Starter quiz
- Which word describes a country that is dominated by another country?
- 'satellite state' ✓
- Which word describes a change introduced to improve something, often a system or law?
- 'reform' ✓
- Brezhnev wrote an article in the Soviet newspaper Pravda justifying the invasion of Czechoslovakia. What did the ideas in the article became known as?
- Warsaw Doctrine
- Brezhnev Doctrine ✓
- Spring Doctrine
- Soviet Doctrine
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- Match each leader with the correct description of them.
- Leonid Brezhnev⇔leader of the USSR ✓
- Alexander Dubcek⇔leader of Czechoslovakia after 1968 ✓
- Antonín Novotny⇔leader of Czechoslovakia before 1968 ✓
- What name is given to the period in early 1968 when Dubček introduced reforms in Czechoslovakia?
- 'Prague Spring' ✓
- What war was the US fighting at the same time as the invasion of Czechoslovakia?
- Second World War
- Korean War
- Vietnam War ✓
- Gulf War
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Exit quiz
- Which word describes a demand that if rejected will bring about an end of peaceful talks and could lead to forceful action?
- 'ultimatum' ✓
- Which word describes an act or means of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving?
- 'blockade' ✓
- Complete the sentence: Between 1958 and 1970, a series of ______ increased tensions between the USA and the USSR.
- 'crises' ✓
- Put the following events in chronological order.
- 1⇔The Cuban Revolution
- 2⇔Vienna Summit
- 3⇔Construction of the Berlin Wall began
- 4⇔The Cuban Missile Crisis
- 5⇔Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
- 6⇔Fall of the Berlin Wall
- After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the USA and the USSR took action to prevent a similar crisis happening in the future. Which of the following are examples of these actions?
- the Cold War ended officially
- the USA and the USSR established a hotline ✓
- several treaties concerning nuclear weapons were signed ✓
- the Berlin Wall was pulled down by the Soviets
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- Which of the following were consequences of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia?
- The crisis demonstrated the dangers of brinkmanship.
- The Prague Spring reforms were reversed by the new leader, Husak. ✓
- It damaged the USSR’s relationship with other communist countries. ✓
- It increased tensions in the short-term as the US condemned the invasion. ✓
- Khrushchev’s reputation was damaged by the crisis.
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Worksheet
Presentation
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Between 1958 and 1970, a series of crises increased tensions between the USA and the USSR.
- The Second Berlin Crisis resulted in the building of the Berlin Wall which confirmed the division of Germany and Berlin.
- The Cuban Missile Crisis almost led to nuclear war and highlighted the dangers of following a policy of brinkmanship.
- After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the USA and the USSR took action to prevent a similar crisis happening in the future.
- The invasion of Czechoslovakia damaged the USSR's relationship with the USA and also with some other communist states.
Common misconception
There was only one Cold War crisis involving Berlin: the USSR's blockade of Berlin in 1948 and the Berlin Airlift launched by the Western powers in response to this.
Berlin was a source of conflict between the USA and the USSR from the start of the Cold War. The crisis that took place between 1958 and 1963 and resulted in the construction of the Berlin Wall is sometimes referred to as the Second Berlin Crisis.
Keywords
Crisis - a time of very great difficulty and danger
Ultimatum - a demand that if rejected will bring about an end of peaceful talks and could lead to forceful action
Revolution - a rapid and important change
Blockade - an act or means of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving
Warsaw pact - a military alliance of Eastern European countries led by the Soviet Union during the Cold War; it was formed in 1955 in response to NATO