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Yalta Conference
From February 4-11, 1945, the "Big Three" (Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin) met to discuss the allied occupation of Germany. -
United Nations formed
The United Nations was formed with the goal of preventing war. -
First United Nations Meeting
The first meeting took place in San Francisco. The permanent headquarters of the United Nations were set as New York, which still holds to this day. -
Arms Race
The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 to end World War II. This was when the atomic bomb was first known to the world. Stalin was formally informed of the existence of nuclear weaponry at the Potsdam Conference on July 24, 1945, but due to a spying ring within the Manhattan Project, he was aware well before this. This eventually led to MAD (mutually assured destruction), where either the US or the USSR had the power to destroy the other side. -
Truman Doctrine
This was a speech made by President Truman declaring that the United States would provide military and economic aid to countries that were being threatened by Communism. -
Marshall Plan
Created by and named after George Marshall, the U.S. Secretary of State, this was a plan for the U.S. to help Europe recover economically. -
Berlin Blockade
On this date, the Soviets blocked all entrances to Berlin by the Allies, cutting off all allied supplies to West Berlin. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlife was the Allied response to the Berlin Blockade. They sent 1.5 million tons of supplies into West Berlin by dropping supplies by airplane. -
End of Berlin Blockade
The Soviets eventually gave in to the Allies and reallowed entry into West Berlin. -
First Soviet Bomb Tested
"First Lightning", which was essentially a copy of "Fat Man", shocked the world when the Soviet Union tested it. -
Korean War
The Korean war was a war between The Republic of Korea (South Korea), supplied by the allies, and The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), supplied by China and the USSR. -
Ivy Mike
"Ivy Mike" was the first hydrogen bomb tested. It was over 450 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Nagasaki during WWII. -
Joseph Stalin Dies
Joseph Stalin was the leader of the USSR from April 3, 1922 until his death on this date. He murdered a large population of his own people. -
Nikita Sergeyevich Krushchev comes to power
Nikita Segeyevich Krushchev backed many of the more liberal policies in the USSR and was known for his "de-stalinization" of Russia. -
Korean War Ends
Although North and South Korea may hae signed an armistice, their has been no official treaty signed. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War occured in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Like the Korean War, it was fought between the Communist North supported by Communist nations and the Non-Communist South aided by the allies. This was was strongly opposed by the people of America. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact set a military alliance of Communist nations, including the USSR, East Germany, Albania, Czech, Poland, Hungary, and Romania. -
Space Race
On this date, both the U.S. and the USSR declared that they would be launching satellites in "the near future". -
Hungarian Revolution
When Russia took over Poland and began enforcing communism, Polish workers revolted, led by Prime Minister Imre Nagy. He was arrested on this day and the revolt ended. -
Sputnik
"Sputnik" was the first satellite to orbit Earth. It sent radio signals back to the surface. -
Luna 2
The Luna 2 was a Soviet machine that was the first man-made item to land on the moon. -
U-2 Incident
A U-2 spy plane (thus the name "U-2 Incident") was shot down over Soviet air space. The US was forced to admit the purposes of the aircraft to Soviet Russia. This marked the deterioration of the relations between the US and the USSR. -
First Man in Space
Yuri Gagarin, a Russian Cosmonaut, was the first man in space. His spaceship, Vostok 1, was in orbit for 1 hour and 48 minutes. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
This was a failed military invasion of Cuba led by the CIA. The US was concerned about the direction that Cuba was taking, so they made this plan to overthrow Fidel Castro. They failed, and Castro strengthened ties with the USSR and Cuba became a socialist state. -
Berlin Wall
Building began on August 13, 1961. It did not have an official completion date, because there was work done on it until it fell on Novermber 9, 1988. This wall was built by the Soviets to separate East Berlin from West Berlin and to stop movement away from the Soviet East. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Lasting 14 days, from October 14-28, 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis began when the US discovered that Cuba had multiple nuclear weapons within their reach. This was the point in the Cold War that is recognized as the point where nuclear war was nearest at hand. -
Nikita Sergeyevich Krushchev leaves office
His colleagues removed him from power and replaced him with Leonid Brezhnev as First Secretary and Alexei Kosygin as Premier. -
Apollo 11
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first men on the moon. "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" -Neil Armstrong -
Vietnam War Ends
Vietnam became the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. -
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
This became a war, one that was essentially, again, the Soviets versus the Allies. -
INF Treaty
The "Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty" was an agreement between the US and the USSR signed in Washington DC on December 8, 1987, ratified by the senate on May 27, 1988, and came into force of June 1, 1988. Its formal name is "The Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles". -
Berlin Wall Falls
This occured directly after the East German government announced that travel was permitted throughout Berlin. -
Soviets leave Afghanistan
The Soviets formally withdrew from Afghanistan on this date. -
Mikhail Gorbachev comes to power
Mikhail Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union. -
German Reunification
The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for the German Reunification, which officially concluded on this date. Germany was no longer split into East and West, but instead was just one, the Federal Republic of Germany. -
Mikhail Gorbachev leaves office
Because he was the last leader of the USSR, when the USSR fell, so did he. -
U.S.S.R Breakup
The dissolution of the USSR formed twelve Republics of the Soviet Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
