The Cold War

Potsdam Conference

Jul 17, 1945

This was the last of the World War II meetings, and it included Stalin, Truman, and Churchill. During this, Truman demanded free elections in Eastern Europe, but Stalin wanted a buffer of communist states.

Truman Doctrine

Mar 14, 1947

Document that stated that the US would provide economic and military to countries that needed help preventing the spread of Communism.

Marshall Plan

Jun 7, 1947

This economic recovery plan was introduced by George Marshall, the US secretary of state. It gave $13 billion in US loans to war-torn Europe.

Berlin Blockade Begins

Jun 24, 1948

The Soviet Union cut off the flow of resources into West Berlin. This led to the Berlin airlifts, when planes flew resources into West Berlin. The Soviet Union eventually stopped the blockade.

COMECON

Jan 7, 1949

The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance was created to help the economies of eastern Europe that were allies with the Soviet Union.

NATO

May 4, 1949

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created as an alliance against the Soviet Union that would provide help if any of them were attacked. This organization still exists today with several more members.

Federal Republic of Germany Created

Sep 7, 1949

Germany was split in half between the Soviet Union and the Allies. The Federal Republic of Germany was a democratic state ran by the Allies.

German Democratic Republic Created

Oct 7, 1949

This was created by the Soviet Union and stayed within a Soviet-occupied area. This area, which was eastern Germany, contained Berlin, which was split into west and east sides.

Korean War Begins

Jun 25, 1950

This war was started when the UN sent forces to stop Communist aggression and expansion. The USSR sided with North Korea.

First Hydrogen Bomb Created

Nov 1, 1952

The hydrogen bomb was created by the United States. This bomb is even more destructive than the atomic bomb. It increased tensions between the US and the USSR.

Nikita Khrushchev

Mar 20, 1953

Khrushchev became the leader of the Soviet Union after Stalin died. He began the process of de-Stalinization.

Warsaw Pact

May 14, 1955

This was a military alliance of several Communist nations that was formed in 1955 in response to NATO.

Hungarian Revolution

Oct 23, 1956

Anti-Soviet demonstrations in Hungary were started which led to Soviet intervention. Nikita Khruschchev sent tanks to Budapest to destroy the city.

Eisenhower Inauguration

Jan 20, 1957

Dwight D. Eisenhower was the supreme commander of the allied forces during World War II and became dealt with Cold War tensions as president.

Sputnik

Oct 4, 1957

This was the first satellite sent into orbit. It was sent by the Soviet Union and sent radio signals back to Earth from space.

Fidel Castro

Feb 16, 1959

After communist forces took over Cuba, the Soviet Union set up a government with Fidel Castro as the leader. He supported the Soviet Union and communist ideas.

U-2 Spy Incident

May 1, 1960

The American pilot Gary Powers was flying over the USSR and was shot down. The US had to admit to flying spies over the Soviet Union several other times. This led to the first US-USSR spy trade.

John F. Kennedy's Inauguration

Jan 20, 1961

The nuclear arms race and fight against Communism were major events that he had to deal with during his presidency. He once said that Americans would, "pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty."

Yuri Gagarin

Apr 12, 1961

Yuri Gagarin was the first man that was sent into space. This Russian was sent into space in the spaceship Vostok 1.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

Apr 17, 1961

President Kennedy's plan to arm exiles and attack Cuba, specifically the Communist government and Fidel Castro.

Berlin Wall Built

Aug 13, 1961

The Berlin Wall was built by Soviets to keep East Germans from fleeing to West Germany.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Oct 1, 1962

The USSR placed nuclear missiles in Cuba, which the United States considered very dangerous. President Kennedy ordered the US to block Cuban ports, and the two countries got very close to nuclear war.

SALT

Nov 7, 1969

The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties(SALT I and SALT II) reduced the amount of nuclear weapons that the USA and Soviet Union could have. This slowed down the arms race and reduced some tension between the two nations.

Détente

May 7, 1972

This was a period that reduced the amount of tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. Richard Nixon met with Leonid Brezhnev in Moscow in May of 1972 to discuss this. It lasted until 1979.

Vietnamization

Apr 20, 1973

This strategy that was executed by president Richard Nixon, and it allowed the USA to withdraw their forces from Vietnam. The US also helped to build up South Vietnam's forces before they left.

The Soviet Union Invades Afghanistan

Dec 7, 1979

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, leading to a ten-year war against the Afghan rebels over Communism.

Perestroika

Mar 1, 1985

Perestroika, from the Russian word for "restructuring", encourages some businesses to become self-financing, which moved away from most Communist ideas. This was feared by many government officials because it took power from them.

Glasnost

Mar 1, 1985

Translated to "openness", glasnost allowed citizens of the Soviet Union to freely express themselves, even if their ideas didn't agree with those of their communist leaders.

Berlin Wall Torn Down

Nov 9, 1989

The head of the East German Communist Party announced that citizens could pass the wall whenever they wanted. After this, many people crossed the wall and began to chip away the wall.

Mikhail Gorbachev Elected

Dec 7, 1990

Mikhail Gorbachev was the only president of the Soviet Union. He helped to reduce tensions between the US and USSR, and he helped lead to the end of the Soviet Union.