In GCSE History students will look at the Cold War, which lasted from the end of World War II until the fall of the Soviet Union. One area they will focus on is how the Cold War and the Soviet Union came to an end.
In 1970 the Cold War was raging: Nixon was US President, Brezhnev was the leader of the Soviet Union and there was little hope of a more friendly atmosphere. By 1991 the Cold War was effectively over, following the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The Soviet Union had imploded and the Warsaw Pact was no more.
Find out how the Cold War finally ended in this enlightening quiz.
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You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - The Cold War and Vietnam
Both the USA and the USSR were spending huge sums on weaponry
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Once the Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan they needed a compliant ruler who could be relied on to foster Communism there
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The USSR's introduction of new missiles seemed to be an unacceptable escalation of the Cold War arms race
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A new Soviet leadership now enabled the USSR to negotiate more successfully with NATO
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The USSR took its forces out of Afghanistan after years of failure trying to subdue this turbulent state
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The signs of the collapse of Communism could be detected throughout Eastern Europe, well before the collapse of the Berlin Wall
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There had been regular elections during the Communist years, but these did not meet Western standards of fairness
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Chancellor Kohl of West Germany was keen to move towards re-unification of the two German states as quickly as possible
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The beginning of the crumbling of the Warsaw Pact, and threats to the unity of the USSR itself, forced the end of Cold War hostilities
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The growth of the Solidarity movement showed the strength of anti-Communist feelings, which spread beyond the confines of the Lenin shipyard in Gdansk
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