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Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was the starting gun for the Cold War. An action-less performance of words alone from President Truman was not enough to stop the desire of Stalin and the Soviet Union. Despite Truman's wishes for Democratic societies in Eastern Europe, communist uprisings roiled the continent. Stalin's unwillingness to adhere to FDR's previous requests set forth at the Yalta Conference would lead to the beginning of the Cold War. -
George Kennan's Foreign Affairs Article Published
The beginnings of the containment strategy that would come to define the United States' actions over the course of the Cold War came from the pen of American diplomat George Kennan. Kennan wrote that communism was simply a cover for Soviet imperialistic aggression, and that the only way for the United States to combat this was to quarantine the ideology wherever it spread. Containment would later go on to be a cornerstone of the Truman Doctrine. -
Truman Doctrine Announced
The United States took the reins of Britain's role as a global superpower. Part of this was Truman's commitment to upholding democratic society worldwide, which would go on to be known as the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine used containment as a key principle, as well as New Deal-esque legislation aimed at not only reconstructing Europe, but defending it from communist revolts as well. -
Korean War
Korea had been divided between communist and capitalist society at the 38th parallel since 1945. North Korea was supported by the USSR, and South Korea was supported by the US and UN. War broke out on June 25, 1950, after the North invaded the South. American and UN peacekeepers pushed the North to the Chinese border, but were pushed back to the 38th parallel by now-communist Chinese forces, where the border would stay. The Korean War was the first of many proxy wars between the USSR and the US. -
Kazakhstan Nuclear Test
The United States enjoyed its position as the world's sole nuclear power for half a decade. In 1949, the Soviet Union tested its first atomic weapon. What had once been a power exclusive to America was now something that Americans had reason to fear could destroy them. Truman established the National Security Council in response to these events, and tasked it with an executive advisory role. The NSC would later go on to deliver Truman NSC-68, a report that suggested massive military spending. -
McCarthy Women's Club Speech
Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin presented his list of 205 so-called "members of the Communist party" in a speech to a Women's Club in West Virginia. McCarthy never released any of his evidence for these accusations, but he polarized the public regardless. He would go on to wage war against innocent members of Congress and public servants by his use of the House Un-American Committee until his death in 1957. -
The Space Race Starts
Earth's first artificial satellite was launched by the Soviet Union in what is now Kazakhstan in 1957. The starting gun to the space race, it prompted the U.S to create NASA. The United States would lag behind the Soviet Union in the space race until the Apollo Program, started by Kennedy to land a man on the moon before 1970. -
U-2 Incident
The first downing of an American U-2 Spy plane was used as leverage by Khruszchev to abandon a summit. Gary Powers was vilified by the American public as a coward for not destroying the evidence of American espionage. It would not be the last boiling point in tensions between the espionage arms of the two nations. -
Berlin Wall Constructed
The most widely known symbol of the Cold War. The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to divide West Berlin from East Berlin. A symbol of the communist divide in both quality of life and ideological differences, the wall would last until 1989 when it was torn down in the lead up to the collapse of the Soviet Union. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The closest the world has ever come to nuclear armageddon. In response to Soviet ICBMs being shipped to Cuba, JFK initiated a blockade of Cuba. The world waited with bated breath to see if tomorrow would come. The USSR backed down after American ICBMs were removed from Turkey. -
Moscow-Washington Hotline Established
The "red phone" allowed for immediate communication between the Soviet Union and United States. Communication was key when a simple mistake on either side could result in nuclear hellfire engulfing the Earth. It would be used several times over the course of the Cold War, and oftentimes saved lives. -
SALT-1
SALT I, signed in May 1972, was the first agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union to limit strategic nuclear weapons, specifically ICBMs and submarine-launched ballistic missiles. It was signed by Nixon and Brezhnev. It was followed by SALT-II, and was a starting point towards de-escalation. -
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, beginning on December 24, 1979, involved the Soviet Union deploying troops to Afghanistan to support a pro-Soviet government against a growing mujahedin resistance. It led to the major destabilization of Afghanistan, and later the Soviet Union itself. They would leave the country three years before their own collapse, in 1988. -
Berlin Wall Falls
On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall, the greatest symbol of Cold War division, fell. It ideologically divided West Berlin from East Berlin, and effectively divided East Germany from West. Built in 1961, it prohibited East Berlin citizens from moving west for a better life. The fall was one of many dominoes that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
On December 25, 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. Gorbachev, forced to resign by pro-resistance forces, which left Boris Yeltsin as President. Yeltsin promptly dissolved the Soviet Union, leaving Russia and a handful of Soviet Socialist Republics which then disbanded their own governments. Their massive militaristic spending in addition to their economic isolation contributed heavily to the fall.