Cold War Conflicts
This 1950–1953 conflict divided a East Asian peninsula along the 38th Parallel.
Korean War
He was the revolutionary leader of the Bolsheviks and the first head of the Soviet state.
Vladimir Lenin
Launched in 1957, this was the world's first artificial satellite sent into orbit by the USSR.
Sputnik I
Built in 1961, this physical barrier divided East and West Germany's famous capital city.
Berlin Wall
This US President famously demanded, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" in 1987.
Ronald Reagan
The 1962 standoff brought the US and USSR to the brink of nuclear war over missile deployments in the Caribbean.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Mikhail Gorbachev introduced this dual policy set, meaning "restructuring" and "openness."
Perestroika and Glasnost
This American space mission landed the first humans on the Moon in July 1969.
Apollo 11
This multi-country military alliance was formed in 1949 by Western nations to counter Soviet expansion.
NATO (North Alantic Treaty Alliance)
He was the Soviet leader during the Cuban Missile Crisis who agreed to remove missiles from Cuba.
Nikita Khrushchev
The Soviet invasion of this central Asian country in 1979 became known as "the Soviet Union's Vietnam."
Afghanistan
The USSR officially dissolved in this year, ending the Cold War era.
1991
This Soviet cosmonaut became the first human in space in April 1961.
Yuri Gagarin
The Soviet equivalent of NATO, signed in 1955, included Central and Eastern European satellite states.
Warsaw Pact
This US President authorized the use of atomic weapons in 1945 and later announced a doctrine to contain Communism.
Harry Truman
This failed 1961 CIA-backed invasion attempt aimed to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba.
The Bay of Pigs
Stalin's massive economic plans aimed at rapid industrialization and agricultural reform were called this.
Five Year Plans
NASA created this famous program name for its missions aiming specifically to land astronauts on the Moon.
Apollo Program
Winston Churchill famously declared in 1946 that this metaphorical barrier had descended across Europe.
The Iron Curtain
This Soviet leader ruled for nearly three decades until 1953, enforcing strict totalitarian control.
Joseph Stalin
In 1948, Western Allies bypassed a Soviet land blockade to supply West Berlin using this continuous operation.
Berlin Airlift
This 1986 nuclear accident in Ukraine exposed severe safety and administrative flaws within the Soviet system.
Chernobyl
The launch of this Soviet stray dog in 1957 made her the first living creature to orbit Earth.
Laika
Apollo 11 launched from this US state
Florida
He was the last leader of the USSR, holding office until its collapse in December 1991.
Mikhail Gorbachev