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Period: to
Cold War
the state of political hostility that existed between the Soviet bloc countries and the US-led Western powers from 1945 to 1991 -
Truman Doctrine
an American foreign policy announced on this date, whose stated purpose was to counter Soviet geopolitical expansion to monetarily assist countries whose stability was threatened by communism
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truman_Doctrine] -
Marshall Plan
an American initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave over $12 billion in economic assistance to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II which was signed by Harry Truman on this day
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan] -
Berlin Blockade
negotiations between the Soviets, Americans, and British broke down and on this day Soviet forces blocked the roads and railroad lines into West Berlin
[https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviets-blockade-west-berlin] -
Berlin Airlift
after the blockade of Berlin, Harry Truman ordered a massive airlift of supplies into West Berlin, and on this day, the first planes took off from bases in England and landed in West Berlin
[https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/berlin-airlift-begins] -
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
an intergovernmental military alliance between 29 North American and European countries that was signed on this day to collectively protect against the Soviet Union and the growth of communism
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO] -
Korean War
beginning on this date, the Korean War was a conflict between North and South Korea, with the USA siding with South Korea and the USSR siding with North Korea after North Koreans cross the border dividing the two and lasting until July 27, 1953
[https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-korean-war-causes-and-effects.html] -
KGB Formed
the Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union serving as an intelligence agency
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truman_Doctrine] -
Warsaw Pact
a communist alliance formed as a counteraction the formation of NATO between the Soviet Union and Soviet satellite states established on this day
[https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/warsaw-treaty] -
Vietnam War
a war fought between communist North Vietnam and South Vietnam, backed by the United States, in an attempt to prevent the communist takeover of South Vietnam, lasting until April 30, 1975 after the capture of Saigon
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War] -
Launch of Sputnik
Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. The Soviet Union launched it into an elliptical low Earth orbit on this day and orbiting for three weeks (a major component of the Space Race)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1] -
U-2 Incident
On 1 May 1960, a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defense Forces while performing photographic aerial reconnaissance deep into Soviet territory. The single-seat aircraft, flown by pilot Francis Gary Powers, was hit by an S-75 Dvina surface-to-air missile and crashed near Sverdlovsk
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident] -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
a group of some 1,500 Cuban exiles trained and financed by the CIA launched an ill-fated invasion of Cuba from the sea in the Bay of Pigs. The plan was to overthrow Fidel Castro and his revolution
[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-13066561] -
Berlin Wall
a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989 on which construction started this day
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall] -
Cuban Missile Crisis
a confrontation during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States regarding the deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba. The missiles had been placed to protect Cuba from further planned attacks after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion lasting for 13 days
[https://www.nationalcoldwarexhibition.org/schools-colleges/national-curriculum/cuban-missile-crisis/] -
SALT I
Strategic Arms Limitations Talks treaty 1, signed on this date, was aimed at curtailing the manufacture of strategic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons and was the first of the two agreements made between the USSR and USA.
[https://www.britannica.com/event/Strategic-Arms-Limitation-Talks] -
SALT II
Strategic Arms Limitations Talks treat two, signed on this date, was the second of the two agreements signed between the USSR and USA, to regulate nuclear weapons, and never fully went into effect
[https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/carter-and-brezhnev-sign-the-salt-ii-treaty] -
Boycott of 1980 Summer Olympics
a United States-initiated protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in which the US and other countries refused to participate in the Olympics is if the USSR would not remove their troops from Afghanistan.
[https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/qfp/104481.htm] -
Strategic Defense Initiative
a program designed under Ronald Reagan to protect against missile attacks by other countries by developing an anti-ballistic missile system
[http://www.coldwar.org/articles/80s/SDI-StarWars.asp] -
Fall of Berlin Wall
on this night, as the Cold War was coming to a close, the wall separating East and West Berlin was torn down and swarmed with people going to the other side to celebrate after the announcement that relations between the two regions would change
[https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-wall#section_5] -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
the official dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which granted self-governing independence to the Republics of the USSR and was a result of the declaration number 142-Н, along with the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States after previous USSR leader handed over his now-extinct-office powers onto the Russian president
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union]