Cold War Timeline (Topic 5) February 4 -11, 1945 Yalta Conference Stalin + Roosevelt + Churchill(Known colloquially as the Big

g 3) pre-post-war discussion of how Germany will be divided when defeated suspicion + tension between Russia and US building up Stalin and Churchill were constantly at each other, since Churchill was more traditional (Balance of Power type of guy), whereas Stalin wanted International Reform Roosevelt was forced to act as a moderator, tried to appease some of Stalins demands, because he acknowledged Stalins Military might, and wanted him to help in Japan July 16 - August 2, 1945 Potsdam Conference Stalin + Truman + Attlee post-war discussion of how Germany will be divided when defeated; reparations and occupation zones ratified suspicion + tension between Russia and US at explosive point Stalin felt almost overwhelmed since neither Truman or Attlee were willing to work with him for the future Truman was not as trusting as Roosevelt was, and this caused the mass escalation of tension between the USA, and the USSR Attlee was mostly confused, and he was also strongly opposed to Stalin USSR was occupying East and Central Europe Atomic Bomb was done testing August 6 - 1945 Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima apparently to stop the war proxy to show USSR how powerful US is Angered USSR, but left them scared as well Cynical Approach: They built it, so they had to use it August 9 - 1945 Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki Same as Hiroshima, only worse Together led to the beginnings of the Arms Race Telegrams; Kennan(February 22 1946) and Novikov(September 1946) Interpretations of each others FP (US v. USSR) Raises tensions and suspicions March 5 1946 - Iron Curtain Speech by Churchill declaration of war against communism; calling Stalin out for doing what Hitler did before him March 12 1947 - Truman Doctrine Result of Kennans telegram

Raised suspicion; affirmative action Shift in in isolationism to interventionism Action to contain communisms spread and prevent further influence in Europe

USSR creation and testing of Atomic Bomb; 1949 Reassertion of power Catalysed arms race Manhattan project technology stolen through spy network Note the 4 year gap, this will eventually be closed Czechoslovakia is taken over by the USSR; Salami Tactics (1945-1949) April 1948 - 1951 - Marshall Plan(Idea established June 5, 1947) Part of Truman doctrine Aid countries with weakened economy that are susceptible to communist takeover June 24 1948 - May 12 1949 - Berlin Blockade (With the Airlift starting on June 25 1948) Caused by the Currency Crisis in Germany(Mark vs Deutsche Mark) The Western powers wanted to reform the currency that had been debased, and devalued due to Soviet over printing(in order to keep Germany weak) Act to stop Western influence in USSR occupation zone Starved people and deprived of electricity Airlift saved people; propaganda move from US to make democracy, west, look good Stalin was trying to see how far he could push the Western Leaders, wanted to get his own way January 1949-1991 COMECON (COuncil for Mutual ECONomic Assistance) USSR response to Truman doctrine(More specifically the Marshall Plan) Method of controlling communist countries and warding off capitalist influence April 4 1949 - NATO(North American Treaty Organization) Military alliance of all Western/North Atlantic nations Caused more pressure on the USSR They feared the collective power of the Western powers This also added to Arms Race tension Led to the formation of the Warsaw Pact

June 25 1950 to July 27 1953 - Korean War May 14 1955 - Warsaw Pact Response to NATO Military alliance of all communist nations Their version of collective security

Essentially the same Charter as NATO(good for making connections)

November 1 1955 to April 30 1975 - Vietnam War October 23 1956 - November 10 1956 - Hungary Uprising Khrushchevs lightening of power led to desire for heavy reform in Hungary Imre Nagy went too far; got his ass kicked January 5 1957 - Eisenhower Doctrine A less interventionist approach to the Truman doctrine Containment only if requested and genuinely desired May 1 1960 - U-2 Spy Plane Incident U-2 spy plane shot down over Russia, accused of spying on them Destroyed US-Soviet relations when Eisenhower refused to apologize and lied about the spy plane being a weather plane that went off course April 15 1961 - Bay of Pigs Invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government An attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro The conflict was launched in April 1961, less than three months after John F. Kennedy assumed the presidency in the United States The Cuban armed forces, trained and equipped by Eastern Bloc nations, defeated the invading combatants within three days August 13 1961 - Berlin Wall Keep East Berliners from escaping; claimed to keep West Berliners out Sign of weakness of communist regime East losing thousands of skilled workers everyday, and now decided to prevent their escape to keep economy alive October 16 1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis USSR arming Cuba to defend itself from US invasion due to their anti-Communist FP US sees it as an offensive tactic Forces USSR missile carriers to head back, crisis averted Scared both nations; mutually assured destruction, possible WW3, end of world Began cooling down of relations; detente June 20 1963 - Hot line is set up between the White House and the Kremlin Kennedy + Khrushchev Preventative measure against nuclear war between two superpowers Symbol of improving relationship between two superpowers

July 25 1963 - Test Ban Treaty Banning of nuclear testing above ground and underwater; only permitted underground Attempt to lessen the risk of nuclear war, and lessen the supply of nuclear weapons in the world August 20 1968 - Czechoslovakia Revolt Czechoslovakias attempt at reforms November 16 1968 - Brezhnev Doctrine The Brezhnev Doctrine was a Soviet Union foreign policy, which stated: "When forces that are hostile to socialism try to turn the development of some socialist country towards capitalism, it becomes not only a problem of the country concerned, but a common problem and concern of all socialist countries." This doctrine was announced to justify the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 Also to justify the invasion of Hungary in 1956. Meant to put an end to democratic liberalization efforts and uprisings that had the potential to compromise Soviet hegemony inside the Eastern bloc, which was considered by the Soviets to be an essential defensive and strategic buffer in case hostilities with NATO were to break out. May 26 1972 - SALT-1 Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Treaty(SALT I) froze the number of strategic ballistic missile launchers at existing levels Provided for the addition of new submarine-launched ballistic missile launchers only after the same number of older intercontinental ballistic missile and submarine-launched ballistic missile launchers had been dismantled November 1972 - SALT-2 (Cancelled due to Afghanistan) SALT II was a negotiation between Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev from 1977 to 1979 between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which sought to curtail the manufacture of strategic nuclear weapons It was a continuation of the progress made during the SALT I talks. SALT II was the first nuclear arms treaty which assumed real reductions in strategic forces to delivery vehicles on both sides An agreement to limit strategic launchers was reached in Vienna on June 18, 1979, and was signed by Leonid Brezhnev and President of the United States Jimmy Carter. Six months after the signing, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, and in September of the same year The treaty was never formally ratified by the United States Senate. Its terms were, nonetheless, honored by both sides until 1986 when the Reagan Administration withdrew from SALT II after accusing the Soviets of violating the pact

December 24 1979 - Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan To the USSR, what Vietnam was to the US April 26 1986 - Chernobyl - First showing of chinks in the Soviet Armor Made real the threat and risk of using nuclear arms June 1987 - Glasnost, Perestroika Glasnost (Openness) was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s The word was frequently used by Gorbachev to specify the policies he believed might help reduce the corruption at the top of the Communist Party and the Soviet government, and moderate the abuse of administrative power in the Central Committee Perestroika: its literal meaning is "restructuring", referring to the restructuring of the Soviet political and economic system Perestroika refers to major changes initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev to the structure and function of both the political and economic control of the Soviet Union Allowed more independent actions from the various ministries and eventually to the dismantling of the Soviet-era planned economy and its replacement with a market economy However, the process increased already existing social and economic tensions within the Soviet Union, and helped to further nationalism among the Eastern bloc May 15 1988 - Soviets begin withdrawal from Afghanistan February 2 1989 - Full Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan November 9 1989 - The Berlin Wall is breached due to a false new report, over the next few weeks, the wall is slowly chipped away at October 3 1990 - The Berlin Wall has formally fallen, and German reunification begins December 26 1991 - The Dissolution of the United Socialist Soviet Republic