Leaders
This Soviet leader banged his shoe on the podium at the United Nations and told the West, "We will bury you."
Who is Nikita Khrushchev?
This doctrine, based on the idea that a full-scale nuclear war would lead to the total destruction of both sides, kept the U.S. and USSR from using their weapons.
What is Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)?
On July 20, 1969, this astronaut became the first person to walk on the moon.
Who is Neil Armstrong?
The United States became deeply involved in this Southeast Asian war, which ended in 1975 with the fall of Saigon.
What is the Vietnam War?
This 1980s action movie series, starring Sylvester Stallone, became an iconic portrayal of the Cold War rivalry with the Soviet Union.
What is Rocky IV?
This U.S. president announced the doctrine that pledged to contain communism, first applied in Greece and Turkey.
Who is Harry Truman?
In 1962, the discovery of Soviet nuclear missiles in this country brought the world to the brink of war.
What is Cuba?
This U.S. space program, launched in the 1960s, aimed to land a man on the moon before the Soviets.
What is Apollo?
This 1950–1953 conflict saw U.S. and United Nations forces fight to stop the spread of communism in Asia, ending in a stalemate at the 38th parallel.
What is the Korean War?
This U.S. music genre, often seen as a symbol of rebellion, was popularized during the Cold War and famously included artists like Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry.
What is rock 'n' roll?
The only U.S. president to resign, he also visited China in 1972 as part of Cold War diplomacy.
Who is Richard Nixon?
The U.S. developed this powerful hydrogen bomb in 1952, which was far more destructive than the atomic bombs used in World War II.
What is the H-bomb?
In 1961, this Soviet cosmonaut became the first human to travel into space.
Who is Yuri Gagarin?
In 1961, the U.S. backed a failed invasion of Cuba by anti-Castro exiles, an event that became a major embarrassment for the Kennedy administration.
What is the Bay of Pigs?
This 1959 event, often seen as a Cold War cultural exchange, saw an American exhibit in Moscow and a Soviet exhibit in New York, sparking debates about capitalism vs. communism.
What is the Kitchen Debate?
The last leader of the Soviet Union, he introduced policies of glasnost and perestroika before resigning in 1991.
Who is Mikhail Gorbachev?
In 1957, the U.S. responded to the Soviet nuclear threat by deploying these intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe, increasing tensions.
What are Jupiter missiles?
The Soviet Union took an early lead in the Space Race by launching this first artificial satellite in 1957.
What is Sputnik?
In the 1980s, the U.S. provided weapons and funding to Afghan rebels, known as the mujahideen, to fight against this invading superpower.
What is the Soviet Union?
This 1950s political fear, amplified by Senator Joseph McCarthy, led to the persecution of suspected communists and the widespread belief that communism was infiltrating American society.
What is the Red Scare?
This Cuban revolutionary led his country through the Cold War, aligning with the Soviet Union and facing a U.S. embargo.
Who is Fidel Castro?
This treaty, signed in 1968, aimed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons to additional countries.
What is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)?
In 1975, Cold War tensions eased slightly when the U.S. and USSR collaborated on this joint space mission.
What is the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project?
This long and bloody civil war in southern Africa, which lasted from 1975 to 2002, became a Cold War battleground between U.S.-backed and Soviet-backed factions.
What is the Angolan Civil War?
This 1950s political phenomenon, driven by fear of communism, led to the blacklisting of suspected communists in Hollywood and other industries.
What is McCarthyism?