Cold War Study Guide:

Iron Curtain- The Iron Curtain specifically refers to the imaginary line dividing Europe between Soviet influence and Western influence, and symbolizes efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and its satellite states from open contact with the West and non-Soviet-controlled areas.

Containment- Containment was a geopolitical strategic foreign policy pursued by the United States during the Cold War to prevent the spread of communism after the end of World War II. The name was loosely related to the term cordon sanitaire, which was containment of the Soviet Union in the interwar period.

Truman Doctrine- With the Truman Doctrine, President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces

Marshall Plan-  Secretary of State George Marshall in 1947 proposed that the United States provide economic assistance to restore the economic infrastructure of postwar Europe

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)- From its founding, NATO's primary purpose was to unify and strengthen the Western Allies' military response to a possible invasion of western Europe by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies.

Warsaw Pact- The Warsaw Pact was a collective defence treaty established by the Soviet Union and seven other Soviet satellite states in Central and Eastern Europe: Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania (Albania withdrew in 1968).

Nuclear Arms Race- The nuclear arms race was perhaps the most alarming feature of the Cold War competition between the United States and Soviet Union

Berlin Wall- The Berlin Wall would prevent the West from having further influence on the East, stop the flow of migrants out of the communist sector, and ultimately become the most iconic image of the Cold War in Europe

Korean War-  Korean War (1950-1953) marked a critical escalation in the Cold War, driven by fears of Communist expansion and memories of World War II aggression

Space Race- The Space Race was a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to achieve spaceflight capabilities during the Cold War

Mikhail Gorbachev- Although committed to preserving the Soviet state and its Marxist–Leninist ideals, Gorbachev believed significant reform was necessary for its survival. He withdrew troops from the Soviet–Afghan War and embarked on summits with United States president Ronald Reagan to limit nuclear weapons and end the Cold War

Glasnost & Perestroika- was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associated with CPSU general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and his glasnost (meaning "transparency") policy reform.

Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)- The fall of the Berlin Wall was the first step towards German reunification. In 1989, political changes in Eastern Europe and civil unrest in Germany put pressure on the East German government to loosen some of its regulations on travel to West Germany.

Fall of the Soviet Union (1991)- The unsuccessful August 1991 coup against Gorbachev sealed the fate of the Soviet Union. Planned by hard-line Communists, the coup diminished Gorbachev's power and propelled Yeltsin and the democratic forces to the forefront of Soviet and Russian politics