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Summary IEB History Topic 6: The End of the Cold War and a New World Order (1989-present)
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IEB History Grade 12 Topic 6: The End of the Cold War and a New World Order (1989-present) 10 page summary
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Topic 6: The End of the Cold War and a New World Order (1989-present)Unit 6.1: The End of the Cold War (1989)
*CW started in 1945 and started winding down during the 80s when the Soviet Union was facing economic
problems. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev introduced reforms that resulted in:
1. 1989: Eastern Europe overthrew comm. govs to end Soviet control.
2. These changes in the USSR led to the end of the CW.
3. Gorbachev lost control of his reform process and by 1991 he was out of office + the USSR collapsed.
4. The collapse of the USSR also helped get negotiations started in SA.
Gorbachev’s Reforms
o He was the General Secretary of the Communist Party + head of state in 1985. He saw the problems
and wanted to fix them, but he didn’t intend to end communism/dismantle the USSR. He believed
change should be implemented by the party itself.
o He withdrew from Afghanistan. To bring about change, he wanted to end the culture of silence and
censorship + restructure the economy.
Glasnost: People would now be allowed to speak freely and criticize the gov. Before, the Comm. Party
controlled all art, literature, theatre, media and intellectual debate so everything was censored. This policy
encouraged freedom of speech + political prisoners were released.
Perestroika: The aim was to rebuild the Soviet economy. He wanted to move from a completely state-
controlled/centrally planned economy to one where the ideas of supply and demand were used (supply is
determined by demand). Private businesses could operate by they had to get themselves on their feet by
getting loans. Public bankrupt businesses were shut down and realistic prices were set. People could now
buy and sell things at a profit + foreign investment was encouraged.
What led to the reforms?
▪ USSR’s resources were being drained by the arms race, so the economy was struggling bc agricultural
production was bad + people were demoralized.
▪ The war in Afghanistan was a drain on the economy too. In 1979 they sent troops there to back the
new pro-soviet gov which was challenged by Mujaheddin (anti-comm fighters supported by USA).
USSR was scared the extremists would influence Central Asian regions under soviet control. For them,
it was a war that couldn’t be won, and it drained their resources and morale.
, Impact of Reforms
▪ Western leaders loved it.
▪ To restructure the economy, they had to stop spending sm money on the arms race so Gorbachev
had meetings with Ronald Reagan to reduce the nuclear arms.
▪ Prices and cost of living increased (food, housing, med). Production was low and there were shortages
to basic goods weren’t available. Inflation and foreign debt increased. (All bc of Perestroika)
▪ He lost support and now people could openly criticize the gov bc of glasnost.
Eastern Europe
o After WW2, Soviet control over the Eastern satellite States was absolute and they used the Warsaw
Pact to crush any reform attempts. By the 80s they wanted change, so they started protesting.
Poland: Significance of Solidarity
• Comm govs weren’t a fan of Christianity and tried to get rid of it but the Roman Catholic Church was
thriving in Poland. Pope John Paul II (Polish) criticized comm. And demanded freedom.
• They were facing economic problems in the 80s (rising prices and declining standard of living).
• Aug 1980: workers in Gdańsk shipyards (NB industry) formed an indep Trade Union = Solidarity.
Leader = Lech Walesa. Put a list of 21 demands forward like the right to form free trade unions +
strike, end to censorship, right to broadcast Catholic Church services. The gov agreed and the Union
went from 3mil – 9mil. People started viewing it as an alternative form of gov.
• Soviet Union viewed this as a direct threat to soviet domination in EE.
• Dec 1981: soviet army had ‘training exercises’ along the Polish border while the Polish gov started
with martial law (army had more power to maintain law and order). Solidarity was banned and 10 000
leaders were imprisoned.
Significance of Polish Events for the Decline of Soviet Control in EE
▪ Solidarity worked with the Catholic Church + criticized the gov and urged people to boycott the
elections in 1988 on Radio Solidarity, (open defiance)
▪ People in satellite states wanted glasnost as well. In March 1989, Gorbachev announced that leaders
of these states couldn’t rely on soviet help to keep them in power anymore.
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