"There was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported opposing sides in major regional conflicts known as proxy wars."
The study of the political and ideological conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II.
Origins of the Cold War: The key events and ideologies that led to the emergence of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Nuclear arms race: The competition between the US and the Soviet Union to develop and maintain nuclear weapons during the Cold War.
The space race: The competition between the US and the Soviet Union to develop space technologies, culminating in the first manned moon landing in 1969.
Communism vs. capitalism: The fundamental ideological differences between the US and Soviet Union, including views on private property, wealth distribution and government control.
Detente: The period of easing tensions between the US and Soviet Union during the 1970s, marked by treaties, agreements and diplomatic exchanges.
Proxy wars: The various conflicts around the world that were fueled by Cold War rivalries, often involving the support of opposing factions by the US and Soviet Union.
Cuban Missile Crisis: The 1962 standoff between the US and Soviet Union over the installation of nuclear missiles in Cuba.
Korean War: The 1950-1953 conflict on the Korean peninsula, seen as a key proxy war in the Cold War.
Vietnam War: The 1955-1975 conflict in Southeast Asia involving US and Soviet Union support for opposing sides.
Berlin Wall: The physical and symbolic barrier erected by the Soviet Union in 1961 to separate West Berlin from East Berlin.
Covert operations: The various secret intelligence operations undertaken by the US and Soviet Union during the Cold War to gain strategic advantage.
McCarthyism: The political movement in the US, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, that targeted individuals perceived to have communist sympathies.
Arms control treaties: The various international agreements aimed at limiting the number and distribution of nuclear weapons during the Cold War.
Perestroika and glasnost: The policies of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s that aimed at modernizing and reforming the Soviet economy and political system.
End of the Cold War: The collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s and early 1990s, marked by events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The Korean War (1950-1953): This conflict saw North Korea, supported by the Soviet Union and China, fighting against South Korea, supported by the United States and other Western powers. The conflict ended in a stalemate and the two Koreas remain divided to this day.
The Vietnam War (1955-1975): This conflict began as a struggle between communist forces in North Vietnam and the US-backed government in South Vietnam. The war expanded into a regional conflict, with Vietnam receiving support from the Soviet Union and China, and the US receiving support from other Western powers. The US ultimately withdrew without achieving its objectives, and Vietnam was reunified under communist rule.
The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): This was a 13-day confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba. The crisis was resolved when the Soviet Union agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a US promise not to invade Cuba and the removal of US missiles from Turkey.
The Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989): This conflict saw the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan to prop up a communist government there. The war became a costly quagmire for the Soviet Union, which ultimately withdrew, leaving Afghanistan in a state of civil war.
The Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988): This conflict saw Iraq, supported by the US and other Western powers, fighting against Iran, which was supported by the Soviet Union and other communist countries. The war ended in a stalemate.
The Gulf War (1990-1991): This conflict began when Iraq, under the rule of Saddam Hussein, invaded Kuwait. The US, with support from other Western powers, launched a military campaign to liberate Kuwait. The war ended in a quick victory for the US-led coalition.
"The struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means, such as psychological warfare, propaganda campaigns, espionage, far-reaching embargoes, sports diplomacy, and technological competitions like the Space Race."
"The Western Bloc was led by the United States, as well as a number of other First World nations that were generally liberal democratic but tied to a network of often authoritarian, Third World states, most of which were the European powers' former colonies."
"The Eastern Bloc was led by the Soviet Union and its Communist Party, which had an influence across the Second World and was also tied to a network of authoritarian states."
"The Soviet Union had a command economy and installed similarly Communist regimes in its satellite states."
"United States involvement in regime change during the Cold War included support for anti-communist and right-wing dictatorships, governments, and uprisings across the world, while Soviet involvement in regime change included the funding left-wing parties, wars of national liberation and revolutions around the world."
"As nearly all the colonial states underwent decolonization and achieved independence in the period from 1945 to 1960, many became Third World battlefields in the Cold War."
"They accomplished this most notably through the formation of NATO, which was essentially a defensive agreement in 1949."
"The Soviet Union countered with the Warsaw Pact in 1955."
"The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia to suppress the Prague Spring of 1968."
"Major crises of this phase included the Berlin Blockade of 1948–1949, the Korean War of 1950–1953, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the Suez Crisis of that same year, the Berlin Crisis of 1961, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, and the Vietnam War of 1964–1975."
"Both superpowers competed for influence in Latin America and the Middle East, and the decolonizing states of Africa, Asia, and Oceania."
"By the 1970s, both sides had started making allowances for peace and security, ushering in a period of détente that saw the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks and the 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China that opened relations with China as a strategic counterweight to the Soviet Union."
"The sixth phase of the Cold War saw the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introducing the liberalizing reforms of glasnost ("openness", c. 1985) and perestroika ("reorganization", c. 1987)."
"The fall of the Iron Curtain after the Pan-European Picnic and the Revolutions of 1989, which represented a peaceful revolutionary wave with the exception of the Romanian Revolution and the Afghan Civil War (1989–1992), overthrew almost all of the Marxist–Leninist regimes of the Eastern Bloc."
"The Communist Party of the Soviet Union itself lost control in the country and was banned following the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt that August."
"The Cold War has left a significant legacy."
"Its effects include references to the culture during the war, particularly with themes of espionage and the threat of nuclear warfare."
"The Cold War is generally followed by the categorization of international relations since 1989 and post–Cold War era to underline its impact."
"The United States was left as the world's sole superpower."