Cold War PowerPoint

Several slides borrowed from
Susan Pojer, Horace Greeley HS, Chappaqua, NY

“Under Lenin the Soviet Union was like a
religious revival, under Stalin like a prison,
under Khrushchev like a circus, and under
Brezhnev like the U.S. Post Office.”
Jimmy Carter, November 7, 1977

The Ideological Struggle
Soviet & Eastern
Bloc Nations
[“Iron Curtain”]
US & the
Western
Democracies
GOAL spread worldwide
Communism
METHODOLOGIES:
Espionage [KGB vs. CIA]
Arms Race [nuclear escalation]
GOAL “Containment”
of Communism & the
eventual collapse of the
Communist world.
[George Kennan]
Ideological Competition for the minds and hearts of Third
World peoples [Communist govt. & command economy vs.
democratic govt. & capitalist economy] “proxy wars”
Bi-Polarization of Europe [NATO vs. Warsaw Pact]

“From Stettin in the
Balkans, to Trieste in
the Adriatic, an iron
curtain has descended
across the Continent.
Behind that line lies the
ancient capitals of
Central and Eastern
Europe.”
Winston Churchill, 1946
Independence, Missouri

1. “European Recovery Program”
2. Secretary of State, George Marshall
3. The U. S. should provide aid to all European nations
that need it. This move is not against any country or
doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation,
and chaos.
4. $12.5 billion of US aid to Western Europe extended
to Eastern Europe & USSR, [but this was rejected].

United States
France
Norway
Belgium
Iceland
Portugal
Britain
Italy
1952: Greece & Turkey
Canada
Luxemburg
1955: West Germany
Denmark
Netherlands
1983: Spain

• U. S. S. R.
• Albania
• Bulgaria
• Czechoslovakia
• East Germany
• Hungary
• Poland
• Rumania

Is he as crazy
as he comes
off in public

Imre Nagy, Hungarian
Prime Minister
• Promised free elections.
• This could lead to the end of
communist rule in Hungary.

Cold War --->
Tensions

Col. Francis Gary Powers’
plane was shot down over
Soviet airspace.

Khrushchev & JFK meet to discuss Berlin and
nuclear proliferation. Khrushchev thinks that
JFK is young, inexperienced, and can be rolled.

Checkpoint
Charlie

CIA trained Cuban exiles
attempted to Invade Cuba
in April 1961
Early efforts failed to deceive
the Cubans before the invasion.
Castro claimed victory for defending against these
mercenaries, and emboldened Cuban communists.

The United States paid
$53 million for the
release of the rebels.
Kennedy gave them a
hero’s welcome at the
Miami Orange Bowl,
but tensions remain
between the two
countries.

Khrushchev removed for
economic struggles and
foreign policy blunders
Second longest serving
Soviet Premier
Major investments in the
military during his regime.

Former Czech President,
Alexander Dubček
Communism with a human face!

Dissidents/playwrights arrested [like Vaclav Havel -
future president of a free Czech Republic].

"When forces that are hostile to socialism try to turn
the development of some socialist country towards
capitalism, it becomes not only a problem of the
country concerned, but a common problem and
concern of all socialist countries.”
Retroactively justifies actions in Hungary and
Czechoslovakia
Limits independence of states in Warsaw Pact, and
prohibits withdrawal from the Eastern Bloc

Marxists overthrow Pres.
Mohammad Khan
Struggle to gain popular
support and seek Soviet help.
Mujahedeen (“those engaged
in jihad”) resist the new
government
Brezhnev sends Red Army to
overthrow existing leadership and
restructure the government
Soviets struggle for 10 years, leave in
1989.

After taking office,
Gorbachev promises
Perestroika (restructuring)
Allow for multi-candidate
(not multi-party) elections
Reduce congress seats from
2,250 to 542 to improve
functionality
Beginning of the end for the
Soviet Union

Nuclear reactor
malfunctions in Ukraine on
April 26, 1986
Soviets don’t release any
information about
explosion until Swedish
scientists detect radiation
38 perish in accident, up to
100,000 die from radiation
Reveals distrust of Soviet
government within USSR

Gorbachev realizes skepticism
will prevent Perestroika
Glasnost (openness) provides
more access to Soviet records
and reduced censorship
Journalists can speak to doctors
and recovery workers at
Chernobyl
True scale of Stalin’s crimes
released to public

Music was heavily censored in
the USSR, but Leningrad had a
strong underground rock
scene
Many take low status jobs to
focus on music
Under glasnost, major bands,
such as Aquarium and KINO,
can begin playing in public
Some artists feel like these
public performances break the
nature of protest in past music

In June 1987, Ronald Reagan
makes a passionate plea to
allow for East Germans to
travel freely
As Hungary removes travel
restrictions to Austria, many
E. Germans flee this way
November 9, 1989 the East
German government lifts
travel restrictions

In February 1991, national
leaders agree to dissolve
the defensive alliance as it
lacked popular support
The coalition only launched
two attacks through their
existence, and both involved
suppressing rebellion within
their government.

Glasnost allows
demonstrators in the
Baltic States to
organize protests.
Estonia, Latvia, and
Lithuania demand
sovereignty
USSR imposes
economic sanctions,
but budget struggles
prevents Gobechev
from fighting for
them.

Boris Yeltsin was a prominent
member of the Communist
party from the Ural Mountains
Yeltsin resigns from the
Politburo in 1987 in protest
He is elected president of
Russia in 1991
He begins pressuring USSR for
more autonomy
Becomes a central reform
figure during . . .

Hardline members of the Communist Party see the
Soviet system crumbling
The “Gang of Eight” (or the “State Committee on the
State Emergency”) takes Mikhail Gorbachev hostage
while at his vacation home
Attempts to consolidate power in their hands fails after
3 days

Gorbachev will be released,
but the Soviet Union cannot
win back support.
National governments begin
to take control of the
military and infrastructure
Gorbachev resigns on
December 25, 1991 and the
Soviet Union officially
dissolves the next day.