The Soviet Invasion: December 1979

Following Amin's seizure of power, Brezhnev order the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

• Although Amin was a communist, USSR did not trust hi,. The Soviet secret police reported he was an American spy. Unpopular with a large number of Muslims and Brezhnev feared Muslim groups would take control of the country. 
• USSR concerned that Afghan would become an Islamic State and influence nearby Soviet republics. Islamic States are not communist and so they would have no reason to link with Russia. 
• Brezhnev believed that America would tolerate the invasion as it had done in Czechoslovakia, to avoid war. 

Soviet troops killed Amin and his supporters and Karmal was declared President. Yet the invasion was a disaster for both. It lasted 10 years and around 1.5 million died including 15000 Russian soldiers. 

The Kabul Revolution, 1978

• Detente could not stop superpower competition over the developing world. The Soviet leader Brezhnev saw the communist revolution in Afghan as an opportunity to extend his power in the oil rich middle east.
• The new government in Kabul, was determined to 'build socialism in Afghanistan. The new communist President became an ally of the USSR.
• The new government was far from stable though. It suffered personal rivalries and arguments. Muslim people across the country were angered by socialist reforms. 
• This caused a civil war to break out in the country.
• Hafizullah Amin, head of the Army beacame bitter rivals with Taraki. So Amin's men assassinated Taraki and Amin became President. 

The Apollo-Soyuz mission, 1975

A joint space mission where the American Apollo spacecraft and a Russia Soyuz spacecraft docked high above the Earth. The 1960's had been dominated by an extremely competitive race to the moon but this marked the start of superpower co-operation in space.

The Helsinki Conference, 1975

It stabilized the situation in Europe by agreeing greater co-operation between the superpowers and their European allies in terms of trade and combating international terrorism. This limited the possibility of superpower conflict creating a more stable relationship.

SALT I

The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT i) imposed limits on the nuclear capability of Russia and the USA in 1972.

• The USA and USSR agreed that there would be no further production of strategic ballistic missiles.
• Both powers agreed that submarines carrying nuclear weapons would only be introduced when existing stocks of ICBM's became obsolete. 

SALT I was signed by the American president and the Soviet premier in 1972. It was significant as it was the first agreement that successfully limited the number of nuclear weapons. It also showed that detente created an environment where the two could cooperate on issues.

Detente - The Search for Peace

The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear warfare. In the late 60's and 70's Soviet leaders and American leaders aimed at achieving peace and easing tensions. Russia and America signed two important treaties at the end of the 60's that show the development of the detente relationship.

The 1967 OUTER SPACE TREATY:

• Stopped the Arms Race spreading to outer space and it pledged that no nuclear weapons may be placed in space. 

The 1968 NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY:

• Agreed that neither would supply nuclear weapons to other states or help others to develop nuclear weapons. 
• This stopped the superpower from engulfing other areas of the world. 

These treaties were important as they limited the possibility of further conflict between the two nations.

Eastern European Response to the Prague Spring

      The Soviet Invasion also led to discontent in Eastern Europe. The Yugoslavian and Romanian governments both condemned the invasion and distanced themselves from the Soviet Union. Following 1968, Yugoslavian and Romanian Communists formed alliances with China, the world’s other major Communist power, further dividing the Communist world.