Topic #5: Espionage and Life in the USSR

Essential Question: What role did espionage play during the Cold War?

Espionage

Who: The CIA and KGB

When: Cold War

Where: U.S. vs. Soviet Union

What: The CIA and KGB were two Cold War institutions that fought against each other. They launched many campaigns that caused proxy wars, assassinations, and cultural revolutions.

Why imp: The U.S. vs. Soviet Union relied on spying to learn each other’s military plans, technology, and nuclear capabilities. It prevented surprises and direct war, since each side could monitor the other, but it increased tension and competition through secret operations and mistrust.

KGB

Who: Soviet intelligence agents

Where: Soviet Union

When: 1954

What: Committee for State Security which gathered intelligence operatives who spied and gathered information about other countries for the Soviet Union. It replaced Stalin’s secret police, but they still arrested and imprisoned citizens who spoke out against the government during the Cold War.

• The KGB closed with the collapse of the Soviet Union and now intelligence agents work for the Russian Federal Security Bureau.

Why imp: It is known to be the superior spy agency and it helped the Soviet Union build it’s first space shuttle and atomic bomb.

MI6

When: 1909

What: British intelligence agency.

CIA

Who: American spy agency

Where: The U.S.

When: 1947

What: A spy agency tasked with peacetime and wartime intelligence gatherings. During WWII, Roosevelt was concerned with the lack of American intelligence capabilities do to Isolationism. So after the war, with the help of British intelligence officers, the National Security council and Central Intelligence Agency was made.

Why imp: It gathered information that helped the U.S. respond to threats from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It also carried out covert operations to limit the spread of communism. It is still running today and works to protect national security.

Space Race

Who: U.S. vs. Soviet Union

Where: U.S. and Soviet Union

When: 1957-1969

What: The U.S. and Soviet Union compete to see who has the superior technology and this starts to apply to space exploration:

• 1957 - The Soviet Union launches Sputnik, the first man made satellite.

• 1961 - The Soviet Union sends the first human in space followed by the first animal and woman.

• 1969 - JFK makes a goal to land someone on the moon by the end of the decade because the U.S. didn’t want to lose the race. In the Apollo 11 mission, the U.S. makes the Saturn V space shuttle and lands Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon.

Why imp: It was a major way for the U.S. and the Soviet Union to compete during the Cold War without direct fighting. It led to huge advances in science and technology which have forever impacted communication, navigation, and everyday life.