The end of the Cold War, 1985-91

• 10th March 1985 Chernenko died - Gorbachev comes in
• Gorbachev bought modernity and new vitality to address crisis S.U was facing
• solution to the S.U crises lay in foreign policy specifically S.U-U.S relationship
• Gorbachev memoirs, 1996 - "vitally necessary to correct the distorted ideas we had about other nations" - "misconceptions made us oppose the rest of the world for many decades" - "progress is unthinkable for any society which is fenced off from the world"

• June 1985 - Gorbachev replaced Gromyko as Foreign minister with Shevard
• Secretary of State(U.S) - "contrast between Gromyko and Shevard was breathtaking...he could smile, engage, converse."
• Gorbachev bought 'new thinking' to Soviet foreign policy. No certain defense against nuclear attacks. Security was political rather than military.
• 'new thinking' also included interdependence
• Gorbachev acknowledged states common interests - these would be best served by working together
• bought an end to traditional soviet notion that class war innevitable between Comm. and capitalist states
• 'New Thinking' - Europe is our common home. Developed from 1986 during a visit to Paris
• The concept of common European home envisaged an end to division in Europe
• did not suggest end to communism in eastern bloc, but suggested peaceful coexistence between all European states. No need for nukes in this environment
• greater economic links between east and west forged and Soviet bloc would enter capitalist system so vital to its survival
• Gorbachev intended to abandon Brezhnev Doctrine
• October 1985 - Gorbachev introduced concept of 'reasonable sufficicency' - based on open rejection of aggression. S.U would maintain levels of nukes + men 'sufficient'

• for the first time S.U leaders were willing to accept military cuts
• shift was of fundamental importance in enabling Intermediate Nuclear Forces(INF) agreement being made in 1987

• Reagan + Gorbachev wanted this summit to look like a success
• some historians refer to the summit as a 'watershed in relations'
• Joint statement following the summit - "a nuclear war cannot be won and must be never thought"
• joint statement also referred to the "important of preventing any war between the U.S and S.U, whether nuclear or conventional"
• agreements underlined the fact that Gorbachev had removed the ideological split between East and West
• Gorbachev wrote between March-December 1985 - "was an extremely important period, marked by an intense search for new policy approaches leading to conclusions that became the core of the new thinking"
• Reagan primarily wanted an indication that Gorbachev would materially change soviet attitudes

• Gorbachev wanted to leave clear impressions that S.U was serious about ending the nuclear arms race
• the 'initiative' amounted to a declaration that all nukes established by 2000 - 1st step would be a 50% cut in strategic nuclear weapons
• reaction of west was mixed - U.S welcomed initiative but was not willing to abandon SDi programme
• Britain and France simply refused to discuss - Thatcher called it "pie in the sky"
• August 1986 - Soviet employee of United Nations, Gennady Zakharov, arrested for organising spying activities against U.S
• 23rd August Zakharov arrested
• S.U responded by arresting Nicholas Daniloff, U.S journalist in Moscow
• problem resolved - Daniloff released, Zakharov expelled from U.S
• opened up way for Rejavik summit

• 1990, Reagan - "I realised he had brought me to Iceland with one purpose: to kill the Strategic Dfense Initiative...I was very dissapointed - and very angry"
• October 14th - Gorbachev - "with reagan, we had to struggle in Rejacvik not only with a class enemy but with an extremely primitive one, a feable-minded cave man"
• Reagan would not compromise on his determination to continue research and testing of nuclear defense systems
• Western Europe leaders largely behind Reagan commitments to SDI because it meant U.S would not attempt an end to nuclear weapons
• Thatcher+French could not understand Reagan's hatred of nukes
• some commentators - chance to create most sweeping and significant arms cointrol agreement ever facing superpowers was lost at Reyjavik
• However, summit did convince Gorbachev that reagan wanted to end arms race
• He believed Reagan saw SDI as means to make nukes irrelevant

• Strong supporters of SDI office left before talks
• Reagan and Gorbachev signed INF treaty - some historians say most siginificant step taken by U.S+S.U to end arms race
• Treaty designed by Shultz(U.S Sec State) +Shevardnadze(S.U foreign Min)
• removed all nukes carried by intermediate range missiles. S.U would remove **-20 missiles while U.S would remove Cruise and Pershing II
• S.U removed more nukes than U.S
• S.U even removed their **-23 missiles which only had ranged of 400km - treaty only asked for removal of missiles with range 500-2000km - S.U went further than needed
• Importance not from amount of missiles removed, but precident set:
  • first time S.U+U.S had agreed to remove whole class of nukes + verify the removal on each other's territory
  • S.U made no demands that treaty was signed conditionally on U.S withdrawing from SDI
  • S.U made no demands that it should be able to retain 100 **-20 missiles as defence against China
  • S.U accepted British + French nukes need not be part of the deal
• meant S.U had accepted all elements of the 'zero option' Reagan proposed 1981
• As consequence of talks Gorbachev pulled out of Afghanistan - announced Feb 1988 - May 1989 all Soviet troops out

• was also clear that S.U indefinitely trapped in Afghanistan - Afghan army was in no position to defeat Muja heddin
• by 1980's S.U had lost 15,000 men and economic cost rising
• support for Khabul finally ended with collapse of S.U in December 1991
• following the Summit, S.U army major - "now its time to live"
• Gorbachev no longer referred to political dinosaurs and cavemen. Looked as if end to cold war finally in sight

• content of this summit relatively unimportant. Old arguements of SDI and ABM Treaty rehearsed
• Gorbachev + people of S.U believed SDI programme designed to put offensive missiles in space
• most important factor = Moscow summit gave Reagan access to Russian public
• Reagan gave speech at Moscow State University - there was freedom - shared vision of S.U free from totalitarian rule
• Journalists asked Reagan "do you still consider this n evil empire?" reagan replied "No. that was another time, another era"
• 7th December 1988 - Gorbachev 'new thinking' speech at united Nations - emphasised rights of states to make their own choices - essentially end of  Brezhnev Doctrine and therefore end to S.U commitment that socialist states must remain socialist
• S.U foreign policy no longer based on international class struggle
• Gorbachev went on to announced that S.U would reduce army size by 500,000 men
• Gorbachev speec to U.N suggests end of Cold War ideological conflict

• some historians argue Reagan was prime mover in the relationship
• rejecting detente and pursuing aggressive U.S arms build up and focus on SDI has been seen as strategy of forcing S.U into position where could not compete with U.S
• this view rejected by George Kennan in 1992 - "The suggestion that any administration had the power to influence decisively the course of  tremendous political upheaval in another great country is simply childish. Nobody - no country, no party, no person - 'won' the Cold War"
• by the end of 1988 seemed end of Cold War near, but end was drawn out

• ordered review of U.S policy toward S.U
• he needed to reassure right wing he was not simply following Reagan approach
• Arms control negotiations resumed September 1989
• S.U facing meltdown in Eastern Europe and Gorbachev's ability to negotiate from a position of power was rapidly diminishing
• Malta, December 1989 - moves made toward closer economic relationship between S.U and U.S marked end of cold war economic conflict
• S.U slowly moving toward market driven economy and away from state controlled economy
• some informal agreements reached for Eastern Europe. Gorbachev made it clear S.U would not use force to prevent eastern europe states from determining their own future
• less consensus over reunification of Germany. few supported reunification
• Bush agreed not to intervene over Germany or future of Baltic states. No formal agreements signed
• 6 months later summit held in Washington
• by the tie U.S and S.U met at Malta, Eastern Europe communist regimes were falling from power
• Bush expressed his views on outcomes at malta - "we stand at the threshold of a brand new era of U.S-S.U relations"
• November 1990 - Conventional Forces in Europe(CNF) Treaty signed by Gorbachev, Bush + European leaders in Paris

Glasnost(openness)

• relaxation of control tates had over media-censorship
• was not about suddenly injecting democracy
• was the means by which people could support wider reforms he wanted and criticise those who stood in the way of their fulfilment
• relaxation on oppression was undoubtedly outcome of glasnost
• main problem for glasnost was it expose the dominance of Communist party to challenge
• glasnost effectively undermined the dominance of power of the communist party. - unintentionally begun the process of ending Comm. rule in S.U

Perestroika(restructuring)

• designed to reinforce the socialist system in Soviet Union
• first step in restructuring was reducing power of Communist party
• Congress of People's Duties was to be created 2/3 directly elected. 1/3 remain in hands of Communist party - Comm. party power undermined once again
• Gorbachev wanted to ensure power and be able to drive reforms his way - created executive presidency not subject to elections

• Soviet Union more accurately named Soviet Empire
• multilingual and multiethnic state made up of 15 republics
• largely held together by force+power of Comm. party
• as power of Comm party diminished under Gorbachev, nationalist feelings in the republics became stronger
• 1988 Azerbaijan crisis - Armenians in Nagorny demanded separation from Azerbaijan and incorporation into Soviet Armenia
• Gorbachev showed insensitivity for nationalists when he sided with Azerbaijan
• 1989 - demands for Georgian independence flared in 1989. 20 independence marchers were killed, increasing demand for independence
• Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia clearely wanted independence. May 1989 these 3 has Baltic assembly in Tallinn - talks on united actions to promote economic + political sovereignity from S.U
• January Gorbachev sent troops to Vilnius, capital of Lithuania - 13 killed
• overall failed to appease the nationalists by giving them more power and he also failed to use enough force to destroy them
• August 1991 coup to overthrow Gorbachev set in place. Response to imminent introduction of a Union Treaty which would have given significant freedom to the 15 soviet republics. Would have marked end of S.U

• Richard Crockatt - "It's effects on East-West relations were such that virtually at a stroke Cold War notions became redundant"
• key event which opened flood gates for communist opposition was Gorbachev's rejection of Brezhnev Doctrine
• Gorbachev's move to liberalise eastern Europe and consequent collapse of Communism oversimplifies events of 1989
• process of change stretched back to 1956 Hungarian uprising and Prague 1968 spring
• most significant part of the process = emergence of east-west detente driven by Willy Brant's Ostpolitik from 1969

• 1973 onward West faced economic recession as result of escalating oil prices
• East-West trade declined - East became dependent on S.U. Led to long term damage and reduction in exports from east-west
• Western technology+loans did flow into eastern European economies
• contributed to 'westernisation' of east European - Toruism + Business
• 1979-82 - another recession hit west. Soviet economy facing Brezhnev 'years of stagnation' and so was unable to prop up western economies as it had during 1970s
• eastern Europe was stuck between stagnant S.U economy and west recession
• 1979-89 western economies faced recession and zero growth
• these factors plus 'gorbachev years' contributed to an end to Communist rule in eastern europe, and also end to Cold War
• added to this was S.U withdrawal from Afghanistan - showed S.U had stopped using military force in affairs of neighbouring states

• by 1980's clear socialist solutions to meet needs of people had lost creibility
• bringing limited capitalist economies in to eastern Europe were not working
• some historians - Collapse of Communism was outcome of apathy with Communist leadership. Sense of hopelessness they could not address
• Once S.U abandoned Brezhnev Doctrine floodgates for change were flung open
• April 1989 - Poland solidarity legislation allowed for multi party elections. August government dominated by Solidarity elected. East Europe 1st non-Comm PM since 1940's
• May 1989 - Hungary opened border with Austria - September allowed East Germans to escape to west. 200,000 East Germans took holiday in Hungary. few returned
• Oct 1989 Gorbachev visited East germany and made clear no military assistance available to help Comm. regime there
• Sept 1989 - Democracy founded in 1989, East Germany, as dissatisfaction with Comm regime. Countries economy collapsing. 5.2% growth 1985, 2.8% 1989
• Nov 1989 - East germany new leader denied economic aid by Gorbachev
• 9th Nov - thousands of East Germans stormed Berlin and guards had to let them through "The taking of the wall...transformed the world"
• no evidence that Gorbachev had a plan to dismantle communism in east Europe. He wanted to replace hardline Comms with men similar to himself
• peaceful transition from Comm didn't happen everywhere. Violent overthrow in Romania. Leader + his wife executed on Christmas day, 1989

• by 1990 Berlin wall had gone
• West German chancellor Kohl wanted unified Germany and for it to be a full member of NATO
• October 1990 - formal reunification of Germany
• July - Kohl met with Gorbachev. Gorbachev reluctant for NATO and its military power to expand into East Germany. Gorbachev accepted it was an inevitability - S.U in need of money so prepared to do a deal
• many historians - Gorbachev agreeing to unifications + acceptance into NATO = end of cold war
• Gorbachev agreed to remove S.U military power from GDR and insisted on no restrictions of German sovereignity. Initiative was taken by Gorbachev alone, no consultation
• collapse of Berlin Wall + Communism in East - Cold War effectively ended
• no more Communism-Capitalism clash
• Threat of nuclear war subsided - new era in int. relations began