Cold War Timeline

By Plus Tseng

  • An iron curtain descends across Europe.

    An iron curtain descends across Europe.

  • Berlin Airlift occurs and Czechoslovakia becomes the last Eastern European country to become Communist.

    Berlin Airlift occurs and Czechoslovakia becomes the last Eastern European country to become Communist.

  • Creation of East and West Germany

    Creation of East and West Germany

  • China comes to the aid of North Korea and forces UN troops to retreat.

    China comes to the aid of North Korea and forces UN troops to retreat.

  • North Korea invades South Korea.

    North Korea invades South Korea.

  • Nikita Khrushchev becomes Soviet Premier and Austria reunifies under the condition they remain neutral in the Cold War.

    Nikita Khrushchev becomes Soviet Premier and Austria reunifies under the condition they remain neutral in the Cold War.
    After Stalin's immediate death, Nikita Khrushchev became the First Secretary of the Central Committee and eventually defeated his competitors to become the Soviet Premier. Soviet Union signed the Austrian State Treaty, and Austria became a newly-independent nation that remained neutral in the Cold War. The coming to power of Nikita Khrushchev showed the political shift in Russia. The neutrality of Austria created a buffer zone between the East and the West, the Communist and the Democrats.

  • Soviets crush a revolt in Hungary while the West does nothing.

    In 1956, protesters went on to the streets demanding a more democratic political system in Hungary. In response, the Soviet tanks rolled in to crush the national uprising. Thousands were killed and wounded. The West did nothing in fear of nuclear war. This event could increase the tension during Cold War and change the opinions of other Communist countries.

  • Sputnik I is launched.

  • American U-2 spy plane is shot down by the Soviet Union.

    American U-2 spy plane is shot down by the Soviet Union.

  • Construction begins on the Berlin Wall & the Bay of Pigs Invasion occurs.

    Construction begins on the Berlin Wall & the Bay of Pigs Invasion occurs.

  • Cuban Missile Crisis occurs

    Cuban Missile Crisis occurs

  • President Lyndon B. Johnson sent the first 60,000 ground troops to Vietnam.

    President Lyndon B. Johnson sent the first 60,000 ground troops to Vietnam.

  • Josip Broz Tito, president of Yugoslavia, dies and Lech Walesa establishes the Solidarity Movement in Poland.

    Josip Broz Tito, president of Yugoslavia, dies and Lech Walesa establishes the Solidarity Movement in Poland.

  • Détente begins.

    Détente begins.

  • Soviet-Afghan War begins.

    Soviet-Afghan War begins.

  • Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the leader of the Soviet Union.

  • Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania declare their independence and East and West Germany reunite under Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

    Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania declare their independence and East and West Germany reunite under Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

  • Soviet republics of Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan declare independence and Gorbachev resigns and Boris Yeltsin becomes the first president of Russia.

    Soviet republics of Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan declare independence and Gorbachev resigns and Boris Yeltsin becomes the first president of Russia.

  • Czechoslovakia becomes the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

    Czechoslovakia becomes the Czech Republic and Slovakia.