The Cold War 1980-1990 (The Roles of Reagan and Gorbachev)
) The relations between the Superpowers worsened in the years after 1979 because the agreement which was to take place in the SALT II talks never came into force because, after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, the Americans refused to ratify the treaty. In 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected as President, he loathed communism and in the first four years of his presidency he increased spending on arms by 40%, these years are sometimes called the new, or second Cold War. Both Superpowers deployed so-called intermediate nuclear missiles - the Soviet SS-20s and the NATO Pershing and Cruise missiles. The US missiles were more sophisticated than the Soviet equivalents as they could avoid radar and could be launched from almost anywhere. Reagan's Strategic Defence Initiative, known as SDI or Star Wars, started in 1983. He announced that American scientists were developing laser weapons to shoot down Soviet missiles from space.
2) Gorbachev and Reagan were able to improve relations between the Superpowers from 1985 to 1989, because the Soviet economy was in trouble by the mid 1980s and the Soviet government found it difficult to compete with the West. When Gorbachev came to power in 1985, he was committed to the idea of peace with the non-communist world. His arrival almost immediately transformed superpower relations and led to the Intermediate Nuclear Weapons Treaty in 1987. This involved substantial disarmament as all intermediate nuclear missiles were to be removed from Europe within three years. In December 1988, Gorbachev addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York and announced that the Soviet Union no longer wished to build up unnecessary stockpiles of arms. The personnel of the Soviet army were immediately reduced by half a million; 50,000 men and 5,000 tanks were withdrawn from Eastern Europe. Gorbachev's speech signalled the end of the arms race. The removal of the Soviet threat contributed to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989.
) The relations between the Superpowers worsened in the years after 1979 because the agreement which was to take place in the SALT II talks never came into force because, after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, the Americans refused to ratify the treaty. In 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected as President, he loathed communism and in the first four years of his presidency he increased spending on arms by 40%, these years are sometimes called the new, or second Cold War. Both Superpowers deployed so-called intermediate nuclear missiles - the Soviet SS-20s and the NATO Pershing and Cruise missiles. The US missiles were more sophisticated than the Soviet equivalents as they could avoid radar and could be launched from almost anywhere. Reagan's Strategic Defence Initiative, known as SDI or Star Wars, started in 1983. He announced that American scientists were developing laser weapons to shoot down Soviet missiles from space.
2) Gorbachev and Reagan were able to improve relations between the Superpowers from 1985 to 1989, because the Soviet economy was in trouble by the mid 1980s and the Soviet government found it difficult to compete with the West. When Gorbachev came to power in 1985, he was committed to the idea of peace with the non-communist world. His arrival almost immediately transformed superpower relations and led to the Intermediate Nuclear Weapons Treaty in 1987. This involved substantial disarmament as all intermediate nuclear missiles were to be removed from Europe within three years. In December 1988, Gorbachev addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York and announced that the Soviet Union no longer wished to build up unnecessary stockpiles of arms. The personnel of the Soviet army were immediately reduced by half a million; 50,000 men and 5,000 tanks were withdrawn from Eastern Europe. Gorbachev's speech signalled the end of the arms race. The removal of the Soviet threat contributed to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989.
