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The "Big Three" leaders of the Allies meet, Germany is about to fall. This is the beginning of the Cold War.
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When the Soviets cut off supply trains to West Berlin, the Allies flew in supplies for almost a year. Stalin eventually let supplies back into the city because the airlift made him look bad.
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NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization is formed to unite the countries of capitalism. Declared that an attack on one country would be an attack on all.
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The US supported South Korea when North Korea, aided by the Soviet Union, invaded it's southern neighbor. It was a proxy war fought between the US and the Soviets.
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The Soviet Union launched the first satellite into space, both with and without a life force. This made the US concerned that they could place nuclear launching stations in space. Charap, S., & Shapiro, J. (2016). US-Russian relations: The middle cannot hold. Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists, 72(3), 150-155. doi:10.1080/00963402.2016.1170366
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The US launches it's first expedition into space in response to the Soviet Union's Sputnik launches.
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A US spy plane was shot down by the Soviets, forcing the US to admit that it's purpose had been military.
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Failed attempt by the US to invade Cuba in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro.
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The US identifies Soviet nuclear weapons facilities being built on Cuba. Very tense negotiations occur, and the two countries barely avoid going to full nuclear war.
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A treaty signed by both the US and the Soviets in order to limit current nuclear weapons and the development of further nuclear weapons.
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The US supported South Vietnam in a proxy war that was fought mostly to show power to the Soviets.
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The US and the Soviets sign the first of two treaties, the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, to end the Cold War.
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The Soviet Union sent troops into Afghanistan and took over the government in a time of turmoil. Rebels received aid from UN countries, but the Soviets continued to add troops until Gorbachev finally withdrew them in 1989.
Grau, L. W. (2015). Securing the Borders of Afghanistan During the Soviet-Afghan War. Journal Of Slavic Military Studies, 28(2), 414-428. doi:10.1080/13518046.2015.1030276 -
Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of reconstruction and openness that started the breakdown of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
Pastukhov, V. B. (2012). Perestroika, Second Edition. Russian Social Science Review, 53(6), 62-90. -
The Berlin Wall was built to cut off East Berlin from West Berlin and prevent people from defecting to the West side. When the restriction was lifted, people initially climbed the wall before it eventually crumbled.
Ahonen, P. (2011). The Berlin Wall and the Battle for Legitimacy in Divided Germany. German Politics & Society, 29(2), 40-56. doi:10.3167/gps.2011.290204
