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Mikhail Gorbachev Elected
location- Soviet Union
basic facts: He was a noble prize winner. the main leader of the Soviet Union
significance: Ran a free market system -
The Yalta Conference
ending date* February 11, 1945
1945 Meeting with US president FDR, British Prime Minister(PM) Winston Churchill, and and Soviet Leader Stalin during WWII to plan for post-war -
Berlin Airlift
Ending date May 11, 1949
planes flew in food,fuel, and other supplies to 2 millioin berliners during the berlin blockade which cut off west berlin from the rest of the world -
NATO Formed
North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an alliance made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country; US, England, France, Canada, Western European countries -
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Korean War
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The Geneva Accords
Ending Date July 21, 1954
a conference which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, whose purpose was to attempt to find a way to settle outstanding issues on the Korean peninsula and discuss the possibility of restoring peace in Indochina. The Soviet Union, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and the People’s Republic of China were participants throughout the whole conference while different countries concerned with the two questions were also represented during the discussion. -
Warsaw Pact Signed
Military alliance established in 1955 of the Soviet Union and other communist states in Europe.
formed an alliance of the Eastern European countries behind the Iron Curtain; USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania -
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The Vietnam War
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Launch of Sputnik (7:28 PM)
The world's first artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union.
The resulting outcry in the United States, especially fears that the Soviets were ahead in both space exploration and military missiles, forced the Eisenhower administration to increase defense spending and accelerate America's space program. -
U-2 Incident
during the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower and the premiership of Nikita Khrushchev when a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down in Soviet airspace. The aircraft, flown by Central Intelligence Agency pilot Francis Gary Powers, was performing aerial reconnaissance when it was hit by an S-75 Dvina (SA-2 Guideline) surface-to-air missile and crashed in Sverdlovsk. -
Bay of Pigs
Ending Date April 19, 1961
failed invasion of Cuba in 1961 when a force of 1,200 Cuban exiles, backed by the United States, landed at the Bay of Pigs. -
Berlin Crisis
Ending Date November 9, 1961
a Soviet attempt to starve out the allies in Berlin in order to gain supremacy. The blockade was a high point in the Cold War, and it led to the Berlin Airlift. -
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The Berlin Wall
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Cuban Missile Crisis
Ending Date October 28, 1962
1962 Crisis that developed as a result of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's decision to allow the Soviet Union to base nuclear missiles in Cuba. Upon discovery, the United States confronted the Soviet Union and demanded the missiles be removed. For nearly two weeks, nuclear war was imminent. Fortunately, diplomacy succeeded and crisis was averted. -
John F. Kennedy Assassination
was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time (18:30 UTC) on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas.[1][2] Kennedy was fatally shot by a sniper while traveling with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally's wife Nellie, in a presidential motorcade. A ten-month investigation from November 1963 to September 1964 by the Warren Commission concluded that Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, and that Jack Ruby also acted alone. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
allowed the U.S. to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack or prevent further aggression located in southeast Asia. -
The Tet Offensive
guerillas launched a surprise attack on South Vietnam and captured the capital (Saigon); took place during the New Years Holiday of Tet -
Apollo 11 Moon Landing
Ending Date July 24, 1969
Often considered the U.S. victory of the space race when the U.S. sent a manned mission to the moon in 1969 -
Richard Nixon Visits China
Richard Nixon meets with Mao Zedong in Beijing, February 21, 1972. An important step in formally normalizing relations between the United States (U.S.) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It marked the first time a U.S. president had visited the PRC, which at that time considered the U.S. one of its foes, and the visit ended 25 years of separation between the two sides -
SALT II Signed
were two rounds of bilateral talks and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union—the Cold War superpowers—on the issue of armament control. The two rounds of talks and agreements were SALT I and SALT II. -
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Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
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Invasion of Grenada
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The Berlin Wall Falls
Its demolition in 1989 symbolized the end of the Cold War. This wall was both a deterrent to individuals trying to escape and a symbol of repression to the free world. Located in West Berlin Germany. -
The Soviet Union Collapses
acknowledging the independence of the erstwhile Soviet republics and creating the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) – although five of the signatories ratified it much later or not at all. On the previous day, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union, resigned, declared his office extinct, and handed over its powers – including control of the Soviet nuclear missile launching codes – to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. That evening at 7:32 p.m., th