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Stalin
He was the main leader of the Soviet Union until his death in 1953, Implemented a highly centralised command economy, launching a period of industrialization and collectivization that resulted in the rapid transformation of the USSR from an agrarian society into an industrial power. During his time, the USSR became the second country in the world to successfully develop a nuclear weapon, as well as launching the Great Construction Projects of Communism. -
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was a symbol of conflict and was a boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas. The term was coined by the Soviet Union in an effort to block themselves and its dependent and central European allies off from open contact with the west and non-communist areas. The Iron Curtain clearly divided Europe ideologically and made tensions rise between the different political states. -
United Nations
The world's largest most prominent international oraganization. The UN has many goals including world peace, economic development, and social progress. The UN has tried to keep peace and security throughout the world, but they have not been very successful in doing so and have been critixized. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was an international relations policy implemented by President Truman in a speech. It is stated that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent them from falling into the Soviet sphere. It is often considered as the start of The Cold War and also the beginning of the containment policy to stop Soviet expansion -
European Economic Cooperation
It was created from the Marhsall Plan to establish a permanent organisation to continue work on a joint recovery programme and in particular to supervise the distribution of aid. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the American program to aid Europe, the United States gave economic support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to prevent the spread of Soviet Communism. Itt erased trade barriers and set up institutions to coordinate the economy on a continental level in Europe. -
Berlin Aiflift
During the Berlin Blockade the Soviet Union wanted complete control over the city of Berlin, so they cut off all supplies from other countries to Berlin. This resulted in the bringing of supplies to Berlin, called the Berlin Airlift. It resulted in embarrassment for the Soviet Union so they lifted the blockade. Germany was created into two different states, splitting up Berlin. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party The Cold War forced NATO to create concrete military plans to defend against the threat of Communism. -
People's Republic of China
Led by Mao, the PRC goal was a total overhaul of the land ownership system, and extensive land reforms -
Korean War
The Korean War was a war between the Republic of Korea and The Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It was the result of the division of Korea at the end of WWII. To end the war an agreement was signed called the Korean De-militarized Zone which fortified the buffer zone between the two nations. -
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese communist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. He was a main figure in the Foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and Viet Cong during the War. He established the communist ruled Demoractic Republic of Vietnam and started to create a path in which the Vietnamese could gain independence. -
The explosion the first hydrogen bomb
"Ivy Mike" was the name of the first hydrogen bomb. It was tested on an atoll in the Pacific Ocean. It was the first successful test of a hydrogen bomb. -
Khrushchev
Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, Khrushchev was responsible for the partial de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union, for backing the progress of the early Soviet space program, and for several relatively liberal reforms in areas of domestic policy. -
KGB (Committee for State Security
KGB was the main security agency for the Soviet Union until 1991. Its main functions were foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, operative-investigatory activities, guarding the State Border of the USSR, guarding the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Soviet Government, organization and ensuring of government communications as well as fight against nationalism, dissent, and anti-Soviet activities. -
Geneva Accord
The purpose of the Geneva Conference was to attempt to find a way to unite Vietnam and restore peace in Indochina. The SU, US, UK, France, and The People's Republic of China were there during the entire conference. A set of documents called the Geneva Accords was produced declaring a set of agreements stating agreements separated Vietnam into two zones, a northern zone to be governed by the Viet Minh, and a southern zone to be governed by the State of Vietnam. -
Vietnam
The pro-Hanoi Vietcong began a guerrilla campaign in the late 1950s to overthrow Diem's government, which an official Vietcong statement described as a "disguised colonial regime. The war left Vietnam devastated, with the total death toll standing at between 800,000 and 3.1 million, and many thousands more crippled by the use of chemical weapons such as Agent Orange -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a mutual defense treaty between eight communist states of Central and Eastern Europe in existence during the Cold War. It was the Communist version of NATO. -
Suez Canal/ Nasser
The Suez Crisis was a diplomatic and military confrontation in late 1956 between Egypt on one side, and Britain, France and Israel on the other, with the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Nations playing major roles in forcing Britain, France and Israel to withdraw. The attack followed the President of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser's decision to nationalize the Suez Canal, after the withdrawal of an offer by Britain and the United States to fund the building of the Aswan Dam. -
Sputnik
Sputnik was the first artificial Earth satellite. It provided scientists with valuable information. Its success precipitated the American Sputnik crisis, began the Space Age and triggered the Space Race. -
Berlin Wall is erected
A wall was created in Berlin by the German Democratic Republic. It cut off access to West Berlin from the surrounding East Germany and East Berlin. The Wall prevented emigration and defection from communists Post WWII countries. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13 day confrontation between the Soviet Union and Cuba and the United States on the other side. It is the closest the Cold War came ever to using nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union came up with the idea to place missiles on Cuba to deter any future invasions because the US had tried to overthrow the Cuban Regime. It resulted in the US and Soviet Union agreeing that the US would not go into Cuba without any provocation. -
Brezhnev
Leonid Brezhnev was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He served until he died in 1982. During his rule the Soviet Union's influence throughout the world grew, as well as the Soviet military. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a military campaign during the Vietnam War by forces of the Viet Cong, the US, and their allies. The offensive was the largest military operation conducted by either side up to that point in the war. It had a profound effect on the US government and shocked the US public, which had been led to believe by its political and military leaders that the communists were, due to previous defeats, incapable of launching such a massive effort. -
Helsinske Accords
Thirty three states signed a declaration to improve relations between the Communist Bloc and the West. They were not binding because they did not have treaty status. -
Iranian Hostage Crisis
The Iranian Hostage Crisis was a diplomatic controversy between the United States and Iran. Fifty two Americans were held hostage for over a year because a group of Islamists took over the American Embassy in Tyran. This led to the invasion of Iran by Iraq and led the government to enter negotiations with the US to release the captives. -
Russian Invasion of Afghanistan
Part of the Cold War, it was fought between Soviet-led Afghan forces against multi-national insurgent groups called the Mujahideen. It resulted in millions of Afghans fleeing their country, mostly to Pakistan and Iran. -
Perestroika and Glasnost
Mikhail Gorbachev's watchwords for the renovation of the Soviet body politic and society that he pursued as general secretary of the Communist Party from 1985 until 1991. Perestroika is often blamed to be the cause of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe, and the end of the Cold War. -
Moscow Olympics
The 1980 Olympics were boycotted and led by the US. Sixty five countries boycotted the event because of the Soviet War in Afghanistan. Althought there were not as many countries partcipating as usual, world records were set, more events participated in than ever before, and many nations appeared at the Olympics for the first time. -
Lech Walesa and the Solidarity Movement in Poland
Lech Walsea is a Polish politician, human rights activist, and trade- union oragnaizer. He served as the Polish President from 1990 to 1995. He was the co-founder of the Soliditary movement which was the Soviets first independent trade union. He won the Nobel Peace Prize and was prominent in the establishment of the 1989 Round Table Agreement that led to semi-free parliamentary elections in June 1989 and to a Solidarity-led government. -
Los Angeles Olympics
The Olympic games were held in Los Angeles, California, But, it was boycotted and many countries would not participate. The boycotting countries organized the Friendship Games. Not a single comptetion was held at the Friendship Games, but the Olympics that year were considered to be very financially profitable. -
Chernobyl
At the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, an explosion caused tons of radioactive particles to go into the air. The particles spread into Europe and Western USSR. The explosion was a catalyst in the collapse of the Soviet Union for being so secretive and it was one of the worst nuclear explosions to date. -
Tiananmen Square
Protests were student-led popular demonstrations in Beijing that received broad support from city residents and exposed deep splits within China's political leadership but were forcibly suppressed by hardline leaders who ordered the military to enforce martial law in the country's capital The government conducted widespread arrests of protesters and their supporters and cracked down on other protests around China, -
Berlin Wall is torn down
During a speech for the 750th anniversary of Berlin, Ronald Reagan challeneged the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to tear down the wall. Tearing down the wall would show the increasing freedom and independence of the Eastern Bloc. -
Gorbachev
He was the first president of the Soviet Union. He made many attempts to reform the SU by having meetings with President Reagan. His efforts contributed to the end of the Cold War, ended the political supremacy of the Communist party, and led to the dissolving of the Soviet Union -
Putin
For sixteen years Putin was an officer in the KGB, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colone. He retired and entered the world of politics in Russia Putin has been widely credited for overseeing a return of political stability and economic progress to Russia, ending the crisis of the 1990s -
Yeltsin
Yeltsin was a Russian politician and the first President of the Russian Federation. Yeltsin era was marked by widespread corruption, inflation, economic collapse and enormous political and social problems that affected Russia and the other former states of the USSR -
End of the USSR
In order to revive the economy of the Soviet Union the president began a process of increasing politcal liberalization. This led to outbreaks of revolutions between ethnic groups. Increased democracy was introduced and the people voted to have independence between the 12 Republics of the Soviet Union. The breaking up of the world's first Communistic state marked an end to the Cold War.
