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Yalta conference
Meeting between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin to decide what would happened in the end of the war. -
Vietnam Independence
Ho Chi Minh proclaimed Vietnam an independent republic. -
V E Day
Victory in Europe as Germany surrenders to the Russian army -
Hiroshima
The United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. -
Nagasaki
The UUEE dropped the second atomic bomb in Nagasaki. -
V J Day
The Japanese surrendered bringing World War Two to an end. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference formally divided Germany and Austria into four zones. It was also agreed that the German capital Berlin would be divided into four zones. The Russian Polish border was determined and Korea was to be divided into Soviet and American zones. -
Truman Doctrine
President Truman promised to help any country facing a Communist takeover, -
Marshall plan
This was a programme of economic aid offered by the United States to any European country.Consequently the aid was only given to Western European Countries. -
Formation of West Germany
The French, USA and UK partitions of Germany were merged to form West Germany -
Berlin Blockade
USA and UK partitions of Berlin was to cut all road and rail links to that sector. This meant that those living in Western Berlin had no access to food supplies and faced starvation. -
End of Berlin blockade
Russia ended the blockade of Berlin. -
NATO formed
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation formed with member states Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States -
Korean War
The Korean war began when North Korea invaded South Korea. -
Death of Stalin
Joseph Stalin died at the age of 74. He was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev. -
Korean War
The Korean war ended. North Korea remained affiliated with Russia while South Korea was affiliated with the USA. -
Geneva accords
This set of documents ended the French war with the Vietminh and divided Vietnam into North and South states. The communist leader of North Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh while the US friendly south was led by Ngo Dinh Diem. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was formed with member states East Germany, Czechoslovaquia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union. -
Suez crisis
British and French invaded Egypt to regain control of the Suez Canal. This attack, was heavily criticised by World leaders. British and French were forced to withdraw and a UN peace keeping fprce was send to establish order. -
Space War
USSR Sputnik II carried Laika the dog, the first living creature to go into space. -
Space Race
Russian Cosmonant Yuri Alekseyvich Garaing become the first human being in the space -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
A force of Cuban exiles, trained by the CIA, aided by the US government attempted to invade Cuba and overthrow the Communist government of Fidel Castro. The attempt failed. -
Berlin Wall
Berlin wall built and borders sealed between East and West Germany. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A US spy plane reported sighting the construction of a Soviet nuclear missile base in Cuba. President Kennedy set up a naval blockade and demanded the removal of the missiles. War was averted when the Russians agreed on 28th October to remove the weapons. The United States agreed not to invade Cuba. -
JFK Assassination
JF Kennedy was assassinated while on a visit to Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the murder but there has always been speculation that he was not a lone killer and that there may have been communist or CIA complicity. -
USSR
Nikita Krushchev removed from office. He was replaced by Leonid Brezhnev. -
Vietnam War
150,000 US troops sent to Vietnam. -
Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
Warsaw Pact forces entered Czechoslovakia in a bid to stop the reforms known as ‘Prague Spring’ instigated by Alexander Dubcek. When he refused to halt his programme of reforms Dubcek was arrested. -
Space Race
US launched Apollo 8 – first manned orbit of the Moon. -
Space Race
US Apollo 11 landed on the Moon and Neil Armstrong became the first man on the Moon. -
Vietnam War
President Richard Nixon ordered US troops to go to Cambodia. -
Vietnam
The Paris Peace Accords ended American involvement in Vietnam. -
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
Joint space venture between USA and USSR heralded as an end to the ‘Space Race’ -
Cambodia Killing fields
The Khmer Rouge attacked and took control of Cambodia. Any supporters of the former regime, anyone with links or supposed links to foreign governments as well as many intellectuals and professionals were executed in a genocide that became known as the ‘killing fields’. -
Vietnam
North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam. The capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese led to the whole country becoming Communist -
Carter president
Jimmy Carter became the 39th President of the United States -
Olympic boycoth by Russia
Russia and 13 allied countries boycothed the summer Olympics held in Los Angeles in retaliation for the US boycott of 1980. -
Olympic boycoth by USA
A number of countries including the USA boycotted the summer Olympics held in Moscow in protest at the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Other countries including Great Britain participated under the Olympic flag rather than their national flag -
Govbachov leader of USSR
Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union -
Chernobyl Disaster
An explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine remains the worst nuclear disaster in history -
Glasnost and Perestroika
Mikhail Gorbachev announced his intention to follow a policy of glasnost- openness transparency and freedom of speech; and Perestroika- restructuring of government economy. He also advocated free elections and ending the arms race. -
Afghanistan
The last Soviet troops left Afghanistan -
Tiananmen Square
Anti Communist protests in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China were crushed by the government. The death count is unknown -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall was torn down -
Period: to
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution, also known as the Gentle Revolution, was a series of peaceful protests in Czechoslovakia that led to the overthrow of the Communist government. -
Malta Summit
This meeting between Mikhail Gorbachov and George H W Bush reversed much of the provisions of the Yalta Conference 1945. It is seen by some as the beginning of the end of the cold war. -
German reunification
East and West Germany were reunited as one country. -
End of Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact which allied Communist countries was ended -
START
The Strategic Arms Reduction treaty was signed between Russia and the USA -
Gorbachev resigned
Mikhail Gorbachev resigned. The hammer and sickle flag on the Kremlin was lowered -
End of the Soviet Union
Russia formally recognised the end of the Soviet Union.
