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Takes place in Indonesia, marking a growing sense of independence among former colonies and a potential "Third World" bloc.
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"On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences"
Delivered at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union - criticised Stalin's brutality, stirring up the communist world -
Uprising in Poznan erupts as workers protest against poor working conditions. The uprising is suppressed by the Polish government with Soviet backing.
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The Hungarian Revolution breaks out against Soviet control. The uprising is brutally crushed by Soviet forces, signifying the limits of "peaceful coexistence." Thousands were killed and wounded and nearly a quarter of a million Hungarians fled the country.
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First Intercontinental Ballistic Missile R-7 Semyorka launched by USSR. Could travel 8800 km
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Soviet Union launches the first artificial satellite, sparking the Space Race.
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USA launched Vanguard but it crashed and was nicknamed "Flopnik"
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The United States launches NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command).
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The United States launches Explorer 1, its first artificial satellite.
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Fidel Castro leads a successful revolution in Cuba, overthrowing the US-backed government of Fulgencio Batista.
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Khrushchev visits the United States, meeting with President Eisenhower at Camp David. The "Spirit of Camp David" fosters a brief period of optimism.
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USSR First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan visits Cuba and arranges $100M in credit => signs sugar and oil deals, first of many pacts over next 30 years. => fosters economic and political relationship with Cuba
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Castro nationalises oil companies => US economic sanctions + sugar import reduced by 95% => October 1960 Castro seizes $1B worth US assets on Cuba
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U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is shot down over the Soviet Union while on a reconnaissance mission. The incident leads to the collapse of the Paris Summit between Khrushchev and Eisenhower.
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108 minute manned spaceflight by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin
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A CIA-backed attempt to overthrow the Cuban government fails. This further strains US-Cuban relations.
1500 anti-Castro exiles trained and armed by CIA
Ends in Failure -
The East German government begins construction of the Berlin Wall, effectively dividing the city. Caused by several factors:
West Berlin = flagship of Western capitalism
Exodus of East Germans => brain drain => 300k leave in 1953, 150k in 1956, 10k in 1961
Hallstein Doctrine => FRG end diplomatic relations with those recognising GDR
Rejection of USSR's Berlin Ultimatum
Needed to reaffirm 1st among equals role -
Counterinsurgency measures recommended : training South Vietnamese Army, increasing US combat forces, bombing North Vietnam
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Covert operations to destabilise Castro's regime and overthrow it
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US Military Manoeuvres in Caribbean
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Forced relocation of South Vietnamese peasants in fortified hamlets to protect/isolate from Vietcong - 3000 hamlets with 1 million people by the end of 1962. Corruption + Alienation = Failure
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The United States discovers Soviet ballistic missiles being installed in Cuba, leading to a tense standoff between the superpowers. The crisis is resolved through a back-channel deal, with the Soviets removing the missiles in exchange for US assurances not to invade Cuba.
27th October 1962 - Naval Quarantine on Cuba Khrushchev offers removal of nuclear missiles (in second messages requests removal of US Jupiter misisles from Turkey) - Kennedy ignores 2nd message - Khrushchev humiliated -
Buddhists persecuted by Diem as he favoured Catholics. May 1963 - Buddhists banned from flying flags for Buddha's birthday leading to protests - 9 killed
Buddhist leader Tri Quang warned USA against Diem
June 1963 first monk burns himself alive - Thích Quang Duc -
The Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty is signed by the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom, marking a small step towards arms control.
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South Vietnamese Rebel Generals plan a coup that leads to Ngo Dinh Diem and Ngo Dinh Nhu being assassinated