Q1. What is Capitalism?

Answer 1:

• Where individuals and countries trade

openly for profits to get rich, democratic
• Where the people and businesses
control the economy (many become
super-rich, but others can be poor or
even homeless)
 Q2. What is Communism?
Answer 2:

One political party, economy / media run by

one single Communist Government, elections
held but only for Communist members; Stalin
said “one day the world be communist!”
Lenin began model of Marxist Communism in
Russia in 1917, by 1947 eastern Europe
Communist, 1949 China turns Communist
 Q3: Which leaders were in the
Grand Alliance during WW2?

Answer 3:

Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill

Q4: Where was the first ‘Conference
held in 1943 and what was it’s aim?

Answer 4:
United Nations set up
Russia attack Japan
Polish land given to Russia
Q5: Where was the second conference held in
February, 1945 and what was it’s aim?

Answer 6:
Germany & Berlin divided – 4 zones,
East Europe free elections, Russia
attacks Japan
Q6: Where was the third Conference
held and what was it’s aim?
Answer 6:

Germany & Berlin divided – 4 zones,

East Europe free elections, De-
nazification, Germany pays
reparations
 Q7: Which two telegrams opposed
each other in 1947?

Answer 7:

The Long and Novikov

 Q8: Which satellites came under Soviet
control when Stalin refused to leave them
at the end of WW2?
Answer 8:

East Germany
Poland
Romania
Hungary
Bulgaria
Czechoslovakia
 Q9: Which speech did Churchill make
attacking Stalin for not allowing
democracy & not leaving east-Europe?

Answer 9:

The “Iron Curtain Speech” at Fulton

University, Missouri, USA, where Churchill
criticized Stalin for controlling eastern
European countries with Red Army forces.
Q10: What was the Truman Doctrine
and which civil war did in attempt to
support in eastern Europe?
Answer 10:
The Truman Doctrine was a ‘policy of
containment’ (to contain Communism from
spreading into Western Europe as Stalin
wanted to get to France). It helped support
Britain who sent money and troops to help the
Greek democrats defeat an emerging Greek
Communist government.
Q11: What was the Marshall Plan and
how much did George C Marshall
make available to countries?

Answer 11:

$17bn of US money was made

available to help rebuild war-torn
countries, housing , transport &
factories to kick-start their economies
 Q12: What was COMINFORM and
how did it work?
Answer 12:

COMINFORM was a Soviet group ‘Communist

Information Bureau’ was set-up in 1947 to
• Force Soviet policy
• Collectivise industry
• Collectivise agriculture
 Q13: What was COMECON and how
did it work?
Answer 13:

COMECOM WAS THE Soviet ‘Council for

Mutual Assistance’, set-up in 1949 to
• Control satellite state economies
• Give Soviets satellite resources
Q14: What caused the Berlin Airlift in 1949?

Answer 14:
• GB, France & USA joined western sectors to form
‘Trizonia’
• Marshall Aid made west Berlin & West Germany
into very rich and productive areas, with good jobs,
factories, transport-links, restaurants, cinemas,
libraries, facilities, etc
• 3 million east-Germans ‘deflected’ to west-Berlin,
mostly high-skilled professionals causing a ‘brain-
drain’ in the eastern sector.
 Q15: What were the key features of
the Berlin Airlift?
Answer 15:

• Stalin closed all air, rail, road and canal routes

between west Berlin and west Germany –
preventing support and supplies from the west.

• Allied aircraft landing on average every 90

seconds
• 4000 tons of supplies every day mostly coal
for fuel)
• Airlift continued for 11 months from 24th June
1948 – 12th May 1949
 Q16. One consequence of the
Berlin Airlift was?
Answer 16.

The western zones joined to form the

‘Federal Republic of Germany’ (FRG)
• One consequence of the Berlin Airlift was the
western zones joined to form
• The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG)
 Q17: What was President Truman’s
response to the Berlin Airlift?
Answer 17:

Truman formed NATO (North Atlantic Treaty

Organisation) as ‘collective security’ because he
was concerned that few countries had
supported GB, France & USA during the Airlift.
13 countries immediately joined NATO.
 Q18: Stalin died in 1953 – who had
replaced him by 1955 and how did he
establish his leadership
Answer 18:

Khrushchev was elected Soviet leader in 1955

and he immediately established his leadership
by setting up the ‘Warsaw Pact’ in response to
NATO.
Q19: What were the key features of the
‘Space Race’?
Answer 19:
• ‘Sputnik, the first satellite launched by Russia on 4th November
1957 – could orbit earth every 90 mins
• On 3rd November 1957, Laika became the first animal launched into
orbit, paving the way for human spaceflight – linking with Sputnik
• On 12 April 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first
human to travel into space when he launched into orbit on the
Vostok 3KA-3 spacecraft (Vostok 1
• Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman
to fly to space when she launched on the Vostok 6 mission June 16,
1963
• Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two humans on
the Moon. Mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz
Aldrin, both American, landed the lunar module Eagle on July 20,
1969
 Q.20: What were the key features
of the ‘Arms Race’?
Answer 20:
• USA drop first A-Bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945
• B 1949 Russia had exploded their first A-Bomb
• By 1953 Russia exploded first H or Hydrogen Bombr?
• ICBM – Inter Continental Ballistic Missile - first
launched by the USA in 1959
• MRBM – Medium Range Ballistic Missiles first
developed by USA in 1959?
• The U2 “Blackbird” was a US Spy Plane capable of
flying at an altitude of 5 miles by 1960
• Russia design long-range ‘Tupolev’ bombers by 1952
 Q.21: Which political party won the
‘free elections’ in Hungary in 1945
and who denied them control?
Answer 21:
Hungarian Smallholders Party won the free
elections in 1945 with 57% of the votes but
were denied control by the pro-Russian
Marshal Voroshilov – who set up the
Hungarian Coalition Party instead.
 Q22. Voroshilov formed a coalition
with which brutal leader of the
Hungarian secret police?
Answer 22.

Laszio Rajik – the brutal leader of the

Hungarian secret police : he used spy networks
to find anti-Russians, as well as torture, terror
and dictatorship
Q.23: Who was elected leader of the
Hungarian Communist Party in 1947
and how did he treat many people?

Answer 23:
Matyas Rakosi and he ordered the deaths
of 2000 political prisoners and jailing
200,000
Q. 24: Who replaced Rakosi after Stalin
died in 1953 and how did he lead a
protest against Communism in ?
Answer 24.
Imre Nagy liked Khrushchev’s de-stalinisation
and took this as a lead for an uprising in the
streets; he demanded free speech, press and
the release of political prisoners. Many secret
police officials were hung in the streets and the
rebels took control of many streets, key
buildings, railways, bridges
 Q.25: How did Khrushchev react to
the Hungarian Uprising?
Answer 25.
Khrushchev saw this as a direct challenge to his
new leadership role and refused to allow Hungary
to leave the ‘Warsaw pact’. As a result he sent
6000 Soviet tanks into Hungary and Budapest the
capital killing 7000 Hungarians. 200,000
Hungarians left Hungary. Khrushchev appointed
Janos Kadar as a new leader of Hungary. Despite
pleas for support - Europe & the USA did not get
involved
Q.26: What relationship did Cuba have
with the USA before 1960?
Answer 26.

90% of Cuba’s main industry was sugar and it

exported 33% of its sugar to the USA.
Cuba produced world-class cigars which were also
exported
Cuba was known as a ‘rich-American’s playground’
because businessmen used casino’s, night clubs
and prostitutes whilst visiting Cuba
 Q.27: Why did a crisis break out in
Cuba in 1959
Answer 27:

A Communist rebel called Fidel Castro hated

the way Americans ‘used’ Cuba especially
young girls as prostitutes – so he overthrew the
Cuban leader General Batista – who fled to the
USA for protection taking his bodyguards the
‘La Brigada 2506’ with him
Q.28: How did Kennedy react to Fidel
Castro?
Answer 28:
• Refused to trade or buy Cuban sugar
• Sent in US Navy Seals with the ‘La Brigada
2506’ to invade at the ‘Bay of Pigs’ on Havana
• Castro – with 20,000 Cuban troops
slaughtered the ‘Bay of Pigs’ invaders
 Q.29. How did Khrushchev get
involved with Castro & Cuba?
Answer 29:
Khrushchev offered Castro a deal to buy Cuban
sugar in exchange for allowing him to build
ICBM missile bases on the Islands
Us ‘Blackbird’ spy-plane spotted the missiles
being constructed on Cuba and gve photos as
evidence to Kennedy
 Q.30: How did Kennedy react to the
Cuban Missile Crisis?
Answer 30:
Kennedy offered Khrushchev 5 ultimatums:
Option 1: Bomb Cuba and the Soviets with Nuclear missiles
Option 2: Invade Cuba
Option 3: Use and air-strike to destroy the missiles in Cuba
Option 4: Blockade Cuba
Option 5: Do nothing!
Khrushchev agreed to remove the missile bases if Kennedy did
the same in Turkey & Italy
 Q.31: Which Russian leader replaced
Khrushchev in 1964 and what did he
think of the Czech leader?
Answer 31:
Leonid Brezhnev became Russian leader in
1964 and he disliked the Czech leader Antonin
Novotny because he was too slow on de-
Stalinisation and releasing political prisoners in
Czechoslovakia
 Q.32: Who did Brezhnev replace
Novotny with in 1968 and what affects
did this have on Czechoslovakia?
Answer 32:
Brezhnev replace Novotny with Alexander Dubcek in
1968 and the effects were that he introduced his
‘Prague Spring’ reforms including:
• Democratic elections
• Multi-party state
• Reduce powers of secret police
• Reduce travel barriers between east & west Europe
• Increase rights of trade unions
 Q34: How did Brezhnev react to
Dubcek’s ‘Prague Spring’ reforms?
Answer 34:
Fearing Czechs wanted freedom from the
Warsaw Pact – Brezhnev sent-in soviet units
(500,000 troops) from Bulgaria, East Germany,
Russia, Hungary & Poland to crush the uprising,
as people, mostly Czech university students
rebelled on the streets, attempting to take
control of roads, railways and set up a free press
and radio station.
 Q.35: What was the consequence of
the Czech ‘Prague Spring’ uprising?
Many Czech students did not fight, but simply
stood in front of the Russian tanks – which did
not fire on them.
Dubcek was replaced by a pro-Soviet leader
called Gustav Husak and Brezhnev replaced half
the Czech Government with pro-Soviet
politicians
Jan Palach, a Czech student set fire to himself
and burnt to death in protest
 Q.36: What was the ‘Brezhnev
Doctrine’?
Answer 36:

Brezhnev declared that “no country was

free to leave the Warsaw Pact and if they
did they faced the threat of a ‘third World
War”.
 Q.37: What was ‘detente’ and how
was this a response to the Cuban
Missile Crisis?
Answer 37:
‘Détente’ is a French word meaning ‘relaxation’.

After the potential for a third World War with the

Cuban Crisis – USA & USSR agreed to have a direct
‘hotline’ telephone link between the Whitehouse
and the Kremlin. Also a ‘Test-Ban Treaty’ was
agreed limiting the testing of nuclear weapons
unless underground or underwater.
Q.38: How did different wars decrease
détente during the 1960s?
Answer 38:

Arab- Israeli conflict – USA support Jews – USSR

support Arabs
Vietnam War – USA support South Vietnam
Democratic Army & USSR support North
Vietnam Communists
Q.39 What was SALT and how was SALT
1 (1972) different from SALT 2 (1979)
Answer 39:
One of the most important parts of Détente was the
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) treaty signed by
Nixon and Brezhnev in 1972. This was the first agreement
under which both superpowers cut the number of
nuclear missiles they had, for example ABMs limitted to
500 and a 5 year freeze on ICBM & SLBM production
This was the first time the USA and USSR had agreed to
limit their nuclear weapons.
SALT II followed in 1979; this attempted to limit nuclear
arms even further, for example a limit of 2400 ICBMs
Q.40: What was the name of the 1975
Soviet-US Space link-up?
Answer 40:

Apollo-Soyuz
Q.41: Which anti-Communist President
was elected in the USA in 1981?
Answer 41:

Ronal Reagan (he was President of the US Actors

Guild and he spoke out against the pro-
Communist influences of the Hollywood 10)
Q.41. How much did Reagan commit to US
Defence Spending and what did it include?

Answer 41:
$1trillion US dollars
Including: 100MX missiles; super and stealth
bombers; 6 trident submarines and the neutron
bomb (which killed humans but did not damage
property)
 Q 41: What was the NUTS and how
did it work?

Answer 41:

Nuclear Utilization Target Selection – missiles

aimed at opponents warheads rather than cities
 Q. 43: What was the MAD Theory
and what did it mean?
Answer 43:

“Mutually Assured Destruction” – was

the idea that having nuclear weapons
actually prevented attacks leading to
total destruction.
 Q.44: What was Reagan’s
‘Zero Option’?
Answer 44:

Zero Option = US would dismantle IRMs if

Soviets would do the same
 Q.45: What was Reagan’s SDI and
how did it work?
Answer 45:

SDI = Strategic Defence initiative = offered

Nuclear defence by satellites, mirrors and lasers
 Q.46: Which country did Russia
invade on Xmas Day 1979 and why?
Answer 46:

Russia invade Afghanistan on Xmas day 1979

because in 1979 the Mujahedeen declared a
Jihad or Holy War because Hafizullah Amin (an
anti-Muslim) seized power in Afghanistan from
the Muslim leader Taraki.
 Q. 47: When did Jimmy carter become
President of the USA and what was the
‘Carter Doctrine’?
Answer 47:

Carter became US President in 1981, and

introduced the ‘Carter Doctrine’ which
stated the US would be tough on
Communism and delay SALT 2
Q. 48: How did Carter respond to the
Russian invasion of Afghanistan?

Answer 48:
The US - boycotted the Moscow
Olympics
Q.49: Which country led strikes and started
a trade union called ‘Solidarity in 1988?

Answer 49:

Poland started ‘Solidarity’ in 1989, a trade union

which bid to become democratic - which they
did by 1990.
 Q.50: Which country was accepted by
Gorbachev as a multi-party state in 1990?

Answer 50:

Gorbachev accepted Hungary as a

multi-party state which became
democratic by 1990.
 Q.51: In which year did Gorbachev tell east-
Germans that Soviets would not stop their
demonstrations for independence and what was
the significance of this?

October 1989 – leading to the fall of the

Berlin Wall in November 1989 and the
Warsaw Pact being dissolved by 1990
Q.52: What was the Sinatra Doctrine?
Answer 52:

A joke by Gorbachev that

countries could now do things
“their way”.