THE Cold War it is the period from 1947 to 1991 when international relations were marked by the dispute between the United States and the Soviet Union.
This theme is crucial to understand the modern world and is very demanding in ENEM and entrance exams.
That's why we've prepared 10 questions with commented feedback for you to prepare. Good luck!
Easy level
question 1
Why did the historical period called “Cold War” get its name?
a) The rivalry between the USA and the USSR took place only in the cultural, commercial and political fields, not in the military.
b) The disputes in the bipolar world involved strengthening the political model internally, regardless of external opinion.
c) The arsenal of both powers was not sufficient to guarantee the opponent's destruction.
d) There were no direct fire clashes between the US and the USSR, only in areas where the two countries vied for influence.
Correct alternative: d) There were no direct fire clashes between the US and the USSR, only in areas where the two countries disputed their influence.
Although they were adversaries, the US and the Soviet Union never faced each other directly, always in peripheral areas.
a) WRONG. The rivalry between the US and the USSR took place in all fields, especially in war.
b) WRONG. Each step taken by both countries had repercussions abroad and, therefore, they were always concerned with international opinion.
c) WRONG. Both the US and the USSR had weapons capable of destroying the world several times over.
question 2
Two military organizations were founded by the Soviet Union and the United States with the objective of guaranteeing alliances within the bipolar logic that the world lived during the Cold War.
Are they:
a) UN and NATO
b) Warsaw Pact and UN
c) Warsaw Pact and NATO
d) UN and OAS
Correct alternative: c) Warsaw Pact and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). These two organizations were military alliances that brought together the US allies (NATO) and the partners of the Soviet Union (Warsaw Pact) and had as their main objective to help each other in case of aggression.
The UN (United Nations Organization) was founded during World War II with the objective of guaranteeing peace among nations.
The purpose of the OAS (Organization of American States) was to bring together the nations of the American continent to guarantee peace in the Americas.
The Soviet Union supported the creation of socialist governments in Eastern Europe. The United States, on the other hand, exported the capitalist system to most Western countries, but also tried to illicitly influence the government of foreign countries by supporting several coups of State.
question 3
Among the conflicts that occurred due to the ideological dispute during the Cold War, we can mention:
a) French Revolution
b) Cuban Revolution
c) Russian-Japanese War
d) Spanish-American War
Correct alternative: b) Cuban Revolution, in 1960.
Of all the alternatives, this was the only one that occurred during the Cold War period.
a) WRONG. The French Revolution took place in 1789
c) WRONG. Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905.
d) WRONG. Spanish-American War, 1898.
Middle level
question 4
The Space Race was one of the most spectacular events in Humanity, however, the objective was not just to explore the universe.
Check the alternative that expresses what other purposes of the Space Race were:
a) Develop intercontinental missiles and build a shield that would protect each nation from the enemy's missiles.
b) Channel patriotism and divert citizens' attention to the problems arising from the Cold War.
c) Create an intelligence and espionage center that would allow you to connect with all allies and fight the enemies of both powers.
d) Understand the functioning of the Earth and the entire Solar System in order to colonize it in case of a nuclear war.
Correct alternative: a) Develop intercontinental missiles and build a shield that would protect each nation from the missiles of the enemy country.
The space race was an opportunity for the USSR and the US to show their technological power while testing possible uses for the construction of new weapons.
b) WRONG. Channeling patriotism and diverting attention would be a side effect rather than the primary objective of the Space Race.
c) WRONG. The intelligence center (CIA) had already been created in 1947.
d) WRONG. This was already one of the purposes of the Space Race and the question asks what would be the other objectives of it.
See too: Space race
question 5
"Chile presented a unique opportunity to demonstrate to the world that socialism was capable of triumphing using electoral and peaceful means. Herein lay its attraction and its political importance to everyone, especially to the leftist forces."
(Adapted from “La Guerra Fría en America Latina”. History1Image. Published on 25.06.2007. Consulted on 11.30.2020).
What were the consequences of the election of Salvador Allende to the Chilean presidency in 1970?
a) Establishment of a popular government that would be re-elected in 1974.
b) Recognition of the Allende government by conservative forces both internally and externally.
c) In Latin America, there are elections for leaders of left-wing parties.
d) Nationalization of foreign companies and US support for the Chilean Armed Forces.
Correct alternative: d) Nationalization of foreign companies and US support for the Chilean Armed Forces.
Salvador Allende's government changed the course of Chilean economic policy by nationalizing companies and expropriating multinationals. This generated opposition from the Armed Forces that would be supported by the United States in carrying out the 1973 coup d'état.
a) WRONG. Allende's government had a popular character, but would not be re-elected in 1974.
b) WRONG. Conservative forces did not recognize their government and sabotaged it in every way.
c) WRONG. Most Latin American countries were under military dictatorship and there was no election.
See too: Salvador Allende
question 6
What facts are considered the end of the Cold War?
a) The end of the Soviet Union, in 1991 and the end of the Pinochet dictatorship, in Chile, in 1993.
b) Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and end of the Soviet Union in 1991.
c) Announcement of the elimination of medium-range nuclear weapons, in 1987, between the US and the USSR and the end of the War in Afghanistan, in 1992.
d) The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the announcement of the "perestroika" (reconstruction) of the Soviet Union in 1986, which aimed at reforming the Soviet socialist system.
Correct alternative: b) Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and end of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The fall of the Berlin Wall opened the way for German unification and for the peoples of the socialist countries to choose to overthrow the regimes supported by the Soviet Union. The end of the latter ended with the economic and military aid that these countries received and enabled the implantation of liberal democracy in Eastern Europe.
a) WRONG. The end of the Chilean dictatorship did not influence the end of the Cold War.
c) WRONG. Ditto for the Afghan War.
d) WRONG. This would be the alternative that we would be in doubt. However, we have to consider that the opening of the USSR was planned for the long term.
question 7
"The 1980s were marked by the rise of conservatism with the two administrations of Ronald Reagan and, then, American cinema was characterized as extremely anti-communist (...), giving rise to some of the most successful box office titles of the period, true icons of ideals North Americans: Top Gun, Rambo and Rocky IV."
(Adapted https://diariodasnacoes.wordpress.com/2019/03/26/o-cinema-estadunidense-da-era-reagan-na-guerra-fria/. Accessed on 12.07.2020)
The excerpt above lists:
a) Cinema and political advertising.
b) Government interference in films and freedom of expression.
c) American ideals and the fight against communism.
d) American conservatism and elections.
Correct alternative: a) Cinema and political advertising
The excerpt above explores the relationship between cinema – a medium largely dominated by Americans – and political advertising that projects the image of a strong government. The text relates the conservative government of Reagan with the making of films where the protagonists were fearless heroes and that ended up with the enemies – communists – in a violent way.
b) WRONG. In the excerpt above, no government interference in American cinema is mentioned.
c) WRONG. This would be the alternative that could cause the most doubts. However, we note that there is no explicit mention of American ideals – democracy, free speech – and the fight against communism.
d) WRONG. There is no mention of elections in the text at all.
See too: Ronald Reagan
Hard level
question 8
Look carefully at the poster below:
Text 2
The Missile Crisis of October 1962 was the moment when the United States and the Soviet Union came closest to a nuclear conflict. President Kennedy made a national television address to inform the public of the unfolding of the situation in Cuba, its decision to put this country in “quarantine” and the global consequences if the crisis continued. “It will be the policy of this nation to consider any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Hemisphere Western, as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, demanding a full retaliatory response against the Union Soviet.”
(Adapted: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/. Consulted on 12.08.2020).
About the Missile Crisis it is correct to say:
a) It was a diplomatic conflict where the Soviet Union was willing to yield in its positions much more than the United States as portrayed in the poster above.
b) It was a political-military maneuver where the United States bypassed it, through diplomacy and the UN Council, without having to resort to military threats.
c) Kennedy's speech on television belies the above poster, as it shows that the American president was also thinking of finding a peaceful solution to the confrontation.
d) The impasse was resolved with assignments on both sides: the Soviets did not place missiles in Cuba and the Americans withdrew medium-range weapons from their base in Turkey.
Correct alternative: d) The impasse was resolved with cessions by both parties: the Soviets did not they placed missiles in Cuba and the Americans withdrew medium-range weapons from their base in Cuba. Turkey.
After intense negotiations, where the world was on the brink of nuclear conflict, the Soviets retreated after the promise of the Americans to withdraw missiles from their Turkish bases, which was done months more evening.
a) WRONG. The USSR fought to the end to place missiles in Cuba, and the poster above is an idealized view of this issue, which naturally exalts the Soviets.
b) WRONG. Although the problem was resolved via the UN, Kennedy's speech is clearly threatening.
c) WRONG. Kennedy's speech shows that he was seeking a diplomatic solution but would resort to force if necessary. That is why it partly denies the Soviet poster.
See too: Missile Crisis
question 9
The Berlin Wall divided the city into two parts for 28 years, separating entire families and, ultimately, a country. To the world, he became a symbol of the Cold War.
Choose the alternative that explains why the Berlin Wall is a symbol of the Cold War.
a) The construction, carried out with the support of the Soviets, not only separated the city, but also two very different ways of thinking about politics and economy.
b) The Berlin Wall was built due to one of the thousands of crises between Americans and Soviets that disputed the German territory.
c) Unable to contain the flight of people between the two cities, the capitalist West Berlin government decides to build a physical barrier in the Berlin city.
d) As there were thousands of shootings on its walls by both governments, the Wall came to symbolize world division.
Correct alternative: a) The construction, carried out with the support of the Soviets, not only separated the city, but also two very different ways of thinking about politics and economy.
Berlin was divided, after World War II, into a Soviet sector and another occupied by the Allies. The construction of the Wall, in the 60s, meant the implantation of a physical barrier in the city. In this way, the Wall became a symbol of the separation in which the planet lived.
b) WRONG. At the end of World War II, the US and the USSR no longer needed to dispute territories within Germany and the construction of the Wall is not related to this fact.
c) WRONG. The Wall was built by the leaders of East Berlin.
d) WRONG. The shootings took place when the citizens of East Berlin tried to cross the Wall.
See too: Fall of the Berlin Wall
question 10
“The Iceland Summit (1986) was also a real milestone in overcoming the Cold War. For the first time, the leaders of the two superpowers, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, have publicly declared their willingness to destroy existing weapons. These measures, negotiated and put into practice later, were the beginning of a relationship of trust between the two parties”.
( https://www.dw.com/pt-br/1986-encontro-reagan-gorbatchov-marca-fim-da-guerra-fria/a-297464. Consulted on December 9, 2020).
To what extent did nuclear distension cooperate in ending the Cold War?
a) The commitment between the two countries made it possible to reduce the military power of the two powers and thus increase trust between the two leaders.
b) These agreements were of no importance, as the Cold War ended in a hasty and uncontrolled manner, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
c) Through the medium-range weapons limitation agreement, the two powers signaled to the world a different posture from what had been taken so far, making room for other changes policies.
d) The destruction of medium-range nuclear weapons ended many jobs in both the United States. and the Soviet Union, where the crisis was worse and ended up generating the coup d'état that replaced Gorbachev.
Correct alternative: c) Through the medium-range weapons limitation agreement, the two powers signaled to the world a position different from that which had been taken until then, making room for other political changes.
The agreements for the limitation and destruction of medium-range weapons represented an unprecedented step in the relationship between both countries and led to an opening in the countries that were supported by the Soviet Union.
a) WRONG. The Treaty did not reduce the military power, as it was about eliminating only one type of weapon.
c) WRONG. The agreements were important precisely because they precipitated the end of the Cold War.
d) WRONG. There was no economic crisis due to the agreements signed by the US and the USSR.
See too:
- NATO
- Warsaw Pact
- Cold War
- Cold War Conflicts
