Definition: International summit meeting between United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. This was the first face-to-face meeting for the two. Their report was initially confrontational, but by the end of the summit they had forged the beginnings of a personal relationship that would result in unprecedented arms reduction agreements and, ultimately, lead to the end of the Cold War.

20TH PARTY CONGRESS

Definition: 1955 Meeting of the Communist party of the Soviet Union at which Nikita Khrushchev delivered his “secret speech” denouncing former Soviet leader, Josef Stalin.

ABM

Definition: ABM is the initialism for “antiballistic missile,” a defensive weapon designed to detect and intercept incoming offensive nuclear missiles.

 APOLLO-SOYUZ

Definition: Apollo-Soyuz was a Joint U.S.-Soviet space program undertaken during Detente. On July 17, 1975, a U.S. Apolo spacecraft and Soviet Soyuz vessel docked for two days of joint

operations.

 ARMY-MCCARTHY HEARINGS

Definition: The Army-McCarthy hearings were a series of hearings held by the United States Senate's Subcommittee on investigations between March 1954 and June 1954. The hearings were held for the purpose of investigating conflicting accusations between the U.S. Army and Senator Joseph R. McCarthy. The Army accused McCarthy and his chief counsel, Roy Cohn, of

pressuring the Army to give preferential treatment to G. David Schine, who was a former McCarthy aide and a friend of Cohn's. McCarthy counter-charged that this accusation was made in bad faith, in retaliation for his recent aggressive investigations of suspected Communists and security risks in the Army.

 ATOMIC AGE

Definition: The term “atomic age” refers to the period following the detonation of the first atomic bomb in 1945 which was characterized by both optimism and fear. It was believed that

all power sources in the future would be atomic in nature. The atomic bomb ("A-bomb") would render all conventional explosives obsolete and nuclear power plants would do the same for power sources such as coal and oil. There was a general feeling that everything would use a nuclear power source of some sort, in a positive and productive way, from irradiating food to

preserve it, to the development of nuclear medicine. This would render the Atomic Age as significant a step in technological progress as the first smelting of Bronze, of Iron, or the

commencement of the Industrial Revolution. This hope was counterbalanced by a growing fear that the world would be destroyed in a war fought with atomic or nuclear weapons.

 BAY OF PIGS INVASION

Definition: The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro.

BERLIN AIRLIFT

Definition: Successful effort by Britain and the United States to supply West Berlin with essentials such as food, medicine and coal during a Soviet blockade of road, rail and canal routes into the city.

BERLIN WALL

Definition: The Berlin Wall was a fortified partition that completely cut-off West Berlin from surrounding communist East Germany and East Berlin. It was built to prevent East German citizens from emigrating to the West.

BIG THREE

Definition: The Big Three refers the dominant members of the Allies of World War II: Britain (the British Empire and the British Commonwealth), the Soviet Union (USSR), and the United States

of America. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to the Big Three and China as the "Four Policemen". France, before its defeat in 1940 and after Operation Torch in 1942, as well as

Poland, were considered major allies as well.

BOLSHEVIKS

Definition: The Bolsheviks were the political faction that preceded the Russian Communist Party. In October 1917, during the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks launched a coup to unseat the ruling provisional government in Petrograd, Russia. This paved the way for the modern Soviet Socialist State, the USSR or Soviet Union.

CHARTER 77 DECLARATION

Definition: The Charter 77 Declaration was a political manifesto which demanded that the Communist rulers of Czechoslovakia abide by the human rights provisions of the Helsinki Final

Acts. Many of the 230 original signatories were harassed or imprisoned, among them the poet and playwright, Václav Havel. Following the 1989 Velvet Revolution, many “Chartists” played

important roles in Czech and Slovak politics. Havel became the first post-Communist President of Czechoslovakia and, later, the Czech Republic.

CIA

Definition: The Central Intelligence Agency, established in 1947 during the Truman administration was the United States’ top spy agency during the Cold War.

 

COLD WAR

Definition: The Cold War was the state of conflict, tension and competition that existed between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s, although many historians believe the conflict can be dated to as early as 1917. Throughout this period, rivalry between the two superpowers was expressed through military coalitions, propaganda, espionage, weapons development, industrial advances, and competitive technological development, e.g., the space race. Both superpowers engaged in costly defence spending, a massive conventional and nuclear arms race, and numerous proxy wars.
 

COMMUNISM

Definition: Within the context of the Cold War, Communism is a family of economic and political ideas and social movements related to the establishment of a classless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general. It is also often used to refer to a form of government in which the state operates under a one-party system and declares allegiance to Marxism-Leninism or a derivative thereof, even if the party does not actually claim that the society has already reached communism.

COMMUNIST BLOC

Definition: The terms Eastern Bloc, Communist Bloc or Soviet Bloc were used to refer to the former Communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, including the countries of the Warsaw Pact, along with Yugoslavia and Albania, which were not aligned with the Soviet Union after 1948 and 1960 respectively. Communist governments were initially installed in a Bloc politics process that included extensive political and media controls, along with a Soviet approach to restricting emigration. Events such as the Tito-Stalin split and Berlin Blockade prompted stricter control. While the Bloc persisted through revolts, such as the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the 1968 Czechoslovakia Prague Spring, its command economies experienced inefficiencies and stagnation preceding the Bloc's dissolution.

CONTAINMENT

Definition: Containment was the policy developed by the Truman administration to “contain” Soviet expansion to its 1945 borders. It was proposed by career diplomat George Kennan and enunciated in an article he wrote under the pseudonym “X” for Foreign Affairs magazine entitled, “The Sources of Soviet Conduct.”

 

CONTRAS

Definition: “Contra” referred to paramilitary groups opposed the ruling Sandinista government in Nicaragua following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. The “Contras” became fodder for many water cooler discussions during the 1987 Iran-Contra scandal and Congressional hearings.

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

Definition: The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba in October 1962, during the Cold War. The crisis developed when the Cuban and Soviet governments in September 1962 placed nuclear missiles in Cuba. When United States intelligence discovered the weapons, its government decided to do all they could to ensure their removal. The crisis ranks with the Berlin Blockade as one of the major confrontations of the Cold War, and is generally regarded as the moment in which the Cold War came closest to a nuclear war.

“CUBA SÍ, YANQUIS NO”

Definition: “Cuba Sí, Yanquis No" was the oft-repeated slogan used by Cuba nationalists in the wake of the 1959 revolution that brought to power Fidel Castro. The slogan refers to the historical influence wielded by the United States over Cuban affairs.

DEMOBILIZATION

Definition: Demobilization is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and military force will not be necessary. The opposite of demobilization is mobilization. In the final days of World War II, for example, the United States Armed Forces developed a demobilization plan which would discharge soldiers on the basis of a point system that favored length and certain types of service. In this manner, the armed forces of the United States were reduced from over 10,000,000 at the end of the war to roughly 1.5 million service members a year-and-a-half later.

Détente
Definition: from the French word meaning loosening or relaxing—means literally as an
easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation. In the context of the Cold War, it represented the period between roughly 1969 and 1979 where the two sides in the bi-polar confrontation sought to “agree to disagree.”

 

EASTERN BLOC (ALSO SOVIET BLOC, COMMUNIST BLOC)

Definition: The terms Eastern Bloc, Communist Bloc or Soviet Bloc were used to refer to the former Communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, including the countries of the Warsaw Pact, along with Yugoslavia and Albania, which were not aligned with the Soviet Union after 1948 and 1960 respectively. Communist governments were initially installed in a Bloc politics process that included extensive political and media controls, along with a Soviet approach to restricting emigration. Events such as the Tito-Stalin split and Berlin Blockade prompted stricter control. While the Bloc persisted through revolts, such as the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the 1968 Czechoslovakia Prague Spring, its command economies experienced inefficiencies and stagnation preceding the Bloc's dissolution.

GRAND ALLIANCE

Definition: The Grand Alliance was an alliance made during World War II, which joined together the United States, the Soviet Union and Great Britain. It was essentially an alliance of necessity, as all three needed to join together in order to defeat the threat of Nazi Germany.

POTSDAM DECLARATION

Definition: The Potsdam Declaration or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender was a statement issued on July 26, 1945 by President of the United States Harry S. Truman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill and President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek which outlined the terms of surrender for the Empire of Japan as agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference. This ultimatum stated that if Japan did not

surrender, it would face "prompt and utter destruction". Japan's initial rejection of the ultimatum led directly to Truman's decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9. Whether the ultimatum was intended to be acceptable without recourse to use nuclear weapons has been subject to considerable debate. The declaration was one of Churchill's final official acts as Prime Minister before leaving office the following day in favour of Clement Atlee.

LIMITED TEST BAN TREATY

Definition: The Limited Test Ban Treaty was an arms control agreement negotiated by the US, USSR, and UK in 1963 prohibiting tests of nuclear devices in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater. It did not prohibit underground nuclear testing, so long as radioactive debris was contained within the “territorial limits" of the testing state. The treaty has since been signed by a total of 116 countries, including potential nuclear states Argentina, Brazil, India, Israel, Pakistan, and South Africa. Though two major nuclear powers, France and the People's

Republic of China, have not signed, they are now abiding by its provisions. In 1992, China exploded a bomb beyond the LTBT limits.

 

LONG TELEGRAM

Definition: The Long Telegram was a diplomatic cable sent from George Kennan, the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. embassy in Moscow, to officials with the Treasury Department in Washington. The missive was intended to explain Soviet intransigence on issues such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. However, the “Long Telegram” laid the

groundwork for U.S.-Soviet Relations for much of the Cold War.

MANHATTAN PROJECT

Definition: The Manhattan Project was the World War II program to develop the first nuclear weapon—the atomic bomb. The scientific research was directed by American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and much of the work was accomplished at Los Alamos, New Mexico. The first test explosion—code-named “Trinity” was conducted in July 1945. Just weeks later atomic bombs were detonated over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing tens of thousands of Japanese civilians and resulting in the “full and unconditional surrender” of Japan to end World War II. Context: For J. Robert Oppenheimer, witnessing the Trinity test explosion, called to mind the words of the Hindu God Vishnu, “I have become Death, destroyer of worlds.”
 

MARSHALL PLAN

Definition: The Marshall Plan (from its enactment, officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was the primary plan of the United States for rebuilding and creating a stronger foundation for the countries of Western Europe, and repelling communism after World War II. The initiative was named for Secretary of State George Marshall and was largely the creation of State Department officials, especially William L. Clayton and George F. Kennan.

OPEN SKIES

Definition: Open Skies was a concept for a mutual reconnaissance agreement between the U.S. and Soviet Union designed to eliminate the potential of “surprise” attacks and, thus, relieve tension in the Cold War. The plan was developed by Nelson Rockefeller and proposed by President Eisenhower at the 1956 Geneva summit. On behalf of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev rejected the idea calling it a “bold espionage plot” and likening it to peering into respective bedrooms. The deployment by the United States of the U-2 spy plane, already in development prior to Geneva, eliminated the need for any cooperative reconnaissance agreement.

RED ARMY

Definition: The Russian Red Army was formed after the 1917 Bolshevik revolution from remnants of the rebel Red Guards and the ruins of the Tzar’s Imperial Army. By the end of World War II, the Soviet Red Army was the mightiest and most feared land army in the world and was used by Josef Stalin to impose Soviet Communism on the nations of eastern Europe. In 1946, the Red Army was renamed the Soviet Army. Context: The "Red Army" name refers to the traditional colour of the workers' movement. This represents, symbolically, the blood shed by the working class in its struggle against capitalism, and the belief that all people are created equal.

SPACE RACE

Definition: The Space Race was the competition between the U.S. and Soviet Union for dominance in outer space. Context: Between 1957 and 1975, the Cold War rivalry between the two nations focused on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national security and symbolic of technological and ideological superiority.

SPUTNIK

Definition: Sputnik 1 was the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite. It was launched into a low altitude elliptical orbit by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. The success of the Soviet Sputnik program ignited the Space Race within the Cold War. Context: Sputnik 2 was the second spacecraft launched in Earth orbit, on November 3, 1957, and the first to carry a living animal—a dog named Laika.

 TRUMAN DOCTRINE

Definition: Proclaimed by President Harry S. Truman on March 12, 1947, the Truman Doctrine stated that the U.S. would, "support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." The speech represented a dramatic sea-change in U.S. foreign policy from that of non-intervention to one of world leadership.

U-2

Definition: The Lockheed U-2 spy plane was developed to conduct overflights of the Soviet Union for the purposes of aerial reconnaissance. The aircraft was capable of photographing objects from an altitude of more than 70,000 ft. Context: A U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960 sparking the U-2 incident between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.

UNITED NATIONS

Definition: The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achieving world peace. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations, to stop wars between countries and to provide a platform for dialogue. 

Evidence = 
In summing up Judge Kaufman proclaimed that he held the Rosenbergs responsible not only for espionage but also for deaths in the Korean War:

Source: Summing up by Eliza Kaufman on March 29, 1951, the Rosenbergs were convicted of espionage. They were sentenced to death on April 5 by Judge Kaufman under Section 2 of the  Espionage Act of 1917, 50 U.S. Code 32 (now 18 U.S. Code794), which prohibits transmitting or attempting to transmit to a foreign government information "relating to the national defense."

In 1951 the exposure of espionage within the Manhattan Project with the case of  Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (among others) demonstrated the level of public paranoia in the US at this time. The execution of this Jewish couple for treason smacked of anti-semitism as well as anti-Communism, and reminded many commentators of Nazi stereotypes of “evil, communist Russian Jews.” Comparisons were made with the  Dreyfus Affair, and it drew condemnation from figures such as Albert Einstein and Jean Paul Sartre who described it as a “legal lynching”. The impartiality of the judge, Irving Kaufman, was brought into question by his admission that the death penalty was recommended to him by prosecutor Roy Cohn (who later acted as counsel for Senator Mc Carthy) who also recommended fellow anti-Communists to be the Judge and chief prosecutor in the trial in his position as a deputy to the US Attorney General.

The shooting down of the US U2 spy plane piloted by Gary Powers in 1960 was a huge backwards step for diplomacy with the Soviets, it pressured Khrushchev into taking a more hard line approach to placate his critics in the Kremlin and resulted in more openly aggressive policies towards the US, with Soviet support of Client states like Cuba.  

Pre-war animosity was evident in the propaganda coming from both sides. The execution of the Romanovs (the King’s cousins) lived long in the memory of the satirical press in Britain and  Stalin was seen as simply another European dictator like Hitler and Mussolini until he became an ally in 1941.

Francis Gary Powers photographed while in custody by the Soviets.

DP History Cold War sub-topic =
Rivalry, mistrust and accord the emergence of superpower rivalry in Europe and Asia (1943–1949,  role of ideology; fear and aggression.

 

 Ideologically, American feared that democracy can be sabotaged by soviet espionage and political repression. The fear mainly come from witnessing Soviet’s takeover of formerly-democratic nations and his failed promise of Declaration of a Liberated Europe, which he promised free electron in Eastern Europe.

 

American’s national security is seen to be threaten based on several reasons. First, many historians suggest America lack understanding of the damage WW2 had brought to the USSR. America did not fully sense USSR’s vulnerability despite 25 millions people killed and 70% of their industries destroyed. The American still see the USSR as a major power and rivalry. In Stalin’s election speech during 1946, he announces WW2 as a “test” of Soviet’s “multinational state system” of being viable. This shows Stalin’s optimism towards international socialism and his vision of expansion. Besides, in 1949, Mao took over China and made China a communist state, which further threatens United State’s power in the Pacific. 
 Perhaps most importantly is Soviet’s test of nuclear weapon in 1949, which USSR constructed based on technological information passed on by spies (Julius and Ethel Rosenberg) in the Manhattan Project. The American were now aware of that Josef Stalin, a hostile and unreliable politician, now has the ability to cause devastating damage to the United States at any time.

Evidence:
McCarthyism refers to the second red scare that took placed in United States after the second world war. American’s fear and insecurity became evident when the “loyalty project” is imposed by President Truman’s Executive Order 9835 in 1947 and assisted by the FBI. Cases that especially strengthen American’s speculation are the accusation of Harry White (second most important influential official in U.S. Treasury) for passing information to KGB; and Alger Hiss, a high level official in State Department that had contributed to the founding of UN, convicted of perjury in 1950.

Moreover, the Venona Project (deciphering international cables to obtain key information) that began during the WW2 had accumulated evidences suggesting “the Soviets had recruited spies in virtually every major American government agency of military or diplomatic importance. American authorities learned that since 1942 the United States had been the target of a Soviet espionage onslaught involving dozens of professional Soviet intelligence officers and hundreds of Americans, many of whom were members of the American Communist party (CPUSA).” (Yale University Press, 1999) 

Then, US government had set up the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1938 aiming to investigate disloyalty and communist ties of American citizens, employees, and organizations.

Beside nuclear weapon, soviet espionage is commanded into various other military departments. For example, William Perl, a US government aeronautical scientist, provided the USSR with the results of highly secret design experiments of American jet engines and aircrafts. This promotes the USSR to quickly catch up with American technological lead in the development of jets. During the Korean War, US military leaders expected the air force to dominate; however, they were shocked when Soviet MiG-15 jet fighters not only flew ring around U.S. propeller-driven aircraft but were conspicuously superior to the first generation of American jets as well. The military performance of USSR deepens US’s insecurity when it comes to the two nation’s confrontation. 

http://www.alexanderyakovlev.org/fond/issues-doc/69577
(origin in Russian) 

 "I wanted to do was to organize the moral forces against the immoral forces. I told him that Stalin and his crowd had no intellectual honesty and no moral code, that they had broken 30 or 40 treaties they'd made with us and the free world and that all I wanted to do was to organize Exodus XX, Matthew V, VI & VII to save morals in the world."

"But if I could succeed in getting the world of morals associated against the world of no morals, we'd have world peace for ages to come. Confucius, Buddha, Moses, our own, Jesus Christ, Mahomet, all preached--"Do as you'd be done by." Treat others as you'd be treated. So did all the other great teachers and philosophers.

But along comes Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin to upset morals and intellectual honesty and a lot of "crack pots" want to follow them.

The Great Creator of the Universe won't allow it! I am sure of that."

This source demonstrates Truman's dislike towards Stalin-and towards communism in general-in the moral and religious aspect. He believed that it is against Christian values and immoral for communism to exist; his description is not unlike the struggle between God and Satan, the conflict between the Omni-benevolent and the embodiment of evil.

A picture 
A nice representation of the political situation.

USSR’s need for secure western boarders 

After ww2 socialist European nations transitioned into being satellite states of USSR. Soviet Union had control over 6 satellites forming the Eastern Bloc countries.  Countries affiliated with the name Eastern Bloc countries are: Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia Hungary, Romania and the Soviet Union. During the cold war the Soviet Union gained power over these satellites with one of the reasons in mind being to secure western boarders in case of possible conflict with the western allies. These Eastern Bloc countries did not provide any other war winning or defining values besides serving as a buffer zone and possibly being strategically viable if aggression occurred.  

As a result of the satellite states being established, Winston Churchill gave a captivating speech named the “iron curtain” in disapproval of Stalin and the soviet’s doings. As a response to Churchill Stalin took on an interview showing his thoughts on the topic. 

Key points in Stalin’s interview can be seen in these quotes: 

“One must therefore ask, what can be surprising in the fact that the Soviet Union, in a desire to ensure its security for the future, tries to achieve that these countries should have governments whose relations to the Soviet Union are loyal?” 

In this sentence Stalin states how it is important that the soviets utilize these lands for future security measures. 

“Mr. Churchill sometimes recalls in his speeches the common people from small houses, patting them on the shoulder in a lordly manner and pretending to be their friend. But these people are not so simple-minded as it might appear at first sight. Common people, too, have their opinions and their own politics. And they know how to stand up for themselves. It is they, millions of these common people, who voted Mr. Churchill and his party out in England” 

In this section Stalin then accuses Churchill of pretending to care about the common day to day person, and shows a communist belief that the capitalists are greedy and do not care about the common people. 

Through Stalin’s interview we can observe clear indications that Stalin believes that the satellite states are a necessity for the soviet security in the foreseeable future, supporting claims that the soviet Union were in pursuit of secure western boarders. 

http://alphahistory.com/coldwar/stalin-responds-iron-curtain-speech-1946/ 


the building of the Berlin wall can be seen as another proof of the danger Stalin sees towards the west of their territories.

  
building the wall. (Trump approves) 
the Berlin wall was built for the sake of segregating the USSR owned east Berlin from west Berlin http://www.historynotes.info/on-this-day-first-block-in-berlin-wall-was-set-up-83/ 

6. America's refusal to share nuclear secrets 

Pt
 Is reasonable that US refuse to share the secrets of nuclear bomb. In 1942, after the Nazi Germany was defeated by the western allies and the USSR, the US army rapidly collecting the intelligence of German Nuclear Energy project. Through the information they got from Nazi Germany, the US government establish a secret project, called Manhattan Project. Firstly, the president of US, Trumen, at that time is a anti-communist. Unlike the previous president, Roosevelt, Trumen wanted to use the secrets of nuclear bomb as a chips for the negotiation with Stalin. Secondly, the US government spent too much effort and resources on the nuclear project during WW II, especially for the money. Thirdly, through the means of monopolizing the secrets not only can avoid the stimulation of developing nuclear bomb toward their enemies or untrusted nation,including Nazi Germany, Japan, and USSR. 

Point: 

There are two possible aims of USSR spreading world communism: 

I. The communist ideology of eradication of the capitalist. 

The first reason might be the ideology within communist itself. Since the Lenin's period (27th Party Congress,1986), the Communist Party of Soviet Union had aimed to achieve “world socialist system,” developing "equal and friendly" relations with "liberated" (Third World) countries. 

II. USSR wanted a buffer zone. 

By the end of Second World War, the USSR asked for a buffer zone for securing the western border. However, the USA saw this as a threat. During Second World War, the communist ideology was spreading throughout the Europe. The USA was afraid that the communist ideology would take over the Europe, so they started the “containment” policy, aiming to close up the Soviet Union. This action made the Soviet Union felt nationally unsecured. Hence, the Soviet Union aggravated the spread of communist ideology. 

Evidence and Citation 

https://archive.org/stream/sovietunioncount00zick/sovietunioncount00zick_djvu.txt 

Chapter 10