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The Yalta Conference
The majority WWII conference of the three chief Allied leaders, including; President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain, and Premier Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union. This conference met at Yalta in Crimea to plan the final defeat and occupation of Nazi Germany. The main problem discussed at the conference was how to deal with the defeated or liberated countries of eastern Europe. -
The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy to stop Soviet imperialism during the Cold War. President Harry S. Truman requested a loan of $400 million from congress in aid to both countries. This doctrine limited communism to where it already exists and not spread to new areas. The money was used to support the countries of Greece and Turkey financially with food and employment since they were in danger of falling to communist insurgents. -
The Marshall Plan
U.S.-sponsored program lead by Secretary of State, George Marshall, designed to rehabilitate the economies of 17 western and southern European countries in order to create stable conditions in which democratic institutions could survive (Britannica). In this plan, nearly $13 billion was sent to Europe in aid from 1948 to 1952. The plan was rejected by the Soviet Union and communist Eastern Europe, citing that it was "dollar enslavement". -
The Berlin Airlift
This was a time span from June 1948 to May 1949 in which U.S. and British plans airlifted about 1.5 million tons of supplies to the residents of West Berlin. West Berlin was secluded within the Soviet Union, preventing the residents to travel in and out of the country without being attacked or killed by Soviet guards. The goal of the Soviets was to prevent aid to West Berlin so they would collapse and the land would go the the Soviets. After 200,000 flights, the USSR lifted the blockade. -
Comecon
Organization for International Economic Cooperation, 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). -
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The Korean War
The Korean War 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 officially ended with the nation split between North and South Korea at the 38th parallel as it initially was. Overall, Communism did not spread during this war. -
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The 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). -
The Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was sprung into action 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. -
First Man in Space
The first man reaching space is a major step, and the intial cause, of "The Space Race". "The Space Race" was a period in which the U.S. and the USSR (Soviet Union) competed to show who was the most technologically advanced. The first man in space was Yuri Gagarin. After initiating "The Space Race", unofficially, Gagarin was considered a Soviet hero for his accomplishment and for showing that the Soviet Union was more superior than the U.S. -
The Cuban Missle Crisis
In the summer of 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 Détente was an "easing of tensions" between the USSR and the USA. In this event, 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 at the time, John F. Kennedy, wanted to compete with the Soviet Union in "The Space Race" and thought that 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 (Nasa Article). Neil Armstrong became the first human to step on the moon.They put a U.S. flag on the moon. -
Olympics Competition (Image)
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The Olympics Competition
The Olympics competition was a continuation 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. -
End of Soviet Union
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.
