What was detente in the 1970s?

The easing of Cold War tension, marked by arms-control agreements and improved relations

Why is detente best seen as a phase rather than the end of the Cold War?

Because it eased tension without removing the underlying rivalry, which revived in the 1980s

Openness, allowing more freedom of speech and criticism of the system

Restructuring, an attempt to reform and modernise the command economy

They failed to revive the economy and instead loosened control and encouraged demands for change

An inefficient command economy that could not match Western living standards

It added heavy military spending that the struggling Soviet economy could not sustain

Because Gorbachev signalled the Soviet Union would no longer use force, so popular movements swept the governments aside

To stop East Germans fleeing to the West

It symbolised the collapse of communist control in Eastern Europe and the end of the division of Europe

Rising nationalism in the republics pulled the Soviet Union apart as they sought independence

Hardliners tried to seize power to stop reform, but the coup failed and hastened the Soviet collapse

Soviet economic weakness, Gorbachev's reforms and Western pressure interacted to bring it about

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