Detente - A period in international relations (70s of the twentieth century), which is characterized by a weakening of the confrontation between the superpowers and the normalization of relations between them, mutual concessions and compromises. During this period, measures are being taken to limit the arms race and develop cooperation in various fields.

The main prerequisites for détente were: firstly, military-strategic parity was established between the United States and the USSR at the end of the 70s, and secondly, as a result of acute crises and dangerous regional conflicts, the leadership of both superpowers became convinced of the perniciousness of "balancing" on the brink of war .

The détente of the 1970s laid the foundation for further movement towards limiting the arsenals of weapons of mass destruction. It showed the possibility of reaching an agreement on all issues of international security. A new type of relationship was formed in the period 1963-1973. Their characteristic feature was the methods of peaceful settlement of conflicts. In July 1968, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was opened for signing, which entered into force in 1970. Currently, more than 160 countries have signed it.

Detente brought tangible changes in Europe. They began with the coming to power in Germany in 1969 of a coalition government of social democrats and free democrats headed by Willy Brandt.

On September 3, 1971, an agreement was reached between the USSR, the USA, England and France regarding West Berlin, according to which the city received a special status and should not belong to the FRG.

Negotiations on the limitation of strategic arms (SALT) - a series of bilateral negotiations between the USSR and the United States on the issue of arms control. Two rounds of negotiations were held and two treaties were signed: SALT-I (1972) and SALT-II (1979).

Negotiations between the USSR and the USA to limit nuclear stocks began in 1969 in Helsinki. The agreements signed by the leaders of the countries as a result of the negotiations are called SALT-1 and SALT-2. On the basis of these treaties, the START treaties were later signed.

SALT-I is the common name for the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. This treaty limited the number of ballistic missiles and launchers on both sides to the level at which they were at that moment. The treaty also provided for the adoption of new ballistic missiles deployed on submarines strictly in the same quantity in which obsolete land-based ballistic missiles were previously decommissioned.

The strategic nuclear forces of the Soviet Union and the United States changed in character in the late 1960s. The Soviet program provided for the deployment of heavy ground-based ballistic missiles and the commissioning of new missile submarines. Since 1968, the USSR has deployed up to 200 new missiles annually. The number of missiles that the United States had (1,054 ICBMs, 656 SLBMs) ​​has remained unchanged since 1967. However, the number of missiles with multiple reentry vehicles (MIRV) increased. One of the provisions of the agreement required both sides to limit the number of sites protected by missile defense systems to one. The Soviet Union deployed such a system around Moscow in 1966, and the US around twelve launchers at Grand Forks.

Negotiations continued from November 17, 1969 to May 1972. During this time, several meetings were held in Helsinki and Vienna. For a long time, the negotiations did not give results and reached a dead end, but in May 1971 a preliminary agreement on missile defense was signed. The negotiations ended on May 26, 1972 in Moscow with the signing of the ABM Treaty and the Interim Agreement between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on certain measures regarding the limitation of strategic offensive weapons.

Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki). The final act of 1975, its main content.

The key event of détente in Europe was the Conference on Security and Cooperation on the Continent, which took place in Helsinki, Finland, in three stages:

At the first stage, July 3-7, 1973, a meeting of foreign ministers developed an agenda and determined the main directions of work.

At the second (September 18, 1973 - July 21, 1975), experts prepared the main documents of the meeting on security, economic and humanitarian problems.

On August 1, 1975, the leaders of 33 European states, as well as the United States and Canada, signed the Final Act of the meeting. Its core is the Declaration of Principles that will guide the participating States in their mutual relations.

The Declaration includes the following principles:

1. Respect for sovereignty.

2. Non-use of force or threat of force.

3. Inviolability of borders.

4. Territorial integrity of states.

5. Peaceful settlement of disputes.

6. Non-intervention in internal affairs.

7. Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

8. Equality and the right of peoples to control their own destiny.

9. Cooperation between states.

10. Conscientious fulfillment of obligations under international law.

In addition to the Declaration, the following documents were adopted, such as "Cooperation in the field of economics, technology, the environment", "Cooperation in humanitarian and other fields", "The issue of security cooperation in the Mediterranean", "On confidence-building measures and some aspects of security and disarmament" .

The Helsinki Conference was a turning point in the period of detente. Even the return to confrontation in the early 1980s could not overcome the significance of the Helsinki process.

Final act: Interstate agreements grouped into several sections:

In the international legal field: consolidation of the political and territorial results of the Second World War, a statement of the principles of relations between the participating states, including the principle of inviolability of borders; territorial integrity of states; non-interference in the internal affairs of foreign states;

In the politico-military field: coordination of confidence-building measures in the military field (prior notification of military exercises and major troop movements, presence of observers at military exercises); peaceful settlement of disputes;

In the economic field: coordination of the main areas of cooperation in the field of economy, science and technology and environmental protection;

In the humanitarian field: harmonization of commitments on human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of movement, contacts, information, culture and education, the right to work, the right to education and health care.

53. End of the Vietnam War. "Nixon's Guam Doctrine". Paris Conference on Vietnam. Basic decisions.

After the signing of the armistice agreement, the South Vietnamese troops numbered more than a million people, the armed forces of North Vietnam, stationed in the South, numbered more than two hundred thousand soldiers.

The ceasefire agreements on the territory of South Vietnam were not implemented. Both the communists and the South Vietnamese government troops divided the controlled territory during the fighting. The North Vietnamese continued to move reinforcements to their troops in the south along the "Ho Chi Minh trail", which was facilitated by the cessation of American bombardments. The crisis in the economy of South Vietnam, as well as the decrease in the volume of American military assistance under pressure from the US Congress in 1974, contributed to the decline in the fighting qualities of the South Vietnamese troops. An increasing number of territories in South Vietnam de facto fell under the rule of North Vietnam. Government forces of South Vietnam suffered losses. In December 1974 - January 1975, the North Vietnamese army conducted a trial operation to capture the province of Phuoclong to test the reaction of the United States. Convinced that the United States did not intend to resume its participation in the war, in early March 1975, North Vietnamese troops launched a large-scale offensive. The South Vietnamese army was disorganized and in most areas failed to provide adequate resistance. As a result of a two-month campaign, North Vietnamese troops occupied most of South Vietnam and approached Saigon. On April 30, 1975, the communists raised the banner over the Independence Palace in Saigon - the war was over.

The Guam Doctrine is a doctrine put forward by Richard Nixon on June 25, 1969, during a speech to military personnel on the island of Guam. The essence of the Guam Doctrine was that the United States renounced its obligation to protect its allies from external aggression with its army, except in cases of aggression from major powers such as China or the USSR. In this case, they were guaranteed protection against nuclear strikes and air and naval support. With local communist movements or with hostile neighbors, US allies had to deal with their own forces.

This US step was positively received by the rest of the world. By 1973, the US had completed its withdrawal from Vietnam, and in 1975 the Vietnam War ended in a complete victory for the Vietnamese Communists.

During the war, 56,555 American soldiers were killed, 303,654 Americans were injured, and after the withdrawal of American troops, the US opponents won a complete and unconditional victory in the war. All this had a negative impact on the state of American society - the outcome of the Vietnam War was seen as a defeat for the United States, and psychological trauma was inflicted on the whole country. However, even during the war, the United States began to look for ways to relieve international tension, and this, together with the new foreign policy doctrine, made possible détente in international relations. As a result, the United States was able to improve relations with the PRC and the USSR and subsequently play on the contradictions between them, which strengthened the position of the United States on the world stage.

The Paris Agreement of 1973 on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam was signed on January 27 by the foreign ministers of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the United States, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRG) and the Saigon administration; text P. s. developed during the Paris talks of the four parties on Vietnam, which have been ongoing since January 1969. In accordance with Art. 1 P. s. The United States pledged to respect the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Vietnam

Subsequent art. stipulated the immediate cessation of hostilities in South Vietnam, as well as all US military operations against the DRV; complete withdrawal from South Vietnam within 60 days of US troops and military personnel and other foreign states allied to the US and the Saigon administration.

P.'s signing with. It was an important victory for the Vietnamese people and the peace-loving forces of the whole world in the struggle against imperialist aggression and a significant contribution to the relaxation of international tension.

54. Problems of the Middle East Settlement in the 1960s-1970s. Camp David Accords.

Camp David Accords - the conclusion of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty.

In 1978, at the summit in Camp David, (USA) a preliminary agreement was concluded, and in 1979 in Washington, Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat signed a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.

In 1978, US President Jimmy Carter invited A. Sadat and M. Begin to a summit at Camp David to discuss with them the possibility of a final peace treaty. The negotiations took place from 5 to 17 September 1978 and ended with the signing in Washington of two documents entitled "Principles for the signing of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel" and "Principles for Peace in the Middle East". On March 26, 1979, Begin and Sadat signed the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C., ending the war between the two states and establishing diplomatic and economic relations between them.

Under the terms of the treaty, Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt and recognized the "legitimate rights of the Palestinian people." Mutual agreement in principle was also reached on granting autonomy to the inhabitants of the territories controlled by Israel until a final decision was made on the issue of their future political status.

Similar information.

In 1969, negotiations began in Helsinki between the USSR and the USA on the limitation of strategic offensive weapons. As a result of the work of experts in 1972, during the first official visit of the President of the United States to Moscow, R. Nixon and L. I. Brezhnev signed the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems (ABM) and the Provisional agreement between the USSR and the USA about some measures in the area limitation of strategic offensive weapons (OSV-1). The treaties were ratified by the parliaments of both states. The system of agreements between the superpowers in the field of limiting the nuclear missile arms race was supplemented by the Treaty signed in 1979 in Vienna by the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU L.I. Brezhnev and US President J. Carter OSV-2, which limited the number of carriers of nuclear weapons to 2125 units.

Undoubted success détente policy became Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, signed in 1975 in Helsinki by the leaders of 33 European countries, the USA and Canada. The fundamental principles of mutual relations between states were recognized as: sovereign equality, non-use of force or threat of force, inviolability of post-war borders in Europe, territorial integrity of states, non-interference in the internal affairs of foreign states. Along with military-political issues, the document regulated the principles of mutually beneficial economic cooperation, exchange issues in the field of culture, education, information, contacts between people.

The symbols of cooperation between opponents in the Cold War were: in economic sphere- construction in the Soviet Union of factories for the production of Pepsi-Cola; in science- joint flight and docking in space of the Soviet and American manned spacecraft "Soyuz" and "Apollo"; in the field of culture- a joint work of American and Soviet filmmakers on the film "The Blue Bird". However detente of international tension turned out to be short-lived: in both countries, groups interested in continuing the confrontation had a decisive influence on the further development of events.

In response to Soviet invasion of Afghanistan(December 1979) J. Carter announced the decision of the American administration to postpone the ratification of the SALT-2 Treaty, to stop or reduce the export of a number of goods to the USSR (including agricultural products), to suspend economic, scientific and technical skies and cultural exchanges between the two countries. The U.S. National Olympic Committee has decided to boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Soon more than 60 countries joined the boycott. In response, the USSR and its allies boycotted the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. material from the site

sharp increased confrontation occurred after the new Republican administration came to power in the United States, led by Ronald Reagan. A new round of the arms race was imposed on the Soviet Union (the United States began the production of neutron weapons, deployed cruise missiles along the borders of the USSR, began research work on deploying missile defense elements in space as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative program, supplying new types of missiles to the army weapons). There were also implemented economic sanctions against the USSR(flights of Aeroflot planes to the USA were suspended, permissions for the sale of certain types of equipment to the USSR were refused); the ideological confrontation was toughened (the announcement of the Soviet Union as an "evil empire", harsh criticism by the world media of the actions of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and other parts of the world). The successful actions of the Americans to overthrow the pro-Marxist regime in Grenada (1983) made it possible to overcome the "Vietnamese" syndrome in American society. In the context of the rise of the neo-conservative wave in Western countries, the US leadership managed to carry out in NATO structures a decision to deploy American medium-range missiles in Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Denmark and Belgium. By the mid 1980s. the world is at its peak again "cold war".

Peak detente international tension, during which important agreements were reached in the military-political, economic and humanitarian fields, fell in the mid-1970s. However, at the turn of the 1970-1980s. a new round has begun confrontation between the USSR and the USA.

On this page, material on the topics:

• The policy of detente in international tension in 1970 1980

• Why détente gave way to a new superpower confrontation

• How can we prevent the unleashing of a new round of the Cold War?

• Détente in the 1970s briefly

• Peak of détente in international tension

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Page 1

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

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

In 1969, the Social Democrats, in alliance with the Free Democrats, came to power in the FRG. Willy Brandt became Chancellor of the FRG. He radically changed the "Eastern policy" of his country: he refused the revanchism of the former ruling coalition of the CDU-CSU, recognized the post-war borders in Europe.

On August 12, 1970, an agreement was signed in Moscow between the USSR and the FRG on the settlement of bilateral relations. The core of the Moscow Treaty was the obligations of the parties on the territorial issue. The FRG renounced 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 consider as inviolable now and henceforth the borders of all states in Europe. At the same time, V. Brandt obtained from L.I. Brezhnev's agreement not to interfere with the peaceful unification of the two Germanys, if favorable conditions arise for this in the future. The treaty was ratified after the conclusion of the Quadripartite Agreement on West Berlin.

A quadripartite agreement between the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France on West Berlin was signed on November 3, 1971. It recognized the status of a "free city" that did not belong to the FRG. The latter was supposed to curtail political activity in it.

On December 7, 1970, an agreement was signed between the PPR and the FRG, according to which the latter recognized the western border of Poland. On December 21, 1972, under an agreement between the FRG and the GDR, both states recognized each other as independent and sovereign. The following year they were adopted and the composition of the UN. On December 11, 1973, an agreement was signed between the Federal Republic of Germany and Czechoslovakia, the essence of which was the recognition of the Munich Treaty of September 29, 1938 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 of the 1970s. Its convocation was envisaged 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). The first stage, at the level of foreign ministers of 33 European states, as well as the United States and Canada, which are closely connected with Europe, took place in July 1973 in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Three groups of participating countries (WTO, 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 level of experts, was held in Geneva from September 1973 to July 1975. It developed agreed drafts on the main documents.

July 30 - August 1, 1975 in Helsinki, the third, decisive stage took place - a summit meeting. For the first time in the post-war history of Europe, the leaders of 35 states sat down at the same table, incl. United States and Canada, and solemnly signed the Final Act of the Helsinki Summit.

The core of the Final Act and the main political outcome of the meeting was the "Declaration of Principles", by which the participating States undertook to be guided in mutual relations. There were 10 such principles: the sovereign equality of states; non-use of force or threat of force; inviolability of borders; territorial integrity of states; peaceful settlement of disputes; non-interference in internal affairs; respect for human rights; equality of peoples; mutually beneficial cooperation; conscientious fulfillment of 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, the meetings of representatives of 35 states began to be called the Helsinki Process, or the CSCE (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe) movement. 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 Yalta-45 course, the "spirit of Yalta". The leading capitalist countries recognized Eastern and Central Europe as a sphere of influence of the USSR. It seemed that the doctrine of "rolling back socialism" had suffered a crushing defeat. However, the subsequent development of international relations showed that this was self-delusion. The struggle against socialism and Soviet influence only changed its forms, became more sophisticated. In 1989-1991 the leaders of the USSR and the RSFSR became allies of the USA in this struggle, paradoxically, at first glance.

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In the 1970s the sharpness of the confrontation between the Soviet and Western blocs has decreased; this process is commonly called "detente of international tension." The USSR and the USA, drawn into local conflicts in different parts of the world, needed a breather. In addition, the new Soviet leader Leonid 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 the purchase 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. A certain crisis during this period was experienced by both blocs - both NATO and the Department of Internal Affairs. (Romania occupied a special position in the police department, and France left the ranks of the NATO military organization in the 1960s, Spain limited the activities of the US Air Force in its country after the emergency release of four thermonuclear bombs over the Spanish village of Palomares in 1966) The government of the Social Democrats in The FRG expressed its readiness to recognize the inviolability of the borders in the east.

Years of declining international tension gave way to dangerous moments of mutual confrontation. A new round of tension came at the end of the 70s - the beginning of the 80s. The entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan marked the end of détente. The arms race resumed with renewed vigor. 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-1 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 the socialist and capitalist countries. Back in 1967, consultations began on the possibility of reducing the scope of the arms race, culminating in the signing of the SALT-1 (strategic arms limitation) and ABM (limitation of missile defense systems) treaties in 1972. In them, the USSR and the USA set the maximum number of missile launch stops, including marine. The SALT-1 treaty was in effect for five years, while the ABM treaty had an unlimited duration. The existing structure of groupings of ground-based ballistic missiles was actually “frozen”. Countries have committed themselves not to create more than two areas of anti-missile defense (the calculation was made that if you can not fully defend yourself, then the readiness for a 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 the city of Helsinki. It crowned the negotiations between the socialist camp and Western countries, which began 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 the countries of Eastern Europe, including the GDR), agreeing in response to recognize the principle of human rights and the right to 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 10 principles of the act were even included in the text of the new Constitution of the USSR in 1977.

9 International Relations in the 1950s–1960s Crises in world politics in the early 1960s. Cold war.The end of WW2: the authority and power of the USSR and the USA increased, but in reality their power is not comparable. At 45 The United States was 4 times superior to the USSR in terms of military power. The Soviet bloc is a country weakened economically and demographically. The USSR in foreign policy relied not on real indicators, but on the glory of military victories, while the United States, on the contrary, occupies a leading place in the world economy. The confrontation was beneficial for both blocs for internal development. March '46 - Churchill's speech in Fulton: the Western world is threatened by the danger of a new world war - from the USSR. An "Iron Curtain" descended over the whole of Europe (it was supplemented by the Truman Doctrine). Nuclear weapon. 49g. – NATO (defensive peacekeeping mission). In turn, the USSR, Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Albania in May 55. create ATS as a means of neutralizing the threat to NATO. 49g. - CMEA. 47g. the Marshall Plan - abandoning it further divided the world. An important problem is the German question. In 49g. images. Germany, GDR. There was the Berlin Crisis, when, after the currency reform in West Berlin, it was blocked for 300 days, the world was on the verge of open war. 48-49. After the death of Stalin - a thaw in international relations. 55g. - an agreement with Austria after the withdrawal of all foreign troops from it. After the XX Congress of the CPSU 56g. The dismantling of the Iron Curtain began. January '54 - Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the United States, England, France and the USSR in Berlin. 55g. - 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. 61g. - Khrushchev meeting with Kennedy in Vienna. It was decided to establish a prima telephone connection. August 12, 61 2 Berlin Crisis, a wall was erected around West Berlin.

The period of "détente" in the foreign policy of the USSR

By the mid-1960s, a certain stabilization of the post-war world had taken place. This was facilitated by the gradual alignment of the military-nuclear potentials of NATO and the Warsaw Pact Organization (WTO), the formation of a strategic parity between the USSR and the USA. A period begins that went down in history as a period of relaxation of international tension. The capitalist countries were gripped by an energy crisis - there was an interest in developing trade relations with the USSR, the largest producer of oil and gas. The US is deeply "bogged down" in the Vietnam War. They needed the mediation of the Soviet Union in order to get out of there with the least losses. The Soviet Union, facing the growing threat from China, was also interested in improving relations with the West.

In the 1970s, a number of agreements were signed that reduced the danger of nuclear war and improved the international situation:

an agreement between the USSR and the USA on the limitation of anti-missile defense systems (ABM) - 1972;

agreement on the limitation of strategic offensive arms (SALT-1) - 1972;

agreement between the USSR and the USA on the prevention of nuclear war - 1973;

Treaty on the Limitation of Underground Nuclear Tests - 1974

These agreements did not mean an end to the arms race. They only cut off some of the most dangerous directions.

A significant step has been taken in the field of ensuring European security. For 25 years after the war, there was no peace treaty between the USSR and Germany, the government of the FRG did not recognize the territorial changes that had occurred as a result of the war, demanded a return to the borders of 1937. In 1970, agreements were signed between the FRG and the USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, in 1971 g. - quadripartite agreement of the USSR, USA, England, France on West Berlin. Thus, the hotbed of tension in the center of Europe was eliminated.

Tendencies have been outlined for the spread of detente to other continents. In 1973, an agreement was reached to end the war and restore peace in Vietnam. The hotbed of war in Southeast Asia was liquidated. After the fall of the last fascist regime in Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau gained independence, waging a war for independence for many years.

In 1973 - 1975 The All-European Conference on Security and Cooperation was held, which ended in Helsinki with a meeting of 35 states of Europe, the USA and Canada. The main outcome of the meeting was the "Declaration of Principles", by which the participating states pledged to be guided 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, peaceful settlement of disputes, non-interference in internal affairs, respect for human rights, equality of peoples, mutually beneficial cooperation of states, etc. Subsequent meetings of the Council of Europe Security Conference (CSCE) became known as the CSCE movement.

Relations with the socialist countries also developed ambiguously. In 1969, relations between the USSR and the People's Republic of China escalated to such an extent that it led to armed clashes on the border.

In the second half of the 1960s, there was a threat of a split in the Commonwealth, caused by the policy of the new leadership of Czechoslovakia, headed by A. Dubcek, who initiated the construction of "socialism with a human face." This led to an attempt to get out of the Soviet influence. The focus was on the West. The troops of the USSR and other socialist countries were brought into Czechoslovakia. The new leadership headed by G. Husak (April, 1969) set a course for strengthening relations between Czechoslovakia and the USSR. The beginning of the collapse of the socialist system in Europe was the Polish crisis. In the late 1970s, the Polish workers' union Solidarity organized a series of major anti-government protests demanding reforms. The USSR took part in resolving the crisis. In 1981 - 1983 A state of emergency was introduced in Poland, as a result of which anti-government forces went underground.

Since the mid 60s. the economic cooperation of the socialist countries has been considerably strengthened. The number of CMEA member countries has increased (GDR, Mongolia, Yugoslavia, Cuba, Vietnam have joined). Such areas of cooperation began to develop, such as the specialization of individual countries in the production of one or another type of product and cooperation within the framework of the CMEA. World prices were taken as the basis for making payments. In 1963, the International Bank for Economic Cooperation and the Common Investment Bank of the CMEA member countries were established. A common fleet of freight cars, the Intermetall organization, the Institute of Standardization, etc. were created.

In the 1970s, the cooperation of the USSR with the countries of the "socialist commonwealth" deepened, which was especially clearly manifested in the course towards the integration (unification) of economic systems. Joint construction of major facilities was carried out - the world's most powerful oil pipeline "Druzhba" was built, through which Soviet oil was supplied to the CMEA countries, and energy systems were unified. Since 1966, the coordination of national economic plans began. In 1971, the Comprehensive Program of Socio-Economic Integration was adopted, which provided for international socialist specialization (international division of labor), the creation of a single market of socialist countries, the convergence of monetary systems, etc.

The detente of international tension between the capitalist and socialist systems from the very beginning was not sustainable, because in the ruling circles of the USSR and Western countries, the partnership itself was considered, first of all, through the prism of the implementation of their own geopolitical and ideological priorities. By the end of the 1970s, the bitter syndrome of defeat in Vietnam began to be forgotten in American society, so nostalgia for the times of America's omnipotence became more and more clearly manifested, which increased the rigidity of the US position in disarmament negotiations and in solving economic problems. There were also economic factors. By the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, Western countries overcame the economic crisis, introduced resource-saving technologies, which weakened their interest in trade with the USSR.

In turn, the influence of ideological structures is increasing in the USSR. The virus of contradictions was embedded in the very approach to the concept of "détente". The ideologists of the CPSU believed that detente not only should not mean the preservation of socio-political status, but, on the contrary, should promote revolutionary changes and expand the sphere of influence of socialism. The Soviet Union provided financial assistance to 98 parties and movements on all continents.

The sharp aggravation of the international situation began with the decision to send Soviet troops into Afghanistan in 1979 to provide international assistance to the Afghan revolution. This decision was perceived in the West as a rejection of détente. By introducing troops into Afghanistan, according to the NATO countries, the Soviet Union intervened in the affairs of a sovereign state in order to forcefully change its socio-political system.

At the same time, the Warsaw Pact countries decided to modernize the Soviet SS-20 medium-range missiles directed against Western Europe and equip them with multiple homing heads. In response, Western European countries turned to the United States with a request to deploy American medium-range missiles in Europe. The Soviet Union, in turn, deployed tactical missiles with nuclear warheads in the GDR and Czechoslovakia.

In the face of increased confrontation between the two socio-economic systems - capitalist and socialist - US President Reagan headed for a tough confrontation with the USSR. The doctrine of "limited nuclear war" was put forward, providing for the first disarming strike on missile launchers and control centers of the USSR and the countries of people's democracy. In the United States, work has begun on the creation of an anti-missile space defense system (SDI). The arms race in the USSR and the USA was gaining a new round.

In 1980, the capitalist countries announced a boycott of the Moscow Olympics.

In 1984, the USSR deployed medium-range nuclear missiles on the territory of Czechoslovakia and the GDR. In response, all the leading capitalist countries declared a scientific and technical boycott of the USSR and its allies. The West launched a broad anti-Soviet and anti-socialist campaign.

Expanding the sphere of influence, the USSR provided assistance to various states of the "third world". The USSR, in one form or another, participated in armed conflicts in Angola, Ethiopia, and Somalia.

By the mid-1980s, the failure of the USSR's foreign policy had become obvious, and new approaches were required.