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Potsdam Conference
The Allies argued over Eastern Europe. Joseph Stalin openly admitted that Soviet forces occupied Eastern Europe, but also promised he will respect the rights of the people. Britsh and Ameican leaders however believed Stalin planned to establish pro-Soviet Communist governments throughout Eastern Europe and beyond. -
The Truman Doctrine
In early 1947 the Soviet-backed Communists threatened the governments of Greece and Turkey. President Truman then issued the Truman Doctrine, pledging to provide military and economic aid to oppose the spread of communism. -
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed as a military alliance to counter the Soviet power in Europe -
Nuclear Arms Race
The nuclear arms race between the United States and the Sovet Union had sparked the Cold War. In 1949 the West was deeply worried about the news of a successful Soviet test of an atomic bomb. -
Hydrogen Bomb
In 1952 the United States invents the first hydrogen bomb to beat that of the Soviet Union's nuclear bomb.Soon after the Soviet Union also creates a hydrogen bomb. The arms race between the Soviet Union and the United States becomes offical. -
Warsaw Pact
After the NATO was formed the Soviet Union and other Communist nations of Eastern Europe formed thier own alliance to counter with the NATO. -
Sputnik
In October 1957 the Soviet Union launched history's first artificial satellite. This made Americans fearful believing the Soviet Union's military technology had leaped ahead of their own. -
The Berlin Wall
After Communist East Germany and Democratic West Germany was formed in 1949, thousands of East Germans left East Germany to West Germany to live in a democratic society or to simply go to work. The Soviets wanted to stop this and built a barrier known as the Berlin Wall, whoever dared cross was simply shot. The Berlin Wall succeeded in slowing the immigration of East Germans to West Germany, but it also came to symbolize the cruelity of the Communist. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted from October 14-28,1962, was a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union established their nuclear missiles in Cuba ( which is 90 miles south of the United States) to threaten the United States. -
Glasnost Perestroika
Glasnost meaning "openness" and perestroika meaning "restructuring" in Russian. Allowed the Soviet public to speak out against the regime. -
SALT
Strategic Arms Limitations Talks ( or SALT) were negotiations to limit the number of nuclear weapons held by each side. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall symbolized the fall of the Soviet Union and its cruelity. It also symbolizes East Germany's freedom along with the rest of Eastern Europe. -
The End of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union started collapsing because of its slow economy, it no longer could support itself. As a result of becoming weak many Eastern European nations claimed their independence.
