-
Yalta Conference 1
The Yalta conference was held in Yalta, Crimea and consisted of the leaders of the three major countries who formed the allied powers in world war two. The United States, Britain, and The Soviet Union were all present. The leaders were meeting to discuss the final defeat and division of Nazi Germany. Each leader came with their own agenda but at this point it was becoming obvious that the interests of Stalin and the Soviet Union were beginning to stray from that of The United States and Britain. -
Yalta Conference 2
After Yalta, Stalin was left in charge of several European countries that were previously controlled by Nazi Germany. He set up communist style governments in many of them and this had not been established at the conference. This began to add to tension and conflict that would carry over into the beginning of the cold war (Yalta Conference). -
Potsdam Conference 1
The Potsdam Conference was a meeting held in Potsdam Germany, a suburb of Berlin. The major countries that formed the allied forces were all in attendance. Churchill represented Britain, Stalin represented Russia And Truman represented the united states. -
Potsdam Conference 2
They were meeting to decide the future of Europe and the rest of the world, specifically regarding the countries who had formed the axis powers. The outcome of this was that the united states decided to drop atomic bombs on two of Japan’s major cities (Potsdam Conference). -
NATO 1
NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO was first formed during times of cold war tension. Originally it was signed by 12 participating countries. It created and guaranteed a strong military and defense system for all countries involved. -
NATO 2
NATO now seeks peace and conflict resolution between all countries involved, but it was originally formed as a defense plan in case soviet powers decided to strike. It was designed to stop the soviets from ever becoming unstoppable. NATO eventually caused Soviet powers to create the Warsaw Pact (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). -
The Chinese Revolution 1
China was amid a civil war after world war two had ended. Mao Zedong and the PRC were trying to take control of China and establish its government under a communist rule. The opposition fought hard to keep communism from taking over but Mao had many grass root supporters throughout china, and not to mention a large surplus of weapons that had been seized from japan at Manchuria. -
The Chinese Revolution 2
Eventually Mao Zedong was able to take control and rule over China as dictator and he started his dynasty. The resistance was wiped out and China fell to communism (The Chinese Revolution). -
Korean War 1
The Korean war began on June 25, 1950 when the Communist North Koreans invaded South Korea. North Korea was Supported by the Soviet Union. The soviet Union had boycotted security council meetings and other peacemaking measures. The United states along with 15 other countries sent troops supplies and aid to support the South Korean forces. -
Korean War 2
The United State’s main interest in this war was protecting south Korea from its invaders and maybe even more importantly stopping the spread of communism. China joined the war on November 25, 1950 after South Korea and allied forces had pushed deeper into North Korea. China sided with North Korea and the Soviets. By the time the war was over millions of soldiers had lost their lives from both sides of the battlefield. North and South Korea remain divided (Korean War). -
Vietnam War 1
In 1954 Vietnam split into two parts the north and the south. The north was heavily influenced by communism and the south did not want a communist state. The north wished to remain united as one but under community government and rule. The south preferred to remain divided and conflict soon led to violent war. The United states aided south Vietnam in what would turn out to be a war that stretched multiple decades. -
Warsaw Pact 1
The Warsaw Pact was created by the Soviet Union to unite themselves with other powers in eastern Europe. The pact was an alliance to connect the countries socially and militarily. The Soviet Union wanted to be able to easily move and place weapons and troops throughout Eastern Europe. -
Warsaw Pact 2
NATO forced the Soviets hand’s in creating the Warsaw pact, it was mainly a defense alliance to combat NATO’s actions. The Warsaw Pact created a great sense of Nationalism and hostility among soviets, this made the Soviets seem determined and forceful (Warsaw Pact). -
The Hungarian Revolution 1
In 1956 an uprising began after a speech was given by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. He was talking down and verbally attacking the period of time the Soviet Union had been ruled by Joseph Stalin. Lots of unrest and uprising broke out in Hungary and it turned into violence and fighting. -
The Hungarian Revolution 2
People were eager to use the newly acquired freedoms of debate and criticism.Hungarian neutrality was declared and the United Nations were contacted. Hungary began to experience a slow evolution towards internal autonomy (Hungarian Revolution). -
Suez Crisis 1
On July 26, 1956 the Egyptian president nationalized the Suez Canal. This means Egypt as a country took ownership of the property. This created conflict because the canal was previously owned by French and British interests so this upset them because it hurt them financially. -
Suez Crisis 2
Egypt did this because they were mad that the United states and Britain didn't fund the building of the Asum High Dam like they had promised to. This resulted in Britain and France losing most of their control and influence in the middle east (Suez Canal). -
Space Race/ Sputnik 1
During the 1950’s The United States and The Soviets were locked in a constant race. Both countries were competing for the biggest, baddest, and latest technology and weaponry. Among this race for new technology came the space race. This was not an official race but neither country wanted to fall behind. Both wanted to be the most technologically advanced and superior.On October 4, 1957 the soviet union won the race to space and launched the earth's first artificial satellite called Sputnik-1. -
Space Race/ Sputnik 2
The release of this new space technology made many Americans and allied powers fear The united states was falling behind in the technology and arms race. This fear of falling behind the Soviets led american policymakers to accelerate many space and weapon related government programs. The launch of Sputnik-1 increased tensions between The united States and the Soviet Union (Sputnik). -
Cuban Missile Crisis 1
Throughout 13 days of October 1962 the United States and the Soviet Union were in a political and militaristic stand off. In response to The United States having placed nuclear missiles in western Europe and parts of Turkey the soviets placed several large scale nuclear missiles in Cuba. Cuba was a communist ally to The soviet Union. The soviets wanted missiles close to American soil in case a war broke out. -
Cuban Missile Crisis 2
John Kennedy announced the presence of the missiles to the United States public on October 22, 1962. Widespread panic and fear spread throughout both countries. Nobody was sure if either country would launch or not. Kennedy planned to enact a naval block around Cuba along with an invasion. The two countries ended up coming to an agreement. Cuba would not be invaded if the missiles were removed. There was more distrust than ever now (Cuban Missile Crisis). -
Vietnam War 2
The United states ended up cutting their losses and withdrawing their troops. Without the manpower of America South Vietnam could not stand on its own and the Capital Saigon and the rest of the country soon fell to the north. By the time the conflict was finally over there were 1.3 million Vietnamese casualties and 58,000 United states casualties. 2 million Vietnamese civilians were also killed during the war (Vietnam War). -
Glasnost and Perestroika
This was a period of time in the 1980’s of reform and change in the soviet union. This change came after a push from Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he wanted to see a period of openness and reconstruction in Russia. He wanted this this to be done through both political and economic policy. These new policies being put in place eventually led to the fall of the long standing Berlin Wall and the fall of Communism in Soviet Russia (Glasnost) (Perestroika).
