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Long Telegram
George Kennan's telegram was among the first proposals of the idea of containment, of actively moving to ensure that the Soviet Union did not grow, and of the idea that the US and the Union could be nothing, save for rivals. -
Period: to
Cold War
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Operation Crossroads
On the first day of July, a series of nuclear bombs were set off on Bikini Atoll Island. The tests were important in terms of being able to study the effects, but also to show the Soviets what power the US had. -
Soviets Blockade Berlin
Soviets blockade Berlin, completely cutting off access to the city. The blockade was significant in that it showed the Western world that Russia was a force to be reckoned with. -
Yugoslavia/Moscow Relationship Ends
Marshal Josip Tito breaks alliance with Stalin-controlled Moscow, despite also being Communist. By doing so, Tito demonstrated to the world that Stalin was too extreme for even other Communist countries. -
COMECON
After the US formation of the Marshall Plan, the Soviet Union forms the Council for Mutual and Economic Cooperation. The Union was serious about not losing any nations through defecting. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization joined the United States, Canada, the UK, and nine other European countries to make clear that, should the Soviet Union move against any of the countries in the pact, America would not hesitate to use nuclear force in response. -
Atomic Bomb
Stepping up its game in the Cold War, the Soviet Union detonates its own atomic bomb, showing the US that it wasn't the only country with nuclear potential. -
Soviet Union Builds Alliances
Mao Zedong and Josef Stalin meet to negotiate an alliance between China and the Soviet Union, strengthening the Union's reach in the world. -
Sino-Soviet Treaty
Just a few months after meeting, Mao Zedong and Josef Stalin sign an official agreement to band together for the next 30 years - broadening the Soviet's scope. -
Hydrogen Bomb
Less than four years after detonating their first atomic bomb, the Soviets deploy their first hydrogen bomb - continuing to keep up with the arms race. -
Open Skies
In order to decrease paranoia and fears over attacks from the enemy side, President Eisenhower suggests to Premier Nikolai Bulganin that each side conducts surveillance flights to ensure no weapons are deployed through air. Bulganin says no, further evidencing the Soviet's unwillingness to cooperate with any Western country. -
Secret Speech
Going before the 20th Party Congress, Premier Nikita Khrushchev moves for peace between capitalists and communists, renouncing Stalin's old ways - the first move towards coexistence between the Soviet and the West. -
Sputnik
Sputnik, the first man-made object to orbit the earth, is launched by the Soviets, beginning the United States' race to also launch into space. -
Kitchen Debate
Traveling to Moscow, President Nixon meets with Premier Nikita Khrushchev to attempt to convince Khrushchev that capitalism dominates communism. -
U2
While flying over the Soviet Union, Gary Powers, an American pilot, is shot down. Eisenhower takes no responsibility, and a summit between the Soviet Union and the United States is canceled - severing any positive ties between the two sides.
