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Turab Kazim
Cold War Hotspots
The Soviet Union launched the first satellite into space. This came as a surprise to the United States because they assumed they would win the "Space Race" amongst the two countries. Russia later became the first country to send a person into orbit.
Fidel Castro led an armed revolt against the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista due to corruption, excessive US involvement in Cuba, and poor living/working conditions.
Strong usage of Guerrilla Warfare and involvement of women
Castro's objective was to create a government based entirely on equality
Confrontation which lasted 13 days between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and was closest point to a potential nuclear conflict.
U.S. worried that Soviets would use Cuba to attack them especially after discovering Soviet missile sites and weapons in Cuba. (US had embargo against Cuba)
Cuba and Soviet Union agreed to remove missiles so that U.S. would not attack Cuba.
Failed military invasion of Cuba by the CIA (authorized by Kennedy) which attempted to overthrow Fidel Castro's revolution.
Over 1200 Cuban exiles dropped back into Cuba, most of which were killed or taken hostage. Prompted Castro to seek protection from Soviets. U.S. actively trying to limit the spread of communism and were unhappy.
Constructed by the German Democratic Republic to cut off West Berlin from the rest of Germany. Prior to the construction of the wall, 2.6 million East Germans escaped into the West and they wanted to put an end to that.
(Wanted to prevent fascists from coming into East Germany.)
Began with the election of Alexander Dubcek as first secretary of the Communist party, and ended when the Warsaw Pact countries invaded in order to end the reforms (with 600,000 troops).
Dubcek announced several reforms (end of censorship, freedom of speech...) and criticized the government.
Did not fight against the invading troops in order to avoid bloodshed. Dubcek and others taken to Moscow and upon returning, announced the abandonment of their reform movements and retracted their previous statements.
U-2 plane sent by the United States to spy on and record images of Soviets. Shot down in Soviet territory by missiles.
Quickly raised tensions between the countries as meetings between president Eisenhower and soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev were canceled. The Soviet Union was evidently angered with the U.S.'s actions and for attempting to spy on
them.
First of two treaties amongst the U.S. and Soviet Union to limit the manufacturing of missiles and nuclear weaponry.
Both countries feared an all out Nuclear war with each other due to the potential casualties that would have occurred.
Signed by Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev.
Treaty never formally went into effect as both
countries were still making missiles and anti-
missile technology.
President Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the SALT-II treaty which dealt with the limitations and guidelines for nuclear weapons.
Again, both countries feared repercussions of an all out nuclear war and wanted to limit the chance of that happening as much as possible
This treaty also never formally went into effect and was considered very controversial.
Nixon's visit to China was a crucial power move made by him in attempt to put pressure on the Soviet Union to cooperate. China was also a communist nation and if they supported the U.S. the Soviets would lose a potential ally.
Furthermore, the visit sparked relations between the U.S. and China after many years of diplomatic isolation.
Allowed American public to view images of China for the first time in 20 years and a potential trade ally was made for the U.S.
Strategic Defense Initiative: Missile defense system proposed by Reagan to protect the U.S. from missile and nuclear warfare.
Anti-Ballistic Missile System to protect from other countries, specifically the Soviet Union and Cuba.
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union, to prevent the use of mid-range and short-range missiles.
Signed by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.
Neither country wanted an all out nuclear war because the casualties it would cause on both sides would not be worth it.
United States led the way in a mass boycott of the Moscow games as a result of Soviet Unions invasion of Afghanistan on 1979.
The countries highlighted in blue did not
participate in the Olympics.
Some countries also boycotted the
Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 for
similar reasons regarding the Cold War.
Mikhail Gorbachev elected as the eight (and last) leader of the Soviet Union. Served as the general secretary for the Communist Party from 1985-1991.
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the Cold War and promoting peaceful international relations.
After an authoritarian communist government took over Poland in 1946, protests for political change ensued. In the 1980s, the separated social forces consolidated into the Solitary Movement.
The movement helped the country democratize as in 1989, a peaceful transfer of power turned Poland into a democratic country which contributed greatly to the decline of communism.
The solidarity movement gave rise to an extensive, non-violent, and anti-communist social movement.
In 1942, a treaty promised the withdrawal of troops from Iran. Soviet Union broke the treaty and not only stayed in Iran but helped rebel groups.
U.S. responded through militaristic means however the Soviets did not want to do anything. The crisis greatly increased tensions between the two countries.
Cambodia was involved in the Vietnam War during this time. The United States attempted to help South Vietnam and Cambodia however the Communist Party which was prevalent in the area (Khmer Rouge) won the war and took over Cambodia.
Northern Vietnam achieved their objective of reuniting and gaining independence, and set up a Communist system.
During the Cold War, Vietnam was undergoing its own civil war. U.S. sided with south Vietnam whereas the Soviet Union sided with Northern Vietnam.
Conflict was heavily intensified by involvement of U.S. and USSR. Many casualties. South Vietnam lost and was taken over by the Communist North.
The Soviet-Afghan War from 1979 to 1989 came as a result of Muslim Jihadist known as the Mujahideen began protests against the People's Democratic Party. These rebel groups were supported by the U.S. which prompted the Soviets to send troops to invade. Treaty was signed by the U.S. and USSR to withdraw from Afghanistan.
The Angola civil war began in 1975 and ended in 2002. The U.S. and Soviet Union often provided military aid to different groups of liberation movements within Angola (MLPA and UNITA). The MPLA eventually won by 1992, however the war devastated Angola's infrastructure and severely damaged public administration, the economy and religious institutions.
Relations between the U.S. and Soviet Union were further weakened due to this conflict.
Algeria was a French colony attempting to gain its independence. Throughout the war, the USSR provided military, technical, and material assistance to Algeria. On December 1963, the Soviet Union and Algeria signed an agreement on economical and technical cooperation between the two countries. Soviet Union provided assistance by reconstructing and building industrial plants, and also loaned 90 million Russian dollars.
U.S. feared the spread of Communism especially in Central and South America due to the closeness to its own territory. Plans leaked by the Nicaraguan president to invade Guatemala were found and the U.S. interfered by sending weapons to Guatemala. U.S.'s involvement prompted future covert missions in Central and South America to prevent the spread of Communism.
Congo was left vulnerable after its independence in 1879 due to soldiers revolting. The U.S. feared Soviet influence would turn the country Communist and therefore attempted to gain influence in Congo. Congo was very rich in uranium which was used in nuclear weapons which primarily attracted Soviet and U.S. attention.
Eventually in 1960, Congo gained its independence from Belgium, however conflicts continued.
After protests against communist policies in Hungary imposed by the Soviet Union became violent, the USSR invaded the country to destroy the rebellion. Hungarians became angry that not only were the policies reestablished but the U.S. and other anti-communist nations did not help.
The Cold War was a time period in which the United States and Soviet Union attempted to impose their differing ideologies of Democracy and Communism. Following WWII, rebuilding countries gravitated towards developing new systems of governance and the U.S. sought to limit the growth of Communism as much as possible. Both sides were afraid of an all out war due to the military technologies which were being developed such as nuclear weapons, so no direct battles were fought, however both sides aided various nations in effort to impose their own political system in the area such as in Vietnam. The nuclear arms race and space competition allowed for the rapid advancement of technology.