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Year 11
Edexcel

The end of the Cold War, 1970-91

I can explain the key events in the period 1970-91 that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

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Year 11
Edexcel

The end of the Cold War, 1970-91

I can explain the key events in the period 1970-91 that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In the 1970s, the USA and the USSR followed a policy of Détente, which led to reduced tensions and greater cooperation.
  2. Détente had ended by the end of the 1970s; events like the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan led to increased tensions.
  3. Reagan's confrontational approach led to a period of increased hostility known as the Second Cold War.
  4. Gorbachev's 'new thinking' encouraged a positive response from the USA and led to an improvement in US-Soviet relations.
  5. By the end of 1991, the USSR had collapsed due to economic problems and demands for independence from its republics.

Keywords

  • Détente - the relaxation of tensions between states which were previously hostile towards one another

  • Cold War - a period between c. 1945 and c. 1991 of intense rivalry and tension between the USA and the USSR

  • Reform - a change introduced to improve something, often a system or law

  • Dissolution - when a country or organisation officially ends or breaks apart

Common misconception

US-Soviet relations only began to decline when Reagan became US President in January 1981.

There had been a significant decline in superpower relations before Reagan became US President. For example, in 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and Carter’s response led to a serious increase in tension.


To help you plan your year 11 history lesson on: The end of the Cold War, 1970-91, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Explain that historians disagree about when the Cold War ended. Ask students to debate the data/event that they consider to have marked the end of the Cold War. Suggestions could include the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Warsaw Pact and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
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Adult supervision recommended

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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which term describes one of the multiple states that were joined together as part of the Soviet Union under the central Soviet government?
Correct Answer: republic, republics
Q2.
Complete the sentence: On 25th December 1991, Gorbachev resigned as Soviet leader and announced the of the Soviet Union.
Correct Answer: dissolution, dissolving, end
Q3.
When was Gorbachev’s ‘Sinatra Doctrine’ announced?
November 1989
Correct answer: December 1988
March 1991
February 1989
Q4.
What event marked the end of decades of division and symbolised a new era of freedom and unity in Europe?
the announcement of Gorbachev’s ‘Sinatra Doctrine’
the USSR’s withdrawal from Afghanistan
Correct answer: the reunification of East and West Germany
the ‘Gang of Eight’’s coup against Gorbachev
Q5.
What was Boris Yeltsin’s role in the ‘Gang of Eight’’s coup against Gorbachev?
Correct answer: He declared the new government to be illegal.
Correct answer: He played a crucial role in opposing the coup.
He declared the new government to be legal.
He played a crucial role in beginning the coup.
Q6.
Put the following events in chronological order.
1 - Demands for independence from some of the Soviet republics increased.
2 - The Baltic republics of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia declared independence.
3 - The remaining republics (with the exception of Georgia) declared independence.
4 - Gorbachev officially announced his resignation as Soviet leader.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which term describes the relaxation of tensions between states which were previously hostile towards one another?
Correct Answer: Détente
Q2.
Complete the sentence: US President Ronald Reagan's confrontational approach led to a period of increased hostility known as the Cold War.
Correct Answer: Second
Q3.
Whose 'new thinking' encouraged a positive response from the USA and led to an improvement in US-Soviet relations?
Konstantin Chernenko
Correct answer: Mikhail Gorbachev
Yuri Andropov
Leonid Brezhnev
Q4.
Which of the following events were reasons for the period of relaxed tensions in the Cold War in the 1970s?
the announcement of Gorbachev’s ‘Sinatra Doctrine’
Correct answer: lack of economic growth (USSR) and inequality (USA)
Correct answer: fear of nuclear conflict
Correct answer: US involvement in the Vietnam War
the destruction of the Berlin Wall
Q5.
Which of the following events led to an increase in tensions in the Cold War from 1981 onwards?
Correct answer: the announcement of the Reagan Doctrine
Correct answer: the US invasion of Grenada
the introduction of SALT I and SALT II
Correct answer: the introduction of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
the Apollo-Soyuz space mission
Q6.
Put the following events in chronological order.
1 - Gorbachev became Soviet leader.
2 - The Soviet Union abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine.
3 - The fall of the Berlin Wall
4 - The end of the Warsaw Pact
5 - The dissolution of the Soviet Union