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The collapse of the Soviet Union started in the late 1980s and was complete when the country broke up into 15 independent states on December 25, 1991. This signaled the end of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. Mikhail Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the Soviet Union in 1985. When he took over the Soviet Union economy was in bad shape and his idea was to reform the economy and modernize the political situation in the country. There were two main platforms of Gorbachev's reform. The first he called Glasnost. Glasnost allowed more freedom of speech and openness in government. Government officials would be held accountable to the people for their actions. Although Glasnost was a good thing for the people, it also allowed people to protest and the media to report on issues for the first time. Many of the outlying states used this new found freedom to express their desire for independence. The other major reform was called Perestroika. Perestroika meant "restructuring". Gorbachev meant to restructure the Soviet economy to work more efficiently. He allowed some private ownership and released some of the tight control the government had on the economy. However, the people and economy of the Soviet Union were used to the government doing everything. Things got worse before they got better. On December 24, 1991 the Soviet Union was dissolved. At the same time Mikhail Gorbachev announced his resignation.

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The Berlin Airlift could be called the first battle of the Cold War. It was when western countries delivered much needed food and supplies to the city of Berlin through the air because all other routes were blocked by the Soviet Union. At the end of World War II the country of Germany was divided by the Allies into four zones. Great Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union each controlled a different zone. The capital of Germany, Berlin, was located in the Soviet Union zone, but control of this city was also split into four zones between the four countries. The city of Berlin was an island in the middle of the Soviet controlled zone. The west sent supplies there via railroads and roads. However, the Soviets wanted total control of Berlin. They figured if they cut off Berlin from their external supplies and food, then it would fall under their control. Without going to war or giving up the city of Berlin, the only option the western countries had was to try and fly in all the supplies. This was a huge task. There were over two million people living in the city at the time. The army estimated that it would take over 1500 tons of food each day to keep them alive. The Soviets did not believe that an airlift would work. They felt that the people of Berlin would eventually give up.

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The Berlin Airlift is a great example of US involvement in the Cold War. Because of Stalin creating the Berlin Blockade to keep outside influences on his people, it encourage the US to support people that are forced to be under Stalin rule. US brought in a bunch of supplies.

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Glasnost: was introduced by Gorbachev. Ir means openness. The gov. allowed churches to open, Basically, there was a bit democracy happening in Soviet Union

Perestroika: or economic reconstructing. Gorbachev's goal was not to throw away communism but to improve economic system.

Mikhail Gorbachev: new general secretary of communist party

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East and West Germany reunited a year after the Berlin Wall fell. It was called "Unity Day"

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Cold War tensions between the United States and communist China were lessened thanks to an unlikely diplomatic tool: ping-pong.  Their trip led to a renewed dialogue between the two nations, opening the door for President Richard Nixon’s own China visit in 1972.

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President Nixon’s contributions to the Cold War

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President Nixon’s contributions to the Cold War

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Detente: Nixon’s handling of the Soviet Union and China ushered in a new chapter in the Cold War.  Known as détente, the new era was one of relaxed tensions and cooperation between the world’s superpowers.  By playing one communist power against another, Nixon had created a balance of power among the world’s strongest countries.

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Korean War: This war split up Korea into North and South Korea. The Soviets helped North Korea b/c they were communist and the US helped South Korea b/c they didn't want South Korea to fall under communist rule.

Vietnam War: conflict pitting the U.S. and the remnants of the French colonial government in South Vietnam against the indigenous but communist Vietnamese independence movement, the Viet Minh, following the latter's expulsion of the French in 1954.

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The Space Race was a proxy war during the Cold War. It was a competition between the Soviets and the US with space technology. Because both countries were dedicated in being batter than each other, it encouraged them to make space technology quickly and highly advance

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Iron Curtain: a phrase Churchill used when referring to the division of democratic Western Europe and communist Eastern Europe
Stalin's Free Elections: After WWII Stalin promised to have free elections. Because he wanted to remain President of the Soviet Union he canceled the elections.
Warsaw Pact: The Soviet Union saw NATO as a threat and created the Warsaw Pact as his own alliance.

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U.S. and Britain and USSR meeting to talk about the division of Germany into zones of occupation controlled by Allied military forces.

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NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a defensive military alliance formed between 10 Western European nations, the US and Canada

Truman Doctrine: President Truman's own doctrine were foreign aid in the size of $400 million dollars sent to Turkey and Greece to help them fight communism.

Marshall Plan: this plan provided  food, machinery, and other materials to help rebuild Europe after WWII.

Cuban Missile Crisis: A confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1962 over the presence of missile sites in Cuba.

Containment: the foreign policy that Americans used to contain communism.