Cold War Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards for Cold War review.

Proxy War

A conflict where major powers use smaller nations as substitutes to fight without directly engaging each other.

Iron Curtain

The metaphorical barrier separating Soviet-dominated Europe from Western Europe, as warned by Winston Churchill.

Marshall Plan

US program providing economic aid to war-torn European nations to prevent the spread of Soviet influence.

Berlin Blockade

The Soviet Union's blockage of access to West Berlin.

Berlin Airlift

Truman's response to the Berlin Blockade, airlifting food and supplies to West Berlin citizens for one year.

De-Stalinization

Nikita Khrushchev's program to move away from Stalin's policies after his death.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

CIA-led failed attempt to remove Fidel Castro from power in Cuba.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba.

Detente

Policy initiated by President Richard Nixon to reduce tensions with the Soviet Union.

Glasnost

Gorbachev's policy of openness, encouraging Soviet citizens to discuss societal reforms.

Perestroika

Gorbachev's economic restructuring policy in the Soviet Union.

Shock Therapy Economics

Boris Yeltsin's policy for free prices and privatizing industry in Russia.

Zionist Movement

Movement originating in the 1890s with the goal of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine.

Apartheid

Official policy of racial segregation in South Africa from 1948-1991.