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The Rise of Communism within China
The turning of Communism from Nationalism in China was significant in the Soviets push for global communism. The civil war between the two sides lasted 22 years, with the communists proving victorious in 1949. Many people were forced to flee to Taiwan as they wished to not live under the idealism of Communism. Due to the US pouring hundreds of millions of dollars to support the Nationalists, it was a huge blow for the American economy when it was taken over by the Soviet powered communists. -
Fidel Castro
Castro was the Communist leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008 and proved to be a very important figure in the midst of the Cold War, often being the mediator between USA and Soviet relations. However, he is particularly remembered for being able to overthrow the rule of the Batista Dictatorship withholding 30,000 trained men, with a mere 800 guerrilla fighters. This allowed for Cuba to benefit in the long term as a country. He was seen by the Soviets as a positive example of the spread of communism. -
Checkpoint Charlie
The Iron Curtain along the Western Edge of the Soviet Bloc was proficient in keeping communist citizens within Eastern Europe, however, the German capital, Berlin, was a ‘loophole’ in the sense that people were freely able to move to and from either side. However, tensions boiled over between the US and Soviet forces, causing a confrontation between the two sides resulting in a multi-tank standoff at Checkpoint Charlie. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The October Crisis of 1962 was a major confrontation in nuclear arms that saw the outbreak of war between the US and the Soviets very close. Cuba at this time was in the Soviet Union’s control and was being used to transport serious nuclear weaponry. JFK was influential in deescalating this situation as he was able to negotiate with Khrushchev, to pull out the Soviet nuclear weaponry within Cuba, so long as JFK did the same with the nuclear weapons he had in Turkey, threatening the Soviets -
Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev was the successor to Stalin’s reign in 1956, however not sharing similar values to him. It is said that Khrushchev is best known for his dealing with the Cuban Missile Crisis, in which he sent missiles to Cuba in response to the US sending missiles to Turkey. He never planned on using them, instead only to counteract and hence intimidate the US. However, this meant that Khrushchev was seen as weak throughout much of Russia and inadvertently ended his political career. -
Assassination of JFK
The JFK assassination in 1963 will go down as one of the most heartbreaking deaths of a president in American history. Having served a successful first term solving many issues such as the Cuban Missile Crisis that saw him become endeared to the population of the US. JFK was thought to have lead America to the forefront of the space race against Russia and it was a major setback for the Americans upon his assassination for their embark to outer space before the Russians.