Cold War

Tsar Nicholas II

(1894-1917) First Leader of Russia from starting 1900

Vladimir Lenin

1917-1924) Second Leader of USSR starting from 1900 (excluding Alexander Kerensky)

Joseph Stalin

(1922-1952) Third Leader of USSR starting from 1900

Nikita Khrushchev

(1953-1964) Fourth Leader of USSR starting from 1900

Leonid Brezhnev

Fifth Leader of USSR starting from 1900

Mikhail Gorbachev

(1985-1991) Sixth Leader of USSR starting from 1900 (Excluding Andropov and Chernenko)

Solidarity

(Under Brezhnev)

Polish trade union created in 1980 to protest working conditions and political repression. It began the nationalist opposition to communist rule that led in 1989 to the fall of communism in eastern Europe
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Lead by Lech Walesa

Crushed by the Polish Puppet Government—>They were told to by the Soviet Union to avoid invasion

Prague Spring

(Under Brezhnev)

In 1968, Czechoslovakia, under Alexander Dubcek, began a program of reform. Dubcek promised civil liberties, democratic political reforms, and a more independent political system. The Soviet Union invaded the country and put down the short-lived period of freedom.

Socialism with a human face

Revolution in Hungary

(Under Khrushchev)

(1956) The people of Hungary revolted against the puppet government. Showed the growing dissent in the Eastern Bloc. USSR invaded and crushed the revolution.

Puppet governments

A government that seems to hold power but is in reality heavily controlled by an outside force. The USSR set these up in their satellite states to maintain control.

Satellite State

country that is formally recognized as an independent and sovereign state but who is nevertheless under the strong influence or control of another state

Truman Doctrine

Do not let communism spread. If a place is not already communist do not let it become communist.

Marshall Plan

Gave funding to Western European countries to rebuild after WWII

Berlin Airlift

USSR attempts to blockade West Berlin by blocking railroads and paths to West Berlin. US airlifts supplies to override the blockade. USSR eventually lifted blockade and the Allies kept West Berlin.

Berlin Wall

To counteract the amount of people escaping through the East ad West Berlin Border under Khrushchev the Berlin Wall was constructed.

NATO alliance

(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Alliance between US and non-communist countries

Warsaw Pact

Alliance between the USSR and its satellite states in the Eastern Bloc

Rosenbergs

A couple who sold information on nuclear weapons to the USSR which gave them the ability to make nukes

Korean War

North Korea (Communist) invades South Korea (Capitalist). Both are run by dictators. In the end there is the creation of the DMZ (de-militarized zone) and the division remains more or less the same as prior to the war.

MacArthur

He was sent to lead the US army in the Korean War. Went a little crazy and disobeyed orders and invaded well into North Korea rather than stopping at the old border. He wanted to nuke the border between China and Korea to stop the Chinese Army from invading. He was well liked by the civilian population in the US but he got fired.

Vietnam War

Big loss for the US. The US sides with the terrible dictator in the South. The people in the South don’t even want the south the win this creates the Vietcong who were South Vietnamese citizen who fought against the US army using guerilla warfare. This lead to the US’s eventual loss.

Bay of Pigs

Fidel Castro overthrows Batista and Cuba turns communist. US attempts to invade by sending Cubans exiles back to Cuba to infiltrate. Leads to another big loss for US.

Cuban Missile Crisis

(1962) US U-2 aircrafts took pictures of the infrastructure for missiles being built in Cuba. This revealed the USSR’s missile campaign in Cuba which would allow them to nuke almost every major city in the US.

Seemed like Nuclear War was imminent

Fidel Castro

The communist dictator who overthrew Batista. The US liked Batista despite his terrible treatment of the Cuban people because he was corrupt and gave many benefits to US companies.

The US didn’t side with Castro and so the USSR was able to gain power over Cuba.

He was the leader of Cuba during the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis

What was done to counteract the Cuban Missile Crisis?

At first there was a massive push for a full scale invasion of Cuba. Kennedy was against this due to its implications for the image of the US. Instead he blockaded Cuba.

How did the Cuban Missile Crisis end?

Kennedy and Khrushchev came to an agreement. At the time the terms of the agreement were said to be that the USSR would retract the missiles in Cuba is the US promised to not invade Cuba. In reality there was also a clause that the US had to retract their missiles in Turkey as well but this was hidden from the public for a long time.

This was hidden from the public because Kennedy wanted to be re-elected. Khrushchev agreed because as a dictator he didn’t need to worry about public opinion.

MAD

(Mutually Agreed Destruction) If nuclear weapons are ever used the whole world will be destroyed.

Détente

Détente was characterized by warm personal relationships between US president Richard Nixon (1969–1974) and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev (1964–1982).

Basically the tension between the US and USSR was eased

Lead to S.A.L.T.

“Ich Bin Ein Berliner”

A quote from Kennedy’s speech in West Berlin after the construction of the Berlin Wall. Translates to “I am a Berliner”. He was attempting to convey the message that everyone who stands for freedom stands for the people of Berlin.

Glasnost

“Openness”- Gorbachev’s social reforms. Allowed freedom of speech and press.

Perestroika

“Restructuring”-Gorbachev’s economic reform. Similar to Lenin’s NEP. Allowed some private ownership.

The Iron Curtain

The division between the Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc

Dubcek

Czech Leader during Prague Spring. (Good)

Walesa

The leader of the Solidarity Trade Union in Poland. Would eventually become president when Poland left the USSR. (Good)

Honecker

Dictator of East Germany. He tried to maintain power for as long as possible. He did not support Gorbachev’s reforms and kept East Germany under strict communist policies. (Bad)

Ceausescu

He was the dictator of Romania who tried to maintain power for as long as possible. He violently attempted to stifle the revolutions taking place in Romania killing many. He was eventually overthrown and executed along with his wife on life television. (Bad)

Havel

He was the Czechoslovakian President after the Velvet Revolution. (Good)

Velvet Revolution

The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989.