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Josef Stalin
Josef Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union and revamped the traditional idea of socialism. H/S: He created labor camps and ruled with an iron fist, but he also changed the USSR into a superpower and helped led to the tension of the Cold War. -
United Nations
The UN is the largest, most prominent international organization and was created to replace the League of Nations. It was also created as a place for open contact. H/S: It was created to stop wars and create a platform for dialogue. -
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain represented the boundary between ideals and the physical boundary dividing Europe in WWII and ended at the finish of the Cold War. It showed the Soviet Union attempting to cut itself off from its non-communist counterparts. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine supported Greece and Turkey to keep them away from the Soviets. H/S: It was part of the containment policy to stop the Soviets. -
European League for Economic Cooperation
The ELEC is a network of entrepeneurs that put pressure on European decision makers to further economic growth. The ELEC helped found the European Movement and still exists to help Europe today. -
Marshall Plan
This plan was America's aid to Europe after WWII. They wanted to help rebuild European economies. H/S: This helped ease trade barriers and European integration. IT also helped systems to coordinate economies on a continental level. -
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Berlin Airlift
Stalin attempted to drive the Western Allies out of Berlin by blocking all of their railroads and highways in the Western sectors of the city. The Allies responded by airlifting needed supplies into those sectors around the clock. The Soviets ended their blockade after seeing the Allies success, but this caused the crisis to deepen and tensions to run higher. -
NATO
NATO is an intermilitary alliace based on the North Atlantic Treaty. All of countries that signed promised to protect each other in case of attack from external forces. H/S: This created better connection between previously rivaling countries and still operates today. -
People's Republic of China
The PRC was a communist governed country. Technically, it was created in 1912, but was fought against by the REpublic of China. It declared itself in 1949. H/S: China has become the world's fastest growing economy with the reform the PRC set up. -
Korean War
This was a war fought between South Korea and North Korea. South Korea was supported by the UN. North Korea was once supported by the Democratic Republic of China and the Soviet Union. H/S: This established the Korean Demilitarized Zone and ended major conflict. Although, some small encounters still occured. -
Nikita Khrushchev
Khrushchev held many positions in the Soviet Union, including leading them through the Cold War. H/S: He helped de-Stalinize the Soviet Union, backed the space program, and also backed several liberal domestic policy reforms. -
KGB
The KGB was the security agency for the USSR from 1954 until the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The KGB acted as a secret police, internal security, and intelligence agency. It was also considered as military service. H/S: Many other KGB-like groups were created elsewhere. -
Explosion of the First Hydrogen Bomb
The largest man-made explosion of that time was set off near the Bikini archipelago. It was so powerful, none of the instruments could measure it. This is historically important because this showed how powerful and destructive our weapons had become. Also, this fuel the US/USSR tension because the US was showing their power. Continuing, the model of this bomb is often used today. -
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese nationalist and communist leader that led regimes against Japan and later other Vietnamese. He controlled Vietnam. H/S: He was victorious at the battle of Dienbienphu. This caused the French to leave Vietnam and lead Vietnam to join the Cold War and its division. -
The Warsaw Pact
This was a pact signed by communist states in Central and Eastern Europe to defend each other in case of attack during the Cold War. H/S: The Soviet Union used other countries to create a barrier between itself and the Western bloc in case of attack. -
Vietnam War
This was a war fought during the Cold War-era. It was between the communist-supported North Korea and the US-supported South Korea. H/S: North and South Korea was reunited as one communist nation after many, many thousands of deaths. -
Suez Canal/Nasser
Nasser, the President of Egypt at the time, was attempting to nationalize the Suez Canal and bring it under Egyptian rule. This caused problems with the other countries using the canal. H/S: This caused the United Nations Emergency Force to partrol the Egypt-Israeli border to avoid the conflict resuming. -
Sputnik
This was the first artificial satellite sent into space. It was launched into orbit by the Soviets. H/S: This helped launch the Space Race, which brought forth many advancements in many fields. -
Berlin Wall is erected.
The Wall was built to stop the mass exodus of East Berliners to West Berlin. The wall was huge and was surrounded by guards and barbed wire. This created even more tension and showed that workers were not enjoying a communist paradise, but instead were being forced to keep from fleeing. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
This was a 13-day confrontation between the US and the USSR with collaboration with Cuba. It was one of major confrontations of the war and was the closest the Cold War came to turning into nuclear warfare. -
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Brezhnev came to power after the ousting of an erractic Nikita Khrushchev. He was a more bland leader, but this brought forth the stability the Soviet Union needed. He is significant because he helped stabilize and calm down the Soviet Union. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was an attack on South Korea, the US, and its allies by the Viet Cong and North Korea. H/S: This caused many Americans to begin to oppose the war. -
Helsinki Accords
These accords secure the rights of freedom of speech, religion, and press. They also gave the right to a fair trial, to earn a living, and to live safely. These are significant because even though they were created the very rights they speak of are violated everyday around the world. -
Iranian Hostage Crisis
This incident occurs when Islamist students and militants supporting the Iranian Revolution took over the American Embassy in Tehran. 52 American hostages were held for 444 days. H/S: This crisis hurt President Carter's presidency and run for reelection. This also marked the weakening of ties with Iran. -
Russia Invasion of Afghanistan
This was a war between the Mujahideen and the Soviet-led Afghan forces in Afghanistan. H/S: This caused the deaths of many Afghan civilians along with those who participated. It also caused many to flee the country. It was considered the Soviet's "Vietnam" and was not a popular war with many. -
Moscow Olympics
The US led a boycott of this Olympics and 65 other countries followed. The boycott was caused the Soviet war in Aghanistan. H/S: This led to the USSR and many of its satellites to boycott the LA Olympics. -
Lech Walesa and the Solidarity Movement in Poland
Lech Walesa is the charismatic co-founder of Solidarity, the Soviet Union's first trade union. He also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983. He was president of Poland from 1990 to 1995. H/S: He helped bring forth semi-free parliamentary elections and a Solidarity-led government. -
Los Angeles Olympics
As the US had led the boycott of the Moscow Olympics, many Soviet satellites boycotted this US Olypmics. The USSR did not partcipate in part because of US anti-USSR propaganda. H/S: Even though some countries did not come, many did and this Olympics is consider one of the most financially successful. -
Mikhail Grobachev
From 1985 until 1991, Gorbachev lead the USSR with ideas of openness (glasnost) and governmental and economic reconstruction (perestroika). Although, these ideas fell through and only caused turmoil and unrest. This is historically significant because he helped bring on the collapse of the USSR and the separation of the Soviet republics. -
Perestroika and Glasnost
Perestroika means recontruction of government and economy and glasnost means openness. H/S: These are both ideas of Nikita Gorbachev, but when put in place they caused problems and unrest. -
Chernobyl Disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear disaster that happened in the Ukranian SSR. It is regarded by many is the worst nuclear power plant accident in history. The radiation from the fires spread as far as Italy and France. The pollution and forest destruction the explosion caused proved environmentalists warnings about the pollution created by nuclear power plants. -
Geneva Accords
This was the settling of the issues with the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. It was a bi-lateral agreement between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of Afghanistan on the principles of mutual relations. It is significant because the US and USSR served as guarantors. -
Tiananmen Square Protests
These protests were student-led and in Beijing. They were wildly supported by city residents. They exposed deep splits in China's leadership, but were forced to stop by the military. H/S: Political and economic reforms were stalled and the government was shamed for using military force against the protesters. -
Berlin War is torn down.
The Berlin Wall is torn down. This means a reconnection between the two sides of the city. -
Yeltsin
Yeltsin vowed to transform Russia's socialist economy into a free market and implemented economic shock therapy, price liberalization, and privitazation programs. H/S: Yeltsin's changes left a lot of money in a few oligarch's hands and his era was marked with much corruption. -
Dissolution of the USSR
Eastern European countries began breaking out of the Soviet orbit in 1989. The Baltic States regained full independence. Soviet hardliners attempted a failed coup, but the coup still weakened Gorbachev. Soon, larger powers were backing out. After 69 years, the Soviet Union had crumbled. This meant that a major superpowers was now non-existant and the Cold War was over. -
Vladimir Putin
Putin has servedas president of Russia from 2000-2008 and regained his presidency in 2012. He also served as Prime Minister for one year. H/S: He is accredited for regaining political stability in Russia and ending the 1990's crisis.
