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Gouzenko Affair
On September 5, 1945, Igor Sergeievich Gouzenko left the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, carrying with him Russian documents revealing the existence of Soviet spy ring in Canada. He took his story to newspapers and the Department of Justice. This led to the arrest of 39 people believed to have been included in this spy ring. -
Formation of the United Nations
In 1942, 26 nations pledged to continue fighting the Axis Powers. As the Second World War went on, there were several meetings with the countries while adding others to the United Nations. In 1945, 50 countries met in San Francisco where a Charter was signed, officially creating the Untied Nations. -
Creation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation)
An organization started by Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom, and United States. It was created to deter Soviet expansionism, forbid the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe, and to encourage European political integration. -
The Use of the Atomic Bomb in the Cold War
The Societ's test their first nuclear bomb, starting the threat of nuclear war. It was the threat of an Atomic Bomb that instilled fear in people. The Arms Race between the USSR and US began advancements in nuclear weapons, including ICBM's, missles able to launch from over 8000km away. This stated a stalemate the threat of Atomic Bombs, including events like the Cuban Missle Crisis. -
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Korean War
Soviet supported North Korean soldiers entered pro-western South Korea. Within weeks United States forces joined the war supporting South Korea, followed by other Western countries including Canada. The war quickly became a stalemate with casualties piling up. -
Formation of the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a treaty signed by the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. The Warsaw Pact was a mutual defense organization that gave the Soviet Union command of the military of other the other members. -
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Vietnam War
The North Vietnam, DRV and Viet Cong joined to impose a communist system over Vietnam. The South Vietnam, RVN who were supported by the U.S opposed communism in Vietnam. Canada fought along with the U.S, where they helped with secret missions, weapons testing, arms production, and the supervision of ceasefires. -
Suez Crisis
Israeli armed forces pushed into Egypt toward the Suez Canal after Egyptian president Gamal Nasser nationalized the canal. The Israeli forces were soon joined by the French and British. This almost brought the USSR into the conflict, and it also hurt relations with the United States. By late 1956 and early 1957 all Israeli, British, and French forces were withdrawn, with help from future Canadian Prime Minister, Lester B. Pearson's use of the first large-scale United Nation peacekeeping force. -
Formation of NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command)
Was an agreement between Canada and The United States. It was a system of defense measures, installations and systems that would give an early warning and protection from Soviet attacks for North America. -
Cancellation of the Avro Arrow
The Avro Arrow was a Canadian supersonic jet interceptor. At the time, it was the most impressive aeronautic invention in the world. After a very small amount were produced, the Canadian government cancelled production on all Avro Arrows. The reason given for the cancellation by Prime Minister Diefenbaker was that it was too expensive and not worth the money. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
President John Kennedy released to Americans the presence of Soviet nucular-armed missles in Cuba and his descision to have a naval blockade around Cuba and that he was ready to use military force. This brought the United States and Soviet Union into a tense standoff. The crisis ended when the U.S agreed to the Soviet's offer to remove the missles if the U.S doesn't invade Cuba and removes secret missles in Turkey. Although Canada was threatened, we didn't agree immediately. -
SALT Treaty
An agreement between United States President Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev. It was the first time that there was an agreement to the limit of nuclear missles in their arsenals. There needed to be a second SALT Treaty in 1979 to change some things and resolve some problems. This was signed but never ratified because of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. -
Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative was The United States response to the threat of nuclear attacks from afar. It was a program to deveop an anti-ballistic missle system that was supposed to prevent missle attacks from other countries, primarily fromt the Soviet Union. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was made by the Soviet Union in 1961 to separate Soviet controlled East Germany and Ally controlled West Germany. The main reason for the wall was to prevent people from East Berlin going to West Berlin. As riots and the attempts to cross the border got more extreme, East Berlin allowed people to leave. Millions of people from East Berlin visited the celebrations where they took tools and chipped away at the wall, while also using machines like cranes and bulldozers to pull down -
Breakup of the Soviet Union
11 Soviet republics met in Alma-Ata and announced their withdrawal from the Soviet Union. This came after the 3 baltic republics had declared they were no longer a part of the USSR. Georgia was the only one of 15 republics remaining. Once the Soviet Union had fallen after being around since 1917, Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev had resigned as leader of the USSR on December 25 of 1991.
