Cuban Missile Crisis and Detente

JFK

The U.S. president from 1961–1963 who led the country during the Cuban Missile Crisis and was assassinated in 1963.

Nikita Khrushchev

Leader of the Soviet Union from 1953–1964. He was involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

A failed U.S.-backed attempt in 1961 to overthrow Fidel Castro's government in Cuba.

Domino Theory

The belief that if one country became communist, nearby countries would also fall to communism.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 13-day confrontation in 1962 between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.

Détente

A period during the 1970s when the U.S. and Soviet Union worked to reduce Cold War tensions.

SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks)

A 1972 agreement between the U.S. and Soviet Union that limited certain nuclear weapons.

Helsinki Accords

An agreement signed by 35 nations to improve relations between the communist and Western blocs which promoted human rights and cooperation in Europe.

Leonid Brezhnev

Soviet leader who enforced strict communist control in Eastern Europe and was very involved with Detente.

Fidel Castro

Communist leader of Cuba (1959 - 2008) who allied Cuba closely with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Richard Nixon

U.S. president from 1969–1974 who helped improve relations with the Soviet Union and China. Very involved in Detente.

Ostpolitik

A policy of improving relations between West Germany and Eastern Europe during the Cold War (1969 - 1974). Willy Brandt - leader of West Germany, wanted a better relationship with East Germany.