The Cold War

Objectives:

 To define the Cold War in Asia.

 To understand the importance of Cold War in Asia.
 To determine the influence of Cold War in the culture and arts in the Asia.

The Cold War

 The Cold War is the name given to the relationship that developed primarily between the
USA and the USSR after World War Two.
 The Cold War was to dominate international affairs for decades and many major crises
occurred – the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Hungary and the Berlin Wall being just some.

Communism is an ideology that originated from the social theories of the German philosopher
Karl Marx.

Basic principles of communism are as follow:

• The dismantling of the system of private ownership

• The establishment of a state controlled by one party whose member come from the ranks of
the masses

• The elimination of religion as a social institution

Capitalism is an economic system prevalent in a society that upholds democracy.

Basic principles of capitalism are:

• Free trade

• Recognition of civil rights including the privilege of choosing leaders through electronics
Respect for religious beliefs and institutions

A. The Collapse of the USSR

 Christmas Day 1991, the Soviet flag flew over the Kremlin in Moscow for the last time.
 A few days earlier, representatives from 11 Soviet republics (Ukraine, the Russian
Federation, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) met in the Kazakh city of Alma-Ata and announced that they
would no longer be part of the Soviet Union.
 Instead, they declared they would establish a Commonwealth of Independent States.
 Three Baltic republics (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) had already declared their
independence from the USSR, only one of its 15 republics, Georgia, remained.
 The once-mighty Soviet Union had fallen, largely due to the great number of radical reforms
that Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev had implemented during his six years as the
leader of the USSR.
 However, Gorbachev was disappointed in the dissolution of his nation and resigned from his
job on December 25. It was a peaceful end to a long, terrifying and sometimes bloody epoch
in world history.

B. The End of Cold War

 When Mikhail Gorbachev assumed the reins of power in the Soviet Union in 1985, no
one predicted the revolution he would bring. A dedicated reformer, Gorbachev
introduced the policies of glasnost and perestroika to the USSR.
 GLASNOST, or openness, meant a greater willingness on the part of Soviet officials to
allow western ideas and goods into the USSR.
 PERESTROIKA was an initiative that allowed limited market incentives to Soviet
citizens.
 The unraveling of the SOVIET BLOC began in Poland in June 1989.
 Despite previous Soviet military interventions in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland
itself, Polish voters elected a noncommunist opposition government to their legislature.
 By the fall of 1989, East and West Germans were tearing down the BERLIN WALL with
pickaxes.
 Communist regimes were ousted in Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
 On Christmas Day, the brutal Romanian dictator NICOLAE CEAUSESCU and his wife
were summarily executed on live television. Yugoslavia threw off the yoke of
communism only to dissolve quickly into a violent civil war.
 The BALTIC STATES of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania declared independence.
 Gorbachev wished to draw the line. Self-determination for Eastern Europe was one
thing, but he intended to maintain the territorial integrity of the Soviet Union.
 In 1991, he proposed a Union Treaty, giving greater autonomy to the Soviet republics,
while keeping them under central control.
 When Mikhail Gorbachev assumed power of the Soviet Union in 1985, he instituted the
policies of glasnost and perestroika in hopes of sparking the sluggish economy. What
resulted from this taste of freedom was the revolution that ended the Cold War.
 That summer, a coup by conservative hardliners took place. Gorbachev was placed
under house arrest. Meanwhile, BORIS YELTSIN, the leader of the RUSSIAN SOVIET
REPUBLIC, demanded the arrest of the hardliners. The army and the public sided with
Yeltsin, and the coup failed. Though Gorbachev was freed, he was left with little
legitimacy.
 In December 1991, UKRAIN, BYELORUSSIA, and RUSSIA itself declared
independence and the Soviet Union were dissolved. Gorbachev was a president without
a country.
 Since 1945, Americans were born into a Cold War culture that featured McCarthyism
witch hunts, backyard bomb shelters, a space race, a missile crisis, détente, the Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan, and the Star Wars defense proposal.
 Americans hoped against hope that the new world order of the 1990s would be marked
with the security and prosperity to which they had become accustomed.
 Stalin – Soviet (Russian) Dictator, Communist. Believed Germany should be kept
weak after WW2 and that Russia needed Communist allies in Europe.

 Truman – American President, Democrat, Capitalist. Took over after Roosevelt died.
Believed Russian attempts to control Europe should be resisted at all costs.
 One advantage – Nuclear weapons
The Korean War
Korea was one country until after World War 2, when the North became Communist
Dictatorship and the South became a Capitalist Democracy
Kim il Sung, the North Korean dictator, wanted to gain control of all of Korea and invaded the
south, starting the Korean War
Russia and China supported the Communist North
America supported the Capitalist SouthThe Korean War

Fornier, J.N, Banasihan, M. et’al (2006): ASIA, History, Civilization, and Culture, Anvil
Publishing Inc.
 The Cold War

Cold War

Exercise 1

Read the questions carefully. And write the letter of the correct answer in the space provided.

________1. The name given to the relationship that developed primarily between the USA and
the USSR after World War two.

a. Hot War c. Cold War

b. World War I d. World War II

________2. To dominate international affairs for decades and many major crises occurred –
the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Hungary and the Berlin Wall.

a. Hot War c. Cold War

b. World War I d. World War II

_______3. An ideology that originated from the social theories of the German philosopher Karl
Marx.

a. Communism c. Imperialism

b. Capitalism d. Idealism

_______4. An economic system prevalent in a society that upholds democracy.

a. Communism c. Imperialism

b. Capitalism d. Idealism

_______5. Openness, meant a greater willingness on the part of Soviet officials to allow
western ideas and goods into the USSR.

a. Soviet Bloc c. Perestroika

b. Glasnost d. Baltic States

________6. An initiative that allowed limited market incentives to Soviet citizens.

a. Soviet Bloc c. Perestroika

b. Glasnost d. Baltic States

________7. He introduced the policies of glasnost and perestroika to the USSR.

a. Mikhail Gorbachev c. Mikael Gorbachev

b. Michael Gorbachev d. Michel Gorbachev

________8. He is the brutal Romanian dictator.

a. Nicole Ceausescu c. Nicolae Ceausescu

b. Nickole Ceausescu d. Nick Ceausescu

________9. The Three Baltic Republics.

a. Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan c. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova

b. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia d. Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan

________10. When did the soviet flag flew over the Kremlin in Moscow?

a. Christmas Day 1991 c. Independence Day 1991

b. Valentine’s Day 1991 d. All Saint’s Day 1991

Exercise 2

Draw a Concept map and write the Soviet Republics that represents the USSR. (10 pts.)

Exercise 3 Essay (10 pts.)

1. If you were given a chance to be a president in the USSR what would you do to prevent the
Cold War?

2. Do you think Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has an ability to prevent the Cold War?
Why or Why not?
Answer Key

Cold War

1. c

2. c

3. a

4. b

5. b

6.c

7. a

8. c

9. b

10. a