Soviet Leadership
Stalin
Khrushchev
Brezhnev
Gorbachev
Life after Stalin
• Khrushchev reforms USSR after Stalin dies (1953)
– Soviet people begin to enjoy some freedoms
• Reforms encourage resistance
– Poland 1956 – workers strike for better conditions
– Hungary 1956 – nationwide revolt against USSR
– Czech 1968 – Prague Spring democratic reforms
• USSR uses force to maintain control
Problems in the USSR
• Military Burden
– Arms Race is expensive to maintain
– Détente: Relaxation of tensions in 1970s
• Both sides reduce number of nuclear weapons
• Economic Burden
– USSR produces inferior goods; not enough for all
– Low standard of living & poverty
American Jeans being sold in the black market
1 pair = 1 month’s worth of wages
“Eternally Youthful”
U.S.
Vietnam War
Anti War Movement
End of the Vietnam War
•Extremely unpopular war
•War Powers Act, 1973
•U.S. not successful
•Students protest U.S. involvement in
Vietnam
•58,000 Americans dead
•Question U.S. Cold War strategies
•Limited power of president to send troops
to war w/o congress approval
•Church Committee
•1 million Vietnamese
dead
Civil Rights Movement
•African Americans & students protest
•Bans CIA abuses (Assassination & spying)
Civil Rights Act, 1964
•Bans discrimination
Voting Right Act, 1965
•Federal Supervision of elections
External Challenges to
Cold War Superpowers
Soviet Afghan War
•No public protest
•Czechoslovakian Revolt
•Why?
•Defies soviet control
U.S.S.R.
Internal
Protest
•Soviet Chinese Split
•Economic Reform (capitalism)
•No political reform (communist
govt.)
Reform
•Gorbachev
•Pulled Soviets from Afghanistan
•Gave satellite countries
independence
•Glasnost (openness)
•Lifted restrictions on freedom of
speech/expression
•Perestroika (restructuring)
•Allowed for a democratic govt.
•Multi-candidate elections
USSR Crumbles 1989
• Eastern Europe Breaks Free
– Poland – Solidarity Movement holds free elections
– Hungary – allows new political parties
– Czech – elected a president
• Berlin Wall Falls
– Berlin Wall supposed to keep people IN
– East Germany begins to let people OUT
– Thousands help dismantle the Berlin Wall
• Germany will unify
`
End of the Cold War
• Cold War officially ends in 1991
– USSR controlled nations become independent
– USSR becomes Russia once again
• United States only remaining superpower