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Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference Overview:
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In early 1945, with World War II in Europe drawing to a close, Franklin Roosevelt (United States), Winston Churchill (Great Britain), and Joseph Stalin (USSR) agreed to meet to discuss war strategy and issues that would affect the postwar world. -
Truman Doctrine
President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces. The Truman Doctrine effectively reoriented U.S. foreign policy, away from its usual stance of withdrawal from regional conflicts not directly involving the United States, to one of possible intervention in far away conflicts. -
Berlin blockade and Airlift
Soviets placed a blockade on the allied sector of Berlin to starve the population into Soviet support. The allied response was a unbelievably massive air supply flying night and day to feed the city -
Creation of NATO
It is often said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded in response to the threat posed by the Soviet Union. -
Mao Zedong takes over China
He is most known for his government policy, Great Leap Forward, that went wrong from 1958-1961 that was supposed to increase steel production along with farming simultaneously. This created the biggest famine in human history, wiping out approximately 20,000,000 - 30,000,000 people, equivalent to the whole population in California. He also had very unethical torture. -
Korean War
the Korean war began after North Korea invaded South Korea by crossing the 38th parallel that separated the two regions. The conflict started between the two governments competing for control, but soon escalated into a multi-national conflict. Kim II Sung lead North Korea, determined to unite both sides together under a communist rule. The Korean war set the standards for later conflicts, by being the first armed confrontation of the cold war. -
Stalin Dies, Malenkov Takes Over
One day after the death of long-time Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, Georgi Malenkov is named premier and first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union -
Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was nationwide revolt against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies. -
End of Hungarian Revolution
Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest to crush, once and for all, the national uprising. Vicious street fighting broke out, but the Soviets’ great power ensured victory.An estimated 2,500 Hungarians died and 200,000 more fled as refugees. Armed resistance, strikes and mass arrests continued for months after, causing an economic disruption. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
Leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a 13 day political and military standoff in October 1962 over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba -
Vietnam War Begins
After the rise to power of Ho Chi Minh and his communist Viet Minh party in North Vietnam, and continued against the backdrop of an intense Cold War between two global superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. -
Partial Test Ban Treaty
Partial Test Ban Treaty is a treaty prohibiting all test detonations of nuclear weapons except underground. It was developed both to slow the arms race and to stop the excessive release of nuclear fallout into the planet's atmosphere. The Treaty was signed and ratified by the governments of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States during the autumn of 1963. -
SALT I SIGNED
Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev and U.S. President Richard Nixon, meeting in Moscow, sign the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks or SALT agreements. -
U.S. Helps Overthrow Chilean Government
The United States helping to overthrow the communist government in Chile was a very significant turning point at this time in history due to the fact that Eduardo Frei lost the election after President Lyndon Johnson had sent over millions of U.S. dollars. The United States after funding two elections to prevent the presidency of Salvador Allende had greatly failed. Allende was ruining Chile"s government, in his first year unemployment went dropped to 4.8 percent. -
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War started with a surprise Arab attack on Israel.Egyptian and Syrian military forces launched an attack knowing that the military of Israel would be participating in the religious celebrations associated with Yom Kippur. Their guard would temporarily be dropped. -
End of Yom Kippur War
On October 22, the United Nations negotiated a cease-fire, however, the fighting soon broke out again. Soon Israel had the Egyptian Army nearly surrounded.With the war escalating, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union began to mount. If one of them should join in the war to help out an ally, the other would likely join as well. Many people felt the world was on the brink of World War III.On October 25, 1973 another cease fire was negotiated. This time the effort was successful. -
End of Vietnam War
South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam. Soon the country became officially unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Vietnam was now a communist country. The US had lost the Vietnam War and also taken a major blow in the Cold War. -
Vietnam unified
South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam. Soon the country became officially unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Vietnam was now a communist country. -
Soviets Withdraw From Afghanistan
Gorbachev realized the war was costing Soviet troops and hurting their economy. He signed a peace treaty to end the war. The last Soviet troops departed Afghanistan on February 15, 1989. -
Berlin Wall is taken down
In 1987 President Ronald Reagan gave a speech in Berlin where he asked the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to "Tear down this Wall!"Around that time the Soviet Union was beginning to collapse. They were losing their hold on East Germany. In 1989 the announcement was made. The borders were open and people could freely move between Eastern and Western Germany. -
German Reunification
After the Berlin Wall was torn down people could freely move between East and West Germany and Germany was finally unified as a single country. -
Soviet Union Collapsed
The country broke up into 15 independent states on December 25, 1991. This signaled the end of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States.
