After Stalin's death, Nikita Khrushchev came into power as the new leader of the Soviet Union. He disliked Stalin because Stalin imprisoned and killed Soviet citizens. Khrushchev then created a policy of destalinization, or clearing the country of everything related to Stalin. So, Khrushchev wanted the rid the Soviet Union of anything that had to do with Stalin. For example, he had monuments of Stalin destroyed. This helped improved relationships between the Soviet Union and other countries, as it showed that it was trying to move away from its corrupt past, and move towards a new, cooperative era.
Move from Brinkmanship to Détente
Brinkmanship is the willingness to go to the brink, or edge, of war. In the 70s, the United States and the Soviet Union started to loosen their policies on brinkmanship. When the United States joined the Vietnam War, widespread protests erupted, and it stopped direct confrontation with the Soviet Union. Richard M. Nixon then issued a new policy of détente in the hopes of relaxing the tensions of the Cold War. Détente was based off of a philosophy of realpolitik, which is the German word for realistic politics. However, the United States still tried to contain communism. The Soviets also agreed to reduce the tensions with détente. After talking with China, Nixon went to the Soviet Union in February 1972. Meetings called the "Strategic Arms Limitation Talks" (SALT) were held. Nixon and Brezhnev signed the SALT I Treaty, which was an agreement that limited the number of missiles that each country could posses. In 1975, thirty-three more countries signed the commitment to détente, known as the Helsinki Accords. The U.S. improved its relations with China and the Soviet Union. However, many protestors in the Soviet Union posed a threat to the agreement of another SALT negotiation. In 1979, Jimmy Carter and Brezhnev signed SALT II, but the United States congress would no longer allow it when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Fear once more grew as China began to rebuild its nuclear arsenals. In 1981, Ronald Reagan, who was strongly anti-communist, continued to follow the policy of détente. He increased defense spending which put economic and military pressure on the Soviet Union. He also created a Strategic Defense Initiative program to protect against enemy missiles. Although it was never put into effect, it did prove just how strong the anti-communist feelings were in the United States. Tensions then increased as the Soviet Unions and the United States were pushed further and further from détente. In 1985, the Soviet Union got a new leader, which eased tensions between them and the United States.
Soviet and Chinese Split
In 1950, Mao Zedong and Stalin agreed to sign a 30-year treaty of friendship to secure the ties between the communist powers. The Chinese then began to spread their own form of communism in Africa and other parts of Asia. To get back at them, Khrushchev kept nuclear secrets from the Chinese in 1959. The next year, the Soviets cut off technical economic aid, causing the split of the Soviets and the Chinese.
Gorbachev; Glasnost & Perestroika
In 1985, Gorbachev sought reforms to improve Soviet Union. The key component to achieving this was the perestroika, or better known as "restructuring". This allowed a new market economy with limited free enterprise and private property. Furthermore, because he tried to please the people so much, this created controversy, and so he added another policy called glasnost, or "openness". The Soviets were allowed to openly discuss Western ideas and what was good for the nation. In 1987, a political form of two-candidate elections was introduced, as before this only one candidate was selected. In 1990, Gorbachev became the Soviet Union's first president. In this time period, Gorbachev's impact was crucial to Soviet Union's growth as a country. He was able to listen in and try to conciliate both sides when there were problems. Although he resigned in 1991 and turned his responsibilities to Boris Yeltsin, other leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus announced that the Soviet Union had ceased to exist to them, resulting to an end to one of the biggest empires in world history. Although, he still had a major impact on Russia.