instituted. Somehow, Carter was seen as soft on Communism yet Reagan was not. HUH?
The Collapse of the Soviet Union Gorbachev, Gorbachev, Gorbachev Prior to Gorbachev, the USSR was still very Stalinist. It was authoritarian, a single-party state, and economically it was focused on military hardware. As a result, it lack in providing housing, food, consumer goods, and health care. Gorbachev will go about introducing two key ideas that will change the Soviet Union. Perestroika and glasnost By definition, Glasnost translates to English as "freedom of speech." Gorbachev believed that if he was more open with the public, it might help lessen the corruption of the Soviet government and the Communist Party. This was Gorbachev's way of being more open with his people without completely divulging any secrets or information. Perestroika, which comes from the Russian word that means "restructuring," is basically defined as the restructuring of the political, social and economical system. In Gorbachev's case, perestroika was a type of restructuring that helped develop democracy throughout the USSR. However, it was met with great resistance from the economicbureaucracy, as it gave more economic independence to companies rather than the main force.
To implement his reforms, Gorbachev had to decrease military spending. Gorbachev realized that he could not match the US SDI program. He also came to the conclusion that there could be no winners and went about creating a dialogue with the US. Reagan had proposed the zero option which would eliminate all intermediate-range missiles in Europe. Gorbachev was prepared to discuss this with Reagan, unlike his predecessors. See summits-p.211. 1988-Gorbachev announced that he would withdraw the USSR from Afghanistan. As significant was that the USSR would also reduce the aid it had been giving to its allies in the developing world. The Role of Reagan Depends on who you talk to. Conservative view?
Long-term factors in the ending of the Cold War By the time Gorbachev took over, the USSR was in crisis. The USSR, by the early 1980s, had achieved parity with the US in terms of its nuclear arsenal. However, this came at a great domestic cost. The economy was stagnating and had fallen behind in modern tech. Industrial output was also in decline. Most ag. workers lived in poverty and the USSR was reliant on the US for grain. Workers had little incentive to work hard, create new products, and morale was severely low. Therefore, there are historians that believe the end of the Cold War came because of containment of Communism and détente. This was contradictory to the Reagan victory school of thought. STOP HERE
The Warsaw Pact countries were facing similar economic problems as the USSR- lack of consumer goods, etc. In a speech to the UN in December, 1988, Gorbachev announced that the USSR would cut its commitment of troops to the Warsaw Pact. It was a clear signal to those who opposed the Communist party that the Brezhnev Doctrine would no longer be enforced by the USSR. Poland Solidarity made a resurgence in 1988. Solidarity was a powerful labor union that had been formed in 1980. The movement was led by Lech Walesa. Elections will beheld in July, 1989 and he will become Poland s first post-communist president. This started a movement through the Eastern bloc that could not be stopped.
East Germany Known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR) Erich Honecker, a hardliner, had been the leader since 1971. People were upset by the late 1980s with their standard of living. They knew people in West Germany had it better off. Honeckerled a very harsh regime in which the Stasi, secret police, cracked down on decent and kept files on million of people. In May, 1989, the Hungarian gov. removed the fence on its border with the GDR. This now gave the opportunity to East Germans to leave. By September, an estimated 60,000 had left hoping to make their way to West Germany. Honeckerwanted to use force to stop the anti-communist swell that enveloping East Germany, but Gorbachev made it clear that he was not going to use force. On October 18, Honeckerwas replaced by EgonKrenz.Hequickly announced that East Germany was going to begin to implement democratic reforms but it was to late. Hundreds of thousands of East Germans were protesting.
On Nov. 4 th, Czechoslovakia opened its border. On Nov. 9 th, the gov. announced a new plan to ease immigration and travel restrictions. The Berlin Wall will soon come down. SHOW VIDEO On October 3, 1990, East and West Germany will be reunited. Hungary On October 23, 1989, the country will cease to be Communist. Free elections will be held in 1990. Czechoslovakia The Velvet Revolution will be led by VaclevHavel, a playwright, who will be elected president in December, 1989. The transfer of power was largely non-violent. The Warsaw Pact nations, including the USSR, issued an official statement condemning the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia as illegal and promising not to interfere in each other s internal affairs.
Romania Change in gov. was much more violent. NicolaeCeausescu was one of the most repressive communist leaders in Eastern Europe. In December 1989, he will be thrown from power. When he and his wife, Elena, attempt to flee, they are arrested by the army and executed on Christmas Day. Final Thoughts on the 1989 Revolutions Domino Theory in the positive direction? Int l media, better communication Gorbachev s decision to let Warsaw Pact countries to determine their own affairs. The USSR would not intervene. Leaders of the Communist parties were of the old guard. Most people, including us for the most part, did not think Gorbachev s calls for economic reform and attempts to catch up with the West would lead to the end of Communism in Europe. WHY NOT CHINA?
The End of the USSR Although Gorbachev had made many reforms, and even won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990, opposition to his rule will grow as the economy was still not doing well. In 1991, the USSR will disintegrate. In August, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as the other republics, will claim their independence. In August of 1991, there was an attempted coup by a group of Communist hardliners. It will fail, but in December, Gorbachev will resign. The impact of the Fall of the USSR and the end of the Cold War We thought we were the winners and the US was left as the only superpower. Communism was the official ideology in only a handful of states. China and Vietnam have allowed some free market capitalism.
The USSR could no longer afford to keep its grip on the satellite statesthe war in Afghanistan, the arms race. The people of eastern Europe hated the system and desired to be free. In January 1989, Gorbachev reduced the Soviet military budget by 14% and weapons spending by 20%. WHAT SIGNAL DOES THIS SEND? February 1989-the last Soviet troops leave Afghanistan April 1989-the Polish gov. signed an agreement with the Solidarity labor union, making the union legal and setting open elections for June. May 1989-the Hungarian gov. dismantled the barbed-wire fence along the Austria border. East Germans by the thousands began fleeing to Hungary, where they then crossed into Austria on their way into West Gerrmany. At the same time, the republics of the USSR began to demand more freedom. Perhaps the most significant moment was in June 1989 when Gorbachev told a reporter that the political future of Poland and Hungary was their affair.
August 1989-Solidarity took over the gov. in Poland, marking the first time since the end of WWII that Poland had a non-communist gov. October 1989-hundreds of thousands of Czechs, Hungarians, and East Germans were in the streets protesting. November 9, 1989-the East German announced that citizens were free to leave the country. Within hours, thousands of people were at the Berlin Wall fighting to bring it down. What role had the U.S. played? The Bush Admin. Had stood on the sidelines, the CIA had not been involved, the no American guns had been fired. However, Bush still called for high levels of defense spending. For example, the U.S., in 1990, gave $588 million to Pakistan to oppose the Soviet army in Afghanistan that had left two years earlier. December 1989- Bush met with Gorbachev off the coast of Malta to discuss arms limitations. However, Bush was still calling for high levels of defense spending.
The competition between the superpowers to purchase the friendship of developing nations was over. So was the arms race, but we will continue to spend huge sums of money on weapons. Ambrose believes the credit goes to all of the Cold War presidents, who had maintained Truman s policy of containment. August 1991-the Soviet Union will cease to exist as we knew it, and the Communist party will be abolished. Ambrose mentioned that the U.S. had defeated fascism and communism. As a result, according to Francis Fukuyama, liberal democracy had been proved superior to all its competitors. Fukuyama also postulated that the end of full-scale war was over too. UNFORTUNATELY, this wasn t the case. We just seemed to find a new enemy.
Old European colonies and non-alignment Decolonization and economic under-development The NAM and the UN Tito and non-alignment Nassar and non-alignment The breaking apart of NAM by the 1970s. The NAM by the turn of the century.