"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 period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States, from the end of World War II to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Origins of the Cold War: This topic covers the events and circumstances leading up to the beginning of the Cold War in the aftermath of World War II.
Ideological differences between the USSR and the US: This topic explores the fundamental philosophical and political differences underpinning the Cold War rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States.
Key Figures of the Cold War: This topic examines the individuals who played crucial roles in shaping and influencing the Cold War. This includes leaders of both the USSR and the US, as well as other influential figures throughout the world.
Nuclear Arms Race: This topic covers the development and proliferation of nuclear weapons during the Cold War, as well as the impact this had on global politics, military strategy, and international relations.
Proxy Wars: This topic explores the various conflicts and tensions that emerged between the USSR and the US, played out in smaller nations throughout the world, such as Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Korea.
Cold War diplomacy: This topic examines the diplomatic strategies and negotiations used by the USSR and the US to manage their relationship throughout the Cold War.
Western Europe during the Cold War: This topic explores the role of Western Europe during the Cold War and the ways in which the conflict shaped political and social developments in the region.
Socialist revolutions in Latin America: This topic looks at the prominence of socialist movements and revolutions in Latin America during the Cold War, and how these were influenced by the rivalry between the USSR and the US.
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the End of the Cold War: This topic covers the events and circumstances leading up to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the ways in which this ended the Cold War rivalry.
Modern-day tensions between the US and Russia: This topic looks at the continuing tensions and conflicts between the US and Russia, which have their roots in the Cold War era.
Nuclear Arms Race: A race between the United States and the Soviet Union to develop nuclear weapons and missile delivery systems.
Space Race: A competition between the US and the USSR to achieve advancements in space exploration and technology.
Proxy Wars: Conflicts where two opposing powers support opposing sides, without directly engaging in battle themselves.
Ideological Competition: The US advocated for capitalism, democracy, and individualism, while the USSR promoted communism, collectivism, and equality.
Military Alliances: The formation of military alliances such as NATO and the Warsaw Pact, aligning nations on opposing sides.
Intelligence Operations: A competition to gather intelligence through espionage, counter-espionage, and propaganda campaigns.
Decolonization: The US and the USSR supported different approaches to decolonization in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Cultural Propagation: The US and USSR promoted their respective cultural values and ideals abroad, through media, arts, and sports.
Economic Competition: The US and USSR competed for economic influence and market share abroad, through aid programs and trade policies.
Nuclear Deterrence: Both the US and the USSR maintained a stance of nuclear deterrence, threatening mutual destruction in the event of a nuclear conflict.
"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."