Arms race, détente and the end of the Cold War
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Flip to reveal answersWho had the atomic bomb from 1945 to 1949?
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All 12 Flashcards — Arms race, détente and the end of the Cold War
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Question
Who had the atomic bomb from 1945 to 1949?
Answer
Only the USA — the four-year US atomic monopoly. It had used the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Question
When did the USSR test its first atomic bomb?
Answer
In 1949, far sooner than the West expected, ending the US monopoly and starting the arms race.
Question
What was the hydrogen bomb?
Answer
A nuclear weapon hundreds of times more powerful than the 1945 atomic bombs. The USA tested it in 1952, the USSR in 1953.
Question
Define Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).
Answer
Both sides would be destroyed in any nuclear war, so neither dares attack first. This balance helped keep the Cold War 'cold'.
Question
What is détente?
Answer
A relaxing of tension and improved relations between rival powers — here, between the USA and USSR in the 1970s.
Question
What were SALT I and the ABM Treaty (1972)?
Answer
SALT I limited the number of nuclear missiles; the ABM Treaty limited anti-missile defences, preserving the MAD balance.
Question
What were the Helsinki Accords (1975)?
Answer
An agreement by 35 nations to accept Europe's borders and respect human rights — a high point of détente.
Question
What triggered the Second Cold War?
Answer
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, followed by Reagan's arms build-up and his 'Evil Empire' rhetoric.
Question
What did Reagan call the Soviet Union in 1983?
Answer
An 'Evil Empire' — tough rhetoric that, with his arms build-up, marked the hard-line Second Cold War.
Question
What were glasnost and perestroika?
Answer
Gorbachev's reforms: glasnost ('openness', more free speech) and perestroika ('restructuring' of the economy).
Question
Why did the INF Treaty (1987) matter?
Answer
It was the first treaty to actually destroy a whole class of nuclear weapons, not just limit them — a major breakthrough.
Question
Put in order: Berlin Wall falls, USSR collapses, German reunification.
Answer
Berlin Wall falls (1989) → German reunification (1990) → collapse of the USSR (1991).
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Full study notes for Arms race, détente and the end of the Cold War
Topic 17.1 hub
Rivalry, mistrust and accord
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