Transcript Chapter 11

Modern Issues
-During the early 1970s, Cold War tensions between the
US and Soviet Union eased
-President Richard Nixon issued a policy of détente with
the USSR
-However, this policy ended when President Reagan took
office in 1981.
-Fiercely anti-Communist, Reagan increased defense
spending and put both economic and military pressure on
the Soviet Union
-Both sides again entered into a nuclear arms race building
more and more nuclear missiles
-US Pop culture and the media strengthened this division
by nicknaming the Soviet Union as the “Evil Empire”
-Both the US and USSR and their allies boycotted the
Olympics to show their ill will towards each other
(US and allies -1980 Olympics held in Moscow, 1984- USSR
and allies Olympics in Los Angeles, US
- In 1982, the Politburo chose Mikhail Gorbachev as the
Communist Party’s new leader and he took over as the
leader (Premier) of the Soviet Union
-Gorbachev relieved that the Soviet Union need to become
more modern by allowing the free flow of ideas and
information.
-He hoped that this change would bring about economic
and social reform
-This new policy was called Glasnost and brought about
new changes to the totalitarian USSR
-Political prisoners were released, the media was allowed to
criticize the government and previously banned books were
allowed to be published.
-This new openness allowed Soviet citizens to
complain about the economic problems of the
USSR
-To solve this problems and change the inefficient
ways of Communism, Gorbachev introduced a
new program to restructure the economy known
as Perestroika.
-Under this system, small private businesses were
allowed and the government control of
manufacturing and production were loosened
-As these new reforms began to loosen government control, ethnic
tensions across the Soviet Union began to tear the empire apart.
-Non-Russians formed a majority in all of the satellite republics of
the Soviet Union
-The Baltic Nations of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia were the first to
challenge the authority of the Soviet Union
-Lithuania was the first of these republics to declare its independence
in March 1990.
-The Soviet Union sent troops to the area to stop the rebellion
killing many civilians.
-This action led to a coup within the Communist Party
-The Soviet government voted to stop all Party activities and
Gorbachev resigned
-After the collapse, all Soviet republics declared their independence
-Leaders of the former Soviet Republics met to
decide their future
-Boris Yeltsin, leader of the Russia Republic,
became leader of the CIS or Commonwealth of
Independent States
-In 1991, Chechnya, a Muslim region of Russia,
wanted to declare their independence.
-Yeltsin denied their right by ordering Russian
troops to combat the rebellion
-Due to the public outcry over the Chechnya
rebellion, Yeltsin resigned and Vladimir Putin
became President of the CIS
-As the Soviet Union began to breakup, the former
Warsaw Pact countries of Eastern Europe began dissolve
their Communist governments and embrace democracy
A. Poland
- In 1980, Lech Walesa formed a national trade union
called Solidarity
-It gained support of the workers and the Roman Catholic
Church
-As the movement gained international support, the
Polish government agreed to hold free elections ending
Communist rule
-Lech Walesa began the first freely elected President of
Poland
B. Czechoslovakia
-Mass demonstrations took place in 1988 and 1989
-The Communist government collapsed in 1989
and elected Vaclav Havel as President
-Due to ethnic conflicts, the country split into two
nations; the Czech Republic and Slovakia
C. East Germany/West Germany
-Due to the growing outrage of Communist rule, many East
Germans began to flee to Capitalist West Germany
-East Germany finally gave in to the protestors and opened its
border to the West
-Thousands began tearing down the Berlin War, the symbol of
the Fall of Communism
-In 1990, voters supported the reunifications of Germany
-Helmut Kohl became the first elected leader of unified
Germany
D. Yugoslavia
-Even though a Communist state, Yugoslavia was never a satellite
country of the Soviet Union
-In 1990, the Communist Part lost power and ethnic tensions between
the 6 republics of Yugoslavia threatened to tear it apart
-The Republic of Serbia declared war against the Republic of Croatia
-After a cease-fire agreement with Croatia, Serbia attacked the Republic
of Bosnia
-After taking a majority of their territory, Serbia began systematically
killing Bosnia’s Muslim population (ethnic cleansing)
-Also, Serbia began an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Albanian
people in the small region of Kosovo
-NATO forces were called in to end the fighting
-Slobodan Milosevic was arrested for crimes against humanity
(committed suicide in jail)
-When Mao Zedong died in 1976, Deng Xiaoping look over
control of Communist China
-He started the Four Modernizations Policy, which focused on a
complete reform of the agricultural, industrial, technological
and defense programs
-These reforms brought about Western capitalist ideals to these
programs.
-As China began to promote Western ideas, Chinese students
wanted to reform the government by introducing democracy
-Massive protests were held in Tiananmen Square to call for an
end of Communism
-Deng Xiaoping ordered tanks and troops into the Square to
crush the demonstration
-Hundreds of students were killed
-In 1950, the Chinese took control of Tibet by force
-The people of Tibet have their own culture and religion
(Tibetan Buddhism)
-With the Chinese takeover, the Dalia Lama (Leader of
Tibetan Buddhism), and his followers fled to India
-Throughout the years, Tibetan people have revolted for
their independence from China
-Chinese troops have violently put down these rebellions
-One of the most remarkable efforts in modern times
for caring of the poor in third world nations came from
a Roman Catholic nun Mother Teresa
-Starting in 1950, she started the order of The
Missionaries of Charity to help the poorest of the poor
in India and other impoverished nations
-She devoted her life to publicize and help the poor
and disease ridden people of these nations
-For her works she has received the Nobel Peace Prize
and after her death in 1997, the Roman Catholic
Church has begun the process to issuing sainthood.
10. Modern Challenges
-As the world has become more interdependence, more
global issues have emerged
-Global Pollution
-Deforestation of Rain Forests
-Global Population Growth
-Chinese Family Planning Laws
-Urbanization of Third World Nations
-Widespread Disease
-HIV/AIDS, Ebola Virus
-Nuclear Proliferation
-SALT Treaty (US/USSR)
-Green Revolution