Cold War timeline

1917

Bolshevik revolution: revolution in Russia that led to the rise of the Soviet state.

1918-1922

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: Treaty between Russia and the Central Powers that ended Russia's participation in WWI.

1939

Soviet Non-Aggression Pact: agreement between the USSR and Nazi Germany to not attack each other.

1943

Tehran Conference: meeting among Allied leaders to discuss opening a second front in WWII.

Yalta Conference

1945 meeting where Allied leaders discussed postwar reorganization and Stalin's agreement on free elections in Eastern Europe.

Potsdam Conference

1945 conference where Allies established post-war order and discussed Germany's zoning.

Truman Doctrine

U.S. policy to contain communism, announced in 1947.

Marshall Plan

U.S. program providing economic aid to Western Europe to rebuild after WWII.

Containment Policy

U.S. strategy to prevent the spread of communism after WWII.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; military alliance formed in 1949.

Second Red Scare

Period in the late 1940s and 1950s of intense anti-communist sentiment in the U.S.

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union over missile deployment in Cuba.

Détente

The easing of strained relations, especially between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)

Negotiations between the U.S. and USSR to limit nuclear arms.

Glasnost

Policy of openness and transparency in government instituted by Mikhail Gorbachev in the USSR.

Perestroika

Economic restructuring introduced in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Gorbachev.

Berlin Wall

Barrier that divided East and West Berlin from 1961 until 1989.

Solidarity

Polish labor union that emerged in the 1980s and became a symbol of opposition to Communist rule.

Iran-Contra Affair

Scandal involving secret U.S. arms sales to Iran to fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

Warsaw Pact

Military alliance formed in 1955 between USSR and several Eastern European countries as a counterbalance to NATO.

Korean War

Conflict between North Korea (with the support of China and the USSR) and South Korea (with UN support), lasting from 1950 to 1953.

Vietnam War

Conflict in Vietnam from the late 1950s to 1975 involving the communist government of North Vietnam and the US-supported South Vietnam.