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The Cold war Thaws

After Stalin died in 1953, nikita Khrushchev became the dominant Soviet leader. In 1956, the shrewd, tough Khrushchev denounced Stalin for jailing and killing loyal soviet citizens. His speech signaled the start of a policy called destalinization, or purging the country of Stalin’s memory. Workers destroyed monuments of the former dictator. Khrushchev called for peaceful competition with capitalist states. But this new soviet Outlook did not change life in satellite countiries. A popular and liberal Hungarian Communist leader named Imre Nagy formed a new goverment. Nagy promised free elections and in the end he failed the soviets prevailed. A pro- Soviet government was installed and Nagy was eventually executed. Jruschev lost prestige in his country as a result of the Cuban missile crises in 1962. In 1964 he was replaced by Leonid Brezhnev, he quickly adopted repressive domestic policies. Brezhnev clamored down on those who dared to protest his policies. Brezhnev made clear that he would not tolerate dissent in Eastern Europe either. His policy was put to the test in early 1968. At that time Czech Communist leader Alexander Dubcek loosened control son censorship to offer his country socialism with a human face. This period of reform became known as Prague Spring; however, it did not survive the summer. On august 20, armed forces from the Warsaw pact nations invaded Czechoslovakia. Brezhnev justified this invasion by clamming the soviet union had the right to prevent its satellites from rejecting communism, a policy known as the Brezhnev doctrine. While many satellite countries resisted Communist rule, China was committed to communism. Mao and Stalin even signed a 30-year treaty of friendship in 1950. Their sprit of cooperation ran out before the treaty did. The soviets assumed Chinese would follow soviet leadership and world affairs, but they began to spread their own Brand of communism in Africa and other parts of Asia. In 1959, Khrushchev punished the Chinese by refusing to share nuclear secrets. The following year the soviets ended technical economic aid. The Soviet Chinese Split grew so wide that fighting broke out along their common border after repeated incidents; the two neighbors maintained a fragile peace. The Brinkmanship policy followed during the presidencies of Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson led to one terrifying crisis after another. Nuclear war seemed possible. In 1960 the U2 incident made the US and the Soviet Union to discuss buildup of arms in both sides. The during John f Kennedy in the early 1960 the can missile crisis made the superpowers use of nuclear weapons a real possibility. Tensions remained high. After the assassination of Kennedy in 1963, Lyndon Johnson assumed the presidency. Johnson escalated US involvement in the war in Vietnams. The United States backed away form its policy of direct confrontation wit the Soviet Union. Detente, a policy of lessening Cold War tensions, replaced brinkmanship under Nixon. Detente grew out of a philosophy named realpolitik it meant dealing with other nations in a practical and flexible manner. Nixon´s raise to power in 1950 we largely due to his strong anti-communist position. 20 years later he became the first president to visit communist china. The visit made sense in a world in which three, not just two, superpowers eyed each other suspiciously. Three months after visiting Beijing in Feb. 1972, Nixon visited the Soviet Union. After a series of meetings called the Strategic Arms Limitation talks, SALT. Nixon and Brezhnev signed the SALT I Treaty. Limited to 1972 the levels the number of intercontinental ballistic and submarine launched missiles each country could have. In 1975 33 nations joined in signing a commitment to detente and cooperation, the Helsinki Accords. A fiercely anti communist US president Ronald Reagan took office in 1981. HE CONTINUED TO MOVE AWAY FORM DETENTE. He increased dense spending, putting both economic and military presser on soviets. In 1983 Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative, SDI, a program to protect against enemy missiles. It was not put into effect but remained a symbol of US anti-Communist sentiment. Tensions continued but decreased in 1985 with a change in Soviet leadership. In 1985 a new policy came toward the US and the beginnings of a final thaw in Cold War. ºountieredership. In 1985 a new policy came toward the US and the beginnings of a final thaw in Cold War.dership. IN 185 A NEW