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Nikita Khrushchev
Three years after Nikita gained control of the Communist Party it became clear that he brought a very real threat of Communism to not only Europe but to the world. Nikita was a Russian born man who was fully devoted to Communism and had the primary goal of spreading it wherever possible. His efforts caused Communism to spread among the nations of China, North Korea, and Cuba. -
Hungarian Revolution
When Russia took control of Poland and began to force their Communistic beliefs on the citizens, a revolt among the Polish workforce erupted. The revolt was led by Prime Minister Imre Nagy. After his arrest by Russian forces on this day, the revolt abruptly ended. -
Russian Sputnick I is launched
During the Cold War, Russia and America began serious competition on this day known as the Spac Race. This competition consisted of seeing which super power could find the technology to send the first Earth-orbiting satellite into space. On October 4 this challenge was accomplished by the USSR with the launch of the Sputnick I. America returned the feel of defeat a decade later when American Neil Armstroing became the first man to set foot on the moon. -
Khrushcev becomes Premier of Soviet Union
In March of 1958 Khrushchev finally reached the top of his political ladder when he became the leader (Premier) of Russia. When Nikita assumed office he was the first leader of the Soviet Union since Stalin to hold two top offices simultaneously. When Nikita reached this position, he gained the full attention of the American government. -
European Economc Communiy(EEC) proves effective
When Europe was suffering from the inflation aftermath left by World War II a new economicsystem was needed. In 1958 the answer to their problems arrived. The European Economic Community proved effective in solving their inflation issues and became their primary trade system. -
Fidel Castro
In 1959 America encountered a whole new, and realisitc threat when Communist leader Fidel Castro took control of Cuba. Fidel was a major threat because he brought the threat of Communism from Russia (thousands of miles away) to Cuba (within hundreds of miles from the US). This caused great unrest and worry among the American government and its citizens. -
Cuba becomes Communist
When Cuba became Communist, America new a very real threat had traveled all the way to its backyard. It was this frightening event that led to much discomfort among America and reached its climax during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis was when Cuba had gained atomic weapons from Russia which threatened American lives. Fortunately, this conflict was peacefully resolved with zero casualties. -
China-Russia conflict over Communist ideology
After China had become Communist conflicts between Russian Communist and Chinese Communist ideology began to emerge. THese two nations had suc a strong disagreement that it actually caused the Chinese invasion of Vietnam. When The Russia and Vietnam made an alliance China gained the aid of America to combat them. -
US U-2 Spy Plane shot down over Russia
When America sent pilot Francis Powers in a special U-2 spy plane over Russian territory, the mission was meant to be completely covert and Francis was to commit suicuide to evade capture if shot down. When the plane went missing the CIA assured the president of Francis's training and of the self destruct system on the aircraft. Although reassured, mystery still surrounded the disappearance of the aircraft. -
Khrushchev cancels Paris summit due to U-2 incident
While approaching a meeting between the US and USSR at the Paris summit, the summit was suddenly called off by Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev. It was then discovered that Nikita called off the summit because of an incident involving the shoot down of a US spy aircraft over Russian territory. America would have been able to deny the accusations if Nikita hadnt had not only an intact American U-2 spy plane, but the living pilot. When this information was revealed great confusion plagued the CIA
