Cold war

• The Berlin crisis (1948-49) saw Berlin split into the west (capitalists) and the east (communists).
• The Berlin crisis (1948-49) saw Berlin split into the west (capitalists) and the east (communists).
• On June 24th 1948, Stalin asserted his authority over Soviet-controlled Germany by denying the west access into their zones in Berlin.
• The Berlin Blockade was a situation where western parties had to travel through communist territories to reach west Berlin.
• In May 1949, France, UK and USA unified to be known as west Berlin.
• The Berlin crisis marked the first show of outright hostilities by the west.
• The Berlin airlift lasted 11 months at a cost of $224 million to the west.
• On May 12th 1949, the land blockade was lifted.
• The Berlin crisis (1948-49) saw Berlin split into the west (capitalists) and the east (communists).
• The Berlin Blockade was a situation where western parties had to travel through communist territories to reach west Berlin.
• In May 1949, France, UK and USA unified to be known as west Berlin.
• On June 24th 1948, Stalin asserted his authority over Soviet-controlled Germany by denying the west access into their zones in Berlin.
• The Berlin airlift lasted 11 months at a cost of $224 million to the west.
• On May 12th 1949, the land blockade was lifted.
• The Berlin crisis marked the first show of outright hostilities by the west.
• The Berlin wall

  August 13th 1961 a barbed wired border was put up along the east and west border.

  the wire was replaced by a concrete wall.

  the wall became a symbol of communist repression.
• Brain drain: Throughout the 1950s, thousands of East Germans left to go to West Berlin.
• Many defectors were highly skilled workers that East Berlin could not afford to lose.
• “Capitalism may not be perfect but we have never had to put up a wall to keep our people in.”
• Lure off the west: The people living in East Berlin saw how good life was in West Berlin and decided to defect, this was before movement restriction was put in place.
• Espionage: Berlin was a western island in a communist sea.
• Imbalance of power in the Cold War superpowers: Khrustaev was very aware that the east was weaker than the west, this was most obvious in Germany and it was also where the west was weakest.
• Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

  the new government was led by Nur Muhammad Taraki

  the communists imnprisioned, tortured and murdered many Muslim religious leaders.


  soviet troops invaded Afghanistan on December 24th 1979.
• soviet invasion of Afghanistan timeline

  April 1978: communist-led government seizes control in Afganistan. —-> Afghans reject communist governments. —-> mujahideen emerges.

  September 1979: Afghan politician Amin arranges the murder of Taraki —-> Amin seizes control —-> Amin enters discussions with USA but distrusted by the Americans

  December 1979: USSR invades Afghanistan —-> Amin assassinated by soviets troops —> USSR installs Barack Kamal as leader.
• Fall of the Berlin Wall

  november 1989 berlin wall was tore down by demonstrators.

  the fall of the wall was massively symbolic of the end of the cold war.

  the Soviet Union did not intervene whilst its empire fell
• dissolution of the soviet Union demonstrations

  Czechoslovakia: anti-communist demonstrations, which opened its borders with the west. Václav Havel was democratically elected leader in 1990.

  Romania: short bloody revolution in 1989 overthrew the communist leader. him and his wife were executed on Christmas day. it was the only country to have a violent revolution against communism.

  soviet republics: in 1990 and 1991, the former soviet republics of the USSR declared themselves independent. Russia declared its self a republic in 1991.
• Hungarian uprising

  In November 1956 soviet tanks invaded Hungary

  june 1956 hungarians began to protest against Rakosi‘s regime.

  Imre Nagy became the leader of a more liberal government

  nagy reforms included: free elections to choose the government

  an impartial legal system with fair trials

  total withdrawal of the soviet army from Hungary

  farmers are allowed private ownership of their land

  hungary was allowed to withdraw from the Warsaw pact and declare nuetrality.
• Cuban missile crisis

  For 13 days in October 1962, the world appeared to stand on the brink of nuclear war.

  in 1959 Fidel Castro became the leader of Cuba

  Khrushcev's missiles couldn't reach the US from Russia but they could if they were in Cuba.

  on October 14th 1962 a US survalence plane flew over Cuba and took photos of the launch pads
• On October 16, 1962, President Kennedy was informed about the Soviet missile sites in Cuba.
• Between October 16 and 21, 1962, President Kennedy set up ExComm to decide his next steps.
• President Kennedy aimed to appear strong but avoid outright war.
• President Kennedy placed a naval blockade around Cuba on October 22, 1962.
• On October 23, 1962, President Kennedy informed the public about the missile sites in Cuba and his naval blockade.
• On October 23, 1962, Soviet ships approaching the blockade turned back.
• On October 25, 1962, US spy planes reported increased building work at the missile launch sites in Cuba.
• On October 26, 1962, Khrusheve promised to remove the missiles if Kennedy didn't invade Cuba.
• On October 27, 1962, Kennedy and Khrusheve agreed to remove US missiles from Turkey and Khrusheve would remove the missiles from Cuba.
• On October 28, 1962, Khrusheve removed the missiles from Cuba.
• NATO and the Warsaw Pact

  in April 1949 NATO was formed with the Western powers.

  The USSR felt threatened by NATO and formed the Warsaw Pact in 1955 to bring together the USSR and the Eastern Bloc.

  these increased Cold War tensions because there were now to power blocs.

  it was clear that the eastern bloc countries would be punished for attempting to leave the Warsaw pact.
• the arms race (USA)

  1945: USA drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

  1952: USA tests the hydrogen bomb which was 1000x more powerful than the atomic bomb.

  1954: USA announces a Doctrine of Massive Retaliation. which states an attack on the USA or its allies would result in a retallitaion retaliation much more severe than the initial attack.

  1959: USA develops an ICBM

  1959: USA send submarines capable of launching nukes to the coast of the USSR

  1968: USA creates a missile that can hit multiple targets.