This chapter focuses on the experience of the post-Stalin Soviet Union and covers the domestic and foreign policies of the Soviet leaders Nikita Khrushchev (1953-1964) and Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982). Both Khrushchev and Brezhnev were committed to the expansion of Soviet power and global prestige and pursued policies that provoked a strong response from the the United States and its Western Allies. In the 1960s international tensions remained high as both the US and USSR engaged in a nuclear arms race and confronted each other in crises in Europe and around the world. The 1970s saw a period of detente during which both the US and USSR sought mutual accommodation of their interests. Detente ended in 1979 when Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan. A return to Cold War tensions marked the early 1980s as the USSR experienced the rapid succession of two aged rulers following the death of Brezhnev.
A Chronology of the Cold War between 1953 and 1985 follows section 27.3. It provides a useful overview of the global nature of the Cold War.
Section 27.1 The Soviet Union under Khrushchev
Section 27.2 The Soviet Union under Brezhnev
Section 27.3 The Soviet Interregnum: Andropov and Chernenko
Section 27.4 Cold War Chronology, 1953-1985