Attempts to reduce superpower tensions in the 1970s Flashcards

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What is meant by 'détente'?

An easing or relaxing of tension between the superpowers, especially in the 1970s.

What was the Apollo–Soyuz mission of 1975?

A joint US–Soviet space mission in which US astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts linked up in space, showing increased cooperation under détente.

What was SALT 1 (1972)?

An arms-limitation treaty signed by Nixon and Brezhnev — the first time the superpowers agreed limits on the number of nuclear weapons they held.

What did the superpowers agree at the Helsinki Conference (1975)?

To accept the existing borders of countries in the Eastern bloc, to respect human rights such as freedom of speech and religion, and to promote links and exchanges.

True or false? SALT 2 was ratified by the USA.

False. Carter and Brezhnev signed SALT 2 in 1979, setting further limits on long-range nuclear missiles and bombers, but the US Senate never ratified it after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

Give two reasons why the superpowers pursued détente in the early 1970s.

Any two of: the crises of the 1960s, above all Cuba, showed how close they had come to nuclear war; the arms race was hugely expensive; arms spending was hurting living standards, especially in the USSR and Eastern Europe.

Which weapons did SALT 1 (1972) limit?

Anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems, which each side could have only a small number of, and, for five years, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

How did the USSR's human rights record after the Helsinki Accords (1975) affect relations with the USA?

The USSR did not keep its promises on rights such as free speech and freedom to travel, and dissidents were persecuted. Western governments criticised this, and US distrust of the USSR grew.