The Chancellor of Germany is the initiator of the policy of détente in international tension. Relief of international tension

Under US President R. Nixon, who was under strong influence his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who is considered the main architect of the policy of détente.

In words, Nixon and Kissinger spoke out for a multipolar world without dominant blocs, but in reality they often deviated from the scheme, striving for American dominance. Kissinger believed that it was no longer possible to achieve military superiority over the USSR, and this was not advisable, since it did not provide any strategic benefit. It was necessary to strive for reasonable sufficiency in the field of weapons.

In 1971, the USSR surpassed in number strategic missiles USA. America has ceased to be the leading arms exporter, moving into third place after Soviet Union and France - modern producers who competed to sell death in megatons.

USSR

General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee L.I. Brezhnev was a supporter of the agreement with the United States, which made it possible to stop the costly arms race. This was important for the USSR, since the country faced the enormous task of increasing the level of well-being Soviet people. The conflict with China became another good reason for rapprochement with the West.

On April 10, 1970, 80 countries signed a treaty banning the production and use of biological weapons.

In 1970-1973 A number of agreements were signed between Germany and the USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia and the GDR, which recognized the inviolability of the post-war borders in Europe and the sovereignty of the GDR. In addition, a quadrilateral agreement was concluded (USSR, USA, Great Britain, France) on West Berlin, according to which it was not part of the Federal Republic of Germany and had its own administration.

This was a period of improvement in Soviet-American relations. Thus, in May 1972, for the first time in history, President Nixon visited Moscow, followed by a return visit by L. I. Brezhnev to the United States. In 1972-1974. Several agreements were concluded between the Soviet Union and the United States on the limitation of strategic offensive weapons systems. All these events created the conditions for a pan-European dialogue on convening Meetings on Security and Cooperation in Europe(now - OSCE).

Helsinki Accords

August 1, 1975 In Helsinki, the heads of 33 European states, as well as the United States and Canada, signed the Final Act, which confirmed the inviolability of post-war borders and proclaimed 10 principles that supplemented the UN Charter in a number of points. To monitor the implementation of decisions, they were created Helsinki bands, who played a significant role in awakening public consciousness in Eastern Europe. The countries agreed to hold regular meetings to verify compliance with the Helsinki provisions.

During the period of détente, the struggle between two military-political blocs for dominance in the countries of the “third world” continued. The situation in the Middle East remained extremely difficult. At the turn of the 1970-1980s. There was a turn from détente to confrontation. The reason for curtailing the process of détente was the aggravation of the confrontation between the USA and the USSR, which manifested itself in their struggle for influence in the countries of the “third world”. Material from the site

USSR

Active support for the so-called socialist regimes in Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Nicaragua was considered by the Soviet leadership as deepening the “world revolutionary process" In the United States, these events were perceived as a defeat for democracy, as a consequence of détente, which the USSR took advantage of to spread its influence. The course taken by the Soviet government towards the accelerated development of the military industry and the deployment of new missiles in the countries of the Warsaw Treaty Organization had a negative impact on détente. The turn to confrontation was also caused by the foreign policy actions of the USSR: the introduction in December 1979 of Soviet troops to Afghanistan, the introduction of martial law in Poland in 1981.

USA

The United States also bears its share of the blame for the failure of detente. In January 1980, the Carter Doctrine was put forward, according to which the region Persian Gulf declared a zone of American interests. This meant that any means, including military ones, would be used to protect them. As a counterweight to Soviet missiles, American missiles were deployed on the territory of Great Britain, Germany, and Italy. Arrival in The White house R. Reagan, with his extremely tough course towards the USSR and large-scale arms race program, finally buried détente. Has begun new period confrontation.

The 1970s went down in the history of international relations as a period of détente. Cooperation between countries with different socio-economic systems temporarily replaced confrontation, and the ice of the Cold War began to melt.

The prerequisites for detente were the end of the Vietnam War, the military-strategic parity (equality) of the USSR and the USA, achieved by the early 1970s, and the settlement of relations with Germany.

The Social Democrats came to power in Germany in alliance with the Free Democrats. SPD Chairman Willy Brandt became Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. He radically changed his country’s “Eastern policy”: he abandoned the revanchism of the previous ruling CDU-CSU coalition and recognized the post-war borders in Europe.

On August 12, 1970, an agreement was signed in Moscow between the USSR and Germany to regulate bilateral relations. The core of the Moscow Treaty was the obligations of the parties on the territorial issue. The Federal Republic of Germany renounced its claims to the territory of the former East Prussia, which became part of the USSR in 1945 as the Kaliningrad region, and expressed its readiness to conclude agreements with the GDR, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. Both sides pledged to regard as inviolable the borders of all states in Europe now and in the future. At the same time, V. Brandt obtained from JI. I. Brezhnev agreed not to interfere with the peaceful unification of the two Germanys if favorable conditions for this arise in the future. The treaty was ratified after the conclusion of the Quadripartite Agreement on West Berlin.

A quadripartite agreement between the USSR, USA, Great Britain and France on West Berlin was signed on November 3, 1971. It recognized its status as a “free city” not belonging to the Federal Republic of Germany. The latter was supposed to curtail his political activities.

On December 7, 1970, an agreement was signed between the PPR and the FRG, according to which the latter recognized western border Poland. On December 21, 1972, according to an agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, both states recognized each other as independent and sovereign. IN next year they were accepted into the UN. On December 11, 1973, an agreement was signed between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the essence of which was the recognition of the Munich Treaty of September 29, 1938 as invalid from the very beginning.

The concluded treaties and agreement cleared the way for the Pan-European Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which became the most important international political event 1970s. Its convening was provided for by the Peace Program adopted by the XXIV Congress of the CPSU (March 30 - April 9, 1971).

The meeting took place in three stages and lasted for two years (1973-1975). First stage, at the level of foreign ministers 33 European countries, as well as the USA and Canada, closely connected with Europe, was held in July 1973 in the capital of Finland, Helsinki. Three groups of participating countries (OVD, NATO, neutral countries) proposed for discussion draft documents on three “baskets” of issues: security, economic and humanitarian cooperation.

The second stage of the meeting, at the expert level, took place in Geneva from September 1973 to July 1975. At it, agreed upon projects on the main documents were developed.

July 30 - August 1, 1975, the third, decisive stage took place in Helsinki - a meeting on top level. For the first time in the post-war history of Europe, the leaders of 35 states sat at the same table, incl. The USA and Canada, and in a solemn atmosphere signed the Final Act of the Helsinki Summit.

The core of the Final Act and the main political outcome meeting was the “Declaration of Principles”, which the participating states pledged to be guided by in mutual relations. There were 10 such principles: sovereign equality of states; non-use of force or threat of force; inviolability of borders; territorial integrity states; peace settlement disputes; non-interference in internal affairs; respect for human rights; equality of peoples; mutually beneficial cooperation; conscientious performance obligations under international law.

In 1977, these principles were included in the Constitution of the USSR as the principles of peaceful coexistence of states with different social systems.

After 1975, meetings of representatives of 35 states began to be called the Helsinki Process, or the CSCE movement (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe).

In 1977-78 The Belgrade meeting took place in 1980-83. and in 1985 - the Madrid meeting, in 1988-89. - Vienna meeting. It decided to transform the CSCE movement into the OSCE, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The Soviet leadership regarded the results of the Helsinki Summit not only as a victory for the forces of peace and reason, but also as a major victory for the USSR. Helsinki-75 was considered the logical conclusion of the course of Yalta-45, the “spirit of Yalta”. The leading capitalist countries recognized the Eastern and Central Europe. It seemed that the doctrine of “throwing away socialism” had suffered a crushing defeat. However, the subsequent development of international relations showed that this was self-delusion. The fight against socialism and Soviet influence It just changed its forms and became more sophisticated. In 1989-1991 Paradoxically, at first glance, the leaders of the USSR and the RSFSR became allies of the United States in this struggle.

The Helsinki Conference became a symbol of detente international tension 70s. Important integral part détente became Soviet-American treaties and

agreements signed during the resumed summits. The first of them took place in Moscow during the official visit of US President R. Nixon to the Soviet Union on May 22-30, 1972. Its results were enshrined in ten joint documents, primarily in the “Fundamentals of Relations between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America” , signed JI. I. Brezhnev and R. Nixon. The “Fundamentals” regulated relations in the field of peace and security within the UN, in the field of disarmament, and also provided for the development of political, economic, scientific and technical and cultural ties between the two countries.

In 1972, the first agreement was concluded to limit strategic weapons(SALT-1), which established a ceiling above which it was impossible to build up strategic offensive weapons (intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched missiles, strategic bombers). At the same time, an agreement was concluded on anti-ballistic missile defense (ABM). According to this document, the USSR and the USA secured the right to create two missile defense zones in areas vital to them.

In 1974, an additional protocol was signed to the ABM Treaty, reducing the number of such zones to one on each side. The USA chose the Grand Forks heavy intercontinental ballistic missile base for this purpose, and the USSR chose Moscow, i.e. The US leadership decided to cover the means of attack, and the USSR leadership decided to cover the multimillion-dollar capital. Nevertheless, in 1987, the West German “amateur” pilot M. Rust flew through the sieve of this zone without hindrance, with suspicious ease, and landed near Red Square.

In 1974 and 1976, the USSR and the USA signed two agreements in the field nuclear tests. The first limited underground testing of nuclear weapons, prohibiting the production nuclear explosions with a yield of more than 150 kilotons, the second regulated underground nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes.

Finally, in 1979, the second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT 2) was signed, lowering the ceiling on the permissible buildup of these weapons.

The effectiveness of the 1974, 1976 and 1979 treaties was reduced by the fact that they were not ratified, but were nevertheless respected by both parties.

The joint flight became a scientific and technical symbol of the easing of international tension and Soviet-American relations spaceships USSR and USA “Soyuz” - “Apollo” in 1975. Soviet leaders and JI personally. I. Brezhnev believed that detente was irreversible and “the wheel of history cannot be turned back.” They were mistaken, wishful thinking.

In the early 1980s, through the efforts of both sides, detente was curtailed and the ice of the Cold War closed. The first sign of destabilization of bilateral relations in the second half of the 70s was the increased activity of US President J. Carter in the fight for human rights in the USSR to the detriment of economic relations two countries.

In the 1970s The severity of the confrontation between the Soviet and Western blocs has decreased; this process is commonly called “détente of international tension.” The USSR and the USA, embroiled in local conflicts in different parts of the world, needed a break. In addition, the new Soviet leader L. I. Brezhnev had no desire for rash undertakings outside the “traditional” Soviet sphere of influence. In addition, the USSR was already beginning to experience dependence on purchases of Western goods, and the West on Soviet oil. The USSR caught up with the USA in the nuclear sphere, and the Americans, having landed on the Moon in 1969, demonstrated their power in the matter of space exploration. During this period, both blocs—NATO and the Warsaw Department—experienced a certain crisis. (Romania occupied a special position in the ATS, and France left the ranks of the NATO military organization in the 1960s; Spain limited the activities of the American Air Force in its country after the emergency release of four thermonuclear bombs over the Spanish village of Palomares in 1966.) The Social Democratic government in Germany has expressed its readiness to recognize the inviolability of borders in the east.

Years of reduced international tension were followed by dangerous moments of mutual confrontation. New round tensions occurred in the late 70s and early 80s. The entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan marked the end of détente. The arms race resumed with new strength. The Americans initiated the development of a space missile defense program, which greatly worried the USSR, which did not have sufficient means to fight back in space.

SALT I and ABM Treaties

As a result, in the 1970s. a gradual relaxation of international tension begins - a policy aimed at reducing the aggressiveness of the confrontation between socialist and capitalist countries. Back in 1967, consultations began on the possibility of reducing the scope of the arms race, which ended with the signing of the SALT I (strategic arms limitation) and ABM (limitation of missile defense systems) treaties in 1972. In them, the USSR and the USA established the maximum number of missile launch stops, including sea ones. The SALT I treaty was valid for five years, the ABM treaty had an unlimited validity period. The existing structure of ground-based ballistic missile groups was actually “frozen.” The countries committed themselves not to create more than two missile defense areas (the calculation was made that if it is impossible to defend themselves fully, then the readiness to launch nuclear strike will also decrease).

Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe

The most important achievement of “détente” was also the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1975, held in Helsinki. It culminated negotiations between the socialist camp and Western countries that began back in the 1960s. The USSR and its allies managed to achieve recognition of the principle of the inviolability of borders (and therefore the established territories of countries of Eastern Europe, including the GDR), agreeing in return to recognize the principle of human rights and the right to the free exchange of information and contacts between people. In fact, the final act of the meeting (August 1, 1975) was tantamount to a post-war peace treaty. In Moscow it was regarded as a triumph of Soviet diplomacy, and the 10 principles of the act were even included in the text new Constitution USSR in 1977

9 International relations in the 1950s–1960s. Crises in world politics in the early 1960s. Kholodnaya war.End of WW2: the authority and power of the USSR and the USA has increased, but in reality their power is not comparable. At 45 The USA was 4 times superior to the USSR in military power. The Soviet bloc was a country that was weakened economically and demographically. The USSR's foreign policy relied not on real indicators, but on the glory of military victories; the United States, on the contrary, occupies a leading place in the world economy. The confrontation was beneficial to both blocs for internal development. March '46 – Churchill’s speech at Fulton: the Western world is in danger of a new world war – from the USSR. An “iron curtain” fell over all of Europe (it was supplemented by the Truman Doctrine). Nuclear weapon. 49 – NATO (defense and peacekeeping mission). In turn, the USSR, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Albania in May 55. create internal affairs forces as a means of neutralizing the threat to NATO. 49 - CMEA. 47 The Marshall Plan - its rejection further divided the world. An important problem is the German question. In '49 images Germany, GDR. Was Berlin crisis when after monetary reform in West Berlin, it was blocked for 300 days, the world was on the brink of open war. 48-49. After the death of Stalin - a thaw in international relations. 55 - an agreement with Austria after the withdrawal of all foreign troops from it. After the XX Congress of the CPSU 56. dismantling has begun " iron curtain" January '54 - meeting of the foreign ministers of the USA, England, France and the USSR in Berlin. 55 – German Chancellor K. Adenauder arrived in Moscow. 59 - Khrushchev’s visit to the USA, they agreed to meet in Paris in 60, but a few days before the meeting an American U-2 spy plane was shot down. 61 - Khrushchev meeting with Kennedy in Vienna. It was decided to establish a primary telephone connection. 12 August 61 2 Berlin crisis, a wall was built around West Berlin.

Relief of international tension

But already the appearance atomic weapons almost eliminated the danger of large-scale war. And immediately after Stalin's death, the danger of invasion began to rapidly decrease. Until the 1960s, some international provocations still continued: explosions at the headquarters of White Guard organizations, threatening rhetoric, attempts to support “our own”... But the scale was not at all the same.

The last large-scale episode that made the West shudder was Caribbean crisis... In October 1962, the USSR stationed in Cuba. That's why in Cuba they call it the "October Crisis" (Crisis de Octubre), and in the USA - “Cuban missile crisis» (Cuban missile crisis).

October 14, 1962, when a US Air Force U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, during one of its regular flights over Cuba, discovered Soviet missiles in the vicinity of the village of San Cristobal medium range R-12 and R-14. US President John Kennedy created a special Executive committee, which discussed possible solutions to the problem. On October 22, Kennedy addressed the people, announcing the presence of Soviet “offensive weapons” in Cuba, which immediately caused panic in the United States. America began a “quarantine” (blockade) of Cuba.

The USSR first denied that there were these missiles in Cuba... then it argued that it was defending itself from the USA in this way. And a real threat looms over the world nuclear war. All the more real because Kennedy was already ready to launch a massive bombing of Cuba. However, another U-2 flyby showed that several missiles had already been installed and were ready for launch. It became clear that the bombing would lead to one thing: missiles would be launched at America.

Then John Kennedy suggested that the Soviet Union dismantle the installed missiles and turn around the ships still heading to Cuba. In return: US guarantees not to attack Cuba and not overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro.

The Khrushchev government agreed. On October 28, 1962, the dismantling of the missiles began. Last soviet rocket left Cuba a few weeks later, and on November 20, the blockade of Cuba was lifted.

For 38 days the world teetered on the brink of war, and this became the turning point of the entire Cold War. And after that, Khrushchev pounded his boot on the UN podium, shouting that he would show the West “Kuzka’s mother” and that the whole question was who would bury whom faster: the USSR or the West.

But the worst was over, and international détente began.

The term itself appeared in the early 70s of the 20th century. This is a tracing paper from the French detente (discharge). The essence of detente is that after the Cuban missile crisis, both sides finally realized that it would not be possible to destroy the enemy and remain unharmed. Doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction (Mutual Assured Destruction) sounded like this: “it is impossible to destroy a strategic enemy without him delivering a blow, the consequences of which will be unacceptable to us.”

The USSR caught up with the USA in the power of nuclear forces.

The Vietnam War required enormous costs and brought to life political opposition, polarized society.

Social Democrat Willy Brandt came to power in Germany, fussily “repenting” for all the crimes of the Germans, committed and not committed. He also started the “new Eastern policy”. The Moscow Treaty between the USSR and Germany (1970) fixed the inviolability of the post-war borders, and the renunciation of the territorial claims of the Federal Republic of Germany to East Prussia and German lands, which were transferred to Lithuania, Poland and Czechoslovakia.

The cancellation of the draft deferment for students in the US Army sparked mass student protests. In 1970, police shot down a student demonstration at the University of Kent. 4 people, including 2 girls, were killed.

All these facts indicated that it was better to curtail the arms race and confrontation.

For the USSR, the Cuban Missile Crisis showed that it would not be possible to launch an attack on the United States through the territory of “friend Fidel.”

Implementation American program Apollo led to the American landing on the Moon in 1969. This means that it is not possible through space either.

And then there’s the break with China: the explosion of Mao’s aggressive demagoguery, “ cultural revolution", calling them "revisionists", territorial claims to the Far East and Siberia. In 1972, it came to a border conflict on Damansky Island, on the Amur. Having lost such an important strategic ally, the USSR became sad.

As a consequence of all these changes, on November 17, 1969, negotiations began between the USSR and the USA on the limitation of strategic offensive weapons in Helsinki.

Until 1979, there was a stream of agreements between the USSR and the USA, establishing increasingly closer relations between these countries, practically excluding the outbreak of hostilities.

On June 18, 1979, in Vienna, J. Carter and L. I. Brezhnev signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II).

Before Stalin's death and during the Cuban Missile Crisis, it was easy and simple to scare the allies with the Soviet threat. During the period of détente, it is much more difficult. It is no coincidence that it was at this time that Europe began to behave much more independently.