-
Stalin
Joseph Stalin became the communist leader after Lenin died in 1924. He changed his name to Stalin, which translates to "man of steel". He was a shrewd political leader and he was a behind-the-scenes orgnizer. He was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1920 to 1953 when he died. Before he died, he imprisoned anyone who he reffered to as "ememies of the state". Stalin was a very powerful leader. -
Los Angeles Olympics
Many people were not wanting to go to the Los Angeles Olympics- it was right after war, a long distance, and high expense for many people.
1,300 athletes competed representing 37 countries
(July 30-August14) The Los Angeles Olympics showed that people were still recovering from World War II because they did not want to go. -
United Nations
The United Nations was formed in 1945. The very first meeting was in San Francisco, and fifty nations attended. The United Nations was a powerful alliance in the Cold War. -
Ho Chi Minh
He was a nationalist and communist and had fought against the Japanese.
He led guerrilla forces in Vietnam.
He fought the French in the First Indochina War at Dienbienphu in 1954. The vietnamese were victorious when Ho Chi Minh convinced the French to leave Vietnam.
(date when war began) -
Truman Doctrine
Harry Truman brought up a policy called the Truman Doctrine. It was a policy of the United States to support all free people who were resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. The Truman Doctrine was rooted in the idea of limiting communism to areas under the Soviet Union's control (containment). This doctrine helped to limit the spread of communism. -
The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan provided massive aid to Europe from the United States. It was to help strengthen democratic governments. The United States sent food and economic assistance to help rebuild countries in Europe. Billions of dollars in aid was sent to Europe from the United States. -
European Economic Coorperation
The European Economic Coorperation was to establish a permanent system for the supervision of the distibution of aid. It was established in Paris, France. In the 1990s, it became the European Union (EU) and agreed on policies to promote a freer flow of capital, labor, and goods among European nations. -
Berlin Airlift
Stalin tried to force the Western Allies out of Berlin by sealing off everything (including railroads and highways) into the Western sectors of Berlin. The Allies mounted a round--the-clock airlift in response. For over a year, they sent cargo planes to supply people in West Berlin with food and fuel. This caused the Soviets to end the blockade. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO)
Twelve countries, including the United States and Canada, formed a new military alliance. Under this new alliance, members pledged to help one another if any one of them were attacked. The United States led the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Western Europe. -
People's Republic of China
The People's Republic of China was led by Mao Zedong. It was set up by his forces after they defeated the Nationalists. He built a communist one-party totaltarian state in the People's Republic of China. -
Korean War
Communist North Korea (led by Kim Sung II) invaded South Korea (led by Syngman Rhee). The United States supported South Korea at the 38th parallel. The war ended 3 years later without either sides sigining a formal peace treaty. Korea remained divided. The Korean War showed that neither North or South Korea wanted to give in, so they remained divided. -
Suez Canal/ Nasser
The Suez Canal links Europe with Asia and East Africa and was controlled by Egypt. It was built by a French entrepreneur named Ferdinand de Lesseps. It links the Medeterranean Sea with the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Gamal Abdel Nesser seized power of Egypt in 1952 and nationalized the canal in 1956. He ended British and French control. -
Explosion of the First Hydrogen Bomb
The hydrogen bomb was the worlds first thermonuclear bomb. The United States built the hydrogen bomb after the Soviet Union began developing nuclear weapons along with the US.
The United States exploded the hydrogen bomb at Enewatak.
The hydrogen bomb gave the US an advantage over the Soviets. It was about 1000 times more powerful than nuclear weapons. -
Khrushchev
(Nikita) He led the Soviet Union during the Cold War (leader after Stalin). He maintained political control of the communists. He closed prison camps and wanted "peaceful coexistence" with the West. -
KGB
The Committee for State Security (KGB) was the world's largest spy and state security machine. It was established in March of 1954 in Moscow. More than 500,000 people worked within it. -
Geneva Accords
They were supposed to secure peace and independence in Vietnam.
Over 100 nations attended the conference. It failed. -
Vietnam
During the Cold War, Vietnam was separated into North Vietnam and South Vietnam. North Vietnam was controlled by Ho Chi Minh, who was communist. South Vietnam was noncommunist and led by Ngo Dinh Diem and was supported by the United States. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was an alliance betwee the Soviets and Germany. It was a military alliance formed by the Soviet Union including the Soviet Union and seven satellites in Eastern Europe. It cemeted Europe's division into 'eastern' and 'western' blocs. The Soviet Union dominated the Eastern countries, and were communist. The United States led democracies in the West. -
Sputnik
It was the first atrificial satellite. It was built by the Soviet Union using resources from Germany. -
Brezhnev
He was Nikita Khrushchev's successor and head of the Soviet State. He held power from the mid-1960s until 1982 when he died.
Under him, any critics who opposed him faced arrest and imprisionment. -
Yelsin
In 1961, Boris Yeltsin joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He was put in to power by Mikhail Gorbachev, but soon came to doubt Gorbachev. He eventually put an end to the USSR. He became the first president in power of Post-Soviet Russia. -
Berlin Wall is Erected
It was a physical division between communist East Germany and deocratic West Germany.
It kept East Germans from fleeing to West Germany. -
Iron Curtain
The Berlin wall was made of concrete and topped with barbed wire.
It was a wall dividing the democratic West Germany and the communist East Germany.
It was constructed to seal off West Berlin and keep East Germans who were unhappy with communism from fleeing. It was heavily guarded. People who tried to escape or climb the wall were shot. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
It was the closest to a nuclear war the world ever came.
The Soviet Union had missles, but they were only strong enough to reach Europe. The U.S. had strong enough missles to hit the entire Soviet Union. Commanders in Cuba prepared to use nuclear weapons if necessary, but it was avoided. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet s the Vietnamese New Year. NorthKorea attacked South Korea and United forces. The Tet Offensive was a bloody battle that marked a turning point in public opinion in the United States. -
Helsinki Accords
Guarunteed freedom of speech, religion, opinoin, origin, property, and status.
It was a turning point because it gave people basic rights that they didn have previously. -
Iranian Hostage Crisis
Young Islamic Revolutionaries overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. They took more than 60 Americans hostage. -
Russian Invasion of Afghanistan
In December of 1979, Russian troops landed in Afghanistan's capital, Kabal. Russia's troops were not prepared for Afghanistan. Their boots lasted barely longer than a week before falling apart and their tanks could not travel across the mountains. Gorbachev took Russian forces out of Afghanistan after he realized that they could not win the war. -
Moscow Olympics
President Jimmy Carter tried to force Soviet troops out of Afghanistan by stating that the United States would boycott the olympics in Moscow if they did not withdraw. The Soviet Union had until 12:01 Eastern Standard Time on February 20th to withdraw. They refused to withdraw, so the United States, Japan, West Germany, China, the Philippines, and Canda boycotted the games. -
Lech Walesa and the Solidarity Movement in Poland
He was known for his effort to free Poland from communism. He was elected chairman of the National Committee of Solidarity. 1990- was elected President of Poland(74% of votes)
(Date of when he became chairman)
(^not exact) -
Gorbachev
(Mikhail) He became the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985.
He wanted to avoid Cold War confrontations. He signed arms control treaties with the United States and pulled the Soviet Union's troops out of Afghanistan. Gorbachev called for glasnost and perestrokia. His reforms made factory managers, instead of central planners, responsible for decisions. These reforms led to economic turmoil. He ended up resigning as president. -
Perestroika and Glasnost
(date not exact)
Perestroika means restructuring and glasnost means openness. Makhail Gorbachev came in to power of the Soviet Union in 1985. With perestroika and glasnost, Gorbachev ended censorship and ecouraged people to talk openly about any problems the country may have. He wanted to restructure the government and the economy. -
Chernobly
It was a nuclear accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union in Ukraine. The accident exposed people, animals, and crops to radiation, which is deadly. It was a consequence of isolationism of the Cold War and a lack of safety. -
Tiananmen Square
The Tiananmen Square was a huge public plaza at the center of China's capital, Bejing. Tons of people gathered there calling for democracy, many of whom were students. When asked to leave, the protestors refused. The government sent troops to force them to leave. Thousands of people were killed or injured in the process. -
Berlin Wall is Torn Down
The borders were reopened by East Germany. Both sides (East and West) contributed to tearing it down. People celebrated when it was torn down becuase it showed symbolisim of a reunified Germany. -
End of the USSR
This was the end of the Soviet Union. All Soviet Union organiztions and departments came to an end. -
Putin
(Vladimir)
He was elected president of Russia in 2000. He showed toughness and competence, promising to end corruption and builf Russia into a strong market economy. He secured Russia in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
