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Joseph Stalin
He served as Primier Soviet Union for the Communist Party in Russia. He implemented a command economy, launched an idustrialization period, and several labour camps for those who did not agreee with him called the Great Purge. He lead them to a famine due to lack in focus on agriculture and food.
Historical Significance: He was a major role in World War II and post-war/pre-Cold War he added tension by creating the second nuclear bomb and another Great Plan for Communism that lead to famine. -
Los Angeles Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations and athletes were unable to pay for the trip to Los Angeles.
Historical Significance: 37 countries sent over 1,300 athletes to California and the Games were a huge success. Showing the US competece. -
United Nations
The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations, to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue.
Historical Significance: One of the 1st organized peacekeeping groups by several nations. -
Explosion of 1st Hydrogen Bomb
In Alamogordo, New Mexico, the first nuclear test took place, code-named "Trinity", using a device nicknamed "the gadget." The test, released energy equivalent to 19 kilotons of TNT, far more powerful than any weapon ever used before. The news of the test's success was rushed to Truman, who used it as leverage.
Historical Significance: Made the world realize how easily it could come to an end. Gave U.S. leverage & power. -
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological conflict and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991.
Historical Significance: The Iron Curtain served to keep people in and information out, and people throughout the West eventually came to accept and use the metaphor. -
The Truman Doctrine
The U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent them from falling into the Soviet sphere. Historical Significance: Historians often consider it as the start of the Cold War, and the start of the containment policy to stop Soviet expansion. -
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Mihn served as the President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Vietnams capital is named after him. During his service he lead the Viet Minh independence movement.
Historical Significance: He defeated the French Union and established communist rule. -
The Marshall Plan
The United States gave economic support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to prevent the spread of Soviet Communism
Historical Significance: The economic stability provided political stability in Europe. Prevented growth of communism. -
Berlin Airlift
This was one of the first major crisis's of the Cold War. The Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied control. The aim was to force the western powers to allow the Soviet zone to start supplying Berlin with food and fuel, thereby giving the Soviets practical control over the entire city.
Historical significance: Helped lead to the cold war and the tension between what became two separate German states. -
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Historical Significance:The outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 was crucial for NATO as it raised the apparent threat of all Communist countries working together, and forced the alliance to develop concrete military plans. -
Peoples Republic of China
Major combat in the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 with the Communist Party in control of mainland China, and the Kuomintang retreating offshore, reducing the ROC's territory to only Taiwan, Hainan, and their surrounding islands. Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China, which was commonly known in the West as "Communist China" or "Red China" during the Cold War.
Historical Significance: U.S. stopped them from getting seat in the U.N. -
Peoples Republic of China
After the defeat of the Empire of Japan in World War II, the Communist Party defeated the nationalist Kuomintang in mainland China and established the People's Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, while the Kuomintang relocated the ROC government to Taipei. The ROC's jurisdiction is now limited to Taiwan, islands including: Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, and it now receives limited diplomatic recognition.
Historical Significance: China's government and econmy changed for the better. -
Korean War
A war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, at one time supported by the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union. It was primarily the result of the political division of Korea by an agreement of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War at the end of World War II.
Historical Signicance: The US supplied most of the military support for the UN. -
Khrushchev
Led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. Part of the cuban missle crisis and on Oct. 28th 1962 agreed to remove missiles.
Historical Significance: Improved Kennedy's status and US power. -
KGB: Committe for State Security
Was the main security agency for the Soviet Union from 1954 until its collapse in 1991. It was Cold War policy for the KGB of the Soviet Union to extensively monitor public and private opinion, internal subversion and possible revolutionary plots in the Soviet Bloc.
Historical Significance: In supporting those Communist governments, the KGB was instrumental in crushing the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. -
Geneva Accords
This conference was an attempt to make peace in Indochina and unify Vietnam. What was settled on was the Geneva Accords.
Historical Significance: These agreements separated Vietnam into two zones, a northern zone to be governed by the Viet Minh, and a southern zone to be governed by the State of Vietnam, then headed by former emperor Bảo Đại. -
Warsaw Pact
Was a mutual defense treaty between eight communist states of Central and Eastern Europe in existence during the Cold War. The founding treaty was established under the initiative of the Soviet Union.
Historical Significance: Soviet Union effort at peace. -
Vietnam War
This War was foght between North and South Vietnam. Viet Cong was known as the National Liberation Front. The war ended on April 30, 1975 from the fall of Saigon. The North Vietnamese won.
The results/ historical significance:
Lead to the withdraw of American forces from indochina. The unifciation of North and South Korea is the annexation by the South. This meant that South Korea, Laos, and Cambodia would take power as communist governments. -
Suez Canal
Gamal Abdel Nasser was the second president of Eygpt until his death. He lead the Eygyptian Revolution of 1952. He overthrew their dictator. Nasser's relations with Western powers grew tense, leading to a withdrawal of funding for the planned Aswan Dam and Nasser's retaliatory move to nationalize the Suez Canal Company in 1956, a move welcomed by the Egyptian people. Historical Significance:He made many reforms to Eygot government and built a huge canal used for shipping and trade in the future. -
European Economic Cooperation
A treaty were all six nations of Europe helped each other economically and allowed free trade amoungst themselves.
Historically Significant: This helped Europes economy prosper and grow. -
Sputnik
It was a key Cold War event when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite.
Historical Significance: US response was to build up our space program and eventually sending a man to the moon. -
Berlin Wall erected
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic that completely cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin. The Eastern Bloc claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist state in East Germany.
Historical significance: Prevented the massive emigration and defection that marked Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc. -
Brezhnev
Ruled the Soviet Uniion from the mid -1960's until his death in 1982. Under his rule critics of government faced arrest and imprisonment.
Historical Significance: Ruled during the end of the Cold War. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A 13-day confrontation between the Soviet Union and Cuba on one side, and the United States on the other.
Historical Signficance: It was one of the major confrontations of the Cold War, and is generally regarded as the moment in which the Cold War came closest to turning into a nuclear conflict.It is also the first documented instance of the threat of mutual assured destruction (MAD) being discussed as a determining factor in a major international arms agreement. -
Tet Offensive
A military campaign during the Vietnam War that was launched by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnam against South Vietnam, the United States, and their allies. It was a campaign of surprising attacks that were launched against military and civilian commands and control centers throughout South Vietnam, during a period when no attacks were supposed to take place.
Historical Significance: lead to US and South Vietnamese tactical victory. -
Helsinski Accords
The Helsinki Accords was a conference held between 36 nations to improve relations between the communist nations and democractic nations.
Historical Significance: No binding treaties came out of the Helenski Accords, but lots of tension was relesaed. -
Iranian Hostage Crisis
52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days by Iranian Muslimstudents following Imam's Line during the revolution, when they took over the US Embassy in Tehran.
Historical Significance: The crisis weighed heavily on President Carter's term and reelection. But it deffianetly boosted morale in Iran. -
Russian Invasion of Afganistan
The Soviet deployed their 40th army into Afghanistan under Lenoid Brezhnev. They eventually left on February 15, 1989. Entering Afghanistan is said to have lead to the Vietnam War.
Historically Significant: Hundred of thousands of Afghans fleed the country or were killed during this decade long war. -
Moscow Olympics
Led by the United States, 65 countries boycotted the games because of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, though some athletes from some of the boycotting countries participated in the games, under the Olympic Flag. This prompted the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Historical Significance: Led to questioning of President Carters leadership. -
Chernobyl
A catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities of the Soviet Union. An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which spread over much of the western USSR and Europe.
Historical significance: The Chernobyl disaster is widely considered to have been the worst nuclear power plant accident in history. -
Perestroika & Glasnost
A meeting of the central committee members In the Soviet Union occured. It was a proposal of Gorbachev for revolutionary changes in the Soviet society.
Historical Significance: Meaning Restructuring and openess. -
Tiananmen Square
A student demonstrations in Beijing that received broad support from city residents and exposed splits within China's political leadership. Hardline leaders ordered the military to enforce martial law in the country's capital.The crackdown that initiated on became known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre as troops with rifles and tanks inflicted thousands of casualties on unarmed people.
Historical significance: Showed that China' communist were afraid of political speech. -
Berlin Wall Torn down
After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, a euphoric public chipped away parts of the wall; the governments later removed most of the rest.
Historical significance: The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification. Strengthening Democracy. -
Gorbachev
Gorbachev's attempts at reform as well as summit conferences with United States President Ronald Reagan and his reorientation of Soviet strategic aims contributed to the end of the Cold War.
Historical Significance: Ended the political supremacy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. -
Lech Walesa & Solidarity Movement in Poland
A Polish politician, tade-union organizer, and human rights activist. He co-founded the Solidarity Movement for trade-unions. He later became President in Poland.
Historical Significance: He continued his activism and was prominent in the establishment of the 1989 Round Table Agreement that led to semi-free parliamentary elections in June 1989 and to a Solidarity-led government. -
End of USSR
The Soviet Union colapsed and became a democracy. The collapse came from their Communist System and little trade with the outside world. For many years they struggled during the Cold War. but came to an end in 1991.
Historically Significant: This would help end communism throughout Europe and get rid of the tension between the US and the USSR. -
Boris Yeltsin
He was a Russian politican and the first President of Russia. He was orginally a supporter of Gorbachev's, with the reforms he put in place became one of his biggest politcal oppenents.
Historical Significance: He vowed to turn Russia's command economy into a free market. Unfortunately by providing more liberties and private business, the economy hit a ecomic downturn leading to his resignation from office to his successor Putin. -
Putin
Starting in 1975 for sixteen years Putin was an officer in the KGB. He moved to Moscow in 1996 and joined President Boris Yeltsin's administration where he rose quickly, becoming Acting President on 31 December 1999 when Yeltsin resigned unexpectedly. Putin won the subsequent 2000 presidential election and was re-elected in 2004.
Historical Significance: Putin has been widely credited for overseeing a return of political stability and economic progress to Russia, ending the crisis of the 1990s
