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Joseph Stalin
He was the leader of the Soviet Union and also the general Secretary of the Central Committee. Stalin is one of the most murderous dictators in history. -
Lech Walesa and the Solidarity Movement in Poland
He was a Polish politician, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist. Since he was a trade-union activist, he had been persecuted by communist authorities and arrested multiple times. He had been very instrumental in political negotiations that led to the Gdańsk Agreement between striking workers and the government. -
Iron Curtain
This symbolized the conflict and physical boundary that divided Europe from the end of World War II until the end of the Cold War. The most notable border was marked by the Berlin Wall. -
United Nations
The United Nations was founded to replace the League of Nations after World War II. Their overall goal was to achieve world peace with the nations that are involved in the United Nations. -
People's Republic of Korea
It was a provisional government that aimed to take over Korea after the surrender of the empire of Japan after WWII. It forcibly dissolved after the US Army Militant Government took over a southern portion of Korea. -
Truman Doctrine
It was stated in the speech by the United States President, Harry Truman. It stated that the United States would support Greece and Turkey with military and economic aid to keep them from falling into the Soviet sphere. -
European Economic Cooperation
It was established to run the US financed Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan helped reconstruct Europe that had been ravaged by war. This eventually led to the developing of the OECD. Today, 34 countries are a part of it and come together to discuss problems and analyze them to create policies for them. -
The Marshall Plan
It was the American aid program by the US to give economic support to Europe after WWII due to the corrupt economies after the war. The plan had prevented the spread of Soviet Communism. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin airlift was when the U.S. and Britain sent aircrafts to Berlin. It was the first U.S. and British cargoers for Berlin. The airlift sent hundreds of thousands of tons of cargo and casued the Soviets to lift their blockade on May 12, 1949. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
It is an intergovernmental military alliance that constitutes a system of collective defence in where the members agree to a mutual defense in response to an attack by an external party. The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan had been the economical sanctions and creation of NATO symbolizes the beginning of the US military movement against the Soviet Union. -
Explosion of First Hydrogen Bomb
The US was competing with the Soviet Union in the arms race for nuclear power. The US had an advantage over the Soviet Union by making a hydrogen bomb, 1,000 times more powerful than a regular nuclear bomb. The Soviet Union followed with their own Hydrogen bomb, and eventually other countries followed up with their own bomb. -
Korean War
A war between the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). It was the result of political division by an agreement of the Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War. Today, North Korea and South Korea are still divided and North Korea has threatened the US with nuclear bomb threats. -
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh was the prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. He was a major part of the establishment of the communist-ruled Democratic Republic of Vietnam. -
KGB committee for state security
It was the main security agency for the Soviet Union. It worked as an internal security, intelligence, and secret police until its collapse in 1991. One of its main functions was to guard the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. -
Geneva Conference
A conference in Switzerland that attempted to find a solution to unify Vietnam and restore peace in Indochina. During the conference, a set of documents called the Geneva Accords split Vietnam into two zones. The northern zone was governed by Viet Minh and the southern zone was goverened by the State of Vietnam. -
Nikita Khrushchev
Khrushchev was born, who helped lead the Soviet Union during the Cold War by serving as a First Secretary of the Communist Party and also as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. He was responsible for the partial de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union and for backing the progress of the early Soviet space program. -
Warsaw Pact
It was a mutual defense treaty between eight communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. It was established by the Soviet Union in retaliation against the United State's NATO. -
Vietnam War
The war was between North Vietnam and the US supported South Vietnam. The United States wanted to prevent South Vietnam from being taken over by the communists. -
Suez Canal/ Nasser
It was a diplomatic and military confrontation between Egypt on one side, and Britain, France and Israel on the other, with the United States, and the Soviet Union. Nasser had nationalized the Canal. -
Sputnik
It was the first artificial Earth satellite to go into orbit. The Soviet Union launched it at a low orbit and was visible from Earth. This was a part of the arms race between the Soviet Union and the United States. It started the space race between the US and the Soviet Union. -
Berlin Wall is erected
It was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic. The wall completely blocked off West Berlin from East Berlin. East Berlin thought the wall was to prevent building a socialist state in East Germany. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
It was a 13 day confrontation between the US, Cuba, and the Soviet Union. It was one of the major confrontations of the Cold War and almost led to a nuclear war. The US made a blockade around Cuba to prevent weapons and missiles from the Soviet Union. -
Brezhnev
Brezhnev was born. He was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He caused economic stagnation in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, which led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. -
Tet Offensive
It was set off by Viet Cong and North Vietnam against South Vietnam and the US. It was a campaign of surprise attacks against South Vietnam civilians. This was the last effort for the Communist to win the war. -
Helsinki Accords
The final act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe. 33 states, including the US and Canada, had signed the delcaration. They wanted to improve relations with the Communist Bloc and the West. -
Iranian hostage crisis
It was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the US. 52 Americans had been held hostage for 444 days. Islamic militants had taken over the American Embassy in Tehran. This was seen as a blow to the United States and its influence over in Iran. -
Russian Invasion of Afghanistan
The war was between the Soviet Union and the Mujahideen and lasted from December 1979 to February 1989. Millions of Afghans had fled the country and hundreds of thousands of Afghans had been killed along with the soldiers. The war increased tensions in the West and caused many countries to boycott the Moscow Summer Olympics. -
Moscow Olympics
The Summer Olympics were held in Moscow, Russia. 65 countries, including the United States, had boycotted the Olympics due to the Soviet war in Afghanistan. -
Los Angeles Olympics
Los Angeles had hosted the 1984 summer olympics. The only other city interested in hosting the event was Tehran, but they had to decline the bid due to the concurrent Iranian political and social changes. Due to the American led boycott in the 1980 summer olympics, multiple Eastern bloc countries boycotted the games, including the Soviet Union, East Germany, and Cuba. -
Perestroika and Glasnost
They were Gorbachev's watchwords for the renovation of the Soviet body politic and society that he pursued as general secretary of the Communist Party. They were both in his speeches and writings in the mid 1970's. -
Chernobyl
The Chernobyl accident was a catastrophic event that caused hundreds of thousands of people to have disease and cancer due to the radioactivity. It was the worst nuclear power plant accident in history and caused for 500,000 workers to contain the contamination. -
Tiananmen Square
This was a student led protest in Beijing over China's political leadership. Thousands of unarmed citizens were killed by riffles and tanks. -
Berlin Wall is torn down
The Berlin Wall had begun being knocked down. It was destroyed by many people and eventually led to new borders in Germany. The wall being knocked down was a sign of reunification in Germany. -
Mikhail Gorbachev
He was the first president of the Soviet Union and was a part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and helped contribute to the ending of the Cold War. He won many awards, such as the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. -
Boris Yeltsin
He was a Russian politician and the first president of the Russian Federation and was in office from 1991 to 1999. His era was marked by corruption, inflation, economic collapse and political problems. -
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
This declaration declared the independence of the twelve republics of the Soivet Union. The dissolution of the Soviet Union caused the Cold War to come to an end. The Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned and handed the missile launch codes to the Russian president Boris Yeltsin. -
Vladimir Putin
Putin was born. He has been the President of Russia since May of 2012 and also served as president from 2000-2008. He was also the Prime Minister of Russia. He brought restoration to Russia's integrity, economic power, and global clout. He also helped eliminate the terrorrist threat to Russia.
