He was the last leader of the Soviet Union, known for introducing the reforms, which ultimately contributed to the end of the Cold War
Mikhail Gorbachev
This Soviet economic strategy, first introduced under Stalin, aimed to rapidly industrialize the USSR through centralized planning and quotas.
Five Year Plan
This 1989 event symbolized the collapse of communist control in Eastern Europe when East Germans were finally allowed to cross into West Germany.
Fall of the Berlin Wall
This economic system relies on private ownership, free markets, and competition
Capitalism
Korean War ended in 1953 with this kind of agreement, rather than a peace treaty.
Armistice (Stop the fighting for a period of time)
In 1945, this leader declared Vietnam's independence, quoting the U.S. Declaration of Independence, but the move was not recognized by France or the United States.
Ho Chi Minh
This U.S. initiative provided economic aid to Western Europe after WWII to rebuild economies and prevent the spread of communism.
Marshall Plan
This event in 1957, when the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, marked the beginning of the space race and shocked the United States.
Launch of Sputnik
This economic system aims for a classless society where workers control all means of production and distribution of goods.
Communism
This 1961 failed invasion of Cuba, supported by the U.S., aimed to overthrow Fidel Castro's communist regime.
Bay of Pigs Invasion
This U.S. president introduced a policy in 1947 pledging support for countries resisting communism, marking a key moment in the early Cold War
Harry Truman
These two policies introduced by a Soviet leader in the 1980s, meaning "openness" and "restructuring," aimed to reform the Soviet Union but ultimately contributed to its collapse.
Glasnost and Perestroika
This line of latitude, established after WWII, divided Korea into North and South and became the focal point of the Korean War once the North invaded the South in 1950.
38th parallel
This decade-long war, fought from 1979 to 1989, drained the Soviet Union’s resources and contributed to its economic collapse.
Soviet-Afghan War
The Soviet Union fought against these U.S.-backed Afghan resistance fighters.
Mujahideen
This U.S. president famously pledged in 1961 to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade, galvanizing the space race against the Soviet Union.
John F. Kennedy
This U.S. Cold War strategy, aimed to prevent the spread of communism to other countries thus stopping the Domino Theory from taking place.
Containment Policy
This 1986 nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union exposed the flaws in communist governance and had far-reaching environmental and political consequences.
Chernobyl disaster
This was a common issue in the Soviet Union, often caused by ineffective collective farming which led to its downfall.
Food shortage/famine
Jungle Warfare
This U.S. president's economic policies and military spending in the 1980s are often credited with outspending the USSR, contributing to its economic strain and the end of the Cold War.
Ronald Reagan
This Soviet policy, named after a famous American singer, allowed Eastern Bloc countries to determine their own internal affairs, with many choosing democracy over communism.
Sinatra Doctrine
This 1989 peaceful revolution in Czechoslovakia led to the end of communist rule without violence.
Velvet Revolution
In communist countries like the Soviet Union and China, this entity controls all major industries, resources, and economic planning.
The state/government
After the Soviets left, Afghanistan fell into a brutal civil war that led to the rise of this extremist group.
The Taliban/Al Qaeda