What the exam asks
In Multiple Choice (Part A) and Short Answer (Part B), you will often analyze economic data charts comparing Soviet and Western output, political cartoons of Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms, or secondary historians’ arguments debating whether Ronald Reagan’s policies or Soviet internal stagnation mattered more. In the Long Essay Question (LEQ) or Document-Based Question (DBQ), this topic frequently serves as the chronological endpoint for prompts about 20th-century ideological conflict, state-controlled economies (ECN), or challenges to authoritarian governance (GOV).
Core ideas
1. External pressure: U.S. military and technological advances
After a period of détente (relaxation of tensions) in the 1970s, the United States significantly increased diplomatic and military pressure on the USSR in the 1980s.
- Defense spending: Under President Ronald Reagan, the U.S. invested hundreds of billions of dollars in advanced weaponry, stealth technology, and nuclear modernization.
- The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI): Announced in 1983 and nicknamed “Star Wars,” this proposed space-based anti-missile system threatened to render the Soviet nuclear arsenal obsolete—undermining the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).
- The Technological Gap: While Western economies rapidly integrated microchips, personal computers, and advanced telecommunications, the rigid Soviet command economy struggled to innovate beyond state military projects. Attempting to match U.S. military spending consumed roughly 15% to 25% of Soviet GDP, starving the civilian economy of resources.
2. Military overreach: the Soviet-Afghan War (1979–1989)
In December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to prop up a pro-communist regime against Islamic insurgents known as the mujahideen.
- A costly quagmire: Backed by financial and military aid from the United States (including Stinger anti-aircraft missiles), Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, the mujahideen waged a fierce guerrilla war in mountainous terrain.
- Consequences: Often called the Soviet Union’s “Vietnam War,” the decade-long conflict cost the USSR roughly $50 billion, killed nearly 15,000 Soviet soldiers, undermined the Red Army’s prestige, and fueled intense domestic anger among Soviet citizens.