Cold War

the Berlin Wall

A wall separating East and West Berlin built by East Germany in 1961 to keep citizens from escaping to the West

Vietnam War

A prolonged war (1954-1975) between the communist armies of North Vietnam who were supported by the Chinese and the non-communist armies of South Vietnam who were supported by the United States.

Cuban Missile Crisis

The 1962 confrontation bewteen US and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba.

communist regime

a ruling governmental system controlled by Communist Party members and operated under Communist principles.

Western Bloc

the United States and its capitalist allies

Eastern Bloc

the Soviet Union and its communist allies

Warsaw Pact

An alliance between the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations. This was in response to the NATO

Doomsday Clock

Symbol of the threat posed by nuclear devastation

Yalta Conference

1945 Meeting with US president FDR, British Prime Minister(PM) Winston Churchill, and and Soviet Leader Stalin during WWII to plan for post-war

Berlin Airlift

In 1948, Berlin was blocked off by the Soviet Union in order to strangle the Allied forces. In order to combat this, the United States began to airlift supplies into Berlin.

Soviet-Afghan War

war between Afghanistan and USSR. Afghanistan wins with the help of the US. Big defeat for the USSR.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Head of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. His liberalization effort improved relations with the West, but he lost power after his reforms led to the collapse of Communist governments in eastern Europe.

Glasnost and Perestroika

New Soviet policies of capitalism and openness (with freedoms)

Soviet Union

A Communist nation, consisting of Russia and 14 other states, that existed from 1922 to 1991.

Potsdam Conference

Stalin reneges on his promise to

oversee democratic elections and instead makes them

satellite states

Marshall Plan

A United States program of economic aid for the reconstruction of Europe (1948-1952)

Truman Doctrine

1947, President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology, mainly helped Greece and Turkey

Hungarian Revolts

Due to the policy of de-stalinization by Khrushchev, satellite nations believed they would gain more freedoms but this event shows that the Soviet leaders would keep control of these nations by putting down all attempts to move away from communist ideals

Bay of Pigs

In April 1961, a group of Cuban exiles organized and supported by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency landed on the southern coast of Cuba in an effort to overthrow Fidel Castro. When the invasion ended in disaster, President Kennedy took full responsibility for the failure.

Castro

Communist leader of Cuba

Suez Crisis

1956- international crisis after Egypt seized control of the Suez Canal. Israel, with Brit and France, invaded Egypt and marched towards canal. Withdrew under pressure of the U.S. and Soviet Union

Domino Theory

A theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.

Containment

American policy of resisting further expansion of communism around the world

United Nations (UN)

an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security

Proxy War

A war instigated by a major power that does not itself participate

Berlin Blockade

The blockade was a Soviet attempt to starve out the allies in Berlin in order to gain supremacy. The blockade was a high point in the Cold War, and it led to the Berlin Airlift.

Brinkmanship

A policy of threatening to go to war in response to any enemy aggression.

Brezhnev Doctrine

Soviet Union and its allies had the right to intervene in any socialist country whenever they saw the need.

Glastnost

openness

Perestroika

restructuring

Korean War

The conflict between Communist North Korea and Non-Communist South Korea. The United Nations (led by the United States) helped South Korea.

Iron Curtain

A political barrier that isolated the peoples of Eastern Europe after WWII, restricting their ability to travel outside the region

De-Stalinization

social process of neutralizing the influence of Joseph Stalin by revising his policies and removing monuments dedicated to him and renaming places named in his honor

Satellite Nations

Communist nations in Eastern Europe on friendly terms with the USSR and thought of as under the USSR's control

Arms Race

Cold war competition between the U.S. and Soviet Union to build up their respective armed forces and weapons

Space Race

the competition between nations regarding achievements in the field of space exploration.

SALT - Cold War

The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union—the Cold War superpowers—on the issue of armament control.

Nikita Khrushchev

A Soviet leader during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also famous for denouncing Stalin and allowed criticism of Stalin within Russia.

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

A 1949 defense alliance initiated by the US, Canada, and 10 Western European nations