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Reagan and Gorbachev

            When the "Iron Curtain" descended across Europe at the end of the Second World War, crisis after crisis between the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union brought the world to the brink of nuclear confrontation many times. Thus reminding the world that until the two poles of a bi-polar world could either peacefully accept the others existence or watch one pole give way, the potential for starting the Third World War seemed imminent. .
             The two superpowers met head on many times which usually led to heightened tensions around the globe. One example is the blockade placed by the Soviets on all major routes into Berlin, which led to the Berlin Air Lift of 1948. Another example of clashing between the two superpowers was the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The Soviet's were trying to further their own agenda by placing nuclear weapons on Cuban soil just ninety miles from the coast of the United States. This was something the United States could not stand for and under containment policy stood strong against the Soviets, which ultimately led to the removal of the offensive missiles. Surrogates were also used throughout the Cold War by both superpowers to either further an agenda or frustrate the others agenda. The Soviet's were trying to broaden their sphere of influence while the United States was trying to contain communism at all costs. As for the use of surrogates a few examples are Korea, Vietnam, Angola, and many more so called wars of liberation, which in reality were communist inspired uprisings.
             The reunification of Germany in 1990 marked the end of 45 years of political and military confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. This was a political event that was not anticipated by anyone and that is why it was probably one of the greatest surprises of the 20th century. In the following pages I will describe and evaluate the respective impacts of President Reagan and Gorbachev in bringing an end to the Cold War.


Essays Related to Reagan and Gorbachev

1. The Politics of Ronald Reagan

Many critics saw Reagan's military tactics as illegitimate and dishonest. ... Mikhail Gorbachev came into power determined to change Soviet society by introducing a series of political and economic reforms. In determination to avoid an expensive arms race and allow economic growth to take place, Gorbachev declared a suspension, or delay, on deployment of medium range missiles in Europe and asked the United States to do the same. The result of these growths was a series of four Reagan-Gorbachev summits, which concluded in the first U.S. and Soviet treaty to reduce the number of nuclear we...

  • Word Count: 2371
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. Reagan and the Cold War

After reelection in 1984, Reagan started communicating with the new Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. ... When Reagan and Gorbachev met in Iceland, an agreement to wipe out an entire class of weapons was approved. ... At the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the President stated flat out to Gorbachev, "Tear down this wall- (History). ... One month later, Bush and Gorbachev "issued a joint message declaring an end to the Cold War- (Schaller, 521). ... Finally, in December of 1991, Gorbachev resigns and the Soviet Union collapses, ending communism. ...

  • Word Count: 1468
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

3. the fall of Gorbachev

Gorbachev inherited by his predecessors a stagnant economy and a "well fed" bureaucracy. ... With these policies, Gorbachev planned to modernize Russia. ... On 1 December 1989, Gorbachev became the first Soviet leader to set foot in the Vatican. ... In December 1987, he signed with Ronald Reagan a treaty at the Washington Summit to eliminate intermediate nuclear missiles. ... The hard-liners, who included many top government officials, staged a coup in August, placing Gorbachev under house arrest, but within three days the reformers had restored Gorbachev to power. ...

  • Word Count: 1341
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Biography of Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States. ... Reagan studied sociology and economics. ... In 1966 Reagan's political career began. ... During the Cold War, Reagan took office. ... In his second term in office, Reagan smoothed over diplomatic relation with the Soviet Union with their newly elected president Gorbachev. ...

  • Word Count: 700
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

5. collaspse of the soviet union

Mikhail Gorbachev and Reform Mikail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985. Gorbachev was a new style of Soviet leader. ... Ronald Reagan, President of the USA 1981-1989, shared Mrs Thatcher's enthusiasm for economic rationalism. Reagan's criticism of the Soviet Union and his support of the Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) is often credited with pushing Gorbachev towards reform. Reagan's ...

  • Word Count: 1987
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Cold War & American Defense Spending

In his book, How an Ordinary Man Became an Extraordinary Leader, Dinesh D'Souza pronounces Reagan the clear winner due to his hard line stance on foreign policy towards the USSR. ... The collapse of the Russian economy and the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev were the primary reasons that lead to end of the Cold War. ... Soviet defense spending under Brezhnev and later, Gorbachev, was primarily a response to internal political imperatives. ... Their next leader would be Mikhail Gorbachev. ... Mikhail Gorbachev came to office in 1985 and with him came his program of "Perestroika."" ...

  • Word Count: 2365
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. The Collapse of the Soviet Union

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev was elected as the leader of USSR. ... The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a part of Reagan's 'peace through strength' effort. ... Though it was proved that Reagan himself was a nuclear abolitionist, and once described the race as 'like two cowboys in a frontier saloon aiming their guns at each other's head-permanently', Reagan found that intensify the tension of the arm race could force government to invest massively in technology and thus paid less attention to developing the country (Lazzari). ... By 1984, Reagan's plan ...

  • Word Count: 1863
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. The Cold War

Reagan wanted to disprove that theory. ... Andropov stayed the course, and also wrote a blistering letter to Reagan about his policies. Oddly enough, he died days later after Reagan received this letter. ... Then came Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev was different from his many recent predecessors: while he was a Communis...

  • Word Count: 3069
  • Approx Pages: 12
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Ronald Regan A Man in his Time

Ronald Reagan may just have been one of the best presidents we had in the late 1900's. ... Ronald Reagan acted in fifty-two movies. ... One campaign promise Reagan kept was to clean up the mess at Berkeley. ... Reagan charged that President Carter failed to deal with inflation and unemployment. ... President Cater argued that Reagan's plan would lead to still more inflation and he questioned whether Reagan could balance the budget, reduce taxes, and increase defense spending all at the same time. ...

  • Word Count: 3536
  • Approx Pages: 14
  • Grade Level: High School

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