Student activity: Annotate this diagram with the different types of power for each period of time. 1918 1990 1800 1945 2009 www.teachitgeography.co.uk 2017 30203 Page 1 of 5
Student activity: Look at the following cards and divide them into two piles: Capitalism/Democracy (USA) or Communism/Dictatorship (USSR) There is a separation of church and state (secular society where church has no power over decisions) The economy is tightly controlled by government/state (production and distribution of goods) The government punishes discontent of its people with jail or even murder The government responds to discontent of its people and new elections are held Free speech is monitored and controlled along with use of social media, which is heavily restricted Freedom of speech and use of social media is wide spread There is public/government ownership of property/home The government promotes a free market for buying and selling goods There is no difference in rich and poor. Everyone is the same economically as the government/state owns everything The Orthodox Church has a big influence on the government and society Individual freedom is above that of the whole society There is much private ownership of property/home The good of society/nation is above that of its individual people There are upper, middle and lower classes, with huge economic differences between each class (economically). This can create huge inequalities in society www.teachitgeography.co.uk 2017 30203 Page 2 of 5
Fact sheet: The Cold War s proxy wars between the USA and Russia Russia/Eastern Europe The Warsaw Pact 1955 A collective defence treaty, signed in Warsaw, between the Soviet Union and seven Soviet satellite states of Central and Eastern Europe USA/Western Europe NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) 1949 An intergovernmental military alliance, between several North American and most European states including some from Eastern Europe The Central American Crisis (1960-96) Civil wars and pro-communist revolutions broke out across Brazil, Columbia, Paraguay and Guatemala. The United States backed the governments in each county against the Soviet backed rebels as they feared that victory by communist forces would threaten the Panama Canal and would isolate the rest of South America from the United States. US backed Guatemalan military government lost to the Russian backed rebels. The Vietnam War (1954-75) After WWII the French controlled most of Indo-China (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos), however after the war communist forces appeared in north Vietnam and eventually defeated the French in 1954. To stop the spread of communism the USA sent troops into south Vietnam in the early 1960 s but found it very hard to defeat the Vietcong militias as they were great at guerrilla warfare. Eventually, much to the dismay of the rest of the world the US army resorted to carpet bombing and defoliation tactics using a deadly chemical called napalm. Even this didn t defeat the northern Vietnamese and communism spread all across the country. Mau Mau uprising in British Kenya (1952-1960) It involved nationalist tribal groups called Mau Mau who were backed by Russia, versus the ruling British Army backed by the US, who won. The Korean War (1950-1953) The Russians backed North Korea who invaded the US backed South Korea. The south were taking most of the north when communist China backed the north and Russia, driving US forces back to the 38º line where the north/south border still is today. Even today the US is in alliance with South Korea against the threat of Kim Jong-un and his nuclear missile testing. The Cuban missile crisis (1962) Russia, under president Khrushchev, was found to be hiding nuclear missiles in Cuba under the agreement of Fidel Castro. The US under president John F Kennedy decided to create a naval blockade around the island and threatened to fire from gunships if the Russians didn t pull out. After a tense stalemate that lasted a few weeks both sides agreed to a truce and Khrushchev returned the missiles to Russia. Ironically enough, for the first time during the cold war, this opened up a permanent telephone line between the Kremlin and the White house. The Ethiopian Civil War (1974-91) The civil war lasted until the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a coalition of rebel groups, overthrew the government in 1991. They were backed by the USA and the UK. Angolan Civil War (1974-2002) The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975 and was between two liberation movements. The Soviet Union backed the MPLA and the USA backed the NUTA. The Russian backed MPLA won. The Afghanistan/Soviet war (1979 84) and Afghan civil war (1989-92) After the Afghan/Soviet war, from 1979-1989, where rebels called the Mujahidin fought against the government who tried to suppress any opposition to their rule, and the Russian government backed the communist Afghan government with troops and a bloody civil war. The Russians eventually pulled out as the rebels were too strong. This was partly down to the support the Mujahidin received from the USAs ally in that region, Pakistan, who in turn received huge military support indirectly from America, who wanted the Russian backed communist governments beaten. Congo War (1960-65) Began almost immediately after the Congo became independent from Belgium after uprising from a nationalist movement. USSR and China backed the rebels while the USA backed the Belgian government. USA backed side won. www.teachitgeography.co.uk 2017 30203 Page 3 of 5
Student activity: mapping American and Russian spheres of influence. 1. Use the fact sheet and an atlas to put a dot and some basic information in the location of the proxy wars. 2. Circle/colour/shade the spheres of influence of both Russia and America. 3. Annotate areas of geopolitical stability or risk using shading or cross hatching. www.teachitgeography.co.uk 2017 30203 Page 4 of 5
Teacher notes: Answers: There is a separation of church and state (secular society where church has no power over decisions) The economy is tightly controlled by government/state (production and distribution of goods) The government punishes discontent of its people with jail or even murder The government responds to discontent of its people and new elections are held Free speech is monitored and controlled along with use of social media, which is heavily restricted Freedom of speech and use of social media is wide spread There is public/government ownership of property/home The government promotes a free market for buying and selling goods There is no difference in rich and poor. Everyone is the same economically as the government/state owns everything The Orthodox Church has a big influence on the government and society Individual freedom is above that of the whole society There is much private ownership of property/home The good of society/nation is above that of its individual people There are upper, middle and lower classes, with huge economic differences between each class (economically). This can create huge inequalities in society www.teachitgeography.co.uk 2017 30203 Page 5 of 5