Download 1970s cold war events – Tensions ease on the surface

Decade 4 – the 1970s (The Cold War – Détente – tensions ease)
1970s cold war events – Tensions ease on the surface

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, ratified by the United Kingdom,
the Soviet Union and the United States, among others, enters into
force.

Four-Power Agreement on Berlin is signed by the United Kingdom,
the Soviet Union, France, and the United States

The United Nations General Assembly passes Resolution 2758,
recognizing the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate
government of China.

Nixon visits China, the first visit by a U.S. President since the
establishment of the People's Republic of China.

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I) agreement signals the
beginning of détente between the U.S. and USSR.

Fischer v Spassky: Bobby Fischer defeats Russian Boris
Spassky in a chess match in Reykjavík, Iceland, becoming the first
official American chess champion (referred to as the Match of the
Century).

The Summit Series, an ice hockey tournament between Canada
and Soviet Union.

The Paris Peace Accords end American involvement in the Vietnam
War. Congress cuts off funds for the continued bombing of Indochina.

Gerald Ford becomes President of the United States upon the
resignation of Nixon.

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project takes place. It is the first joint flight
of the US and Soviet space programs. The mission is seen as a
symbol of détente and an end to the "space race".

Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation
in Europe signed by the United States, Canada, the Soviet Union and
Europe.

Death of Mao Zedong

Jimmy Carter becomes President of the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance assures skeptics that the Carter
administration will hold the Soviet Union accountable for its
recent crackdowns on human rights activists.

U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev,
sign the SALT II agreement, outlining limitations and guidelines for
nuclear weapons.

President Carter signs the first directive for financial aid to opponents
of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul, Afghanistan

The Iran hostage crisis: Islamist Iranian students take over the
American embassy in support of the Iranian Revolution. The crisis
lasts until January 20, 1981 and is the focus of National television
news for the entire year.

The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan to oust President Hafizullah
Amin, resulting in the end of Détente.
Decolonization Events – “Things really start to fall
apart”
 Bangladeshi Declaration of Independence. Bangladesh Liberation
War begins.
 India enters the Bangladesh Liberation War after Pakistan launches
preemptive air strikes on Indian airfields
 Pakistan Army forces located in East Pakistan surrender
unconditionally. Bangladesh is officially recognized by the eastern bloc
(Soviet allies)
 Chilean coup d'état — The democratically-elected Marxist president
of Chile, Salvador Allende, is deposed and commits suicides during a military
coup led by General Augusto Pinochet, supported by the US.
 The pro-Western monarch of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, is ousted by a
Marxist military junta known as the Derg.
 SEATO (South East Asian Treaty Organization) formally ends after France
leaves the organization.
 The communist Khmer Rouge take power in Cambodia; genocide ensues,
later referred to as "The Killing Fields".
 North Vietnam wins the war in South Vietnam. The South Vietnam regime
falls with the surrender of Saigon and the two countries are united under a
Communist government.
 Portugal withdraws from Angola and Mozambique, where Marxist
governments are installed, the former with backing from Cuban troops.
The Angolan Civil war engulfs both nations and involves Angolans,
Mozambicans, South Africans, and Cubans, with the superpowers supporting
their respective ideologies.
 Mayagüez incident: The Khmer Rouge seize an American naval ship,
prompting American intervention to recapture the ship and its crew. In the
end, the crew is released from captivity.
 Coup d'état in Argentina. A Civil war against Argentine-based guerrilla
warfare starts.
 The Ogaden War begins when Somalia attacks Ethiopia – the war lasts for 9
months.
 President of Afghanistan Sardar Mohammed Daoud's government is
overthrown when he is murdered in a coup led by pro-communist rebels and
a communist regime is installed in Afghanistan.
 Vietnam deposes the Khmer Rouge and installs a pro-Vietnam, pro-Soviet
government.
 The Iranian Revolution ousts the pro-Western Shah, Mohammed Reza
Pahlavi and installs a theocracy under Ayatollah Khomeini.
 Sino-Vietnamese War, China launches a punitive attack on North Vietnam
to punish it for invading Cambodia.
 War breaks out in El Salvador between Marxist-led insurgents and the
U.S.-backed government.
 Marxist-led Sandinista revolutionaries overthrow the U.S.-
backed Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua. The Contra insurgency begins
shortly thereafter.
 The Marxist president of Afghanistan, is deposed and murdered. The
post of president is taken up by the then Prime Minister of Afghanistan.
