If
the rulers of the West hoped that Khrushchev would bring an end to the
Cold War, they were disappointed:
‘De-stalinisation’
did not mean a change back to capitalism, or freedom from Russia.
When communist countries went too far in their reforms, Khrushchev
sent in the Red Army to stop them.
By
‘peaceful co-existence’, Khrushchev really meant ‘peaceful
competition’. He
started to build up Russian power:
-
He
visited countries like Afghanistan and Burma and gave them economic aid if they would support Russia.
-
Russia
began the ‘space race’ with America.
In 1957 Russia launched Sputnik
,
the first satellite.
In 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first astronaut to orbit the
earth.
-
In
1955 Khrushchev set up the Warsaw Pact – a military alliance of
Communist countries – to rival NATO. Pact
countries had
detailed plans of how to wage nuclear war against NATO if there was a war.
-
Russia
began an ‘arms race’ with America.
In 1953, Russia got the
hydrogen bomb.
-
Russia
waged a propaganda
war against America and Britain.
Faced
by this, America became just as aggressive:
-
In
America, Senator
McCarthy
led a ‘witch-hunt’ for ‘Communists’
in America (e.g. Charlie Chaplin was accused of being a Communist.)
-
There was a
propaganda war
against Communism.
-
America
had an 'arms
race'
with Russia.
In 1955, NATO agreed to a West German Army of ½ million men
(this led to the formation of the Warsaw Pact).
-
America
became determined to win the
Space
race
.
-
The
Americans used U2 planes to spy on Russia.
As
a result, the period 1955–1963 was the time of GREATEST tension in the
Cold War.
Source
E
This
1961 cartoon shows America and Russia at loggerheads with each
other. Most people expected that
a
nuclear war
would happen - the atom bomb affected modern life and culture
.
American children were trained what to do in the event of a nuclear strike
- 'Duck and Cover'.
Source
F
...
In fact, however, the 'thaw' was only partial: Khrushchev's policy was a
curious mixture which western leaders often found difficult to
understand [and] he was quick to respond to anything which seemed to be
a threat to the east.
Norman Lowe, Mastering Modern World History (1982)
Written
as a GCSE revision book by a History teacher.