-
Gorbachev's Reforms
became general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in March 1985, he launched his nation on a dramatic new course. His dual program of “perestroika” (“restructuring”) and “glasnost” (“openness”) introduced profound changes in economic practice, internal affairs and international relations. Within five years, Gorbachev’s revolutionary program swept communist governments throughout Eastern Europe from power and brought an end to the Cold War (1945-91) -
Creation of the NATO and the Warsaw Pact
Conflict between the Western nations (including the United States, Great Britain, France and other countries) and the Communist Eastern bloc (led by the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics or USSR) began almost as soon as the guns fell silent at the end of World War II (1939-45). The USSR oversaw the installation of pro-Soviet governments in many of the areas it had taken from the Nazis during the war. President Eisenhower and Kenndy -
Berlin Blockade
The Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. Was the first major crisis of the war. Churchill wasn;t happy. Presidents Truman and Stalin. -
Korean War
The Korean War began when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People's Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. This invasion was the first military action of the Cold War. President Truman -
Sputnik
Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. The Soviet Union launched it into an elliptical low Earth orbit on 4 October 1957. It was a 58 cm diameter polished metal sphere, with four external radio antennae to broadcast radio pulses. President Eisenhower -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs Invasion, known in Latin America as Invasión de Playa Girón, was a failed military invasion of Cuba undertaken by the CIA-sponsored paramilitary group Brigade 2506 on 17 April 1961. President Kennedy -
Creation of the Berlin Wall
During the early years of the Cold War, West Berlin was a geographical loophole through which thousands of East Germans fled to the democratic West. In response, the Communist East German authorities built a wall that totally encircled West Berlin. President Kennedy -
Cuban Missile Crisis
13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning Soviet ballistic missiles deployment in Cuba. President Kennedy -
Disarmament Agreements
Johnson’s successor, Richard Nixon, also believed in SALT, and on November 17, 1969, the formal SALT talks began in Helsinki, Finland. Over the next two and a half years, the two sides haggled over whether or not each nation should complete their plans for ABMs; verification of a treaty; and U.S. concern that the Soviets continued to build more Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs). Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty and interim SALT agreement on May -
Vietnam War
Vietnam as Resistance War Against America or simply the American War, was a Cold War-era proxy war that occurred in Vietnam. Duong Van Minh -
Soviet Invasion of Afganistan
The Soviet–Afghan War lasted over nine years from December 1979 to February 1989. Insurgent groups who received aid from both Christian and Muslim countries, fought against the Soviet Army and allied Afghan forces. President Daud Khan -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall: The Fall of the Wall. On November 9, 1989, as the Cold War began to thaw across Eastern Europe, the spokesman for East Berlin's Communist Party announced a change in his city's relations with the West.President George Bush
