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World War 1
World War I, often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. It was fought between two coalitions -
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Russian Revoloution
The Russian revoloution that cut short Russias efforts in WW1. Ended in the end of the Tsarist regime in Russia and led to Lenin becoming the First Communist leader of the Soviet Union. -
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The Red Scare (1)
The first signs of a radical monopoly of fear against communism on American soil. caused by the anarchist bombings and the Anarchists bombings and the October Revolt in Russia. -
Comintern Formed
Advocated for the international Soviet Union that wished to overthrow the International Bourgeoisie. -Joseph Stalin dissolved the Comintern in 1943 -
Russian Civil War
On 29 December 1922 a conference of plenipotentiary delegations from the Russian SFSR, the Transcaucasian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the Byelorussian SSR approved the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, forming the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics -
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Show Trials and the Great Terror
Widely publicized show trials and a series of closed, unpublicized trials held in the Soviet Union during the late 1930. Many prominent Old Bolsheviks were found guilty of treason and executed or imprisoned. All the evidence in court was derived from examinations of the defendants and from their confessions. It was established that the accused were innocent, that the cases were fabricated by the secret police (NKVD), and that the confessions were made under pressure of torture and intimidation -
Appeasement
Appeasement policy, the policy of appeasing Hitler and Mussolini, operating jointly at that time, during 1937 and 1938 by continuous concessions granted in the hope of reaching a point of saturation when the dictators would be willing to accede to international collaboration -
Nazi Soviet Pact
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression pact signed in 1939 by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union shortly before World War II. In the pact, the two former enemies agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. -
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World War 2
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries, including all of the great powers, fought as part of two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa, original name Operation Fritz, during World War II, code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which was launched on June 22, 1941. The failure of German troops to defeat Soviet forces in the campaign signaled a crucial turning point in the war. -
Grand Alliance Formed
The USA entered World War Two against Germany and Japan in 1941, creating the Grand Alliance of the USA, Britain and the USSR . This alliance brought together great powers that had fundamentally different views of the world, but they did co-operate for four years against the Germans and Japanese. -
Dissoloution of the Comintern
Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, dissolved the Comintern in 1943 to avoid antagonizing his allies in the later years of World War II, the United States and the United Kingdom. It was succeeded by the Cominform in 1947. -
Conference (1) TEHRAN
Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin engaged in discussions concerning the terms under which the British and Americans finally committed to launching Operation Overlord, an invasion of northern France, to be executed by May of 1944. -
Conference (2) YALTA
At Yalta, Roosevelt and Churchill discussed with Stalin the conditions under which the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan. Also, the Big Three agreed that after Germany's unconditional surrender, it would be divided into four post-war occupation zones, controlled by U.S., British, French and Soviet military forces. The city of Berlin would also be divided into similar occupation zones -
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Cold War
The cold war spanned from around '45 to '95. It ecompassed the mainly Europe and the USA. -
Death of Roosevelt
The death of Roosevelt. He was succeeded by Harry S. Truman - an extreme anti-communinst. -
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Truman Time in office
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Conference (3) POTSDAM
They confirmed plans to disarm and demilitarize Germany, which would be divided into four Allied occupation zones controlled by the United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Also committed to the 'Five Ds' - demilitarization, denazification, democratization, decentralization, and deindustrialization. -
A bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
An atomic bomb was dropped by the USA on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as demonstration of power towards Japan, forcing their surrender, but also against the USSR. -
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Stalinisation of Eastern Europe
The Stalinization of Eastern Europe began. The communist party in each country held a complete monopoly of political power. This permitted no independent political parties, no meaningful elections, and no criticism of the ruling communist party - Creating an eastern bloc. -
Long Keenan Telegram
The Telegram came from Moscow and served as warning of the threat of Russia. Being an unchecked expansionist police state. -
Iron Curtain speech
Iron Curtain speech, speech delivered by former British prime minister Winston Churchill in Fulton, Missouri, on March 5, 1946, in which he stressed the necessity for the United States and Britain to act as the guardians of peace and stability against the menace of Soviet communism, which had lowered an “iron curtain”. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine is an American foreign policy that pledges American "support for democracies against authoritarian threats." The doctrine originated with the primary goal of containing Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War. -
Bizonia is Formed
In 1947, Bizonia was created as a combination and economic unification of the British and American zones and a new currency, the Deutschmark, was introduced for the Western zones to boost the economy there. -
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Cominform Formed
Cominform was officially established on 5 October 1947 with the intended purpose of coordinating actions between European communist parties under the direction of the Soviet Union. -
Marshall Plan
President Truman signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948. It became known as the Marshall Plan, named for Secretary of State George Marshall, who in 1947 proposed that the United States provide economic assistance to restore the economic infrastructure of postwar Europe. -
Czech Coup d'état
On February 25, 1948, Czechoslovakia, until then the last democracy in Eastern Europe, became a Communist country, triggering more than 40 long years of totalitarian rule. In effect, the Czechoslovak Communists did not take control. They were given control. The reason for this was the consideration of participating in the Marshall Aid Program of the USA -
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutsche Mark from West Berlin. -
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Trizonia to West Germany
The Trizonia was created when the French zone merged into Bizonia in April 1949. This unification of Western allies then became the Federal Republic of Germany, better known as West Germany, on 23 May 1949. -
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Berlin Airlift
In response to the Soviet blockade of land routes into West Berlin, the United States begins a massive airlift of food, water, and medicine to the citizens of the besieged city. For nearly a year, supplies from American planes sustained the over 2 million people in West Berlin. -
Formation of the FRG and the GDR
After tensions arose between Soviets and the Western powers, the German Federal Republic (FRG, commonly known as West Germany) was created out of the American, British, and French zones on September 21, 1949. on October 7, 1949, the DWK formed a provisional government and proclaimed establishment of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). -
Comecon formed
Comecon was formed under the aegis of the Soviet Union in 1949 in response to the formation of the Committee of European Economic Cooperation in western Europe in 1948. To facilitate and coordinate the economic development of the eastern European countries belonging to the Soviet bloc. -
NATO formed
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. NATO was the first peacetime military alliance the United States entered into outside of the Western Hemisphere. -
First Soviet Nuclear test
The Soviet Union explodes its first nuclear weapon at a test range in Kazakhstan. Most U.S. intelligence assessments at the time had estimated that Moscow was at least three years away from obtaining such technology. -
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Dwight Eisenhower Time in Office
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Stalins death
Stalins death led to a power vacuum and he was succeed by his ministers. -
Germany - Rearmament - Bundeswehr
West Germany was rearmed once she joined NATO in 1955. This was a clear turning point as a Soviet Border had been rearmed, being allowed 500,000 troops in peacetime. -
Warsaw Pact
The term "Warsaw Pact commonly refers to both the treaty itself and its resultant defensive alliance, the Warsaw Treaty Organization (WTO). The Warsaw Pact was the military complement to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon), the regional economic organization for the socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe. The Warsaw Pact was created in reaction to the integration of West Germany into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It legitimized soviet troops, in the Bloc -
Hallstein Doctrine
West Germany would act as if it was the only German province and wouldn't recognize East Germany. They furthermore wouldn't deal anyone who considered East Germany a country. The Doctrine was removed in 1969, when Willy Brandt Declared Ostpolitik. -
Hungarian Uprising
A country wide revolt against the soviet instilled regime. The Hungarians Peoples party (1949-89). The revolt was suppressed with violent force by the Soviet Tanks within 12 days. Thousands were killed and around 250,000 fled the country -
Polish October
The rise of Gomulka after uprisings in Poznan. Khrushchev had denounced Stalin and aided the destalinization of Poland. Russia's dependence on Poland for staying part of the Eastern Bloc led to them making a few concessions, leaving Poland a more autonomous state.
However, Gomulkas regime proved over time to become more and more oppressive.
This did however end the era of Stalin in Poland. -
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Unanimously approved by more than eighty countries, the IAEA’s charter outlines a three-part mission: nuclear verification and security, safety, and technology transfer. The IAEA’s first safeguards for civilian nuclear facilities are established in 1961. -
Sputnik Launched
On October 4, 1957, the USSR launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth. The satellite, an 85-kilogram (187-pound) metal sphere the size of a basketball, was launched on a huge rocket and orbited Earth at 29,000 kilometers per hour (18,000 miles per hour) for three months. Starting the space race that would go until it was effectively won by the USA when they landed a man on the moon. -
Atlas Missile Launch
Startled by the incredibly rapid technological progress the soviet union demonstrated by the launch of Sputnik, the USA would respond by launching the first ICBM, called Atlas. The next Year NASA would be established. -
Nuclear Testing Boom
The Soviet Union, UK and USA would combined test around 100 Nuclear missiles in 1958. -
Nikita Khrushchevs Inauguration
Succeeding the power struggle left by Stalin's death. Nikita Khrushchev became he first secretary of the communist party. The Supreme Soviet–the Soviet legislature–voted unanimously to make First Secretary Khrushchev also Soviet premier, thus formally recognizing Khrushchev's superiority. -
Fidel Castro takes over Cuba
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France joins and tests its first Nuclear Weapon
France becomes the worlds fourth nuclear superpower. -
First man in space - Yuri Gagarin
On April 12, 1961, aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin becomes the first human being to travel into space. During the flight, the 27-year-old test pilot and industrial technician also became the first man to orbit the planet, a feat accomplished by his space capsule in 89 minutes. -
Cuban missile Crisis
The Cuban missile crisis was a conflict that arose when the Soviet Union parked Missiles in the newly found communist Cuba. Kennedy declared there would be a “full retaliatory response” if Cuba would launch any missile toward a country in the Western Hemisphere. -
Limited Test Ban Treaty
The Limited Test Ban Treaty established a 24/7 365 days a year hotline between the two superpowers to avoid another Cuban missile crisis. And the UK, USA and the Soviets agreed that Nuclear weapons should be banned from being tested. -
Brezhnevs took control of the Union
Leonid Brezhnev, one of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s most trusted proteges, is selected as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet—the Soviet equivalent to the presidency. This was another important step in Brezhnev’s rise to power in Russia, a rise that he later capped by taking control of the Soviet Union in 1964. -
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Détente
The era was a time of increased trade and cooperation with the Soviet Union and the signing of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) treaties. Relations cooled again with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. -
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
A treaty that was signed between the 3 superpowers at the time. This is a pledge to forgo the creation of new or more nuclear weapons.
kinda pointless as they have enough work to go around regardless. -
Brezhnev Doctrine
The doctrine in its most basic form would, would state that the countries of the Eastern Bloc would be unable to reject Communism or Socialism.
He declared the Doctrine as the Czech Dubcek was about to revolt and legitimised the invasion and protection of the communist interests by the Warsaw Country. -
The Czech uprising (Prague Spring)
Its started when reformist Alexander Dubcek was elected first secretary of the Soviet party. Most of the Warsaw Pact countries invaded the country to suppress the uprising. Dubcek wanted to Decentralize the Economy and a democratisation. These were to loosen the restrictions on Speech, media and travel.
The only form of change that survived the crushing was the decision to split into two, the Czech Socialist Republic and Slovak Socialist Republic. -
Ostpolitik
Neue Ostpolitik (German for "new eastern policy"), or Ostpolitik for short, was the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany) and Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) beginning in 1969. - Initiated by Willy Brandt a forward thinking German president of the Western region. -
USA landing on the moon (End of space race
The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the two nations following World War II. -
Treaty of Moscow
Treaty of Moscow, (March 16, 1921), pact concluded at Moscow between the nationalist government of Turkey and the Soviet Union that fixed Turkey's northeastern frontier and established friendly relations between the two nations. -
Soviet Union splits from China
President Nixon capitalises on the split between the Soviet Union and China. He becomes the first US President to visit Beijing since the 1949 Chinese Communist Revolution and begins an era of working on diplomatic solutions with his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger. -
SALT I
SALT I aimed to limit the amount of missiles:
- Froze number of Strategic Ballistic missiles at existing levels
- SALT I also limited land-based ICBMs that were in range from the north-eastern border of the Continental United States to the north-western border of the continental Soviet Union
- ISALT I limited the number of SLBM capable submarines that NATO and the United States could operate
-if one side were to increase that number, the other could increasing their arsenal by the same amount. -
Basic Treaty
The Basic Treaty is the shorthand name for the Treaty concerning the basis of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. Aimed to establish good neighborly relations between both German states and granted de facto, albeit not de jure, legal recognition to the German Democratic Republic. -
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War between Soviet-backed Egypt and Syria and United States-backed Israel is brought to an end in less than a month and is a sign of the growing desire for diplomacy and peace between the two superpowers. -
Brezhnev visits Washington
Brezhnev goes to the United States and addresses the population in Washington with a friendly tone. The two countries pledge to avoid nuclear war but fail to sign any concrete follow-up to SALT I. In the following year, Brezhnev met new President Gerald Ford in Vladivostok, where the two men promised to control weapons for the next decade. -
Helsinki Accords or Helsinki Final Act
Held in Helsinki, Finland, between 30 July and 1 August 1975, following 2 years of negotiations known as the Helsinki Process. All then-existing European countries (except Andorra and pro-Chinese Albania) as well as the United States and Canada, altogether 35 participating states, signed the Final Act in an attempt to improve the détente between the East and the West. The Helsinki Accords, however, were not binding as they did not have treaty status that would have to be ratified by parliaments. -
Charter 77
Charter 77 was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Formed by Vaclav Havel. - They were leading Dissidents against the communist overlords that had suppressed them. -
Jimmy Carter Completes another Arms Treaty
Another new President, Jimmy Carter completes another arms treaty. He signed SALT II with Brezhnev which limited each country's number of strategic arms weapons from Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs), Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs) and more to 2250 per nation. -
SALT II
SALT II sought to curtail the buidling of Nuclear Weapons.- banned new missile programs (which were more than 5% better than current missiles
- Limited Strategic launchers
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Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen after the former militarily intervened in, or launched an invasion of, Afghanistan to support the local pro-Soviet government that had been installed during Operation Storm-333. -
SALT II never gets passed because of the Soviet Invasion of Afghan
The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, infuriating Carter who never put SALT II into law as a result. This was the end of the diplomatic years known as détente. -
Poland - Rise of Solidarity Movement
The Solidarity mass movement in the Polish People's Republic, challenged the rule of the Polish United Workers' Party and Poland's alignment with the Soviet Union. Solidarity was a broad anti-authoritarian social movement, using methods of civil resistance to advance the causes of workers' rights and social change.
Poland imposed Martial law to suppress and destroy the Union but ultimately failed.
The union would ultimately survive and enter talks with the government in 1980s. -
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Ronald Raegan Time in office
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Appointment of Jarulzalski
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Martial Law in Poland
Martial Law imposed by Jarulzelski after the Solidarity had become incredibly influential. -
Nuclear incident: Able Archer
Soviet observers spotted what was supposed to be nuclear warheads taxiing out of NATO hangers.
USA moved to DEFCON 1 - the highest alertness for Nuclear war, surpassing DEFCON 2 which was called during Cuban Missile Crisis.
Able Archer was a war game which was designed to simulate the start of a nuclear war, and almost started one ironically. -
Andropov time in office
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Perestroika
Economic reconstruction within the communist system.
Capitalism free market changes, allows Oligarchs to dominate. -
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Gorbachevs Final reign
The last leader of the soviet union until its dissoloution in 1991. He was a radical creating programs such as 'Perestroika' and 'Glasnost' while also using the sinatra doctrine to essentially free many eastern bloc countries -
Prague Spring
It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), and continued until 21 August 1968, when the Soviet Union and most of Warsaw Pact members invaded the country to suppress the reforms. -
Glasnost
The freeing of Media by Gorbachev to develop freedom and media. A huge underminding of the Communist system that had bee previously establish -
Reykjavik
The talks collapsed at the last minute, but the progress that had been achieved eventually resulted in the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union. -
INF Treaty
The treaty prohibited both parties from possessing, producing, or flight-testing ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500–5,500 km (310–3,420 mi). Possessing or producing ground-based launchers of those missiles was also prohibited. -
Geneva Accords
The Geneva Accords, known as the agreements on the settlement of the situation relating to Afghanistan, were at the Geneva headquarters of the United Nations, between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the United States and the Soviet Union serving as guarantors.
The accords consisted of several instruments: a bilateral agreement between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of Afghanistan on the principles of mutual relations, in particular on non-interference and non-intervention. -
Gorbachev: Nineteenth Conference of the CPSU
Emphasised that every country has the right to form its own economic system and political system.
This saw the USSR armed forces cut by half a million men. -
Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan
The mujahidin employed guerrilla tactics against the Soviets. They would attack or raid quickly, then disappear into the mountains, causing great destruction without pitched battles. The fighters used whatever weapons they could grab from the Soviets or were given by the United States. -
Helmut Kohl's 10 point Plan
On 28 November 1989—two weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall—West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl announced a 10-point program calling for the two Germanies to expand their cooperation with a view toward eventual reunification. -
German reunification - Unification Treaty
Dissolved the GDR and unified Germany into one sovereign state.
West German chancellor Helmut Kohl started the reunification progress and saw it through. Asking Gorbachev and George W Bush for permission to reunify the country -
Yeltsin's Shock Therapy
The removing of price controls on the newly reformed Soviet Union. Led to a huge economic depression for the normal person but allowed for the rise of the super rich Russian Oligarchs. -
Soviet Coup d’etat
Was a failed attempt from the soviet Hardliners of the Soviet Communist Party to forcibly remove the country from the control of Gorbachev. -
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Time Yeltsin spent in power
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Croatia and Slovenia declare indepndence
On 25th of June 1992 - Croatia and Slovenia became the first two providences to break from main Yugoslavia -
War in Chechnya
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Break up of Yugoslavia
After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia split apart, but the unresolved issues caused a series of inter-ethnic Yugoslav Wars. The wars primarily affected Bosnia and Herzegovina, neighbouring parts of Croatia and, some years later, Kosovo. -
Srebrenica Massacre
General Mladic committed an act of murder slaughtering men women and children at Srebrenica. -
Dayton Accords
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords, is the peace agreement reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, United States, finalised on 21 November 1995,[4] and formally signed in Paris, on 14 December 1995. These accords put an end to the Bosnian War, which was part of the much larger Yugoslav Wars.
