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Potsdam Conference
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, British leader Winston Churchill, and U.S leader Harry Truman met in Potsdam, Germany to discuss the end of the World War. -
Churchill's "Iron Curtain Speech"
In Churchill's famous Iron Curtain speech, he talked of expansionism and the "iron curtain" that had fallen over Eastern Europe. -
Truman Doctrine Established
The Truman Doctrine is said to be the official declaration of the Cold War. In this speech, Truman asks the U.S for it's assistance to forestall the communist dominastion in Turkey and Greece -
Marshall Plan
George Marshall issued a call to rebuild Europe. Fearing Communist expansionism, Congress passed the Economic Coorperation act and aprove funding that would eventually rise over $12 Billion in rebuilding Western Europe. -
Berlin Blockade & Airlift
From June 24 1948 to May 12 1949, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies railway, road and canal access between Berlin and the West. In response to this the Allies had vital nescessities airlifted. -
NATO formed
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed in response to the threat formed by the Soviet Union. It was signed by the Allies (France, the US, the UK, Canada, etc.). -
West Germany formed
West Germany was held by NATO, more specifically the US, Britain and France.The Federal Republic of Germany was established from eleven states formed by the three Allies. -
Korean War
The Korean War was a war between North and South Korea, that started when the communist North Korean army invaded the 38th parallel and non-communist South Korea. North Korea was supported by the Soviet Union and South was supported by the U.S and the U.N -
Geneva Accords
The Geneva Accords was a conference held in Geneva Switzerland, and was an attempt to settle the Korean War and restoring peace in Indochina. -
The Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a collective defense treaty among eight communist states of Central/Eastern Europe, led by the USSR. This was akin to NATO. -
Sputnik Launched
Sputnik was a Soviet Union satellite that was the first one out in space. This was during the space race and they beat the united States in the succsessful launch. -
U-2 Incident
The U-2 incident was when a United States spy plane was shot down from Soviet Airspace. The CIA plane was taking pictures of military bases in the Soviet Union when it was shot down, and the U.S government tried to cover up the incident. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
1400 Cuban exiles were launched an invasion in the Bay of Pigs on Cubas southern coast line. It was an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro, and it failed miserably. -
Construction of the Berlin Wall
This wall cut off West Berlin from East Berlina dn East Germany. It was built by the German Democratic Republic led by the Soviet Union. -
Republic of South Vietnam Formed-U.S Pledges Aid
South Vietnam was formed because of the communist and non-communist parts. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was an event that was caused by the Soviet Union sending over supplies, including missiles and military supplies. -
First U.S Combat Troops arrive in Vietnam
The first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam as 3500 Marines land at China Beach to defend the American air base at Da Nang. They join 23,000 American military advisors already in Vietnam. -
First Man on the Moon
On the 21th of July, 1969, NASA and the Americans Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong laid the first steps on the moon, beating the USSR in the space race. -
SALT Treaty
Strategic Arms Limitations Treaties, or SALT were conferences between the US and the USSR to bring about negotications on the arms race. The first agreement was November 1969-May 1972 and SALT II was 1972-1979 and based more on nuclear limitations. -
START Talks
START talks were conferences and treaties held and signed by the superpowers of the cold war (United States and Soviet Union) on the disagreement of armament control. -
Paris Peace Accords- Vietnam War
Paris peace accords were intended to stop violence in vietnam and end the war. It ended direct conflict with the U.S and temporarily ended fighting between north and south vietnam. -
Soviet Troops Invade Afghanistan
Soviet war in afghanistan lasted over 9 years killing between 850,000-1,000,000 civilians. Before the soviet troops arrival the pro-Soviet Nur Mohammad Taraki government took power in a 1978 coup and initiated a series of radical modernization reforms. -
Olympic Boycott of U.S.A and her Allies
The U.S.A and her allies boycott the summer olympics in Moscow to protest the invasion of afghanistan by the soviet union. -
Olympic Boycott by the USSR and her Allies
The boycott involving 14 eastern bloc countries and allies led by the soviet union as a follow up to the 1980 boycott of the summer olympics in Moscow. -
Gorbachev announces Glasnost and Perestroika
Perestroika and Glasnost or restructuring and openness was a revolutionary program set in place by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985 introducing changes in economic practice, internal affairs, and international relations. -
Tiananmen Square Protests
Tiananmen Square protests were violent Chinese military acts against pro democracy protesters who had set up camp in the square. Leaving an unknown number of fatalities. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
On this day, East Germany gave in to protesters and gave the go to open the gates on the Berlin Wall. At midnight people crowed the wall chanting to open the gates, and they were finally reunited with the West Side of Germany. -
Malta Summit
The Malta Summit comprised a meeting between U.S. President George H. W. Bush and U.S.S.R. leader Mikhail Gorbachev, taking place a few weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall. -
Poland Becomes a Democracy
Tension grew between the Communist government of Poland and its people as the influence of the Soviet Union dissipated. In December 1989 the Polish Communist government made changes throughout the country(including the switch from centrally planned to free market,) and the former Communist party was dissolved. -
Germany Reunified
On October 3, 1990 the GDR became part of the Federal Republic of Germany, reuniting East and West Germany for the first time in many decades -
Warsaw Pact Dissolved
After 36 years, the Warsaw Pact,the military alliance between the Soviet Union and its eastern European satellites, came to an end. This was yet another sign that the Soviet Union was losing control over its former allies and that the Cold War was close to an end. -
Start Treaty Signed
The Soviet Stratgetic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed on July 31st,1991, by U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. This was a big start to both the USSR and the US reducing nuclear weapons. -
Russia Recognizes the end of the Soviet Union
In December 1991 the world was amazed when the former Soviet Union dissipated into fifteen seperate countries. The United States rejoiced as its largest enemy fell to his knees, and democracy over came totalitarianism.
