-
Stalin
Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953. During the Cold War period, Stalin brought on social change though collectivization of agriculture to increase agricultural output. -
United Nations
The United Nations is the world's largest international organization that promotes cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, political freedoms, democracy, and world peace. It is significant because it replaced the League of Nations, to stop war between countries, and encourage world peace after WWII. -
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain symbolized the conflict and physical boundary dividing Europe into two areas after WWII. The Soviet Union tried to block itself and its allies off from the other non-communist powers. The east side of Europe was allied with the Soviet Union and was communist, and western Europe was allied with the US and was not communist. The Iron Curtain represented how the Soviet Union wanted to isolate themselves and their allies and represented the Eastern Communist Bloc -
Period: to
Cold War
-
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was an international relations policy by U.S. President Harry Truman, saying that the U.S. would provide Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid in order to keep them falling under Soviet communism. This was significant because many historians believe it to be the start of the Cold War as well as the start of what is known as the containment policy followed by the US throught all the Cold War. -
European European Cooperation
The EEC was established to run the US-financed Marshall Plan for reconstruction of their continent which was trying to recover from WWII.Western Europe then started cooperating with one another by taking off tarrifs and having free trade amongst themselves. The EEC was significant because it encouraged competition amoungst Europe which encouraged production of better products for lower costs. -
Berlin Airlift
The Western Allies organized an airlift to Berlin to carry supplies to the people. It carried over 4700 tons of fuel and food to the people of Berlin per day. They made over 200,000- flights in one year and was very successful. The Berlin Airlift was significant because it showed how powerful the Western Allies (including the U.S.) was, dispite the low expectations that had been origionally set by the Soviet Union. It also resulted in the lifting of the blockade as well. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also known as NATO, was a mutual defence agreement made by the Western Powers including the US, North America, and Europe. NATO was historically significant because it formed the worlds largest democratic power against communism. -
Peoples Republic of China
The Peoples Republic of China is a sovereign state in East Asia governed by the communist party. The Peoples Republic of China was significant at the time because the US and NATO feared that it would form a strong alliance with the Soviet Union after WWII because the Soviets and the Peoples Republic of China were both communist powers. -
Korean War
The Korean War was a war between democratic South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and communist North Korea, at one time supported by the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union. It was the result of the political division of Korea that took place at the end of WWII by agreement of the US and the Soviet Union.
It was significant because it was thought to determine whether Korea would become completely democratic and therefore on the side of the US or completely communist with SU -
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese communist revolutionary leader who was prime minister (1945–1955) and president (1945–1969) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. He was significant because he He was a key figure in the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the People’s Army of Vietnam. -
Explosion of First Hydrogen Bomb
The US made the biggest ever man-made explosion from teh Hydrogen Bomb which they tested in the Pacific archipelago of Bikini, part of the Marshall Islands. The hydrogen bomb was significant because it was way more powerful than the atomic bomb, which brought the threat of nuclear war to a whole new level. -
Nikita Krushchev
Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War and served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Khrushchev was significant because he put into place de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union. He backed the progress of many liberal reforms of domestic policy. -
KGB
The KGB (Committee for State Security) was was the main security agency for the Soviet Union. The KGB was significant because it was the chief government agency of the Soviet Union and acted as intelligence, secret police, and international security. -
Geneva Accords
The Geneva Accords was a conference which took place in Geneva, Switzerland. The purpose was to find a way to unify Vietnam and restoring peace in Indochina. This conference was significant because the agreements separated Vietnam into two zones. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a mutual defense treaty between eight communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. It was significant because it was the largest communist power in the world and an obvious opponent of democratic NATO including the US. -
Vietnam
The Vietnam War was a military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia between communist North Vietnam backed by the Soviets and anti-communist South Vietnam backed by the US. It was significant because it was the decidiing battle of whether Vietnam would become communist or ant-communist (although in the end nothing was altered) and it was an example of how the US and Soviet Union did not fight eachother directly, but rather backed opposing countries pitted against one another. -
Suez Canal/Nasser
The Suez Canal Crisis was a diplomatic and military confrontation between Egypt on one side, and Britain, France and Israel on the other. Nasser was the President of Egypt at the time and made the decision to nationalize the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal Crisis was significant because from it, he first United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was established by the United Nations to secure an end to the Suez Crisis. -
Sputnik
Sputnik was the world's first successful Earth satellite launched by the Soviets, and was known as the "Sputnik Crisis" because of how it scared Americans. Americans feared that now the Soviets could send missiles at any time. It was significant because it spurred on educational growth as well as the passing of the National Defense Education Act (NDEA), a program that spent billions of dollars on the US educational program geared towards creating a new generation of brilliant engineers. -
Brezhnev
Brezhnev was the General Secretary of the Central Committee (CC) of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He served and 18-year-term as Gerneral Secretary and was an active member of the Communist party. Brezhnev was significant because under his rule, the influence of the Soviet Union increased greatly, but he also began the era where huge problems are overlooked, leading to the dissolving of the Soviet Union. -
Berlin Wall Erected
Wall that divided the city of Berlin into Communist East and Democracy West. The wall was put up because many workers and citizens of East Berlin were fleeing to the Western part of the city to escape communism and seek better conditions. The erection of the Berlin Wall was significant because it caused a lot of unrest and anger amoung the people of Berlin, ultimately causing many riots and rebellions against the communist leadership and Soviet power. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the U.S. against the Soviet Union who had teamed up with Cuba. Cuba was starting to move toward communism, so the Soviet Union came in and gave Cuba missiles to use against the U.S. It was significant because it ended in the failed attempt to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, which ultimately caused the creation of the U.S. embargo on Cuba which still stands today. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a military campaign during the Vietnam War that was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnam against South Vietnam, the United States. It was a campaign of surprise attacks throughout South Vietnam. It was significant because up to that point in the war, it was the largest military campain of either side. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was an American program set up to aid Europe countries so that they would promise not to become communist. Under this program the United States gave economic support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II. The Marshal Plan was significant because it let the US secure the European countries that it helped from becoming communist as well as creating a profit from intrest and the formation of allies. -
Helsinki Accords
Helsinki Accords was the final act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe and was a declaration in an attempt to improve relations between the Communist bloc and the West. The Helsinki Accords was significant because it pledged 35 nations to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and to cooperate in economic, scientific, humanitarian, and other areas. -
Iranian Hostage Crisis
The Iranian hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States when 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days after Islamist students and militant supporters of the Iranian Revolution took over the American Embassy of Tehran. It was significant because it was a blow to the US and it's power in Iran. -
Russian Invasion of Afghanistan
The Russian Invasion of Afghanistan was a nine year battle in which the Soviets entered in order to support the communist Afganistan forces against the anticommunist Muslims. The Russian Invasion of Afghanistan was significant because it resulted in the US as well as many other countries boycott of the Moscow Olympics of 1980. -
Moscow Olympics
The Moscow Olympics was an international mult-sport event in which were boycotted by 65 countries led by the US because of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. It was significant because by boycotting the games, the US showed how many countries of the world supported them and who also disapproved of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. -
Lech Walesa and the Solidarity Movement
Lech Walesa was the leader of the solidarity Movement in Poland where he spoke out for the people's rights as workers. He organized strikes and boycotts all throughout Poland to spur on the social movement, using the methods of civil resistance to advance the causes of workers' rights and social change. It was significant because the Solidarity Movement led by Walesa was the first non–communist party-controlled trade union in a Warsaw Pact country. -
Los Angeles Olymipics
The Los Angeles olympics of 1948 was an international multi-sport event in which many powers in the world decided to boycott, including 14 Eastern Bloc countries such as the Soviet Union, Cuba and East Germany, Iran, and Libya. It was significant because it was a sign of Soviet retaliation against the US for their boycott in 1980 of the Moscow Olympics. -
Gorbachev
Gorbachev was a Soviet statesman who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991. He was the first (and last) president of the Soviet Union from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991. He was significant because his attempts to reform and colaboration with Reagan contributed to the end of the Cold War and ending the Communist Party. -
Perestoika and Glasnost
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union for reform and Glasnost was a the Soviet leader of the movement. Perestokia and Glasnost were significant because they led to factions within the Communist Party which helped to weaken the Soviet Union's power. -
Chernobyl Disaster
Chernobyl was a catastrophic nuclear accident of the Soviet Union that occurred during a systems test at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The explosion released great amounts of radioactivity that spread throughout much of Western USSR and Europe. The Chernobyl disaster was significant because it raised awareness and concern about Nuclear power in the world. -
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China in which hundreds of civilians were killed by the Chinese army during a military operation to crush a democratic protesters made up mainly of students. It was significant because it was an incident that reflected very poorly upon China and communism in general. -
Berlin Wall Demolition
When the Berlin Wall came down, people came to the wall with hammers and chisels to chip off bits of the wall, demolishing lengthy parts of it and keeping them as souvenirs. The demolition of the Berlin Wall was significant because it signified the re-uniting of Berlin and the expelling of communism, as well as the end of the Cold War -
Yeltsin
Yeltsin was a Russian politician and the first President of the Russian Federation. He promised to turn Russia's socialist command economy into a free market economy. -
End of the USSR
The day a declaration acknowledged the dissolving of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and marked the independence of the twelve republics of the Soviet Union. The dissolution of the USSR was significant because it was the breaking apart of the world's biggest communist power and marked the end of the Cold War. -
Putin
Vladimir Putin is a Russian Polititian who was the prime minister of Russia in 1999 after the Cold War came to an end and is now the President of Russia. Putin helped Russia out of it's economic slump after the Cold War, ending the Russian crisis of the 1990's.
