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When did Stalin die?   Who became the new leader of Russia

1953:   Nikita Khrushchev.

What were the meetings between the superpower leaders called?

Summits

What did Khrushchev tell Tito in 1955?

‘There are different roads to Communism.’

What did Khrushchev say about Stalin in 1956?

He said he was a murderer and a tyrant.

What was Khrushchev’s policy called?   What did he really mean by it?

‘Peaceful co-existence’: but he meant ‘peaceful competition’

What was de-stalinisation?   Why was it dangerous for world peace?

Political prisoners were set free.  It destabilised Iron Curtain countries.

How did Khrushchev build up support in countries like Afghanistan and Burma?

Economic aid.

What was the first satellite and when was it launched?

Sputnik, 1957.

Who was the first astronaut to orbit the earth, and when did he do it?

Yuri Gagarin, 1961.

When did Russia get the hydrogen bomb?

1953.

What was the military alliance set up by Khrushchev, and what countries were in it?

Warsaw Pact:  USSR Albania Bulgaria Czechoslovakia East Germany Hungary Poland Romania.

Which American senator led a ‘witch-hunt’ for communists in America?

Joseph McCarthy

What did NATO agree to in 1955 in West Germany?

A West German army of half a million men.

How did America spy on Russia?

U2 planes.

Name the FIVE crises after 1955.

	1956     Poland
	1956     Hungary
	1960     U2 crisis
	1961     Berlin Wall
	1962     Cuban Missile Crisis

Who led the Polish riots of 1956?

Railway workers

Which Polish Communist kept control of Poland?

Gomulka

List the FIVE reasons for the Hungarian uprising.

	Poverty
	Russian control
	Catholic Church
	Help from the West
	Destalinisation

Who rioted in Hungary on 23 October 1956, and what did they do?

Smashed Stalin’s statue, attacked the AVH and Russian soldiers.

Who became the Prime Minister of Hungary?

Imre Nagy

What FOUR reforms did the rebels order?

	Democracy
	Freedom of speech
	Freedom of religion
	Leave the Warsaw Pact

What FIVE reasons led Russia to send in the tanks?   Which was the most important?

	Hungary wanted to leave the Warsaw Pact: this was the most important.
	China asked Russia to act
	Hungary seemed to be turning capitalist
	Hard-line Communists in the Russian government
	Khrushchev realised the West would not help.

How many tanks invaded Budapest.

1000

Why did Britain and France not help Hungary?

Britain and France were involved in the Suez crisis

Who was the President of America in 1956?   Why did he not help Hungary?

Eisenhower.   He did not think Hungary worth a war.

Why did the UN not help Hungary?

Russia used its veto.

Who did Khrushchev put in charge of Hungary?

Janos Kadar

How many Hungarians fled to Austria?

200,000

What did Khrushchev demand from America in 1959?

That America withdraw from West Berlin.

With whom did Khrushchev argue about kitchens in 1959?

American Vice-President Richard Nixon.

What crisis began on 5 May 1960.

U2 crisis.

Which summit meeting was ruined because of the crisis?

Paris Summit, 14 May 1960.

Who did the Americans elect as their President in 1961?

John F Kennedy.

Which two places in the Far East did Kennedy finance anti-communist fighters?

Vitenam and Laos.

How many refugees had fled to West Berlin by 1961?   Why was this bad for Russia?

	3 million:
	It was an embarrassment because it showed Communism was NOT better for people.
	Many of the people who fled were skilled workers.

What did Khrushchev demand at the Vienna summit of June 1961?

That the Americans leave West Berlin.

What date did Khrushchev begin to build the Berlin Wall?

13 August 1961.

Why did Khrushchev say he built the wall?

The Americans were using West Berlin as a base for spies and sabotage.

When did Fidel Castro come to power in Cuba?

1959.

What did his 1960 trade agreement with Russia say?

Cuba sent sugar to Russia in return for oil, machines and money.

What did Castro do to America companies in 1961 which angered America?

Nationalised them.

What was the name for the failed invasion of Cuba in 1961.   Why was it an embarrassment for Kennedy?

Bay of Pigs: although the CIA supported the invasion, it failed miserably.

What did a U2 spy-plane discover on Cuba in October 1962?

Nuclear missile bases.

What were Kennedy’s FIVE options, and which did he choose?

	Nuclear strike
	Conventional attack
	Work through UN
	Do nothing
	Mount a naval blockade – this is what he chose to do, at a meeting on 16 October 1962.

What did Khrushchev accuse America of?

Piracy, and trying to destroy humankind.

What deal was done between Kennedy and Khrushchev?

Khrushchev dismantled the Cuban bases publicly; Turkey dismantled the Turkish bases secretly.

What event during the crisis (27 Oct) almost caused a nuclear war?

An American U2 spy-plane was shot down by the Cubans.

What did the two leaders set up after the Missiles Crisis to prevent another such crisis?

A telephone ‘hotline’.

What agreement began the thaw in 1963?

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.