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1.
Events that led to the Cold War being declared officially over.
2.
How had relations changed between 1945 and 1989?
3.
An evaluation of the Cold War.
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USSR
By the 1980s, the percentage of Soviets below the poverty line was far greater than in Western Europe. Some basic goods, like sugar, were even rationed.
20% of the workforce were employed in farming. The USSR couldn’t produce enough food to feed its population.
Diverted huge proportion of national income towards defence – tanks were built instead of consumer goods (TVs and cars).
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USA
3% of the workforce were employed in farming. On average a US farmer produced seven times more food than a Soviet farmer.
President Reagan was ‘hotting up’ the Cold War – investing massive sums into his military.
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Why would defence spending affect the USSR more than the USA?
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By 1985, the Eastern bloc countries were in trouble. Out of date machinery and factories only made the backward economies worse.
Manufactured goods were a poor second to goods made in the West. Shop shelves were bare and food queues became part of everyday life.
The communists kept power by censorship and the secret police, backed up by the Soviet army.
Discuss:
Why do you think the USSR continued to invest in its space and military programmes?
If you were a leader of the USSR, what action would you have taken?
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Reagan and Gorbachev met in
Geneva (1985) and Reykjavik
(1986). They finally signed the
‘Intermediate Range Nuclear
Force Treaty’ (INF) in 1987.
This treaty was the first that actually led to the destruction of a range of nuclear weapons.
The economic problems of the Soviet Union meant that it could simply not continue. During 1989 the Soviet Union literally broke apart.
What were the reasons for each side signing the treaty?
How different were their reasons?
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Click on the arrows to move through the timeline.
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Think back to the Domino Effect that the US administration was so worried about. Can you make any comparisons?
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Read each event, locate where it occurred and then click on the country on the map.
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In 1990, Germany was officially reunified.
In July 1991, the Warsaw Pact was dissolved.
Communist hard-liners in Russia were horrified by
Gorbachev’s policies, and how he had done nothing to stop the disintegration of the USSR.
In August 1991 they tried to overthrow Gorbachev.
The coup failed and the Communist Party was outlawed.
In December, Russia formed the CIS with two other
Soviet republics. The USSR was no more.
On Christmas Day 1991, Gorbachev resigned.
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What do you think newspaper headlines were after
Gorbachev resigned? Explain your thoughts…
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900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Defence
Total
Federal
Budget
1945 1950 1960 1970 1980 1989
Years
Look carefully at the graph and answer the following questions:
1. What is the most surprising feature? Explain your thoughts.
2. Why is the proportion of money spent significant?
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In 1988, the United Nations Secretary-General admitted that almost a thousand billion dollars were spent each year on arms and armed forces. This was more than the total income of the poorer half of the world’s population.
It was estimated that the USA’s military establishment pumped out nearly a tonne of toxic pollutants a minute, more than the five largest chemical companies put together.
A nuclear bomber consumes over 13,500 litres of fuel an hour. A car doing approximately 180 miles would consume only 25 litres.
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When you consider the environmental problems in the world and food shortages, can the effects of the Cold War be justified?
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You need to reach your own conclusions about the Cold
War. Consider the following questions:
1. What actually was the Cold War?
2.
Did either side really ‘win’?
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3. Why did the Cold War last so long? Think about different factors:
Economic
Political
Mutual distrust
Propaganda
Pride
‘National security’
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