Cold war

What is the United Nations (UN)?

International organization created in 1945 to promote peace, cooperation, and human rights after WWII.

What is the European Union (EU)?

Economic and political alliance of European countries that promotes trade, cooperation, and open borders.

What was the Marshall Plan?

U.S. program that gave billions of dollars to rebuild Western Europe after WWII and prevent the spread of communism.

What happened during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979?

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support a communist government, leading to a long war against Afghan resistance fighters called the Mujahideen.

What is NATO?

Military alliance formed in 1949 between the U.S., Canada, and Western European nations to defend against Soviet aggression.

What is Chechnya known for?

Region in Russia that fought wars for independence after the Soviet Union collapsed.

What was the Warsaw Pact?

Military alliance of the Soviet Union and Eastern European communist countries created in response to NATO.

What conflict occurred in Kosovo?

A region in the Balkans where ethnic conflict in the 1990s led to NATO military intervention against Serbia.

What was the Truman Doctrine?

U.S. policy promising support to countries resisting communism, especially Greece and Turkey.

What is the Watergate scandal?

Political scandal involving President Richard Nixon and a break-in at Democratic Party headquarters leading to his resignation in 1974.

What was Sputnik I?

First artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, marking the start of the Space Race.

What is Solidarity?

Independent labor union movement in Poland that challenged communist rule during the 1980s.

What happened at the Bay of Pigs in 1961?

A failed U.S.-supported invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles trying to overthrow Fidel Castro.

What led to the decline of the USSR?

Economic problems, political corruption, nationalism, and costly military spending weakened the Soviet Union, leading to its collapse in 1991.

What was the Berlin Wall?

A wall built by East Germany from 1961 to 1989 to prevent people from fleeing to West Berlin, symbolizing the Cold War.

What reforms did Gorbachev introduce?

Mikhail Gorbachev introduced reforms called glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring), which weakened communist control.

What are satellite countries?

Eastern European countries controlled or strongly influenced by the Soviet Union after WWII.

What is the Iron Curtain?

A term used by Winston Churchill to describe the division between communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe.

What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Conflict between the U.S. and Soviet Union in 1962 after the USSR placed nuclear missiles in Cuba.

What is the Brezhnev Doctrine?

Soviet policy stating that the USSR could use force to maintain communist control in Eastern Europe.

Who are the Taliban?

An Islamic extremist group that took control of much of Afghanistan in the 1990s and later sheltered al-Qaeda.

What are the Cold War alliances?

NATO = U.S. and Western allies; Warsaw Pact = Soviet Union and Eastern European communist allies, which increased tensions.

What happened in China in 1949?

Communists led by Mao Zedong won the Chinese Civil War, creating the People’s Republic of China, while nationalists fled to Taiwan.

What is the nuclear arms race?

Competition between the U.S. and Soviet Union to build more powerful nuclear weapons, leading to fear of nuclear war.

What were the effects of German reunification?

East and West Germany reunited in 1990, symbolizing the end of the Cold War and the establishment of one democratic country.

What were the causes of the creation of Israel in 1948?

The Zionist movement, Holocaust impact, and the UN's proposal to divide Palestine into Jewish and Arab states.

What were the effects of events following Israel's creation?

Arab nations attacked Israel, resulting in displaced Palestinian refugees and subsequent Arab-Israeli conflicts.

What events heightened Cold War tensions?

Berlin Blockade/Airlift, Korean War, nuclear arms race, Sputnik, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the Berlin Wall.