What was the event in Cuba where the US supported rebels in a failed attempt to overthrow the government?
Bay of Pigs Invasion
What leader decided to focus on domestic policies in the USSR in mid-1980s?
Mikhail Gorbachev
What became a symbol of Soviet Union dominion (control) over Eastern Europe?
Berlin Wall
In the 1950s, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev promoted this policy, which called for competing with the West economically and politically, not through nuclear war.
peaceful coexistence
Why was 1983 a particularly tense year between the US & Soviets?
Arms race; US spied on Soviet launches; Soviets shot down airliner; NATO exercise "Able Archer" seen as actually preparation for attack by Soviets; Evil Empire speech
What two rival defensive organizations (Cold War Alliances) developed during the early Cold War?
NATO & Warsaw Pact
What leader sought a closer relationship with the Soviet Union to offset the threat of a US invasion?
Fidel Castro
This 1980s treaty eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons and was signed by Reagan and Gorbachev in 1987
INF Treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty)
What were the two major Gorbachev policies and what was the aim?
Glasnost - "openness", allowed for free flow of info (including criticism);
Perestroika (economic restructuring) - allowed low-level capitalism w/private ownership;
What country "fell" to communism by 1949 and immediately developed a "friendship" with the Soviet Union? What was the official name of this country and the leader?
China - People's Republic of China - Mao Zedong
In 1968, this “spring” in Czechoslovakia ended when Warsaw Pact troops, led by the USSR, invaded to stop liberal reforms.
Prague Spring
A new period between the US and the major communist nations began in the 1970s. Give at least two specific examples of what happened in this time frame.
Détente; an easing of tensions between the US and the Soviet Union (SALT talks; China-US relationship improvement)
Based on second-strike capability, this Cold War concept claimed peace could be maintained through the threat of complete nuclear annihilation.
"Mutually Assured Destruction" MAD
this Polish trade union, led by Lech Wałęsa, pressured the government to allow partially free elections, a major blow to Soviet control.
Solidarity
What is the difference between the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan? What is containment?
Truman Doctrine - US would support any country resisting communism; Marshall plan - US would give economic aid to those European countries who need it (open to all); Containment = US policy to keep communism within the borders where it already exists by supporting anti-communist movements elsewhere
What was considered a "high point" of détente in the Cold War when the US and Soviets agree to cooperate in science & tech; established principles for human rights
Helsinki Accords
Nicknamed “Star Wars,” this Reagan-era defense initiative aimed to use space-based technology to intercept Soviet nuclear missiles
"Strategic Defense Initiative" or SDI
Chronic shortages of consumer goods and poor agricultural output are examples of this economic problem.
stagnation / inefficiency