People
Who is Nikita Khrushchev?
This Soviet leader initiated the Thaw and denounced Stalin’s methods.
What happened after the death of Stalin?
The 1953 event that created space for reform in the Soviet Union.
What happened in 1953?
Year Joseph Stalin died, starting the Thaw.
What is communism?
Economic and political system where the state controls everything.
What is freedom of expression?
Soviet citizens gained more of this during the Thaw—though still limited.
Who is Joseph Stalin?
His death in 1953 led to a political vacuum and the start of reforms in the USSR.
What is the Secret Speech?
Khrushchev’s 1956 speech that criticized Stalin’s rule.
What happened in 1956?
Year of Khrushchev’s “Secret Speech” and the Hungarian Uprising.
What is containment?
U.S. policy aimed at stopping the spread of communism.
Who are artists, writers, and intellectuals?
This group especially benefited from the cultural relaxation of the Thaw.
Who is Imre Nagy?
Hungarian leader executed after trying to exit the Soviet sphere during the Uprising of 1956.
What is the Hungarian Uprising?
Uprising in 1956 where a Soviet satellite state tried to break free, but was crushed.
What happened in 1959?
Year in wich the Kitchen Debate occurred.
What is de-Stalinization?
Khrushchev’s policy to criticize Stalin and reverse some of his harshest actions.
What is the crushing of the Hungarian Uprising?
This 1956 event proved the USSR still used force to keep control.
Who is Dwight D. Eisenhower?
U.S. President during the early Cold War who promoted peaceful coexistence but resisted communism.
What is the Kitchen Debate?
1959 symbolic Cold War event that happened in a model American kitchen.
What happened in 1962?
Year where the Cuban Missile Crisis took place.
What is détente?
Term for easing tensions between the U.S. and USSR, especially later in the Cold War.
What does the Cuban Missile War crisis caused?
The opportunity for diplomacy and cooperation
Who is Richard Nixon?
U.S. Vice President who participated in the 1959 Kitchen Debate with Khrushchev.
What is the Cuban Missile Crisis?
1962 Cold War crisis that brought the U.S. and USSR to the brink of nuclear war.
What happened in the mid-1950s to early 1960s?
General time period during which the Thaw occurred.
What is the Iron Curtain?
Winston Churchill’s metaphor for the division between East and West.
Despite the reforms, there was control lose for whom or what?
The soviet union and its sphere of influence