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Period: to
End of the Cold War and the fall of the USSR
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Helsinki Accords
Thirty-five States, including the USA, Canada, and most European states except Albania and Andorra, signed the declaration in an attempt to improve relations between the Communist bloc and the West. The Helsinki Accords, however, were not binding as they did not have treaty status. -
Ronald Reagan came into office
A man that had an iron determination to restore American military power. He launched the largest peacetime military buildup in American history. -
Period: to
Strategic Defense Plan
A five year defense program that is worth $1.5 trillion. -
SDI/ Star Wars
A defense system that intercepts the nuclear missilee that is in air and destroys it before it reaches it's destination. -
Able Archer 83
The NATO nuclear warfare procedure scared the Soviets and Reagan and had a sobering effect on Reagan as seen by his speech in Jan 1984 where he called for "constructive cooperation" with the USSR. -
Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union
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The Reykjavík Summit
The Reykjavík Summit was a summit meeting between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev that eventuallly led to the signing of the INF Treaty. -
Berlin Wall speech
During a visit to Berlin, Germany, U.S. President Ronald Reagan famously challenges Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev in a speech: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" (The Berlin Wall). -
Emergence of Pope John Paul II
John Paul II was one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. He is recognised as helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. -
INF Treaty
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) is a 1987 agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. Signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev on December 8, 1987. -
Gorbachev speech at UN
He endorsed the principle of "freedom of choice" for citizens throughout the world. Many observers interpreted these words as a signal that Moscow was prepared to loosen its iron grip on its satellites in Eastern Europe. Gorbachev announces in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly that the Soviet Union will no longer militarily interfere with Eastern Europe. -
Solidarity wins Polish elections
Poland became the first country of the Eastern Bloc in which democratically elected representatives gained real power, paving way for the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
It marked the end of the division in Europe. -
Union Treaty
Proposed by President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, the proposal was an attempt to avert the collapse of the Soviet Union. The proposal was never implemented in the wake of the August Coup and the eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. -
August 1991 Coup
a coup d'état attempt by a group of members of the Soviet Union's government to take control of the country from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev.
