Test your Understanding

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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?
  • Vietnam 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.