Key Figures
He was the leader of the Soviet Union at the start of the Cold War and oversaw the Berlin Blockade.
Who is Joseph Stalin?
This 1962 event is considered the closest the world ever came to a full-scale nuclear war.
What is the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Winston Churchill used this metaphor to describe the division between Eastern and Western Europe.
What is the Iron Curtain?
Launched by the USSR in 1957, it was the world’s first artificial satellite.
What is Sputnik?
This physical barrier, a symbol of the Cold War, was finally breached in November 1989.
What is the Berlin Wall?
This US President famously challenged the USSR to "tear down this wall" during a speech in West Berlin.
Who is Ronald Reagan?
This "Forgotten War" ended in a stalemate at the 38th Parallel, where it remains divided today.
What is the Korean War?
This US policy aimed to prevent the spread of communism rather than destroy it, where it already existed.
What is Containment?
This US agency was created in 1958 specifically to catch up to the USSR's space achievements.
What is NASA?
This Russian term refers to Gorbachev’s policy of "openness" and freedom of speech.
What is Glasnost?
He was the Soviet leader during the Cuban Missile Crisis and was known for "de-Stalinization."
Who is Nikita Khrushchev?
A long, divisive conflict in Southeast Asia where the US fought to prevent the "Domino Theory."
What is the Vietnam War?
This 1949 military alliance was formed by Western nations to defend against Soviet aggression.
What is NATO?
In 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to achieve this goal.
What is "Landing on the Moon"?
This term refers to the "restructuring" of the Soviet economy to allow some private enterprise.
What is Perestroika?
The final leader of the Soviet Union who introduced the policies of Glasnost and Perestroika.
Who is Mikhail Gorbachev?
This failed 1961 CIA-backed invasion of Cuba was intended to overthrow Fidel Castro.
What is the Bay of Pigs?
The belief that if one country fell to communism, its neighbors would also fall.
What is the Domino Theory?
This Soviet pilot became the first human being to orbit the Earth in 1961.
Who is Yuri Gagarin?
The year the Soviet Union officially dissolved and the Cold War ended.
What is 1991?
This US President’s doctrine stated that the US would provide aid to any nation resisting communism.
Who is Harry S. Truman?
Often called the "Soviet Union’s Vietnam," this 1979-1989 conflict weakened the USSR significantly.
What is the Soviet-Afghan War?
A period of "easing tensions" between the US and USSR during the 1970s.
What is Détente?
This 1960 event involved a US spy plane being shot down over Soviet territory, ruining a peace summit.
What is the U-2 Incident?
This Polish labor union, led by Lech Wałęsa, was the first to challenge communist rule in the Eastern Bloc.
What is solidarity/Solidarność?