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Yalta Conference
The "Big Three" leaders of the Allies meet, Germany is about to fall. This is the beginning of the Cold War. -
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Berlin Airlift
When the Soviets cut off supply trains to West Berlin, the Allies flew in supplies for almost a year. Stalin eventually let supplies back into the city because the airlift made him look bad. -
NATO Ratified
NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization is formed to unite the countries of capitalism. Declared that an attack on one country would be an attack on all. -
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Korean War
The US supported South Korea when North Korea, aided by the Soviet Union, invaded it's southern neighbor. It was a proxy war fought between the US and the Soviets. -
Sputnik Crisis
The Soviet Union launched the first satellite into space, both with and without a life force. This made the US concerned that they could place nuclear launching stations in space. Charap, S., & Shapiro, J. (2016). US-Russian relations: The middle cannot hold. Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists, 72(3), 150-155. doi:10.1080/00963402.2016.1170366 -
Explorer Launch
The US launches it's first expedition into space in response to the Soviet Union's Sputnik launches. -
U-2 Incident
A US spy plane was shot down by the Soviets, forcing the US to admit that it's purpose had been military. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Failed attempt by the US to invade Cuba in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
The US identifies Soviet nuclear weapons facilities being built on Cuba. Very tense negotiations occur, and the two countries barely avoid going to full nuclear war. -
Non-Proliferation Treaty
A treaty signed by both the US and the Soviets in order to limit current nuclear weapons and the development of further nuclear weapons. -
Period: to
Vietnam War
The US supported South Vietnam in a proxy war that was fought mostly to show power to the Soviets. -
SALT I Signed
The US and the Soviets sign the first of two treaties, the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, to end the Cold War. -
Period: to
Soviet Afghan War
The Soviet Union sent troops into Afghanistan and took over the government in a time of turmoil. Rebels received aid from UN countries, but the Soviets continued to add troops until Gorbachev finally withdrew them in 1989.
Grau, L. W. (2015). Securing the Borders of Afghanistan During the Soviet-Afghan War. Journal Of Slavic Military Studies, 28(2), 414-428. doi:10.1080/13518046.2015.1030276 -
Perestroika and Glasnost
Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of reconstruction and openness that started the breakdown of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
Pastukhov, V. B. (2012). Perestroika, Second Edition. Russian Social Science Review, 53(6), 62-90. -
Berlin Wall Falls
The Berlin Wall was built to cut off East Berlin from West Berlin and prevent people from defecting to the West side. When the restriction was lifted, people initially climbed the wall before it eventually crumbled.
Ahonen, P. (2011). The Berlin Wall and the Battle for Legitimacy in Divided Germany. German Politics & Society, 29(2), 40-56. doi:10.3167/gps.2011.290204
