-
Period: to
A time of great tension
The rupture of the two blocs egan in 1947. -
The doctrine of containment (Truman Doctrine)
It denounced the forced creation of communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe, and offered aid to the to the people menaced by the spread of communism. -
The Zhdanov Doctrine
It denounced US imperialism in Western Europe and offered help to countries that wouldn't submit to it. -
Period: to
The blockade of Berlin
In 1948 the Allies decided to unite the their German territories to create the Federal Republic of Germany. Stalin responded by proclaiming the German Democratic Republic and blocking the access by road to West Berlin. The Allies were forced to build an aereal bridge until Stalin lifted the blockage in 1949. -
Period: to
The Korean War
After the end of World War II the Korean peninsula was divided with the North being occupied by the Soviets and the South by the US. In 1950 the communist government of North Korea invaded the anticommunist South Korea. This provoked a war between the two Koreas. It ended in 1953 with an armistice establishing the borders in their initial position. -
Nikita Khrushchev becomes the USSR's new president
-
Period: to
Peaceful coexistence
This stage was marked by the wish for dialogue between the two blocs, favoured by the increase in the USSR's nuclear power and in the attitude of the new US and Soviet leaders. -
The construction of the Berlin Wall
The German Democratic Republic began the construction of the Berlin Wall to impede the people from fleeing to West Berlin. This was one of the most famous landmarks of th Cold War. -
John F. Kennedy is elected for president.
-
The Cuban Missile Crisis
After the victory of the communist revolutions lead by Fidel Castro in 1959, the Soviets intended to install military basaes and nuclear missiles on the island in 1962. Most of the most important US cities were located within the action range of the missiles. Thats why Kennedy ordered the naval blockage of the island. The tension was high, but in the end the USSR cancelled the installation of the missiles and the war was avoided. -
Period: to
The Vietnam War
After its independence from France in 1954, Vietnam was divided into two. The North was communist and the South was capitalist. The Vietnam War began in 1963 which caused the US to support the South. In 1970, the US began to withdraw its forces. In 1936 the country was unified under a Communist policy. -
Leonid Brezhnev becomes president.
-
Richard Nixon is elected for president.
-
The SALT I agreement
This agreement, which was signed by the US and the USSR, intended to restrain the arms race for intercontinental missiles. -
Period: to
The resurgence of the Cold War
During these years the war grew more tense due tu the increase in the arms race, especially of nuclear weapons. During these years the Soviet Union attempted to achieve military supremacy. -
The USSR invades Afghanistan
-
The SALT II agreement
This agreement, signed by the US and the USSR, limited the number and the type of intercontinetal nuclear missiles. -
The Star Wars
It was a Strategic Defensive Initiative undertook by the US under the presidency of Ronald Raegan. -
A change in trend
On one hand, in 1985, the USSR began to ease tensions and to intensify dialogue with the US. They withdrew from Afghanistan and the African conflicts, and granted greater autonomy to the people's republics.
On the other hand, the United States' increace in public deficit hampered the costly nuclear arms race. As a result, they both signed several nuclear and arms reduction agreements. -
Period: to
The end of the Cold War
-
The fall of the Berlin Walland the end of the Cold War
After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disappearance of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Cold War ended and a new international order began, in which the US still remained the leading world power.
