The Cold War 1945 - 1991
Study Guide
1. The economic policies of the Soviet Union traditionally emphasized the production of what items?
The Five-Year Plans begun under the rule of Stalin in the Soviet Union emphasized the development of heavy
industries in order to transform the traditionally agricultural nation into an industrial superpower.
2. What is the general characteristic of a communist economy?
A communist, or command economy, controls the means of production by having governmental agencies involved
in production planning.
3. Why did the Soviet Union form the Warsaw Pact?
The Warsaw Pact was formed by the Soviet Union and seven of its satellite states as a response to NATO. The
Warsaw Pact was a defensive military alliance.
4. What best describes the actions of most Eastern European countries immediately after World War II?
After World War II, Stalin forced pro-communists governments in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and other Eastern
European nations. These nations became known as Soviet satellite states. The Soviets retained control through
both economic and militaristic means.
5. Why were Communist governments established in most nations of Eastern Europe shortly after World
War II?
After World War II, Stalin forced pro-communists governments in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and other Eastern
European nations. These nations became known as Soviet satellite states. The Soviets retained control through
both economic and militaristic means.
6. During the Cold War Era (1945-1990), the United States and the Soviet Union were reluctant to
become involved in direct military conflict mainly because of what?
Both superpowers had nuclear capabilities, and it was believed that a direct confrontation between them could
lead to a nuclear war.
7. After World War II, the Soviet Union established satellites in Eastern Europe for what purpose?
After World War II, Stalin forced pro-communists governments in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and other Eastern
European nations. These nations became known as Soviet satellite states. The Soviet's retained control through
both economic and militaristic means.
8. What was a negative aspect of the Cold War Era in the Soviet Union?
The Soviet Union devoted a large portion of its economy to maintaining a balance of power with the United States.
This was often done at the expense of modernizing civilian areas of life and providing for the basic needs of their
citizens.
9. What is the main idea of this quotation?
“From Stetin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent.
Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin,
Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations
around them lie in what I might call the Soviet Sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not
only to Soviet influence, but to very high, and in some cases increasing measure of control from
Moscow." - Winston Churchill
After World War II, Stalin forced pro-communists governments in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and other Eastern
European nations. These nations became known as Soviet satellite states. The Soviet's retained control through
both economic and militaristic means.
10. Prior to the 1980’s, the emphasis of the Five-Year Plans in the Soviet Union resulted on what?
The Five Year Plans devoted most available resources to building heavy industry. This was done at the expense of
consumer goods, which created shortages in all areas of civilian life.
11. How did The Soviet Union’s react to the 1968 revolt in Czechoslovakia?
The Soviet Union sent troops into Czechoslovakia in 1968 to overthrow the current government and replace it with
a pro-communist regime. This proved to the world that the Soviets were willing to use military force to keep their
control over Eastern Europe.
12. What was a major reason for the success of Soviet domination in Eastern Europe after World War II?
After World War II, Stalin forced pro-communists governments in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and other Eastern
European nations. These nations became known as Soviet satellite states. The Soviet's retained control through
both economic and militaristic means.
13. What do the events that took place in Hungary in the 1950’s and in Czechoslovakia in the 1960’s
demonstrate about the Soviet Union?
The Soviet Union used its military power to maintain control over its satellite states. This became known as the
Brezhnev Doctrine, which maintained the Soviet Union's right to intervene in the domestic affairs of any Warsaw
Pact nation.
14. The expansion of communism into Eastern Europe was a direct result of other event?
After World War II, Stalin forced pro-communists governments in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and other Eastern
European nations. These nations became known as Soviet satellite states. The Soviet's retained control through
both economic and militaristic means.
15. United States involvement in the Vietnam War and the Soviet Union’s involvement in Afghanistan
were motivated mainly by what?
The Soviet Union supported various communist governments around the world, while the United States worked to
stop the spread of communism. In cases like Afghanistan and Vietnam, this type of support led to warfare.
16. These historical newspaper headlines are related to what?
“Warsaw Pact Tanks Invade Budapest"
"Wall Divides Berlin”
“Liberal Czechoslovak Government Replaced”
After World War II, Stalin forced pro-communists governments in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and other Eastern
European nations. These nations became known as Soviet satellite states. The Soviet’s retained control through
both economic and militaristic means.
17. The invasion of Hungary in 1956 by the Soviet Union and the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 are
examples of what?
The Truman Doctrine was a United States policy that sent economic and military aid to any country trying to resist
Soviet expansion. This policy failed to stop the Soviet control of Hungary or East Germany.
18. During the Cold War Era, many Asian and African nations followed a policy of nonalignment for what
reason?
These nations hoped to receive aid from both the Soviet Union and the United States while remaining neutral. The
main goal of most of these nations was economic progress while remaining free from cold war entanglements.
19. This statement describes what foreign policy?
“We believe in nonaggression and noninterference by one country in the affairs of another and the
growth of tolerance between them and the capacity for peaceful coexistence. We, therefore, endeavor
to maintain friendly relations with all countries, even though we may disagree with them in their
policies.” - Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India
Nonaligned nations, such as India, wished to remain free of cold war entanglements while pursuing economic and
social progress.
20. What is a major reason Cuban and Nicaraguan revolutionary movements were attracted to
communism?
Both countries had suffered under corrupt governments that did very little to help the majority of citizens who
were poor. Socialist ideas of government aid appealed to this group of people.
21. The main reason the United Nations sent troops to Korea in 1950 was?
North Korean forces sought to unify the country under a communist regime. The United Nations, strongly
supported by the United States, sent troops to prevent this from occurring.
22. The conflict between Israel and the Arab nations since 1948 was often considered part of the Cold
War because?
The conflict in the Middle East has often been a surrogate for cold war tensions. The United States supported Israel,
while the Soviets supported Egypt under Gamal Nasser, and other nations opposed to the United States and Israel.
23. What were the views of Fidel Castro?
During the Cold War, tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States often varied between near
cooperation and near war.
24. What does this list of events suggest about the Cold War Era?
-Berlin Blockade (1948-1949)
-Premier Khrushchev’s visit to the United States (1959)
-Cuban missile crisis (1962)
-Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963)
-Joint Apollo-Soyuz space mission (1975)
-Russian invasion of Afghanistan (1979)
Fidel Castro led the revolution that setup a communist government in Cuba with him at its head. He has been a
strong advocate of revolutionary socialism in other Latin American nations.
25. From the perspective of the North Vietnamese, the war in Vietnam in the 1960’s was a battle
between what two ideologies?
The North Vietnamese viewed the United States as an imperialist nation seeking to subjugate them. The
nationalistic feelings of the North Vietnamese led them to rebel against United States intervention in their country.
26. Write a headline concerning the Soviet Union referring to a Cold War event?
The Warsaw Pact was formed by the Soviet Union and seven of its satellite states as a response to NATO. The
Warsaw Pact was a defensive military alliance.
27. What major agreement between the Soviet Union and the United States occurred in the late 1980’s?
The United States and Soviet Union worked together throughout the 1970s and 1980s to reduce the number of
nuclear weapons each possessed.
28. During the 1980’s, the Soviet Union experimented with modifications of its command economy by
doing what?
The Soviet Union sought to boost its weak economy by using market economy strategies.
29. In the 30 years after World War II, which area was most influenced by the Soviet Union?
After World War II, Stalin forced pro-communists governments in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and other Eastern
European nations. These nations became known as Soviet satellite states. The Soviet’s retained control through
both economic and militaristic means.
30. What statement best describes the political situation in Eastern Europe during the 1980’s?
During the 1980s, nationalistic feelings began to dominate the political landscape in Eastern Europe, eventually
leading to independence for many of these nations.
31. The withdrawal of France from Indochina, the involvement of the Soviet Union in Cuba, and the
United States support of the Contras in Nicaragua illustrate what?
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the United States sought new spheres of influence throughout the
world.
32. What is a valid statement about the Soviet Union from the time of the Bolshevik Revolution through
1991?
A communist, or command economy, controls the means of production by having governmental agencies involved
in production planning. The Soviet Union devoted most available resources to building heavy industry. This was
done at the expense of consumer goods, which created shortages in all areas of civilian life.
33. In the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP) and Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of
Perestroika both sought to do what?
Traditionally, a communist, or command economy, controls the means of production by having governmental
agencies involved in production planning. Both Lenin and Gorbachev sought to increase production in vital areas
by introducing individual enterprise.
34. During the 1980’s in the Soviet Union, the economic policy of Perestroika focused on what?
Traditionally, a communist, or command economy, controls the means of production by having government
agencies involved in production planning. Gorbachev’s policy of perestroika sought to increase production in vital
areas by introducing individual free enterprise.
35. These events of the Cold War are examples of what?
· Blockade of Berlin
· Operation of the Berlin Airlift
· Organization of the Warsaw Pact
· Construction of the Berlin Wall
These are all examples of situations that caused conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union during
the Cold War.
36. In Eastern Europe during the 1950’s and 1960’s, the Soviet Union responded to challenges to its
control by doing what?
The Soviet Union used its military power to maintain control over its satellite states. This became known as the
Brezhnev Doctrine, which maintained the Soviet Union’s right to intervene in the domestic affairs of any Warsaw
Pact nation.