Cold War Crises Flashcards
All 24 cards in this deck
What was Khrushchev's Berlin ultimatum (1958)?
A demand that the West withdraw its troops from Berlin within six months, accusing the West of breaking the Potsdam agreements.
True or false? The summit meetings of 1959–61 solved the 'Berlin problem'.
False. The final summit, at Vienna in 1961, ended without agreement — Khrushchev restated the 1958 Berlin ultimatum to Kennedy.
How did the Cuban Revolution change Cuba's relations with the USA and the USSR?
The USA refused to recognise Castro's government and stopped imports of Cuban sugar after he took over US businesses; Castro turned to the USSR, which sent economic aid, military equipment and technical advisors.
What was the Bay of Pigs incident (April 1961)?
A failed invasion of Cuba by US-backed Cuban exiles trying to overthrow Castro. Its failure humiliated the USA and pushed Cuba and the USSR closer together.
What was the Prague Spring (1968)?
Dubček's reforms in Czechoslovakia that loosened communist control; they encouraged further opposition, such as the forming of the Social Democrat party demanding even more reform.
What did East Germany do in August 1961, and why?
It sealed the border between East and West Berlin and began building the Berlin Wall, to stop the flow of refugees — many of them skilled workers — escaping to the West through West Berlin.
What did an American spy plane discover over Cuba in October 1962, and how did Kennedy respond?
Photographs showed Soviet nuclear missile sites being built. Kennedy set up ExComm for advice and ordered a naval blockade of Cuba to stop the missiles arriving.
How did the Cuban Missile Crisis end after thirteen days?
Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba in return for a US promise not to invade Cuba, and a secret US commitment to withdraw its missiles from Turkey.
What was the Brezhnev Doctrine?
The USSR's declared right to intervene, with military force if necessary, in its satellite states if events threatened the security of the Eastern Bloc.
True or false? Dubček was executed after Soviet and Warsaw Pact troops entered Czechoslovakia in 1968.
False. He was removed from power and replaced, and Czechoslovakia remained a one-party communist state and a loyal member of the Warsaw Pact.
How did Kennedy react to the building of the Berlin Wall?
The West was powerless to stop it — Kennedy said a wall was better than a war — but he made a symbolic visit to West Berlin in 1963 to show US support for West Berliners.
What was the 'hotline' set up after the Cuban Missile Crisis?
A direct communication link between the White House and the Kremlin, so the two leaders could speak immediately in a crisis.
What did the Limited Test Ban Treaty (1963) do?
It banned the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, in space and under water; underground testing was still allowed.
What did the Outer Space Treaty (1967) do?
It banned placing nuclear weapons in orbit or in space, and military bases or weapons tests on the Moon and other celestial bodies.
What did the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968) do?
Nuclear powers agreed not to pass nuclear weapons, or the technology to make them, to other countries, and non-nuclear states agreed not to acquire them.
How did the West react to Soviet measures in Czechoslovakia in 1968?
With protests, especially from the USA and Britain, but no direct military support for Czechoslovakia.
What was significant about Khrushchev's visit to the USA in 1959?
He was the first Soviet leader to visit the USA. At talks with Eisenhower at Camp David he dropped the deadline of his Berlin ultimatum, and they agreed to discuss Berlin further at a summit in Paris in 1960.
Why did the Paris Summit (May 1960) collapse?
Shortly before it, the USSR shot down an American U-2 spy plane and captured its pilot. Eisenhower refused to apologise, so Khrushchev walked out and no agreement on Berlin was reached.
Give two of Dubček's reforms in Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Any two of: relaxed censorship and freer speech; freedom to travel to the West; less central control of the economy; more power for trade unions. Dubček still promised Czechoslovakia would stay in the Warsaw Pact.
Give one reason why Khrushchev decided to place nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962.
Any one of: to answer the US missiles based in Turkey, close to the USSR; to protect Cuba from another US invasion after the Bay of Pigs; missiles in Cuba could hit most of the USA with very little warning.
What happened in Czechoslovakia on 20–21 August 1968?
Around half a million Warsaw Pact troops, led by the USSR, invaded to end the Prague Spring. Most Czechoslovaks resisted without violence, through street protests, and Dubček was taken to Moscow.
Who replaced Dubček as leader of Czechoslovakia in April 1969?
Gustáv Husák, a hardliner loyal to Moscow, who reversed the reforms and returned Czechoslovakia to strict Soviet-style communism.
How did the Cuban Missile Crisis affect the reputations of Kennedy and Khrushchev?
Kennedy's reputation rose because he seemed to have faced down the USSR. Khrushchev looked weak, because the US promise to remove its missiles from Turkey was kept secret, and he was forced from power in 1964.
What happened when the UN tried to act over the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968?
A Security Council resolution condemning the invasion and calling for Soviet troops to leave was vetoed by the USSR, so the UN took no action.