Cold War History: Marxism, Soviet Union, and Key Events

Marxism

A socio-economic and political theory developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, which posits that history is a struggle between economic classes and advocates for a classless society where the means of production are owned communally.

Connection to the Cold War (Marxism)

Marxism provided the ideological foundation for communism, the political and economic system adopted by the Soviet Union.

Bolsheviks

A faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party that came to power during the October Revolution of 1917, led by Vladimir Lenin.

Connection to the Cold War (Bolsheviks)

The Bolsheviks established the Soviet Union, which became the primary adversary of the Western democracies during the Cold War.

October Revolution

The second and most significant revolutionary event in Russia in 1917, when the Bolshevik Party, led by Lenin, overthrew the Provisional Government.

Connection to the Cold War (October Revolution)

This event marked the beginning of communist rule in Russia, laying the groundwork for the formation of the Soviet Union.

Vladimir Lenin

The founder of the Bolshevik Party, leader of the October Revolution, and the first head of Soviet Russia (1917-1924) and the Soviet Union (1922-1924).

Connection to the Cold War (Vladimir Lenin)

Lenin's actions and writings profoundly shaped the political system and expansionist aspirations that the West confronted during the Cold War.

Russian Civil War

A multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire immediately after the October Revolution, from 1917 to 1922, primarily fought between the Bolshevik Red Army and the White Army.

Connection to the Cold War (Russian Civil War)

The intervention of Western powers on the side of the White Army against the Bolsheviks fostered deep Soviet distrust of the West.

Joseph Stalin - Early life

Born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili in Georgia, Stalin initially studied to be a priest before becoming a revolutionary.

Connection to the Cold War (Joseph Stalin - Early life)

Stalin's early life shaped his hardened, authoritarian personality and his commitment to a totalitarian vision of communism.

The Great Purge

A campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1939, orchestrated by Joseph Stalin.

Connection to the Cold War (The Great Purge)

The extreme totalitarianism and human rights abuses demonstrated during the Great Purge highlighted the oppressive nature of Stalin's regime.

Potsdam Conference

The last of the World War II conferences held by the 'Big Three' Allied leaders in July-August 1945.

Connection to the Cold War (Potsdam Conference)

Significant disagreements emerged between Stalin and the Western leaders regarding the future of Eastern Europe and Germany.

Satellite State

A country that is officially sovereign but is heavily influenced or controlled by another country.

Connection to the Cold War (Satellite State)

The establishment of Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe created a buffer zone for the USSR and solidified Soviet control over the region.

Iron Curtain

A metaphorical term coined by Winston Churchill in 1946 to describe the ideological and physical divide separating communist Eastern Europe from capitalist Western Europe.

Connection to the Cold War (Iron Curtain)

The Iron Curtain symbolized the severe division of Europe and the world into two hostile blocs.

Truman Doctrine

A U.S. foreign policy declared by President Harry S. Truman in 1947, stating that the U.S. would provide assistance to all democratic nations under threat from authoritarian forces.

Connection to the Cold War (Truman Doctrine)

This doctrine officially articulated the U.S. policy of containment and signaled a shift from isolationism to active intervention in global affairs.

Containment

A Cold War foreign policy strategy articulated by George F.

Marshall Plan

An American initiative enacted in 1948 to aid Western European economic recovery after World War II, providing over $13 billion in economic assistance.

Berlin Airlift

A joint American and British operation from 1948-1949 that supplied West Berlin by air after the Soviet Union blockaded all land and water routes into the city.

Warsaw Pact

A collective defense treaty signed in 1955 by the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republics in Central and Eastern Europe.

Alger Hiss

A high-ranking American government official accused in 1948 by Whittaker Chambers of being a Soviet spy, convicted of perjury in 1950.

Red Scare

A period of intense anti-communist paranoia and fear in the United States, particularly after World War I and in the late 1940s and 1950s.

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg

An American couple executed in 1953 for conspiring to commit espionage by passing atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union.

Klaus Fuchs

A German-born British theoretical physicist who was part of the Manhattan Project and later confessed to being a Soviet spy.

The Crucible

A 1953 play by Arthur Miller that dramatizes the witch trials of colonial Massachusetts, interpreted as an allegory for McCarthyism.

Arms Race

A competition between two or more states to have the best armed forces, primarily referring to the strategic arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Bikini Atoll

A coral reef in the Marshall Islands where the United States conducted numerous nuclear weapons tests, notably Operation Crossroads in 1946.

Levittowns

Large suburban housing developments built by Levitt & Sons after World War II, symbolizing the post-war American dream of homeownership.