Key Events
What was built in 1961 to prevent East Germans from fleeing to the West?
The Berlin Wall.
What military alliance was formed in 1949 to counter the Soviet threat?
NATO.
Who introduced reforms like "perestroika" and "glasnost" that helped end the Cold War?
Mikhail Gorbachev.
Which war ended in 1953?
The Korean War.
What was the competition between the U.S. and USSR to develop nuclear weapons called?
The arms race.
What was the U.S. response to the Soviet blockade of Berlin in 1948?
The Berlin Airlift.
What was the Soviet-led military alliance?
The Warsaw Pact.
Which U.S. president proposed the "Star Wars" missile defense system?
Ronald Reagan.
Which war ended in 1975?
The Vietnam War.
What term describes conflicts where the superpowers supported opposing sides instead of fighting directly?
Proxy war.
What 1962 crisis nearly led to nuclear war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union?
The Cuban Missile Crisis.
What U.S. policy aimed to stop the spread of communism by providing aid to threatened countries?
The Truman Doctrine.
Which leader established the People's Republic of China?
Mao Zedong
Which 1973 war led to an oil embargo that severely affected Western economies?
The Yom Kippur War.
What term describes the period of reduced Cold War tensions in the 1970s?
Détente.
What major event in 1991 marked the official end of the Cold War?
The collapse of the Soviet Union.
What economic initiatives did the United States and the Soviet Union implement?
The Marshall Plan and the Comecon.
Who gave the "Iron Curtain" speech symbolizing the division between East and West?
Winston Churchill.
Which country did the Soviet Union invade in 1979, leading to a decade-long war?
Afghanistan.
Which US general was dismissed for suggesting using nuclear weapons in Korea?
General MacArthur
What 1956 uprising against Soviet control was crushed by the USSR?
The Hungarian Uprising.
Which European country remained neutral and did not join either Cold War bloc?
Switzerland.
Who was the president of Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring?
Alexander Dubček
Which U.S.-backed coup in 1973 led to the overthrow of Salvador Allende?
The Chilean coup of 1973.
What was the name of the Soviet intelligence agency responsible for espionage?
The KGB.