DetenteDétente, a French word meaning release from tension, usually refers to the time of the relaxation of tensions between the USA and the USSR, the two superpowers in the bi-polar world during the Cold War. The détente is usually dated from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, although you might see it limited to 1971 until 1979. The Cold War was an Arms Race and a time of LAM Proxy Wars, and consisted of each side--the Eastern bloc, or the Russian-influenced nations, and the Western bloc, or the USA-influenced nations--harboring distrust and suspicion towards the other.. The détente was brought about mainly because the two superpowers realized that Mutually Assured Destruction was inevitable, and it ended when Reagan was elected, because he was opposed to the concessions of detente and was committed to restarting the Arms Race, according to wikipedia.org. Here is a short timeline, presented in a different color, to jazz up this page a bit:: 1963 - hot-line established after Cuban Missile Crisis 1963 - USA and the USSR agreed to use only underground tests for nuclear explosions 1969 - Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I) start 1972 - Richard Nixon, USA president, visits Moscow; the SALT I treaty was finally signed, as were the Biological Weapons Convention and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty; SALT II had to be discussed, due to developing weapons technology. 1973 - Leonid Brezhnev, USSR leader, visits Washington 1974 - Nixon visits Moscow 1975 - Helsinki Agreement — USA, USSR, Canada and major European powers accept European frontiers set up after WWII. This recognised that Germany was divided and East European countries agreed to allow their people human rights such as freedom of speech. 1979 - The Iranian Revolution began to weaken the fragile détente, which was furthered by several hostage situations and the Soviet Invasion Of Afghanistan, finally leading to a U.S. boycott of the 1980 Olympics, which were to be held in Moscow. U. S. President Jimmy Carter boosted defense spending and sent more aid to anti-communist fighters in Afghanistan. 1980 - Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States, the SALT II treaty process was abandoned, and the détente ended.
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