Compare And Contrast Brezhnev Vs Gorbachev Era

In the second term of Reagan’s presidency, a warming of bilateral relations between the Soviet Union and the United States was initiated which began in 1985 when Mikhail Gorbachev took power in the Soviet Union. Gorbachev and Reagan were able to work together because Gorbachev contrasted the policies of his predecessor Leonid Brezhnev. Although Brezhnev was not the immediate predecessor of Gorbachev, the Brezhnev Era was considered the Era preceding the Gorbachev Era because Brezhnev’s successors, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko only served from 1982, which was Brezhnev’s death to 1985 when Gorbachev assumed power. The three years between both Eras, Brezhnev’s policies were still being implemented and no significant reforms or changes

The Reykjavik Summit which took place on October 11-12, 1986 in Reykjavik, Iceland was a continuation of the failed Geneva Summit that took place a year ago in 1985 and failed in establishing any motives for banning ballistic missiles and other weapons. Gorbachev and Reagan were in agreement in terms regarding limiting Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces and Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles over a ten year period excluding the weapons of France and Britain however at the last minute, no agreement was reached as the negotiations failed. This failure may have been a negative aspect of Reagan’s foreign policy but that was outweighed because this failure allowed for the successful signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty a year later on December 8, 1987. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty allowed for the nuclear disarmament of short and intermediate range nuclear and conventional missiles from a range of 500-5,500 kilometers. The signing of the treaty signaled a shift in the view of the US-Soviet relationship and reignited hope in more cooperation between the two