What happened in the Vietnam War?
The Vietnam War began in 1957 when, as in the Korean War, the United States defended its ally, South Vietnam, against attacks from the Communist North. This time, the Communists were supported by the Soviet Union rather than by China. Western military methods were unable to cope with the guerrilla tactics of a peasant army, despite the amounts of firepower that were used. The Americans eventually gave up their attempts to support the South in 1975. The country fell to the North Vietnamese, together with some of the surrounding countries of South-east Asia.
What are perestroika and glasnost?
In the Soviet Union the Communist Party controlled almost every aspect of people’s lives. However, by the 1980s Soviet people were aware that their standard of living was slipping far behind that of the West. When Mikhail Gorbachev become party leader in 1985, he began a process called perestroika, or restructuring. Some political activities were allowed, and economic reforms enabled people to run their own businesses. Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost, or openness, allowed people to express themselves freely.
Gorbachev became Soviet president in 1990, but was thrown out in a coup the following year. He returned to power to ban the activities of the Communist Party. The Soviet Union swiftly fell apart, breaking up into its original 11 republics in 1991.
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