Events leading to the fall of the
USSR
The Prague Spring
Détente
Changes in Leadership: 1964
• How did Johnson
differ from his Cold
War predecessors?
Changes in Leadership: 1964
• Why was
Khrushchev forced
to “retire?”
Leonid Brezhnev
(1964-1982)
• Massive expansion of the
military that significantly
expanded Soviet influence,
but also crippled the
economy.
• Increased Economic, Social,
and Political Dissent
• Era of Stagnation.
Prague Spring (1968)
• Background: Czechoslovakia loyal to Moscow from 1948, but…..
Soviet economic problems!
• 1968: Dubcek comes to power  “Action Program” for reform
 free speech/press, travel to Western countries, Israel,
economic decisions for consumerism
– Goal: Achieve socialism while respecting democratic past (distinct
Czech. path to socialism!)
• Eastern Europe feared reforms spreading  1968 Warsaw Letter
 Warsaw Pact ruled Czech had right to self-rule but challenges
to socialism would NOT be tolerated
• Brezhnev pressures Dubcek to repeal reforms  No!  Warsaw
Pact countries invade and took Prague  Dubcek steps down, is
arrested, and forced to repeal reforms.
“Go home!”
Prague Spring (1968)
“Out, Out, Brief
Candle.”
Effects of Prague Spring
• US condemned actions (too involved in Vietnam)
• UN resolution vetoed by USSR
• Protests within Soviet sphere (showed discontent
under Soviet control)
• Soviets losing control of Red Army
• Military occupation of Eastern Europe continued
• Brezhnev Doctrine adopted
Brezhnev Doctrine: Warsaw Pact forces could intervene
in any Eastern Bloc nation to strengthen communism.
Détente and Arms Race
What agreements between the powers
were made during the period of
détente?
Arms Race!
Soviet Program VS American Program
• Both parties believed
that more nukes = more
power!
• Soviet Union built more
nuclear weapons with
cheaper quality.
• Americans built fewer
nuclear weapons, but
with better quality.
End of the Arms Race
• Economic problems
led to arms control
agreements
beginning in the
1970s. This period
of time, is known as
détente.
• Détente: Both
countries reduced
their nuclear
spending and
stockpiles.
Détente weapon limitations
•
•
•
•
•
Mutually Assured Destruction (1962)
Test Ban Treaty (1963)
Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968)
SALT I (1969) & SALT II (1972)
Helenski Accords (1975): “3 baskets”  security
in Europe, co-operation in science & human
rights
• START (1982)
Détente goes global!
• Ostpolitik: Détente with Western Europe and the
communist bloc
– Cooperation of the two German states
– West Germany + Poland/USSR
• Middle East – relations with Israel
• Sino-American détente
Sino-American Détente: 1969
• The following events contributed to détente
between China & the US………
• 1970’s
– Withdrawal from Vietnam/Taiwan
– United Nations
– Soviet Union
• 1980’s
– Post-Mao economic reforms
Nixon becomes the first US president
to visit China!!!
HOMEWORK: due Friday!
• Read about Sino-American détente!
• Pages 153-157
Hydrogen Bomb
• Both countries worked
frantically to produce
the first hydrogen
bomb.
• The US detonated the
first H-Bomb in
November 1952.
• The Soviets exploded
their H-Bomb in
August 1953.
Hydrogen Bomb Explosion
• US exploded its first hydrogen bomb in
1952. It was 1000 times more powerful
than the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
• USSR detonated theirs in 1953
Mutually Assured Destruction (M.A.D.)
• If no one could
survive a nuclear
war……then there
would not be one.
• First to shoot, is
second to die!
Advancements in Missiles & Delivery
•
•
•
•
ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile)
SLBM (Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile)
ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile)
MIRV (multiple independently targetable
reentry vehicle)
How an ABM works……
Testing of MIRV’s: all
eight (ten capable)
fired from only one
missile. Each line
represents the path
of a warhead which,
if it were live, would
detonate with the
explosive power of
twenty-five Little
Boys (Bomb used on
Nagasaki)
How did the American government
use propaganda to fuel the arms race?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDTBnsqx
Z3k&feature=related
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kdpAGDu8s (Duck & Cover)
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
• Nixon and Brezhnev
signed SALT I in 1972
• Both parties agreed to
limits on nuclear
stockpiles
• Included Anti-Ballistic
Missile Treaty; limited
to 100 ABM’s
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
• Carter and Brezhnev
signed SALT II in 1979
• Both agreed to stop
production of MIRV’s
• Banned new missile
programs
• Led to the Strategic
Arms Reduction Treaty
(START) and the
Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty.
1980’s: Political, Economic, Social
Opposition
Why was there
the growth of
dissent at the end
of Brezhnev’s
rule? List all
reasons!
Brezhnev Dies in 1984
• Andropov (8 months)
• Chernenko (11 months)
“How am I supposed to get anyplace with the
Russians if they keep dying on me?”
–Ronald Reagan, upon hearing the news of Chernenko's death.