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Soviet Union Falls
The Baltic States-Estonia, Lativia, and Lithuania- which the Soviet Union had seized, regained full independence in 1991. -
NATO
The United States, Canada, amd ten other countries formed a new military alliance called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. -
Nuclear Arms Race
The Soviet Union has also developed nuclear power. -
Chinese Civil War
The triumph of the Communists in China had seemed like a gain for the Soviet Union and a loss for the United States and its democratic allies. -
Communist Cuba
Fidel Castro organized an armed rebellion against the corrupt dictator who then ruled Cuba. -
Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union responded by forming its own military alliance, the Warsaw Pact. -
Berlin Wall
A massive exodus of low-paid East Germans, unhappy with communism. fled into West Berlin. To stop the flight, East Germany built a wall. -
Missle Crisis
The Soviet Union sent nuclear missiles to Cuba. President Kennedy responded by imposing a naval blockade that prevented further Soviets shipments. -
Vietnam Conflict
South Vietnamese commanders conducted raids on North Vietnamese islands in the Gulf of Tonkin. -
Eastern European Independence
Czechoslovakia's defiance of Soviet control led to a Soviet invasion, Hungary quietly introduced modest economic reforms. -
Soviets in Afghanistan
The Soviet Union became involved in a long war in Afghanistan, an Islamic country just south of the Soviet Union. -
Korean Conflict
After decades of dictatorship and military rule, a prosperous middle class and fierce student protest pushed the government to hold direct elections. -
Eastern European Independence
The communist government allowed greater freedoms. New political parites were allowed to form, and the western border with Austria was opend. -
Detente
The two sides signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
