The Cold War

Stalin

May 6, 1941

Powerful leader of the Soviet Union and made changes in Russian government.

United Stations

Jun 26, 1945

Organization promoting international security and peace. Aimed for individual governmental and economical stablilty; world peace.

Ho Chi Minh

Sep 2, 1945

Communist leader of Vietnam during conflict with the United States.

Iron Curtain

Mar 5, 1946

Seperation of East and West Europe from the end of WWII to the end of the Cold War. Reasons including the Soviet Union, political, and economic issues.

Truman Doctrine

Mar 12, 1947

Foreign Policy legislative set by Harry Truman. Considered the start of the Cold War.

Berlin Airlift

Jun 28, 1947

President Truman sent supplies to the citizens of West Berlin, until the Soviets stopped the air drops.

The Marshall Plan

Apr 4, 1948

Created to aid an economically weak Europe with assistance of the United States.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Apr 4, 1949

NATO; Military Alliance. Headquaters were located in Belgium.

People's Republic of China

Oct 1, 1949

New form of Chinese government, originated in Bejing 1949.

Korean War

Jun 25, 1950

Communist North Korea fight against their neighbor South Korea who was allied with United Nations.

Khrushchev

Sep 14, 1953

President of Russia during the Cold War. Communist.

Explosion of First Hydrogen Bomb

Mar 1, 1954

Tested in the Pacific Ocean, the first hydrogen bomb was one the largest man-made explosions recorded in history.

KGB

Mar 13, 1954

Secret Service of the Soviet Union.

Warsaw Pact

Mar 14, 1955

Soviet Alliance with 8 communist states to protect the Soviet Union.

Vietnam

Nov 1, 1955

North vs South Vietnam. US became involved adding to the tension of the Cold War. Vietnam was later unified in 1976.

Suez Canal

Nov 25, 1956

Artificial water way in Egypt . Connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Conflict between Isreal, Egypt, and France occured, but solved by UN.

Sputnik

Oct 4, 1957

Artificial Satellite created by the Soviet Union that orbited low around Earth. Started the space race.

Berlin Wall Is Erected

Aug 15, 1961

Seperated East Germany and West Germany because of communsim and the conflicting governments.

European Economic Cooperation

Sep 30, 1961

Second European recovery program. Assisted the Marshall Plan.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Oct 14, 1962

13 day confrontation between the US, Cuba, and The Soviet Union, because S.U. shipped nuclear weapons to Cuba.

Brezhnev

Oct 14, 1964

Major communist leader of the Soviet Union. Died in 1982.

Tet Offensive

Mar 28, 1968

A series of Vietcong attacks on South Vietnam. Due to a holiday neutrality agreement, South Vietnam was not expecting the attacks; ambushed.

Helsinki Accords

Aug 1, 1975

Conference in Finland to help reduce tension between the East and West. Contributed in ending The Cold War.

Iranian Hostage Crisis

Nov 4, 1979

Diplomatic dispute between US and Iran where Iran took over the US Embassy in Tehran and held over 50 Americans hostage.

Russian Invasion of Afghanistan

Dec 27, 1979

Russia attempted to invade Afghanistan by the use offensive war tactics. Resulted in a 9 year war and cause the US to boycott the 1980s Olympics.

Moscow Olympics

Jul 19, 1980

Held on Russian territory, 1980 Olympic Games were boycotted by many coutries due to the actions of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

Los Angeles Olympics

Jul 28, 1984

Held in Los Angeles, California, on US soil, for the first time in 50 years. This particular Olympic Games was boycotted by a portion of Eastern Europe.

Perestroika and Glasnost

Mar 12, 1985

Occured during the Gorbachev era. Altered economies and foreign affairs. Accepted by many countries. Contributed to the ending of the Cold War.

Chernobyl

Apr 26, 1986

Home of deadly power plant accident that resulted in the spreading of radiation poisoning and sickness.

Geneva Accords

Apr 14, 1988

Conference in Switzerland, one of the results was the seperation of Vietnam.

Tiananmen Square

Oct 1, 1989

Political landmark of China. Held many protests.

Berlin Wall Is Torn Down

Nov 9, 1989

Symbolizing the end of the Cold War and the freedom and unity of Germany.

Gorbachev

Mar 15, 1990

Last leader of the Soviet Union and helped bring an end to the Cold War.

Lech Walesa and the Solidarity Movement in Poland

Dec 22, 1990

Non-communist leader of Poland. Helped Poland become a post-communist state.

Boris Yeltsin

Jun 10, 1991

First President of the Russian Federation. Wanted economical change for a free market economy.

End of the USSR

Dec 26, 1991

End of the Cold War, officially ending the Soviet Union, and forming the present-day country Russia.

Putin

May 7, 2000

Current President since 2000, significally changed Russia economically, poltically, and militarily.