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Tehran Conference
the meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill between November 28 and December 1, 1943, most of which was held at the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Iran. It was the first World War II conference amongst the Big Three (the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom) in which Stalin was present. The central aim of the Tehran conference was to plan the final strategy for the war against Nazi Germany and its allies, and the chief discussion was centered on the op -
Potsdam Conference
Although this meeting took place only a few months after Yalta, a number of crucial events during that time changed the mood of the conference. -
Yalta Conference
This conference was held February 4–11, 1945. It was the wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and General Secretary Joseph Stalin, respectively, for the purpose of discussing Europe's post-war reorganization. -
Iron Curtain Speech
Winston Churchill - no longer Prime Minister but still with considerable significance - used a speech at Fulton, Missouri to signal to the world that the Soviet Union was a growing threat to freedom and world peace. -
Long Telegram
US ambassador to the Soviet Union, George Kennan, sent a telegram to Washington that raised tensions because it said that Stalin wanted to destroy capitalism. He also said that the USSR would probably back down if met with strong resistance. -
Novikov Telegram
Novikov, a Soviet diplomat working in Washington, sent a telegram to Moscow that also raised tensions and made Stalin even more determined to build a strong buffer zone of satellite states in Eastern Europe. In the telegram, Novikov said the Americans wanted to dominate the world with their massive military power and that the American people would support the government if this led to war. -
Truman Doctrine
This was a policy set forth by U.S. President Harry S Truman in a speech on March 12, 1947 stating that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere. Historians often consider it as the start of the Cold War. -
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied control. Their aim was to force the western powers to allow the Soviet zone to start supplying Berlin with food and fuel, thereby giving the Soviets total control of the city. -
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The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949)
was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. The Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied control. Their aim was to force the western powers to allow the Soviet zone to start supplying Berlin with food and fuel, thereby giving the Soviets practical control over the entire city. In response, the Western Allies organised the Berlin Airlift to carry supplies to the people there. -
End of the Berlin Airlift/Berlin Blockade
In response to the Berlin Blockade, the Western Allies organized the Berlin Airlift to carry supplies to the people in West Berlin. They flew over 200,000 flights in one year, providing up to 4700 tons of daily necessities such as fuel and food to Berliners. The success of the Berlin Airlift brought embarrassment to the Soviets who had refused to believe it could make a difference. The blockade was lifted in May 1949 and resulted in the creation of two separate German states. -
Stalin died
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Hungarian Uprising
The Hungarian Revolution or Uprising of 1956 was a spontaneous nationwide revolt against the government of the People's Republic of Hungary and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956. -
Cuban government under Castro nationalises foreign-owned land in Cuba
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Cuban Revolution
Fidel Castro and Che Guevara lead a group of revolutionaries to topple the pro-American government of Cuba led by Batista. -
Geneva Summit
The foreign ministers of the USA and USSR met in Geneva to try and resolve differences over Berlin. No agreement reached but Eisenhower invited Krushchev for further talks in the USA. -
Camp David Summit
Still no agreement over Berlin, but Krushchev removed the 6-month ultimatum -
Castro signs an agreement with Krushchev
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Paris Summit
This meeting between Krushchev and Eisenhower ended in disaster as Krushchev revealed they had shot down a US U2 Spy plane and that the pilot had admitted to spying. -
Bay of Pigs Fiasco
JFK's attempt to use Eisenhower's plan to invade Cuba with 1,400 ex Cuban nationals ends in total failure. -
Krushchev offers weapons to Cuba
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Berlin Wall Crisis begins
The barbed wire fence put up on 13th. By 17th construction of a brick wall had begun -
Berlin Wall
USSR (Khrushchev) ordered that a 103 mile long, 12ft high heavily guarded concrete wall was built around the Western capitalist sector of Berlin. This meant that no-one could flee from East Berlin to West Berlin. There were only two guarded gates or checkpoints through the wall. USA (Kennedy) reacted against the Berlin wall being built. The USA and USSR’s relations had further deteriorated (got worse). -
U2 Spy planes show Soviet missiles in Cuba
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Kennedy appears on national TV to announce the naval blockade of Cuba
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JFK assembles advisory group ExComm - beginning of the 'Thirteen Days'
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Soviet Union agrees to remove nuclear missiles from Cuba
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Detente
Détente (French for 'relaxation') is the term often used in reference to the general easing of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States in the 1970s, a thawing at a period roughly in the middle of the Cold War.
The period was characterized by the signing of treaties such as the SALT I, SALT II, and the Helsinki Agreement.Détente ended after the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, which led to America's America's boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. -
The Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (ASTP)
A symbol of detente and peaceful co-existence when the USSR (Soyuz) and the USA (Apollo) spaceships docked in outer space. The two ships coming together in space was like the two superpowers had peacefully come together. It was a high moment of detente and showed improved relations between USA and USSR.
