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Cold War
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Stalin Hostile Speech
Stalin delivered a speech to a meeting of voters of the Stalin Electoral District in Moscow.In Stalin's Speech he said communism and capitalism were incompatible.This speech may have been the start of Cold War tension -
The Iron Curtain
On March 5th 1946, Winston Churchill made his ‘iron curtain’ speech at Fulton, Missouri, USA. The speech was officially entitled “The Sinews of Peace” but became better known as the “Iron Curtain” speech. It set the tone for the early years of the Cold War. Some saw it as unnecessary warmongering while others believed it was another example of how well Churchill was able to grasp an international situation. -
The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War pitted America against communism and was a classic example of Cold War conflict. The western allies had been victorious in Berlin, but communism had taken root in China. Eastern Europe remained under Russian control and in Vietnam the American feared threat of the spread communism seemed to be real. -
The Truman Doctine
The Truman Doctrine was the name given to a policy announced by US President Harry Truman on March 12th, 1947. The Truman Doctrine was a very simple warning clearly made to the USSR – though the country was not mentioned by name – that the USA would intervene to support any nation that was being threatened by a takeover by an armed minority. -
The Berlin Blockade Begins
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War.The USSR blocked the Western force's railway and road access to the western sectors of Berlin that they had been controlling.Their aim was to force the western powers to allow the Soviet-controlled regions to start supplying Berlin with food and fuel, thereby giving them practical control over the entire city. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was created in 1949. NATO was seen as being a viable military deterrent against the military might of the Soviet Union. In response to NATO admitting the membership of West Germany, the Soviet Union was to gather all its client states in Eastern Europe into the Warsaw Pact in May 1955. The heart of NATO beat around the military and financial muscle of the United States. However, because the post-war Soviet threat was perceived to be against Western E -
Koren War
The Korean War lasted from 1950-1953. What happened in Korea pushed the boundaries of the Cold War towards 'Warm War'. Though America and Russia did not officially clash, client states did in that Communist China fought and was armed and encouraged by Russia. -
The Nuclear Arms Race
The nuclear arms race was central to the Cold War. Many feared where the Cold War was going with the belief that the more nuclear weapons you had, the more powerful you were. Both America and Russia massively built up their stockpiles of nuclear weapons. The world greatly changed when USA exploded the H-bomb in 1952. This one bomb was smaller in size than the Hiroshima atomic bomb but 2500 times more powerful. The Russians produced an H-bomb in 1953 and the world became a much more dangerous pl -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was an organization of Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. The treaty was signed in Warsaw, Poland on May 14, 1955. The treaty was an initiative of the Soviet Union and was in direct response to West Germany joining NATO in 1955. -
The Suez Crisis
Events in Egypt, the nationalisation of the Suez Canal and the increasing heroic status of Nasser, made conflict looked inevitable. On November 3rd 1956, Anthony Eden prepared to address the nation. By now it was clear to those around him, that Eden’s health was suffering. The director of the broadcast, David Attenborough, stated “He looked dreadful, very ill.” At the start of his address, Eden stated: “All my life I have been a man of peace…. I still have the same devotion to peace.” -
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning was Britain’s primary defender of air space during the Cold War from 1960 on. The Lightning saw 28 years of active service in the RAF. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a physical barrier completely encircling West Berlin, separating it from the German Democratic Republic (GDR), including East Berlin.The wall caused a lot of problems for a lot of people.There were many upon many of attempted escapes with some people actually succeeding. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba in October 1962, during the Cold War.The Cuban and Soviet governments decided in September 1962 to place nuclear missiles on Cuba in order to protect it from United States harassment. When United States intelligence discovered the weapons its government decided to do all they could to ensure the removal of them. -
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev was the leader of the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1963. When Khrushchev backed down and removed Soviet nuclear missiles from Cuba, his credibility was in tatters within the Soviet Union’s political hierarchy and it was only a matter of time before he was edged out of office. -
Russian Invasion of Afghanistan
Afghanistan hit the world's headlines in 1979. Afghanistan seemed to perfectly summarise the Cold War. From the west's point of view, Berlin, Korea, Hungary and Cuba had shown the way communism wanted to proceed. Afghanistan was a continuation of this. -
The INF Treaty
TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS ON THE ELIMINATION OF THEIR INTERMEDIATE-RANGE AND SHORTER-RANGE MISSILES -
Berlin Walls Fall
The USSR demolished the Berlin Wall and allowed migration from East Germany to West Germany.This was the sign of the end of the Cold War.This proved American's are better than Russian's at everything except sometimes a good hockey player comes stumbling out of Russia. (Ex. Evgeni Malkin) -
The Malta Summit
Both the USSR and USA declared an end to the Cold War after the 1989 Malta Summit. The then Soviet leader, Mikail Gorbachev, later stated that: “The Malta Summit in 1989 was so important, that if it had not taken place, the world out there would be unrecognisable to the one we live in today.”
