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Period: to
Cold war
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Yalta Conference
Stalin promised that all of Europe would be free and allowed to make decisions for themselves. Plans were made to divide Germany into four occupation zones which were the Americans, Birtish, French, and the Soviet Union. -
Potsdam Conference
Stalin went back on his word and decided to not let any of the countries be free. These countries were meant to be and needed to be a buffer zone. -
Nuclear Arms Race
This was a competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War. During the Cold War, in addition to the American and Soviet nuclear stockpiles, other countries developed nuclear weapons, though none engaged in warhead production on nearly the same scale as the two superpowers. -
Truman Doctrine
This was a policy set forth by U.S. President Harry S Truman. This speech stated that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere.Historians often consider it as the start of the Cold War. He also stated that the Doctrine would be "the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." -
Marshall Plan
(European Recovery Program) This was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to stop the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years. The goals of the United States were to rebuild a war-devastated region, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, and make Europe prosperous again. -
Russian Blockade of Berlin
Stalin was taking over eastern Europe by salami tactics, and America had just adopted the Truman Doctrine. -
Berlin Airlift
This was one of the first international crisis of the cold war. Their aim was to force the western powers to allow the Soviet zone to start supplying Berlin with food and fuel, this would be giving the Soviets practical control over the entire city. -
Korean War
This was a war between the Republic of Korea (supported by the United Nations) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (supported by the People's Republic of China, with military and material aid from the Soviet Union). The war was a result of the physical division of Korea by an agreement of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War at the end of World War II. -
Rosenberg Spy Case
They were American communists who were convicted and executed in 1953 for conspiracy to commit espionage during a time of war. The charges related to them was the accusation of passing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. This was the first execution of civilians for espionage in United States history. -
Vietnam War
This was a military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to the fall of Saigon. The Viet Cong fought a guerrilla war against anti-communist forces in the region. The Vietnam People's Army engaged in this. This was know as a Proxy War. The result of this war was that Vietnam fell to communism. Also, this was the first war the U.S. lost. -
Hungarian Uprising
This was a spontaneous nationwide revolt against the government of the People's Republic of Hungary and its Soviet-imposed policies. The revolt spread quickly across Hungary and the government fell. Thousands organized into militias, battling the State Security Police (ÁVH) and Soviet troops. Pro-Soviet communists and ÁVH members were often executed or imprisoned, as former prisoners were released and armed. -
U-2 Crisis
During the presidency of Eisenhower and leadership of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down over the airspace of the Soviet Union. The United States government at first denied the plane's purpose and mission, but later, was forced to admit its role as a covert surveillance aircraft when the Soviet government produced its intact remains and surviving pilot, Francis Gary Powers, as well as photos of military bases in Russia taken by Powers. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. -
Construction of Berlin Wall
This was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls which circumscribed a wide area ("death strip"). The Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
This was a confrontation between the Soviet Union and Cuba on one side and the United States on the other. This later led to the Bay of Pigs. -
Prague Spring
This was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II. This started when a reformist was elected the First Secretary of Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and when the Soviet Union and members of the Warsaw Pact invaded the country to halt the reforms. -
Tet Offensive
This was a military campaign during the Vietnam War. Regular and irregular forces of the People's Army of Vietnam fought against the forces of the South Vietnam (Repbulic), the United States, and their allies. The purpose of the offensive was to utilize the element of suprise and strike military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam, during a period when no attacks were supposed take place. -
Detente
This is the easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation. The term is often used in reference to the general easing of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War. In the Soviet Union, détente was known in Russian as the relaxation of tension. -
Fall of Vietnam
The Fall of Saigon or Liberation of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam into a communist state. -
Perestroika
This was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during that associated with the Soviet leader along with his other major policy reform he introduced known as glasnost, meaning "openness". Its literal meaning is "restructuring", referring to the restructuring of the Soviet political and economic system. -
Collapse of Berlin Wall
The Fall of the Berlin Wall, which will always be used as a symbol for the end of the Cold War, made the "West" available in the middle of the "East", resulting in widespread chaos. -
Reagan Doctrine
This was a strategy created by the United States under the Reagan Administration to oppose the global influence of the Soviet Union during the final years of the Cold War. This was the centerpiece of United States foreign policy. -
End of USSR
Due to the years of Soviet military buildup of domestic development, economic growth stood still. Failed attempts at reform led to a feeling of discontent. Soviet Socialist Republics began resisting central control and increasing democratization led to a weakening of the central government. The USSR's trade gap progressively emptied the coffers of the union, leading to bankruptcy. The Soviet Union collapsed when Boris Yeltsin seized power in an attempt to topple reform-minded Gorbachev.
