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Yalta Conference
Winston Churchill (United Kingdom), Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union), and Roosevelt (United States) meet to demand German surrender and discuss post-war terms and conditions. This is cited as the beginning of the Cold War. -
Truman Doctrine
An American foreign policy proposed by President Truman; the United States will support any and all countries fighting communism -
Berlin Blockade
Soviet Union attempts to limit French, British, and American access to their sectors of Berlin -
Berlin Airlift
United States, United Kingdom, and France air lift supplies to walled in sections of Berlin -
Korean War
75,000 soldiers from North Korean People's Army enter United States-backed South Korea -
United States Tests Hydrogen Bomb
The United States tests the first thermonuclear weapon on Eniwetok atoll in the Pacific. This contributes to the beginning of the Arms Race. -
Arms Race
The Soviet Union gains nuclear weaponry; the United States and Soviet Union attempt to increase military technology, both with the goal to out-militarize the other -
Stalin's Death
Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, dies in Moscow, Russia. -
Castle Bravo
United States conducted test of Hydrogen bomb on the Bikini Atoll -
Vietnam War
North v South Vietnam go to war; the North is supported by the Soviet Union, the South is supported by the United States -
U-2 Incident
USSR shots down an American U-2 spy plane that entered Soviet air space and captured pilot Gary Powers -
JFK Elected President
President John F Kennedy (Bay of Pigs) is elected President of the United States -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a wall built by the East German authorities that encircled West Belin. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A 13 day long confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union are Soviets deploy missiles in Cuba -
Fidel Castro Instated
Fidel Castro is chosen as President of Cuba and instates a Communist government in Cuba -
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan in support of the Afghan communist government in its conflict with anticommunist Muslim guerrillas -
Gorbachev Declares Perestroika and Glasnost
Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union, declares the policies of Glastnost and Perestroika -
INF Treaty
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was an agreement between the United States and Soviet Union signed in Washington, D.C. -
Mikhail Gorbachev Comes To Power
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, comes to power and eases tensions with the United States -
USSR Breakup
Gorbachev resigns, declares his office extinct, and hands over powers to Boris Yeltsin, signaling the end of the Soviet Union.
