Challenges to

Liberalism Related to
Foreign Policy
 YALTA CONFERENCE (1945)
USSR: Joseph Stalin
USA: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Britain: Winston Churchill
● Divided Germany into 4 zones of occupation
(France, Britain, USA & USSR)
● Reparations from Germany
● Determined the post-war boundaries of
Poland
○ “Poor Neville Chamberlain believed he could
trust Hitler. He was wrong. But I don’t think I
am wrong about Stalin.” – Churchill History Short - The Yalta
Conference.mp4
● USSR entered into the war on Japan to end
WWII
 After Yalta: The Cold War
◼ Numerous events, agreements, and conflicts resulted
in growing tensions between the USSR and the USA.
▪ After WWII, the US and USSR
no longer had a common enemy to fight
 POTSDAM CONFERENCE (1945)
USSR: Joseph Stalin
USA: Harry Truman
Britain: Winston Churchill then
Clement Attlee
● Discussed outstanding issues,
including a disagreement
between the USA and USSR
over the treatment of Germany
and Poland.
● Split Berlin into 4 zones of
occupation.
Berlin 1945-1949

◼ After WWII, Berlin was

divided into 4 sectors (A
British, French,
American, and Soviet
sector)
◼ However, the city fell 176
km inside Soviet
controlled
East Germany
 COLD WAR SUPERPOWERS
Superpower: A very powerful and influential
nation. The USA and USSR.
United States:
● Richest in the world in 1945.
● Strongest and largest air force and navy, as well
as atomic bombs
● Capitalist
● Believed Stalin was trying to be the next Hitler and attempt to take
over the world.
Soviet Union:
● Bigger army than the USA.
● Controlled all of Europe from the center of Germany, eastward.
● Communist
● Believed the USA hated communism so much that they would use
nuclear weapons.
 COLD WAR SPHERES OF INFLUENCE
● Cold War: A rivalry after WWII between
democratic countries and the Soviet
Union and its allies.
● Sphere of Influence: A territorial area in
which one nation has the main political
or economic influence.
○ Communist East vs. Democratic West
● Expansionism: The policy of expanding
a nation’s territory or sphere of
Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech.mp4 influence.

● Containment: An American policy which

aimed to limit communist expansion in
Europe and Asia.
The Iron Curtain
◼ Iron Curtain: An ideological line drawn
between the communist countries and the
democratic countries in Europe.
◼ The Americans viewed the iron curtain as◼ a
barrier to contain those oppressed by
communism, a restriction to civil and
economic freedoms
◼ Soviets saw it as a protective measure, a
means of protecting themselves from
capitalist influences and the potential
expansion of fascism.(Russia had been
invaded twice in the first half of the 20th
century)Churchill's Iron Curtain
Speech.mp4
◼
"From Stettin in the Baltics, 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 must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only
to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of
control from Moscow. An attempt is being made by the Russians in Berlin to build up
a quasi-communist party in their zone of occupied Germany by showing special
favors to groups of left-wing German leaders. At the end of the fighting last June, the
American and British armies withdrew westward in accordance with an earlier
agreement, to a depth at some points of 150 miles upon a front of nearly 400 miles in
order to allow our Russian allies to occupy this vast expanse of territory which
Western democracies had conquered. If now the Soviet government tries by separate
action to build up a pro-communist Germany in their areas, this will cause new
serious difficulties in the American and British zones, and will give the defeated
Germans the power of putting themselves up to auction between the Soviets and the
Western democracies. Whatever conclusions may be drawn from these facts, and
facts they are, this is certainly not the liberated Europe we sought to build up, nor is it
one which contains the essentials for a permanent peace. On the other hand, ladies
and gentleman, I repulse the idea that a new war is inevitable- still more that it is
imminent. It is because I am sure that our fortunes are still in our hands, in our own
hands, and that we own the power to save the future, that I feel the duty to speak out
now that I have the occasion and the opportunity to do so."
 CONTAINMENT AND THE TRUMAN
DOCTRINE
In 1947, President Truman (USA)
announced that the Truman Doctrine
would be applied in all countries
threatened by Communism.
● Truman Doctrine: A policy to provide
economic assistance to war-torn
countries that needed to rebuild and to
countries threatened by or attracted to “support free peoples who are
resisting attempted subjugation by
communism. armed minorities or by outside
pressures”
○ Initially used to rebuild Greece and
Turkey
● This allowed the Americans to contain
and limit communist expansion.
THE BERLIN BLOCKADE AND THE MARSHALL
PLAN
The four occupying nations had agreed on
the division of Germany and Berlin; however,
Berlin was located in Soviet territory and
Stalin was threatened by the presence of
NATO forces in Soviet territory.
1. Stalin closes all access ways to Berlin (June
24, 1948).
○ Railroads and highways were closed to all
incoming traffic.
○ Stalin wanted to starve the people of West
Berlin into submission.
○ Wanted to force the democratic countries
into allowing the USSR to send its own
supplies into West Berlin.
○ Then, the USSR would control all of Berlin.
THE BERLIN BLOCKADE AND THE MARSHALL
PLAN
West Berlin received aid under The Marshall
Plan.
○ Marshall Plan: A policy of providing
economic aid to countries affected by
World War II.
■ Western Europe accept the aid, Eastern
Europe did not
■ 16 countries received $13 billion in US aid
○ Assistance program for countries that were
damaged from the effects of WWII and that
were under communist threat.
○
2
THE BERLIN AIRLIFT
○ 2.1 million West Berliners were cut
off from all supplies
○ The western response was to fly in
supplies to West Berliners; at the
height of these flights planes were
landing every 3 minutes
○ Over 5000 tons of food, water, coal,
and other supplies were flown in
every day.
○ This lasted one year.
○ On May 12, 1949, Stalin finally lifted
the blockade
BERLIN BLOCKADE AS AN EXAMPLE OF
CONTAINMENT

●Prevent the other from

expanding their spheres
of influence.
●Americans used the
airlift to demonstrate
that they would not
back down to Stalin.
 The Molotov Plan
◼ The Molotov Plan was the
Soviet response to the
Marshall Plan
◼ It was for Eastern European
nations under Soviet
influence
◼ The system created by the
Soviet Union in 1947 to
provide aid to rebuild the
countries in Eastern Europe
that were politically and
economically aligned to the
Soviet Union.
first 8 minutes
 ALIGNMENT
● In expanding their spheres of influence, both the USSR and the
USA signed agreements with other nations in practicing their
policies of expansionism and containment.
● These alliances and agreements consisted of the following:
USA USSR
DEMOCRATIC/CAPITALIST COMMUNIST
Political: Truman Doctrine Political: Cominform

Economic: Marshall Plan Economic: Comecon

Military: NATO (Europe & NA)

Military: Warsaw Pact
NORAD (US & CAN)
NON-ALIGNMENT
● Non-Alignment: A policy of not choosing
sides and remaining “neutral.”
● During the Cold War, both the Soviets
and Americans had many alliances and
organizations to protect and expand
their spheres of influence.
● Many countries, especially those which
were newly independent, wanted to
remain neutral and avoid aligning with
either the USSR or the USA. They formed
their own voting bloc to demand more
aid for developing countries.
● This is what led to the creation of the
Third World.
● These nations agreed to align with each
other to avoid conflict by meeting at the
Bandung Conference in 1955.
THE SOCIALIST FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF
YUGOSLAVIA (SFR YUGOSLAVIA)
● The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
was the Yugoslav state that existed from the
end of WWI until its dissolution in 1992.
● Prime Minister Tito: communist government
○ not under Soviet control
○ Traded with the West
● Six states: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and
Macedonia.
● Yugoslavia survived and became an example
for later independence movements within
the Soviet bloc.
Yugoslavia was a communist state that was
not under the control of the USSR.
CHINESE
CIVIL WAR
(1944-47)
PART II
 CHINA
● For two decades, Chinese
communists struggled against
the nationalist government of
Chiang Ka-Shek
● US supported Chiang and gave
the Nationalist Party $3 billion
in aid during WWII
● Mao Zedong’s Communist Party
was strong
○ Especially among Chinese
peasants
CIVIL WAR (1944-47)
● After Japan left China after the War,
Chinese Nationalist and Communists
fought a bloody civil war
● Despite US aid, the Communist won
and ruled China under Mao
○ Chiang and the Nationalists fled to
Taiwan
● Mao established the Peoples’
Republic of China
● American public was stunned that
China became Communist
○ Many believed containment had
failed and communism was
expanding
○ This increased their fear
Your friend is being
accused of being a
witch ( they are not)
……
A) Say they are innocent ( you
You are called to testify …
will lose your job)
B) Say they are a witch…….(
and keep living your life)
You are accused of being a
witch……
You can…
A) Acknowledge you are in fact a
witch and name another witch (
the other witch will be
executed)
B) Deny you are a witch …. and
risk being executed…….
HUAC: House
Un-American
Activities
Committee
●Created in 1938 to
investigate
disloyalty and
people with
communist ties
● April 1949
● "You read books, eh?"
● During the postwar anti-communist
campaign hundreds of elementary
and high school teachers were
investigated and lost their jobs,
sometimes as a result of being
named by proliferating
"anti-subversive" groups and
individuals.
● Some individuals compiled and
circulated their own blacklists,
which were accepted by frightened
employers and casting directors
who feared being blacklisted
themselves if they sought facts and
fair play. The motives of some
self-serving or vindictive accusers
were summed up by Herb Block in
a phrase: "If you can't crush the
commies, you can nail a neighbor."
 “SUCCESSES”
●Alger Hiss
○ Accused of being a Soviet spy
○ Convicted
○ Maintained his innocence until his
death
●Julius Rosenberg (and his wife
Ethel)
○ Jewish-American citizens
○ Tried and convicted of espionage for
the Soviets
■ atomic bomb
■ Sentenced to death
Entertainment Industry
-10 Hollywood
men accused of -Even W. Disney had to
appear before HUAC.

having
communist
sympathies. -The ten men were convicted
of being in contempt of court.
Their appeals of course were
-Refused to denied, all served prison
terms of up to one year.
answer
questions
 PROXY WAR
●Proxy War: conflicts in
which one
superpower provides
support to a group or
state that opposes the
rival superpower
●This may consist of
money, arms, and
personnel.
 KOREAN WAR
● June 25, 1950 - ~75 000 soldiers from the North
Korean People’s Army poured across the border
between the Soviet backed North Korea and the
pro-western Republic of South Korea.
● First military action of the Cold War
● American troops entered the war on South Korea’s
behalf, intending to fight it as a war against
communism.
● July 1953 – War came to an end after ~5 million
soldiers lost their lives.
● The peninsula is still divided today.
HOW DID THE KOREAN WAR FIT THE
DEFINITION OF A PROXY WAR?
●The USSR didn’t get
directly involved but they
did supply weapons to
North Korea.
●The battle of communism
vs capitalism was fought
in Asia, with the USA and
the USSR providing
support to promote their
ideology.
 FOREIGN RULE IN VIETNAM
● France conquered Vietnam in 1880s – 1940, WWII - Japan takes
over
● French fight to regain control in 1946
○ Nationalist Independence Movement (Communist) - leader: Ho Chi
Minh
○ USA stayed out: Ho Chi Minh stated he only wanted independence
● 1949 Mao Zedong won control of China and USA fears Minh is
China’s puppet government
● USA pays France $ Millions/year to help with the war and set up
rival government in South.
● Eventually, French are crushed at the battle of Dien Bien Phu
(1954)
● Geneva Peace Conference: French agreed to leave and Vietnam
was left divided
●Initially, the USA promised
financial support to South
Vietnam in its struggle to
fight communism.
●The USA feared a domino
effect:
●Domino Effect: The theory
that if one country was
taken over by an
expansionist country, then
nearby countries would
also be taken over.
 INDEPENDENCE AND CONTAINMENT
●1956 Elections for unified government prevented
because of fears of communist takeover
○ 1957 Ho Chi Minh uses sabotage and terrorism to attempt
to control Vietnam (Vietcong)
●President Eisenhower: Domino Theory
○ US afraid if one country fell to communism, other
south-east Asian nations would fall
■ Eastern Europe fell to Russia, Asia would fall to China
○ = money, weapons and soldiers used to train South
Vietnamese, eventually US starts to fight directly
●Russia and China responded by supporting the North
THE VIETNAM WAR (1957-1975)
● Guerilla warfare was main tactic
○ USA became frustrated and began using Agent Orange
/ Napalm
○ Innocent villagers were often victims (My Lai Massacre)
● Role of media
○ By the late 1960s Americans could no longer stand to
see war on their TV = widespread protests (Kent State)
● 1969 Richard Nixon “Vietnamization” (strengthen South
Vietnamese troops)
○ US withdrawal offered for North cease-fire
■ North slow to respond so the US started carpet bombing
again to persuade them
● 1973 Agreement was reached and US leaves
● 1975 War ended with Communist capture of Saigon – Ho
Chi Minh City
Draft in USA….
WHAT WAS THE SPACE RACE?
1955-1975
•Space Race: Competition between the
USSR & USA to achieve firsts in spaceflight
capability
– Seen as necessary for security purposes
 Both sides announce they will
1955 launch an artificial satellite

We will
be first!

No! We
will!
th
4 October USSR launch Sputnik 1
into orbit
1957

+
1

[Link]
WR70ngPYbc
th
4 November USSR get the first living
creature into orbit – Laika
1957 the dog

+ +
1 1

[Link]
_continue=27&v=Pz63twfoW3c
 USSR launch the first
th
12 April 1961 human into Space (Yuri
Gagarin)

+ + +
1 1 1
 Less than a month later,
th
5 May 1961 USA launch Alan Shephard
into space

+ + ++
1 1 11
 th
20 February USA Astronaut John Glenn
orbits the Earth 3 times
1962

++ + + +
11 1 1 1

[Link]
me_continue=17&v=vcGizTdsXIM
 USSR launches the first
th
16 June 1963 woman,Valentina
Tereshkova, into space

+ + + + +
1 1 1
+ 1 1
1
 th
18 March USSR Cosmonaut Alexei
Leonov performs the first
1965 space walk

++ + + +
11 1
+ + 1
1
1 1
 rd Ed white performs the
3 June 1965 USA’s first space walk

+ + + + + +
1 1 1 1
+ 1
+ 1
1 1
 th
24 December USA’s Apollo 8 becomes the first
manned craft to orbit the Moon,
1968 taking this picture of the Earth

+ ++ + + +
1+ 1 1 1
+ 1
+ 1
1 1 1
 USA’s Neil Armstrong and
th
20 July 1969 Buzz Aldrin become the first
people to walk on the Moon

+++ + ++
1 +1 +1 1
+ +1
1
1 1 1 1

[Link]
me_continue=17&v=cwZb2mqId0A
APOLLO 11
VIDEO

[Link]
8il6rx-9a3c
[Link]
m/watch?v=8il6rx-9a3c
 THE SPACE RACE ENDS…
● Some see the Apollo 11 landing as
the end
● Others… 1975 – Earth orbit with an
American astronaut crew and Soviet
cosmonaut crew
● Legacies:
○ Increased space related developments
and advances
○ August 2020: Putin announced they
were releasing a COVID-19 Vaccine
(skipping clinical trials)
■ Referred to it as the “Sputnik vaccine”
● Reflects pride still felt by Russian
victories in the Space Race
CUBAN
MISSILE
CRISIS(1961)
PART IX
Duck And Cover
1951.mp4
DETERRENCE AND BRINKMANSHIP
The end of WWII was a new era: the era of nuclear
weapons. This created several events that brought
East and West to the brink of war. One of these was
the Cuban Missile Crisis.
●Brinkmanship: Creating the impression that you
are willing to push a highly dangerous situation to
the limit (brink) rather than concede defeat to your
enemy.
●Deterrence: A foreign policy which aims to
discourage a country from taking military action
(deter your enemy).
 NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION
In order to contain Soviet
expansionism, the
democratic west formed
an alliance called NATO to
maintain collective
security.
●Collective Security: An
organization of countries
that agree to protect one
another if any of the
member countries are
attacked.
WARSAW PACT
In response to the NATO
alliance, the USSR and its
satellite states created
their own organization: The
Warsaw Pact.
This was active from 1955
until 1991.
● Satellite States: A small
country that borders
another country and is
under the influence or
control of the
neighbouring country.
An unwinnable, nuclear war is known as mutually
assured destruction (MAD); it deters each side
because attacking your opponent would assure a
counter attack would destroy you as well.
These include weapons of mass
destruction(WMDs)
 ARMS RACE CONTINUED…
● This fear of MAD led to several new developments:
○ Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM): Nuclear missiles which could
fly from one continent to another in 30 minutes.
○ North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD): Created to deal with
the threat of ICBMs – had their headquarters in Colorado under a
mountain.
○ Distant Early Warning System (DEW Line): A line of radar stations
built by NORAD along the Canadian north to warn NORAD in case of
a missile launch by the USSR.
● Canada got pulled into the arms race between the Americans and
Soviets because they signed the NORAD treaty with the USA.
● Nations around the world began to stockpile nuclear weapons,
including India, Pakistan, and North Korea.
● At one point, there was enough nuclear power to blow up the
world seven and a half times.
 Castro
◼ The US grew wary of
Castro’s socialist ideas
and his relationship
with the USSR
◼ Essentially Cuba and
the US began an
economic and political
game of diplomatic
chess
 THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
In October 1962, the world was on the brink
of experiencing another world war. The
Cuban Missile Crisis is one of the best Cold
War examples of the policy of brinkmanship,
as well as the closest the world has ever come
to nuclear war.
The Soviets were worried about…
● The missile launch sites the Americans had
established in Turkey.
● Their lack of ability to strike the USA from a
similar distance.
The Americans were worried about…
● Communism spreading to Fidel Castro’s
Cuba and attacking the USA from the south.
Range of missiles
from Cuba in
1962
THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
The Bay of Pigs (1961): A full-scale
American invasion of Cuba by 1400
American trained Cubans who had fled
their homes when Castro took over.
○ The Americans lost, surrendering after
less than a day of fighting.
Cuba had become a socialist nation and
looked for protection and trade
agreements from the USSR. The Soviet
Union was happy to oblige in order to
create a sphere of influence near the
USA. This would counteract the
presence of NATO in Europe. The USA
also feared the expansion of
communism into Cuba.
THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS TIMELINE
THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS TIMELINE
1. October 15, 1962: American spy
planes spot nuclear missile bases
being built in Cuba.
2. The Executive Committee of the
National Security Council (ExComm)
discussed five courses of action:
○ Do nothing and ignore it
○ Use diplomatic pressure to get the
USSR to remove the missiles.
○ Lead an air attack on the missiles.
○ Lead a full military invasion.
○ Create a naval blockade of Cuba,
was redefined as a more restrictive
quarantine.
THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS TIMELINE
3. The Joint Chiefs of Staff
unanimously agreed that a full-scale
attack and invasion was the only
solution.
● Kennedy was skeptical and decided
on quarantine.
● A blockade would be an act of war
but quarantine would not.
● Quarantine: “Enforce isolation” used
to separate and restrict the
movement of persons/goods.
○ Any ships which were carrying
dangerous goods/weapons would
be turned back to Cuba.
THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS TIMELINE
4. Many secret diplomatic meetings and
telegrams were sent back and forth, which
caused confusion. ( us planes in air, Castro
to Khrushchev, rouge U2 shooting) This
included several confrontations within the
UN Security Council.
○ Why? The Soviets kept avoiding the direct
questions of the USA ambassador to the
UN.
5. The crisis ends after lasting 13 days on
October 28, 1962. A final agreement is
reached with help from the United Nations.
They decided that:All missiles in Cuba would
be removed in exchange for the removal of
missiles in Turkey.
THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS TIMELINE
In 1963, a hotline from Moscow to
Washington was created to prevent any
confusion between leaders. The Partial
Test Ban treaty also took a step towards
slowing the nuclear arms race.
● Partial Test Ban Treaty (1963): Treaty
prohibiting all test detonations of
nuclear weapons except underground.
○ Helped slow the arms race and
reduce the release of nuclear fallout
into the atmosphere.
○ Signed and ratified by the Soviet
Union, Britain, and the USA.
“We were eyeball to eyeball, and the other
fellow just blinked”
-US Secretary of State Dean Rusk
The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
COLD WAR
IN THE
MIDDLE
EAST
PART XII
1) SOVIET INVASION OF
AFGHANISTAN (1979-89)
● Christmas Eve, 1979 – Russian
paratroopers land in Kabul
(capital of Afghanistan)
● Country was already in the grip of
a civil war
○ Prime Minister (Hafizullah Amin)
tried to socially “westernize” Afghan
society and sweep aside Muslin
tradition
■ Economically, Amin was communist
○ This outraged the majority of
Afghani citizens
○ Thousands of Muslim leaders were
arrested and more fled to the
mountains to escape Amin’s police
 AFGHANISTAN, CONTINUED…
● Mujahideen: Guerilla force on a holy
mission (jihad) for Allah
○ Goal: Overthrow the Amin government
○ Backed by the United States
● The Soviets, who backed Amin, were also
a target of the Mujahideen
○ Soviets claimed the Amin government
invited them
● December 27th, 1979: Amin was shot by
the Soviets and replaced by Babrak Kamal
○ His position as Prime Minister depended
on Russian military support (85,000
Soviet soldiers) to keep him in power
 AFGHANISTAN, CONTINUED…
● Mujahideen were equipped with
old rifles and knowledge of the
mountains surrounding Kabul
● Russians resorted to napalm,
poison gas, and helicopters
○ Similar to the American approach
in Vietnam
● By 1982, the Mujahideen
controlled 75% of Afghanistan
○ Soviet conscripts were no match
against men fueled by religious
belief
○ Many Soviet soldiers deserted to
the Mujahideen
○ Russian tanks were also useless in
the mountains
END OF SOVIET OCCUPATION IN AFGHANISTAN
● The Soviets suffered ~15,000 dead
● 1988: The Soviet Union signed an accord
with the United States, Pakistan &
Afghanistan
○ Agreed to withdraw their troops
● Afghanistan returned to being a
non-aligned Cold War state
○ POWER VACUUM EMERGES
● Following the withdrawal of troops,
Afghanistan’s communist regime
eventually collapses
○ Civil disorder and war occurs
● This sets the stage for the Taliban’s rise
to power in 1996
2) IRAN-SOVIET RELATIONS
● Long history of tumultuous contact between Russians and Persians
(Iranians)
○ Goes back a millennium
● Throughout the 19th-century Russia obtained large amounts of
territory from Persia through a series of wars (colonialism)
○ Anti-Russian sentiment in Persia was exceptionally high
● 1907: Russia & Britain divided Iran into three segments to serve their
interests
○ 1921: Reversed this division and returned land back to Iran
● During WWII, (1941) the USSR & the UK launched an attack on Iran,
despite its plea of neutrality
● 1946 Iran Crisis: Stalin refused to give up occupied Iranian territory
○ US put pressure on the USSR to withdraw
○ Earliest evidenced success of the Truman Doctrine/containment
 2) IRANIAN REVOLUTION #1 (1953)
● Coup d'état in Iran (Operation Ajax)
○ Overthrew democratically elected Prime
Minister
○ Strengthened the power of the Shah (king)
● Why? The PM nationalized the
British-owned oil industry in Iran
○ Orchestrated by the United States (CIA) & the UK
(MI6)
○ Wanted to install a “pro-western” puppet
government that would safeguard Western
nations’ oil interest in the Middle East
● The Prime Minister was successfully
overthrown and the Shah’s rule was
consolidated for the next 26 years
○ Essentially a dictatorship under Mohammad
Reza Pahlavi
2) IRANIAN REVOLUTION #2 (1979)
● Many Muslims did not like the Shah and viewed him as a
traitor to Islam
○ Implemented a “pro-Western”, secular government
○ Dictatorial: Secret Police
○ Majority of Iranians were poor
● 1979: Revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini (a Shi’ite Muslim)
○ Set up a theocracy
American Hostage Crisis: ( think the movie Argo)
● Radical Muslim students seized the US Embassy
● Held 66 Americans hostage for 444 days
● Severely damaged Iran-American relationship
 WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO
WITH THE COLD WAR?

●The USSR became the first

state to recognize the
Islamic Republic of Iran
(post Coup)
●The United States, due to
the hostage situation, did
not
●This further increased
tensions between the US &
USSR
Oh and a lot more than Vietnam,Korea, Iran and
Afghanistan….. 1963 Brazil
1949- Syria ( multiple) 1964- Guyana
1970- Cambodia
1950- Burma 1971- Bolivia
1954- Guatemala 1973- Chile
1974- Ethiopia
1950s - Indonesia 1975- Angola
1975- East Timor
1959 - Iraq
1976 Argentina
1959- Cuba ( Bay of 1980 Jamaica -
Pigs) 1981-1990- Nicaragua
1983 - Grenada
1960-1965 Congo 1989- Panama ( officially drugs not
communism)
1960 -Laos
NOT a complete list!!!
 ● As seen through our examination of the Cuban
DÉTENTE Missile Crisis, the Cold War instilled a global
fear of nuclear war.
● Both the USSR and the USA knew this period of
tension could not continue.
● So, in the 1970s, world leaders agreed to
reduce tensions worldwide.
● Détente: The easing of political tensions.
○ Typically refers to the period of reduced
tensions between the United States and Soviet
Union from 1971 – 1979.
● In order to avoid future conflict, both the USSR
and USA agreed to sign treaties that would
reduce the number of nuclear weapons each
country possessed.
● This demonstrated a willingness of the
superpowers to work together to prevent
hostilities.
● The hope was that these treaties would ease
tensions and help all people feel more secure.
 DÉTENTE
● Test Ban Treaty (1963): Countries couldn’t test nuclear
weapons in space.
● Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (1972): Defense systems against
missiles were banned.
● SALT I (1972): Limited anti-ballistic missiles and limited the
number of nuclear bombs and long-range missiles
produced. Would limit for the next five years.
● Helsinki (1975): Accepted European borders within Europe
and agreed to a Declaration of Human Rights to guarantee
fundamental freedoms.
● SALT II (1979): Limited the number of multi-head missiles.
● Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1995): Limited the
number of countries that could possess nuclear weapons.
Also made it illegal to sell or trade nuclear weapons to
countries that didn’t already possess this technology.
 ● Even though arms treaties were signed,
DÉTENTE neither superpower was going to let the
other become strong enough to upset the
balance of power.
● Both the USSR and the USA continued to
develop new weapons.
● The Americans had more capitol to spend
and the Soviets economy was stagnant and
their attempt to keep up to the United States
ended up causing economic hardship within
the crumbling Soviet Union.
○ Neutron Bomb: Could kill more people
without damaging buildings.
○ Star Wars Defense System: A program that
explored the idea of ground and space-based
lasers used to destroy attacking missiles.
THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL
● As countries like Poland and Yugoslavia
began to establish democratic
governments, the Soviet sphere of
influence was growing smaller.
● In 1990, East and West Germany were
reunited and after more than forty years,
the Berlin Wall which had divided
communist and democratic nations was
torn down.
● The wall had been built by the Soviet
Union to keep East Germans in and West
Germans out of Eastern Germany.
○ It became a symbol of the oppressive,
totalitarian regime of the Soviet bloc.
● The tearing down of the wall was a sign
that the Cold War was really over.
GLASNOST & PERESTROIKA
● In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the
leader of the Soviet Union. He was known for
being a communist with very liberal
ideologies who knew the Soviet Union
needed to introduce liberal reforms. These
reforms were known as glasnost &
perestroika.
● Glasnost (“Openness”): Policy of the Soviet
Union that emphasized a more open
government and distribution of information.
● Glasnost included the following principles:
○ Transparency for the country’s citizens.
○ Government would be based on the will of
the people.
○ People could voice their opinions without fear
of imprisonment.
● Perestroika (“Restructuring”): Policy of the
Soviet Union that emphasized restricting the
economic and political systems.
UNFORESEEN RESULTS OF REFORM
● New system bore the
characteristics of neither
central planning nor a
market economy
● Soviet economy went from
stagnation to deterioration
● By 1991, Soviet GDP had
declined by 17% and
continued to decline
○ Hyperinflation became a
major problem
○ Between 1990 & 1991 –
retail prices increased 140%
UNFORESEEN RESULTS OF REFORM
● Many communist citizens within the
Soviet Union opposed change. They
feared that:
○ Communist government officials
would lose their jobs if the country
became democratic.
● Why?
○ Many had been part of the
government for decades and had few
transferrable skills.

After 70 years of communist rule, and

45 years of Soviet-American conflict,
the Soviet Union was officially dissolved
on December 25, 1991