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Stalin
Brutal leader of the Soviet Union from the 1920s to 1953. He was known to be very opressive and was responsible for the deaths of millions of his own people. Was the ruler through WWII and the begining of the cold war. Is held accountable for the terrible conditions in the Russian government, economy and way of life. He was part of the revolution that made Russia into a Soviet. -
Period: to
Cold War events
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Truman Doctrine
Doctrine that provided support to Greece and Turkey to keep them from falling to communism. The US provided economical, political and military aid to the countries to keep them from being communist. This doctrine is often said to be the start of the cold war between the Us and USSR. -
UN in the Cold War
During the Cold War the UN had a couple successes like the withdraw of Soviet troops from Iran and the retreat of the Anglo-French from Lebanon and Syria. The UN was also involved in the Korean War where they failed to unite Korea and keep it from becoming communist. -
The Marshall Plan
American program after WWII to aid European nations suffering economic difficulties. It was used to stop the spread of communism by promising money for democracy. Named after Secretary of State George Marshall and it helped to create NATO and was sucessful in stoping the spread of communism. -
Berlin Airlift
Allied planes from the British RAF and American airforce dropped thousands of tons of food and supplies into Russian controlled East Berlin. This was a reaction to the Berlin Blockade which was starving German citizens in East Berlin under Russian controll. The airlift ended the blockade and showed that the allied forces cared about the welfare of the German people under Russian controll. -
NATO
Located in Brusseld, Belgium it consisted of 28 countries all over the world and lead by the US. The goal was to keep America in, Russia out and Germany down after WWII when it rivaled the countries in the Warsaw Pact. After the Korean war NATO became more military instead of just political. NATO was one of the first sucessful military organizations formed with many different nations besides the UN. -
Iron Curtain
Symbol of communism and the power and influence of the Soviet Union. The countries included in the Iron Curtain were part of the warsaw pact with the USSR as the leading country and all countries were communist. The Iron Curtain ran from the top of eastern Europe to the bottom of Yugoslavia and was a symbol of communist oppression until its demolition in 1991. -
People's Republic of China
After the civil war in China ended with the victory of Mao Zedong and the communists the US had a new country to keep an eye on. Now sided with the Soviets the Chinese stopped the efforts of the UN to make all of Korea have free elections by pushing them back to the 38th parallel. -
Korean War
War between Noth and South Korea after WWII due to the failure of free elections. The US supplied more than 80% of the over 300,000 man force that fought against North Korea. Over 20 countries contributed troops and were beating the North Koreans back when China interveened and halted progress at the 38th parallel. Today the war is still a tie and Korea is split between communist North and capitalist South. -
First Hydrogen Bomb
In the Eniwetok atoll in the Pacific the US tested the first Hydrogen bomb chaning the arms race in the world forever. The hydrogen bomb is much more powerfl that the Nuclear Bomb and its birth in the height of the Cold War caused the arms race between the US and USSR to become more competetive to become the worlds greatest power. The creation of this type of bomb signals huan capacity to destroy earth. -
KGB
Originally made as a state security agency but became a largest spy organization in the world. Agents acted as spys, border gaurds and a police force inside the Soviet Union. The KGB is thought to have gathered intelegence about weapons in the US during the Cold War. -
Geneva Accords
Conference that took place in Geneva, Switzerland whose goal was to unify Vietnam and restoring peace to Indo-China. The countries present were the US, USSR, UK, France, and China. The agreements separated Vietnam into a Southern and Northern Zone. This conference was a result of Japans acttions in WWII. -
Ho Chi Minh
Communist leader of Vietnam who was Prime minister of Northern Vietnam from 1945 to 1955 and president from 1945 to 1969. He was the leader of the Viet Minh independence movement from 1941 onward. He defeated the French Union in 1945 but he stepped down from power in 1955. After his death the capital of North Vietnam is named Ho Chi Minh city. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact is a defensive treaty between the mid and eastern European nations that fell to communism. The pact was lead by Russia and was the nemesis of NATO. This competition lead to the Cold War centered around the arms race between the US and USSR and the nations in the pact made up the Iron Curtain. -
Vietnam in the Cold War
Like Korea Vietnam was split between the communist North and Democratic south, but unlike Korea the US feared that if Vietnam went communist it would start a domino effect and turn the world communist. After many battles between the US forces and Viet Kong the US due to local opposition and opposition to the war at home left the rest of the war to the Vietnamese. In the end Vietnam did fall to communism but it didn't start the domino effect as feared. This was the first war where America lost. -
Khrushchev
Became Soviet Leader after Stalin's death in 1953 and was famous for a speech that called for communist and capitalist cooperation. After a spy plane from America was shot down he changed his stance against America and played a key role in the Cuban Missle Crisis. He lost power after the Missle Crisis in 1964 -
Suez Canal/ Nasser
After the president of Egypt decided to nationalize the Suez canal Isreal, Britain and France attacked Egypt in an attept to gain controll of the canal and remove President Nasser from power. After pressure from the US and USSR the British and France were forced to withdraw. They did acheive their military victories but failed the political side while Isreal gained freedom in the Straights of Tiran. As a result of the attack the UNEF police the Egypt-Isreal border. -
EEC
Created by the Treaty of Rome whose aim was to make economic integration which includes a free market for the couintries of Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. The countries in this organization trade all sorts of goods with each other and share a common currency the Euro. They can trade anything from steel and coal to food and common neccesities. This organization is the first to have different countries sharing same currency and trading free without tariffs. -
Sputnik
When Sputnik was sent into orbit it could be seen from all over the Earth and its signal could be read from orbit. The launch of Sputnik initiated the space race between the US and Russia. This race was at the height of the Cold War and helped to create political, military, technical and scientific advancements. -
Berlin Wall creation
Due to the number of citizens fleeing into West Berlin causing the eastern part of the city to lose workers and causing industry to go down. In response the Russians built the Berlin Wall to keep the population in. The wall signified the Russian oppression over the people of Berlin and the seperation from the west. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
Cold war confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union trough Cuba. The US attempeted to remove the communist leader in Cuba in an assualt called the Bay of Pigs which failed and left the US as the administer of the plot. In response the Soviet Union proposed an idea of sending Soviet n uclear weapons into Cuba to stop any future invasion. The US responded by blockading Cuba before the mikssles got there and made the ships with the missles turn around. The crisis almost caused nuclear war. -
Tet Offensive
Vietnam campaign by the viet Kong against the forces of South Vietnam when no attacks were supposed to take place. The attack stunned the US and South Vietnam forces but they beat the communists back eventually. The offensive proved the Viet Kong were capable of arge military attacks. -
Helsinki Accords
Final act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe whose goal was to make better rerlations with communists and the west. The document produced was seen as significant in ending tesions and the Cold War. -
Iranian hostage crisis
Islamic students and militants took over the American embassy taking 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. President Carter called it terrorism and said the US will not yeild to black mail. On July 27 1980 the Shan died and Iraq invaded Iran entered negotiations to release the hostages. This event was a stepping stone into further problems between Iran and the US. -
Russian invaision of Afghanistan
After Afghanistan closed relations with the Soviet Union and became anti-Soviet the Soviets decided to invade and take over. This lead to the boycotts of the 1980 and 1984 Olympcs. After rocket attcks from the militants who had practiced shooting cars and laying mines and assasination missions the Soviets started to withdraw. -
Moscow Olympics
Because of the invaision of Afghanistan the Us and 65 other countries boycotted the Moscow Olympics. The result was a smaller Olympics with record Gold medal wins and female participation. Some atheletes of the boycotting countries ;articipated under the Olympic flag. -
Lech Walesa and the Solidarity Movement in Poland
In response to a failing economy and rebel demonstrators the Polish government went into solidarity. Lech Walsea helped to form an anti Soviet social movement with help from the catholic church. In 1981 Walsea was elected president creating a republican program and attempted to to destroy the union with the Martial Law of 1981 but was still forced to negotiate with them. This led to semi free elections and Welsea was elected President of Poland in 1990. -
Los Angeles Olympics
After the boycotts of the Moscow Olyympics the Russians were calling for the same thing at Los Angeles. They claimed there was anti-Soviet hysteria and the boycott was a security measure. This showed the rivalry between the US and USSR to the whole world. -
Perestroika and Glasnost
Meaning restructuring and openess these words were used by Gorbachev to describe the renovation to the Soviet body. Gorbachev used these terms to describe the reconstruction of the Soviet Union to make it more western to fix the economic difficulties they were suffering from. The reconstruction lasted to 1991 when the Union was ended as well as the Cold War. -
Brezhnev
Russian president that use perestroika and glasnost to try and bring the Soviet Union of of governmental and economical stagnation. He is not popular with the Russian people because he is known as the man who lost Soviet power. His foreign policy called the new thinking was a key component in the ending of the Col War. -
Chemobly
Nuclear power plant site where reactor number 4 exploded causing a large fire and radioactive particles to go in the air. The area is still uninhabited today The explosion changed how everyone looked at the power of a nuclear explosion and the radioactivity that follows. After the explosion thousands of cases of cancer were reported in the area and were thought to be the cause of the explosion. -
Gorbachev
Formr statesman and served as General secretary of the communist party of the Soviet Union in 1970 he was made First Party Secretary of the Stavropol Kraikom. In 1989 he was elected Executive president of the Soviet Union. He was famous for his two Cold War programs Glasnost and Perestroika which gave rights back to the people and fixed their economic and govermental problems. He tried to make the Soviet Union more American and helped to end the Cold War and bring communism down after 80 years. -
Tiananmen Square
Student demonstrations against military action to enforce martial law in Bejing China. The military shot at the crowd using deadly force causing thousands of causualties. The government at first condemned the protestors but then condemned the military action. This was the largest scale ation and bloodshead in the history of Bejing. -
Berlin Wall Comes down
After 28 years of opression the Berlin wall falls and the people of East and West Germany come together to celebrate the liberation of the city. It symbolizes the fall of communism in Germany and the end of the Cold War. -
Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin was a construction engineer who rose through the ranks of the Soviet Union to become a minor official. He was skeptical of the leadership of Gorbachev and openly disliked him. When Gornachev tried to lower public opinion of Yeltsin he did the opposite and Yeltsin was made president in June 1991. He was the first popular president elected in Russia. -
End of USSR
On December 26, 1991 the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union dissolved the 12 soviet commonwealths into independent states dissolving the Soviet Union. The day before the president Mikhail resigned and handed over the Nuclear launching codes to President Yeltsin making him the new leader of Russia. This event dissolved the largest communist power and ended the cold war. -
Putin
Once an officer in the KGB Putin became president of Russia in 2012 after being prime minister in 1999 and 2008. He is credited in bringing political stability and economic progress in Russia.
