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Nuclear arms race
The competition between the US and USSR's construction of nuclear war heads created great fear amongst the general people. Both sides new that if one had attacked first it would mean total destruction for their own country as well, resulting in no winners. The arms race created a lot of paranoia between the two sides, which in some cases resulted in governments educating their own people in the likely event of a nuclear war beginning. -
Containment policy
The Containment policy is perhaps the most significant event. It is the overall action that sparked disagreement between both sides. It was the US's plan to prevent the spread of communism from the USSR to other parts of Europe and the World. The policy of containment was a catalyst towards other major events during the cold war and ultimately led to greater amounts of frustration and anger between both sides. -
Espionage II - KGB v CIA
Espionage was an important aspect during the Cold war as it was tactics used by both superpowers, to gain an advantage on the other. The constant threat of spying ultimately created great suspicion and fear for both countries. Through espionage the Soviets gained knowledge about the US's nuclear bombs, which therefore allowed them to create their own. Ultimately, the use of spies to gather information on the enemy helped to somewhat speed up the growth of a nuclear war. -
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Cold War
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NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was a pact between the Western powers. It was significant during the Cold War because it served as an agreement for the western powers to work cooperatively, meaning they would resist the will to attack on the USSR. However, if any one of their countries were attacked by the USSR first, they would all contribute to helping that country out. -
Space Race
The space race was long standing race between the US and USSR for the exploration of the outer space. It was a very significant event during the Cold War as it enabled both countries greater access to security information through the use of satellites. Although there was a fierce rivalry, the space race formed a healthier relationship between the US and USSR at the conclusion. This was shown when both countries came together and launched a mission into orbit. -
Building of the Berlin Wall
The wall stood for around 29 years and stretched 155 Km, separating East Berlin from the Western zones. This meant families were separated, employment was hard to find and food shortages were low for a long period of time. In 1961, around 2,202,241 West Berlin people and 1,071,775 East Berlin people were effected by the Berlin Wall. Also peoples freedom was lost and the penalties for trying to escape meant death. A total of 768 people died at the boarder. -
Salt treaty's
The Salt Treaty's played a pivotal role during the Cold war and ultimately reduced the outbreak of war between the two superpowers. The Treaty's acted as rule book for both the US and USSR, regarding their Arms limitations. The Arms limitations equalised both countries and gave no incentive for one choosing to fire the first nuclear missile. -
Ronald Reagan
As the US president, Reagan strongly influenced the decline of the Cold War. He established the Reagan doctrine, which was implemented to reduce the influence of communism by the USSR throughout the world. Reagan enforced economic expansion and military strength in the US as a way of overcoming the Cold War. This later led to the decline of the USSR and greatly contributed to the end of the Cold War in 1991, making Reagan a very significant figure during this time period.
