Why this matters now
Cold War is tested for: Iron Curtain (Churchill Fulton Missouri 5 March 1946); Truman Doctrine 12 March 1947; Marshall Plan 1948; Berlin Blockade + Airlift 1948-49; NATO 4 April 1949 + Warsaw Pact 14 May 1955; Korean War 1950-53; Cuban Missile Crisis 16-28 October 1962; Vietnam War 1955-75; detente 1970s (SALT I 1972 + SALT II 1979); Reagan’s Star Wars 1983; Gorbachev’s glasnost + perestroika 1985; Berlin Wall fell 9 Nov 1989; USSR dissolved 26 Dec 1991. India’s NAM founding 1961 + Indo-Soviet Treaty 1971 are key.
Origins (1945-47)
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 4-11 Feb 1945 | Yalta Conference — Roosevelt + Churchill + Stalin at Crimea. Divided Germany. Soviet entry against Japan agreed. |
| 17 Jul - 2 Aug 1945 | Potsdam — Truman + Attlee + Stalin. Truman informed Stalin of atomic bomb. Eastern Europe issue. |
| 1945-48 | Soviet-installed communist govts in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, East Germany, Yugoslavia (independent). |
| 5 March 1946 | Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri. |
| 12 March 1947 | TRUMAN DOCTRINE — US would support “free peoples resisting attempted subjugation”. $400 mn to Greece + Turkey. Containment policy began (George Kennan’s “Long Telegram”). |
| 5 June 1947 | MARSHALL PLAN announced (European Recovery Programme) — $13 bn aid to 17 Western European countries 1948-52. Soviet bloc declined. |
| 1948-49 | BERLIN BLOCKADE (24 June 1948 - 12 May 1949) — Stalin cut off Berlin; Allies airlifted 2.3 million tons of supplies in 277,000 flights. |
NATO + Korean War + Cuban Crisis
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 4 April 1949 | NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) signed Washington DC by 12 countries (USA, UK, France, Canada, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Iceland, Portugal). Article 5 collective defence. |
| 29 Aug 1949 | USSR tested 1st atomic bomb — nuclear monopoly broken. |
| 1 Oct 1949 | Mao Zedong proclaimed People’s Republic of China. |
| 1950-53 | Korean War — North (Soviet) vs South (UN/US). 38th parallel armistice 27 July 1953. ~5 million dead. |
| 5 March 1953 | Stalin died. Khrushchev consolidated power. |
| 14 May 1955 | WARSAW PACT — Soviet response to NATO + West German rearmament. 7 members (USSR, East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria; Albania expelled 1968). |
| 1956 | Khrushchev de-Stalinization speech Feb 1956. Hungarian Uprising October-November 1956 crushed. |
| 4 Oct 1957 | Soviet Sputnik launched — Space Race began. |
| 1961 | Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba failed (Kennedy). Berlin Wall built 13 August 1961. |
| 16-28 Oct 1962 | CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS — Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba; 13-day standoff Kennedy-Khrushchev; nuclear war narrowly averted. Khrushchev removed missiles; US secretly removed Turkey Jupiter missiles. |
Vietnam + Detente (1963-79)
- 1963: Kennedy assassinated Dallas 22 Nov 1963. Partial Test Ban Treaty 5 Aug 1963.
- 1965-73: VIETNAM WAR — US escalation under Lyndon B. Johnson (Gulf of Tonkin Resolution 1964); Tet Offensive 1968 turned US opinion; Paris Peace Accords 27 Jan 1973; Saigon fell 30 April 1975. ~3 million Vietnamese + 58,000 US dead.
- 1968: Prague Spring crushed by Warsaw Pact; Brezhnev Doctrine (USSR may intervene).
- 20 July 1969: Apollo 11 landed on Moon — USA won space race.
- 1970s detente: Nixon-Mao 1972 (US-China rapprochement). SALT I Treaty 26 May 1972 Moscow (Nixon-Brezhnev) — ABM Treaty + Interim Agreement. Helsinki Accords 1975. SALT II Vienna 18 June 1979 (Carter-Brezhnev) — not ratified by US Senate.
- Dec 1979: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan — detente ended. US boycotted Moscow Olympics 1980.
1980s & the end
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1980 | Reagan elected; called USSR “Evil Empire”. |
| 23 March 1983 | Reagan announced Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI/Star Wars). |
| 11 March 1985 | MIKHAIL GORBACHEV became Soviet General Secretary. |
| 1986-88 | Glasnost (openness) + Perestroika (restructuring) reforms. |
| 8 Dec 1987 | INF Treaty (Reagan-Gorbachev) banned intermediate nuclear forces. |
| 15 Feb 1989 | Soviets completed Afghanistan withdrawal. |
| 4 June 1989 | Solidarity won Polish elections. |
| 9 Nov 1989 | BERLIN WALL FELL. |
| 3 Oct 1990 | German reunification. |
| July 1991 | Warsaw Pact dissolved. START I Treaty Bush-Gorbachev. |
| Aug 1991 | Failed coup against Gorbachev; Yeltsin emerged. |
| 25 Dec 1991 | Gorbachev resigned. |
| 26 Dec 1991 | SOVIET UNION DISSOLVED. 15 successor states (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus + Baltics + 8 Central Asian + 3 Caucasian). |
UPSC angle
Know COLD WAR (1945-1991) USA vs USSR; Yalta 4-11 Feb 1945 (Roosevelt-Churchill-Stalin), Potsdam 17 Jul-2 Aug 1945 (Truman-Attlee-Stalin); IRON CURTAIN Churchill Westminster College Fulton Missouri 5 March 1946; TRUMAN DOCTRINE 12 March 1947 $400 mn Greece+Turkey containment Kennan Long Telegram; MARSHALL PLAN 5 June 1947 $13 bn 17 Western European 1948-52; BERLIN BLOCKADE 24 June 1948 - 12 May 1949 (2.3 million tons airlifted 277000 flights); NATO 4 APRIL 1949 Washington 12 countries Art 5 collective defence; USSR atomic 29 Aug 1949; PRC Mao 1 Oct 1949; KOREAN WAR 1950-53 38th parallel armistice 27 July 1953 ~5 million dead; Stalin died 5 March 1953; WARSAW PACT 14 MAY 1955 (USSR+East Germany+Poland+Hungary+Czechoslovakia+Romania+Bulgaria+Albania expelled 1968); Khrushchev de-Stalinization Feb 1956 + Hungary Oct-Nov 1956 crushed; SPUTNIK 4 Oct 1957 Space Race; Bay of Pigs 1961; BERLIN WALL built 13 Aug 1961; CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS 16-28 OCT 1962 Kennedy-Khrushchev 13 days narrowly averted nuclear war (US secretly removed Turkey Jupiters); Kennedy assassinated 22 Nov 1963; Partial Test Ban 5 Aug 1963; VIETNAM WAR 1965-73 (LBJ Gulf of Tonkin 1964, Tet 1968, Paris 27 Jan 1973, Saigon 30 April 1975, ~3 million Vietnamese + 58k US dead); Prague Spring 1968 + Brezhnev Doctrine; Apollo 11 20 July 1969 USA won space race; DETENTE 1970s: Nixon-Mao 1972 (US-China rapprochement), SALT I 26 May 1972 Moscow Nixon-Brezhnev ABM Treaty, Helsinki 1975, SALT II 18 June 1979 Vienna Carter-Brezhnev (not ratified US Senate); Dec 1979 USSR invaded Afghanistan ended detente; Reagan SDI Star Wars 23 March 1983; GORBACHEV Gen Sec 11 March 1985 + Glasnost + Perestroika 1986-88; INF Treaty 8 Dec 1987 Reagan-Gorbachev; Soviet Afghan withdrawal 15 Feb 1989; Solidarity Poland 4 June 1989; BERLIN WALL FELL 9 NOV 1989; German reunification 3 Oct 1990; Warsaw Pact dissolved July 1991 + START I Bush-Gorbachev; Aug 1991 failed coup Yeltsin emerged; Gorbachev resigned 25 Dec 1991; SOVIET UNION DISSOLVED 26 DEC 1991 → 15 successor states (Russia+Ukraine+Belarus+Baltics+Central Asia+Caucasus).
Frequently asked questions
What was the Iron Curtain?
Phrase coined by Winston Churchill in his 5 March 1946 speech at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri — describing the Soviet-imposed barrier dividing Eastern + Western Europe.
When was NATO founded?
On 4 April 1949 at Washington DC by 12 founding members. Soviet response: Warsaw Pact on 14 May 1955.
What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?
13-day standoff (16-28 October 1962) when Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba brought USA and USSR closest to nuclear war. Resolved by Kennedy-Khrushchev backchannel; US secretly removed Turkey Jupiter missiles.
How did the Cold War end?
Gorbachev’s reforms (1985+), fall of Berlin Wall (9 Nov 1989), German reunification (3 Oct 1990), Warsaw Pact dissolution (July 1991), and finally USSR dissolution on 26 December 1991.