cold war & dates

Grand alliance

USA, Britain and USSR were allies during WW1 1. Whilst there where some tension between the countries, they successfully managed to come together and defeat the Nazis.

Capitalism vs Communism

Two rival ideologies presented during the Cold War. USSR followed communism whilst USA followed capitalism.

Atomic bomb

The atomic bomb acted as a catalyst in increasing the tension between the two rival nations. Destruction could increase the stakes.

Berlin

Berlin was a flashpoint ( place where violence flares up) between USA and USSR. Berlin was located in East Germany being controlled by USSR under communism. Berlin was split between the allies. West Berlin, controlled by USA, Berliner’s wanted to move there because of opportunities. To stop this the USSR constructed the Berlin Wall.

Cuba

Cuba is in close proximity to USA and thus was very important strategically - 145km from the coast of Florida. Castro led a revolution there and strengthened ties with the USSR. Bay of pigs incident was a humiliating incident for USA. USA discovered that nuclear weapons were being built in Cuba, so JFK decided to put up a naval blockade. Countries came very close to war. The aftermath led to a decrease in tension.

The space race

A period of time from the launch of Sputnik, ( USSR, 1957) to the first landing of moon ( USA, 1969) where the USA and USSR competed to have the best engineers and find the most discoveries and achievements in space.

Decline of USSR

When Girbachev was elected in 1985, when the USSR was facing many issues. It could not keep up with the economic spending of the USA, and was keeping the satellite states together only through fear.

Cold War

A political rivalry between the superpowers of USA and USSR between 1945-1991, which never escalated to an all out war.

Ideology

A set of beliefs shared in a country.

Capitalism

The belief that everyone should own their own properties and business to make money. USA

Soviet Union

USSR - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Run from Moscow in Russia.

Communism

All business and money should be run by the state. Everyone should be equal.

Democracy

A system where a country’s leader is selected in free elections.

Grand alliance

The alliance in WW2

Satellite state

A nation that in under control of another. USSR utilised these in Europe. Stalin wanted to make these a Buffer zone.

Buffer zone

Economic, political, and cultural control of another country.

Atomic bomb

Nuclear weapon

Ich bin ein Berliner

Famous speech stated by JFK in Berlin.

KGB

Russian secret police.

Perestroika

Gorbachev’s programme to fix the economy by allowing people to own businesses.

Glasnost

Gorbachev’s programme to allow the Soviets less control over the country, and even allow small elections.

Cuba 1962

Soviets out missiles in Cuba - start of Cuba missile crisis

When was the Potsdam conference

july 1945

when was Novikovs telegram

1946

When was the Marshall plan?

1948

When was the Berlin blockade

1948 - lasted for 11 months

When was NATO

1949

NATO

Alliance between US and many countries of Western Europe

When was the warsaw pact

1955

When did Castro become leader of Cuba and what did Castro lead in Cuba

1959 and lead a revolution there for the USSR

When was bay of pigs

1961

When did the Berlin wall happen

1961

When was the Cuban mission crisis

1962

When was the first man on moon

1969

When was the USSR invasion of Afghanistan

1971

When was the Chernobyl disaster

1986

When was the fall of the Berlin Wall

1989

President Truman

1945-1953

JFK

1961-1963 (pushed further for the USA)

President Reagan

1981-1989 ( Anti-communist who pushed the USSR to collapse)

Stalin

1924-1953 ( was apart of the Potsdam conference and Berlin blockade )

Khrushchev

1953-1964 ( Ordered the Cuban missile crisis and the building of Berlin Wall)

Gorbachev

1985-1991 (apart of the programmes, Chernobyl disaster and collapse of Berlin Wall)

STATISTICS

£12.7 billion worth of aid through Marshall plan

170,000 tonnes of aid brought in by planes during Berlin blockade

By 1958, 3,000,000 East Germans had moved to the West Berlin - causing of the Berlin Wall

1,400 cuban exiles funded for bay of pigs. 20,000 string Cuban force awaited them