Unit 8-8: The END of the COLD WAR

What was the main purpose of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) developed by the United States during the Cold War?

• To promote economic cooperation with the Soviet Union

• To create a technological advantage in military defense

• To support the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

• To dismantle the Berlin Wall

Which Soviet leader introduced the policies of perestroika and glasnost?

• Joseph Stalin

• Nikita Khrushchev

• Mikhail Gorbachev

• Leonid Brezhnev

What event is widely recognized as a powerful symbol of the end of the Cold War?

• The launch of Sputnik

• The Cuban Missile Crisis

• The fall of the Berlin Wall

• The signing of the Warsaw Pact

In what year was the Soviet Union officially dissolved, marking the end of the Cold War?

• 1985

• 1989

• 1991

• 1995

How did the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan impact the Soviet Union?

• It strengthened the Soviet economy

• It drained resources and led to disillusionment

• It improved relations with Eastern Europe

• It resulted in immediate victory

Why did Gorbachev’s reforms of perestroika and glasnost ultimately weaken the Soviet system?

• They increased military spending

• They unleashed public dissent and weakened government control

• They improved the economy too quickly

• They led to a stronger Soviet Union

What was one major consequence of economic stagnation in the Soviet Union during the late Cold War period?

• Increased investment in infrastructure

• Inability to sustain a competitive arms race

• Expansion of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe

• Rapid technological advancement

How did growing dissent in Eastern European nations contribute to the weakening of Soviet control?

• It led to increased Soviet military presence

• It resulted in uprisings and demands for independence

• It caused economic growth in the region

• It strengthened the Soviet regime

Analyze how the combination of internal pressures and external failures led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

• Internal reforms alone caused the collapse

• Only military defeat led to the end

• Both economic decline and loss of control over Eastern Europe weakened the USSR, leading to its dissolution

• The Soviet Union dissolved due to a single event

Evaluate the impact of technological superiority, such as the SDI, on the outcome of the Cold War.

• It had no significant effect on the Soviet Union

• It forced the Soviet Union to increase spending, worsening their economic problems and contributing to their collapse

• It led to immediate peace between the superpowers

• It resulted in the Soviet Union winning the arms race