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Yalta Conference (Start of War)
The conference between the three chief Allied leaders. These leaders included President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the U.S., Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain, and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union. This conference was at Yalta in Crimea to plan how to finally defeat and control Nazi Germany. The main issue talked about at the conference was how to deal with the defeated or liberated countries of Eastern Europe. -
Truman Doctrine
An American foreign policy to stop the Soviet Union from contributing to imperialism during the Cold War. US President Harry S. Truman requested a loan of approximately $400 million from congress and the government in order to aid Turkey and Greece. By aiding Turkey and Greece to be financially stable to prevent them from falling to communist insurgents. The money given to Turkey and Greece was used to support the countries with foods, employment and poverty. -
Marshall Plan
A program that was sponsored by George Marshall, the Secretary of State. It was designed to rehabilitate the economies of western and southern European countries and nations in order to create a stable environment with fair conditions to live in (Britannica). For this plan, about $13 billion was sent to Europe for aid from 1948 to 1952. USSR and communist Eastern Europe rejected the plan, saying it was "dollar enslavement". -
The Berlin Airlift
This was a period in time where the US and British planes airlifted about 1.5 million tons of supplies to the people living in West Berlin. West Berlin was isolated in the Soviet Union, which didn't let the residents travel in and out of the country without being attacked or killed by the surrounding Soviet guards. The Soviet goal was to prevent aid, so the residents and the community would collapse and the land would go to the USSR. After around 200,000 fights, the USSR lifted the blockade. -
Comecon
Organization established in January 1949 to facilitate and coordinate the economic development of the eastern European countries belonging to the Soviet bloc.Comecon’s original members were the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. 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 (Britannica). -
Korean War
The Korean War (1951 to 1953) began when North Koreans crossed the 38th parallel in 1950 and hoped to unite Korean as a Communist nation, resulting in the United Nations, led by the U.S. forces, came to the aid of South Korea. Because of this, Communist China and the USSR gave aid, military support and weapons to support the North. The war ended when the nations split between North and South Korea at the 38th parallel as it initially was. Overall, Communism did not spread during this war. -
Vietnam War
Vietnam War, (1954–75), a protracted conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam, known as the Viet Cong, against the government of South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States.At the heart of the conflict was the desire of North Vietnam, which had defeated the French colonial administration of Vietnam in 1954, to unify the entire country under a single communist regime modeled after those of the Soviet Union and China (Britannica). -
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution started when Cuban nationalist, Fidel Castro, overthrew a corrupt government led by Fulgencio Batista. Castro took government control over all major industries and installed a totalitarian communist regime with the support of the Soviet Union.The United States supported and trained over one thousand Cuban exiles to overthrow the communist Castro government in April 1961. This "Bay of Pigs Invasion" failed and the U.S. cut off all ties with Cuba. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1962, the Soviet Union sent nuclear missiles into Cuba. This event caused the U.S.to blockade the islands of Cuba in October, later that year. Because of the threat of war, U.S. President John F. Kennedy demanded that the missiles be removed. In response, in October 28th, 1962, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba. Had Khrushchev not removed the missiles, nuclear war was likely. -
The Détente
The "easing of tensions" between the USSR and the USA. U.S. leader Nixon and USSR leader Brezhnev agreed on SALT, an acronym for Strategic Arms Limitations Talks. The Détente was a time of increased trade and cooperation with the Soviet Union and the signing of the SALT treaties. Relations cooled again with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (Britannica). -
First Man on the Moon
President John F. Kennedy, wanted to compete with the Soviet Union in "The Space Race". In order to beat the Soviet Union with their accomplishment of getting the first man into space, they wanted to land a man on the moon. Apollo 11 blasted off on July 16, 1969. Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins were the astronauts. Neil Armstrong became the first human to step on the moon.They put a U.S. flag on the moon. -
Olympics
The Olympics competition (1972 - 1980) was another version of the "Space Race". The beginning of the competition was when the USSR beat the USA in the 1972 gold round final. The USA hadn't lost an Olympic basketball contest since 1936, and they lost this game at the last second with a score of 51-50.In result to this, the USA trained and eventually beat the Soviet Union in ice hockey in the semi finals of the 1980 winter Olympics at Lake Placid with a score of 3-4. -
Soviet Union Ends
The end of the Soviet Union was mostly due to the collapse of communism in Soviet blockade and Gorbachev's reforms. Yeltsin was elected the new president of Russia and in the summer of 1991 there was a coup attempted in which Yeltsin helped Gorbachev. Officially on December 25th, 1991, Gorbachev resigned as USSR President. This occurred on Christmas day.
