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Yalta Conference
The "Big Three" or the Soviet Union, England, and the United States met at Yalta to decide how they will divide Germany and what happens after the war. This does have a geographic theme because the land is being divided by each of the nations after Germany is defeated. -
World War II Ends
The end of World War II by Japan's surrender marks the beginning of the deteriorating relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. Each of these nations played a large role in the war and became super powerful countries because of the war. This does have a cultural theme to it as the word American life was changed by the war and peace means there culture will change again. -
The Iron Curtain in Put in Place
The Iron Curtain was the border between the Western Nations and the Soviet Union. It was put in place by the Soviet Union to block the Soviet Union and Soviet controlled countries from open contact with the Western Nations and other non-Soviet controlled areas. This does actually have a religious theme to this, as much of the area that was divided had the same religions, and the Soviets were a very atheistic nation and tried to integrate their ideals into their society. -
Soviets Test Their Own Nuclear Weapon
After the Soviets created the "First Lightning" bomb, the tensions got much more intense as now both superpowers had a weapon that could kill millions in a short amount of time. This has a physiological theme in this event because the people of the world realized that two superpowers now had the capability to drop weapons of mass destruction on one another, and many feared that the end of the world was near. -
The Vietnam War Starts
This was a war between South Vietnam and the United States versus North Vietnam and the Soviet Union. It started after Ho Chi Minh formed the Viet Minh, which was inspired by Chinese and Soviet Union communism. The U.S. wanted to stop the spread of communism, thinking that if they didn't intervene, that the rest of Indochina would become communist. This had a large economic theme because of the immense cost of the war, and showed how far the government would go to stop communism. End 04/30/1975 -
First ICBM was created
The R-7 or the 8K71 was the first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile was the first technology that allowed the Soviet Union to send nuclear bombs from one continent to another. This was thanks to the new Kerosene (RP-1)/Liquid Oxygen fuels, a bigger rocket, and Sergei Korolev, a rocket scientist who worked on the Nazi "V2" missile. This does have a geographic theme because what was once safe because it was out of range from missiles, was now in range for a nuclear warhead. -
Sputnik Satellite was put in Orbit
The small probe named "Sputnik" became the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. It was launched on top of the "8K71PS", which was basically the R-7 ICBM with a couple modifications. The Soviet Union and United States both saw the military applications, and this launch proved that the Soviets were far ahead of the Americans in this aspect. This has a very strong Intellectual theme as the Soviets proved that they can do something that was considered once impossible. -
Soviets Send the First Organism to Orbit
The Soviets wanted to test what would happen if an organism went to orbit, so they sent a dog named "Laika" on Sputnik II. The capsule was never supposed to return and Laika was to die in space. About 5-7 hours into the flight, the cabin cooling system failed and Laika died due by overheating and stress. This brought up controversy by the Western nations whether it was justified to harm an animal in the pursuit of scientific achievements. This has cultural themes due to the difference in ideals. -
Soviet Missiles are discovered by the United States in Cuba
After the Cuban government declared itself a part of the Soviet Union in 1959, nuclear missiles and warheads started to be transported out to Cuba. A U-2 spy plane captured photos of this and made it public what the Soviets were doing. This frightened the United States citizens as they knew all of them were at risk of dying from a nuclear bomb, therefore showing the immense physiological theme that occurred throughout the Cuban Missile Crisis. The missiles were taken out of Cuba 12 days later. -
The United States Lands Humans on the Moon for the First Time
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the moon for the first time on the Apollo 11 mission while Michael Collins waited in the command module in which the crew would return in. This project was able to happen because of Wernher von Braun and the brilliant minds at the NASA. This represented the U.S's new superiority in the Space Race, as they are still the only country that has put people on the moon. This has an intellectual theme because of their nearly impossible accomplishment. -
The Strategic Arms Limitations Act was Signed by the U.S. and the Soviet Union
The Strategic Arms Limitation Act was a result of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks or SALT. These talks were created to end the arms race between the two countries. The first step that they took was to create the first limitations on Anti-Ballistic-Missiles (ABM) by having each country only limited to 1 ABM site. This decreased the tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. This has a political theme in this situation because the two powers are trying to their nation alive. -
Apollo Soyuz Test Project
The Apollo Soyuz Test Project marked the end of the space race and the beginning of combined efforts for the exploration of space. On July 15, 1975, The Soyuz spacecraft launched on a Soyuz rocket and the Apollo capsule launched on a Saturn 1B seven hours later. Two days later, they docked and shook hands, representing the decreasing tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. This has a social theme because of the lowered tensions and trust that is build between the nations. -
Perestroika and Glasnost is Introduced to the Soviet Union
"Perestroika" refers to the rebuilding of the economic and political system of Soviet Russia and "Glasnost" means openness, meaning that the Soviet Union was going to be open about what they were doing to the people. It also gave more freedoms and rights to the Soviet people such as freedom of speech, which in turn led to less censorship. This contains Social and Artistic themes as freedom of speech was introduced for the first time and artistry was not regulated any longer. -
Berlin Wall is Destroyed
The Berlin Wall was held up to keep East Germans from exiting the Soviet controlled East Berlin. Many tried to flee East Berlin, so the Soviets created a wall and ordered soldiers to fire at those who fled with machine guns. Around November, the guards stopped firing, and the East Germans broke down the wall with the European Nation's help. This has a very strong political theme as the breaking of the wall represented the Soviet Union losing power and strength. -
Interview
I interviewed one of the first U.S. citizen who legally stepped foot into the Soviet Union, named Meghan Glidden, age 45. She visited the Soviet Union in 1989 when she was 15. She was a student ambassador who met other communist classes in the Soviet Union, with the hope that if they saw Americans as humans, the tensions between the nations would decrease. She noticed a lot of things that were different than America, what surprised her most was brutality and complete control of the government. -
Current Event: North Korea
North Korea is a government that was created when the United States and the Soviet Union split up the Korean Peninsula. The Soviets installed a young communist named Kim Il Sung, thereby making him the first prime minister of North Korea. North Korea has many traits of the Soviet Union, such as ownership of all private property, media censorship, and restrictions on travel. They also have an extremely powerful military, produce nuclear weapons, and threaten to launch nukes at other countries.
