-
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Air Lift was a U.S. British, and French response to the Soviet Unions closing of all roads, barge, and Railways through East Germany to West Berlin on 12 May 1948. The Soviet Unions hope was that by doing this they could crush the occupiants of West Berlins faith in Western Powers. The Airlift operation ran till Sep of 1949 -
U.N. action of the Korean War
The design of the United Nations established a security counsel on which the Soviet Union and the U.S. were both seated members. On 27 June 1950, the U.S. proposed troops be sent to the Korean peninsula to stop the North Korean invasion of South Korea. The Soviet representative to the Security Consul was not present for the vote becuase he was outside the U.N. invloved in a protest. His absence secured a winning majority for the U.S. proposal and started what is now refered to as the Korean War -
Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 was the first man made satillite to be launched into space. It was the start of battle between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to be the first to explore space. This battle to be first in space would come to be known as the "Space Race" -
The First Man in Space
Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union was the first man to every go into space. Many in the U.S. clouded by nationalist fervor think it was Allen Shepard(He was the first American into space). This was the second time the Soviet Union had beat the U.S. in Space Race. -
Building of the Berlin Wall
With Berlin divided into two parts many East Germans and others not happy with life in the Soviet Union had used West Berlin as their gateway to freedom. The Soviet Union therefore erected a Wall laying some 30miles of brick effectively closing off East Berlin from West Berlin. -
Cuban Missle Crises
For 13 days the U.S. and the Soviet Union were dangerously close to war. The start of this crises came from U.S. spy plane photographs identifying that Cuba(90miles off the coast of Florida) was in the process of building neclear weapon launch sites in a agreement with the Soviet Union. President Kennedy ordered a Navel Blockade of Cuba and thankfully the Soviet Union did not try and cross it. -
First Woman in Space
Valentina Tereshkova from the Soviet Union was the first woman to travel to space. It was again another first and win for the Soviet Union in the Space Race against the U.S.. Not putting down the significance of what she did the Soviet Union also used this as a publicity stunt to show the world that woman in the Soviet Union were not concedered lesser. -
First Man on the Moon
Neil Armstrong from the U.S. was the first man to walk on the Moon. Finally the U.S. had beaten the Soviet Union at something in the "Space Race". This accomplishment also answered the Challenge of deceased President Kennedy who had said we choose to go to the moon before the end of the decade. -
Soviet Union Invades Afghanistan
The Soviet Union claimed that troops entered Afghanistan as an effort to protect itself from radical extremists who lived in the country and who were a threat to the USSR. The invasion was condemed by the U.S. and most Western conutries as an invasion to force a nation of people to succumb to the will of the Soviet Union. -
U.S. Hockey Team Defeats the Soviet Union at the XIII Winter Olymic Games
This is one of sports greatest upsets. For years the Soviet union had been a dominating force in Hockey and were favored to win the Gold Medal. With the recent invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union it especially put a political spot light onto a simple game of Hockey. A huge misconception is the U.S. won the Gold Medal with their deeat over the Soviet Union. The U.S. defeated Finland to win the Gold Medal. -
U.S. Boycotts the XXII Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia
President Carter made the announcement after the Soviet Union failed to meet a U.S. deadline for withdrawl of Soviet Troops from Afghansitan. -
Soviet Union boycotts the XXIII Olympic Games in Los Angeles Ca
The Soviet Union announced it would boycott the Olympic Games in Los Angeles fearing for the safety of their Athelets. In all 15 countries who were part of or had connections to the Soviet Union Boycotted the games. -
Intermidate Range Nuclear Ballistic Forces Treaty
This was at a time when both the U.S. and the Soviet Union were building Nuclear weapons at a stagaring pace and the deployment of these wepons by both sides was happening all along the West Europe/Soviet Bloc line. President Regean pushed for a treaty between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to ellimate all Intermediate Nuclear weapons from thier respective arsenals. Eventually the treaty was signed. After the Soviet Union gave up on the U.S. scraping its "Star Wars Defence Initiative" -
Tearing Down of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall had been the prime image of Soviet oppressioin for almost 30 years. With a changing politial climate across parts of the Soviet Union and civil unrest in East Berlin the East German goverment announced the wall would be dismanteled. East and West Germans initially worked together to chip away and destory the wall in a huge celebration -
The Soviet Union is dissolved
Soviet Union had been having troubles for sometime and many countries to include Russia had succeded from the Soviet Union and formed the Commonwealth of Indpendent States (CIS). President Gorbachev announced that he was resigning declaering his office extinct. He acknoledged the independence of former Soviet Republics and transfered the Soviet Union Nuclear arsenal over to Russian President Yeltsin.
