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Khrushchev Visits America
Khrushchev visited the United States to talk to President Eisenhower in 1959, but first toured the country. In Hollywood, he had a rather rash and harsh dispute with the head of 20th Century Fox Studios. Later, he was denied access to Disneyland under security concerns. His meeting with Eisenhower did go very well, and both men agreed to remain in cordial contact, even with plans for Eisenhower to visit the USSR the following year, which was cancelled due to the rising tension of the Cold War. -
U2 Spy Plane Controversy
In May of 1960, the USSR shot down an American spy plane, capturing pilot Francis Gary Powers. President Eisenhower first lied when questioned about it, but was forced to admit to the spy flights that had been going on since 1956. Powers was released after two years, in exchange for a Soviet spy. This event happened at an awful time, as America was scheduled to meet with the USSR shortly after the incident to discuss a new arms agreement. Unfortunately, this didn't happen. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
On January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro drove the guerilla army to Havana to overthrow the American backed president, Fulgencio Batista. And in April 1961, an American army made entirely of Cuban exiles went to invade Cuba for containment. However, they were greatly outnumbered, and surrendered. The Cubans knew about this plan of attack, and were able to move their planes to safety. 114 Americans were killed and 1,100 were taken prisoner. This resulted in heightened tension between the U.S. and Cuba. -
The Soviet Union Invades Afghanistan
Afghanistan's civil war lead the Soviet Union to intervene and impress its socialist views on the nation, with the vow of never letting the nation return to capitalism. This marked the only time that the USSR invaded a country not located in the East. The US backed mujahideen rebellion against the USSR's invasion grew, the Afghan army was not able to handle the rebellion, and the civil war cooled into a stalemate. This only heightened the tension between the US and the USSR and the Middle East. -
The Collapse of the Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, leaving his Soviet Union to become Russia at the hands of Borris Yeltsin. This collapse was due in part to Gorbachev's radical reforms, even stating that the Soviet Union must bow out of the arms race, remove troops from Afghanistan, and reduce military presence outlined in the Warsaw Pact. The Baltic nations all, as well as 11 of the other satellite nations behind the iron curtain all decided to secede from the USSR. This crumble lead to the end of the Cold WAr.
