Timeline of the Cold War by Colton Raines

Yalta Conference Drafts Post-War Plan (Feb. 1945)

craines25 — 2024-04-17 14:38:35 UTC

During WWII the three leaders of Russia, England, and the US (Stalin, Churchill, FDR) met to discuss the post-war world. At this meeting, Russia promised to help in the Pacific Theatre against Japan in exchange for territory and economic advantages in China. The UN is created. Germany would pay reparations, and the USSR would have a "friendly" government in Eastern Europe. The agreements here did not succeed in preventing the Cold War.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 1945)

craines25 — 2024-04-17 14:50:39 UTC

After receiving the word that the Manhattan Project was Successful, President Truman approached Stalin informing him of the US's new destructive power, which he wasn't interested in due to his unknown knowledge of the Bomb. Hesitant to use the new weapon on Japan the US finally decides to drop the bombs on the two cities to avoid a direct invasion of the country. After the dropping of the first bomb known as "Little Boy," the USSR invaded Japanese-occupied Manchuria. Just a few days later the US dropped another bomb this one named the "Fat Man," this led to the final surrender of the Japanese Empire ending WWII. The Soviets now realized the power of the US and feared them, so in return, they started to develop their own bomb, which started the nuclear arms race between the two nations and the Cold War.

Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech in Fulton, MO (March 5, 1946)

craines25 — 2024-04-18 04:56:22 UTC

The speech given by Winston Churchill was held at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. In the speech, Churchill warned the US about the Soviet advancements and policies being issued in Eastern Europe, which Churchill drew a line dividing Europe and called the Iron Curtain. Which separated the democratic nations to the west and the communist-controlled nations to the east. He also emphasized the need for the Western democracies to stand against the Soviet advancements. This speech further solidified the start of the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine First Applied In Greek Civil War (March 12, 1947)

craines25 — 2024-04-18 13:16:02 UTC

The Truman Doctrine says that if a country is facing communism such as Greece after WWII says if communism is spreading find the non-communist and aid them to win the Civil War. During the Doctrine President Truman used this oputunity to scare the US citizens in supporting this effort to contain communism. This Doctrine is first applied in Greece and Turkey, it works and contains communism as the non-communist win.

Marshall Plan Is Announced To Rebuild Europe (June 1947)

craines25 — 2024-04-18 13:25:41 UTC

The Marshall Plan is a preventative effort to slow communism. This plan gives Europe millions and almost billions to rebuild to not have communism take effect in areas that are destroyed, as communism seems to spread in poorer regions. It is named after George Marshall a General during WWII who proposed the idea. To have the Marshall Plan you have to buy American goods, this helps to stimulate the US economy. This plan worked as countries who took part in the plan had their economy rise by about 25%.

Berlin Blockade and Airlift Begins (June 1948)

craines25 — 2024-04-18 13:33:09 UTC

The Berlin Blockade was an action taken by the USSR to block major roads, railroads, waterways, and more to take control over East Berlin. The Allies' response to this action was to airlift food and other supplies into the eastern (blocked) part of the city, this was done to prevent a confrontation between the US and the USSR. It was successful for the Allies and the blockade was removed for land access in May of 1949.

NATO Alliance Formed (April 4, 1949)

craines25 — 2024-04-18 13:41:13 UTC

The NATO alliance was created by the US, Canada, and multiple Western European countries to provide security from the Soviet Union. This was the first peacetime alliance that the US enters after WWII in the Western Hemisphere. It was said during the creation of the alliance that an attack against one of these nations was an attack against all of the other nations involved in the alliance.

The Soviet Union Tests Its First Atomic Bomb (August 20, 1949)

craines25 — 2024-04-18 13:53:36 UTC

The detonation of this Bomb known as "First Lightning" was a test by Soviet Scientists to discover the effects the blast had on buildings and other structures, but also to understand the effects of radiation on human-like mammals. The US found out about the test due to a spy plane finding remnants of radiation, not long after the US announced to its people that the Soviets also had an Atomic Bomb. It was later discovered that during the development of the US's Atomic Bomb, one of the scientists involved sent the secrets of the creation of the bomb to the Soviets, these secrets included a blueprint of the "Fat Man" atomic bomb and everything the US had theorized of the Hydrogen Bomb. This officially started the Nuclear Arms Race between the two Nations.

Mao Zedong Wins Chinese Civil War and Creates The People's Republic of China (October 1, 1949)

craines25 — 2024-04-18 14:15:49 UTC

Before WWII the country's Qing Dynasty falls and the communist party starts to fight the Beiyang Government and the warlords occupying the region. After this, the CCP and the KMT split and started a Civil War but the Chinese people saw the Chiang Kai-Shek movement as the government, which was unsupported by the CCP. With threats of Japan and the attacks from the CCP, the KMT is distracted and the CCP starts to take hold in the region, but the KMT takes back most of the land and forces the CCP to move north close to Russia as the CCP is a soviet controlled party. After the attacks from Japan during WWII the two parties have a cease-fire to hold off the Japanese. After the fall of the Japanese Empire, the cease-fire ended and the Soviets supplied the CCP more with the CCP's closing victory the KMT fled China and went to Taiwan and established their government. The US protects this new government in Taiwan.

McCarthyism and The Red Scare Takes Hold in The US (Feburary 1950)

craines25 — 2024-04-18 14:18:03 UTC

In 1950 the US was scared and feeling as though they were failing to contain the spread of communism. This leads to a Red Scare and everyone believes everyone else could be communist. McCarthy a government leader was extreme about this Red Scare and even had a list of people who he believes are communists, which he released to the public. His extreme efforts ruined thousands of people's lives as he would put them in jail or blacklist them from work if he believed they were communists. When McCarthy believed the army was communist he was removed from power.

Korean War (1950-1953)

craines25 — 2024-04-18 16:03:41 UTC

The Korean War began after soldiers from Soviet-occupied North Korea crossed the 38th parallel, the line that separated Communist North Korea and Democratic South Korea. This invasion was the first military action during the Cold War. The US sent troops to South Korea as a reason to protect against the spread of communism. The US quickly wanted to make an armistice as they feared the USSR or China would make it a war against them or the start of WWIII. With the end of the Korean War, the 38th parallel remained the border between the separated North and South Korea.

H-Bomb Tested by USA on Bikini Atoll (March 1, 1954)

craines25 — 2024-04-23 13:14:34 UTC

The H-Bomb is a fusion bomb and is about 1000x more powerful than an Atomic Bomb. The US also put old ships and other equipment in the island chain during testing to understand its power and destructive force.

KGB Established (March 1954)

craines25 — 2024-04-23 13:23:51 UTC

The KGB was an intelligence and security agency within the Soviet Union, it also had the same functions as the Homeland Security in the US with it being the protection from both domestic and foriegn threats.

CIA Helps Overthrow Unfriendly Governments in Iran and Guatemala (March 1954)

craines25 — 2024-04-23 13:40:36 UTC

After the student-led revolution in Guatemala overthrew their dictatorship government they elected a democratic leader. This leader was later suspected by the US to be working with the Soviet Union as he supported a group of people whose goal was to topple US-backed dictators. After another election was done in Guatemala this new leader wanted to help the poor so he gave them land from the wealthy. But this also meant that the United Fruit Company would have to give up its land and resources which made the US believe it was the start of Communism in the region. This led to the CIA having a plan to assassinate who they believed were communist leaders, the US also sent military personnel. These actions made the US overthrow the democratic government and replace it with a Pro American dictator, which had already been done in Iran.

Warsaw Pact Formed (May 1955)

craines25 — 2024-04-23 13:48:34 UTC

In retaliation for the NATO alliance being signed the USSR and its eastern Europe allies signed their alliance. The countries involved in this signing were Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, Albania, East Germany, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union. This was also used to keep the other countries in line by the Soviet Union. The Pact fell when the Soviet Union fell in 1991.

The Transfermium Wars Begin (1955)

craines25 — 2024-04-23 13:56:18 UTC

This is a race to develop and discover new elements on the periodic tables. It starts after transfermium on the periodic table and it is a competion between universities around the world with many countries creating new elements. This also led to the new elements being needed to be named, they are also ignored by countries who didn't develop them.

Rebellion Put Down in Hungary (November 1956)

craines25 — 2024-04-23 14:15:27 UTC

This was the first armed revolution against the USSR. It began when students in Hungary were angered by the replacement of their Prime Minister and Inspired by Soviet concession in Poland. They compiled a list of 16 demands and went unarmed to speak them at a radio station when they were attacked by the Security Forces in the area. This made the protest become a revolution by the people, convinced by the government and radio stations that the Western powers would come to aid the revolution continued even with the Soviet military stationed within the country. Seemingly defeated the Soviets withdrew from Hungary and back home as they realized they may have been too harsh on Warsaw Pact nations, but as they left a Soviet Embassy was attacked and Hungary announced they wanted to leave the pact. This led to the Soviets ending the rebellion in just a few days. This proved the USSR's power over their neighboring countries and another rebellion didn't form in Hungary until 1989.

USSR Launches First ICBM (August 1957)

craines25 — 2024-04-23 14:20:55 UTC

An ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) is a missile that is launched from the ground into space at the speed of a bullet and hits almost anywhere on the planet. This removes the disadvantage of a plane needing to transport the Nuke. This technology is used to power the space race.

Sputnik Launched Into Orbit (October 4, 1957)

craines25 — 2024-04-25 13:10:07 UTC

The Soviet Union was the first nation to launch a man-made satellite into Earth's orbit. It was designed by Sergei Korolev, otherwise known as the father of the USSR space program. The satellite was about the same size as a beach ball, had 4 antennas, and remained in space for about 3 months. This successful mission led to the US being afraid of the Soviet's missile capabilities and forcing them to increase their space program, sending the two nations into a "space race". After this, the Soviets launched another satellite into space this time with a dog making it the first living creature in space.

Fidel Castro Takes Power in Cuba (January 1959)

craines25 — 2024-04-25 13:23:05 UTC

Fidel Castro took power in Cuba due to the Cuban Revolution which aimed to overthrow Fulgencio Batista who was a brutal dictator. Before this Castro was running for Congress in Cuba, but after Batista became the dictator he led an attack on a military barracks, after which he was imprisoned. After Castro was out of prison he started a movement to overthrow the Cuban dictator, after gaining enough support they started attacking putting the country in a state of civil war. After another election was rigged the revolution drove Batista out of Cuba and elected Castro into power. The US and Cuba had a good relationship at the start of the new government run by Castro but that started to diminish as Cuba became communist.

U2 Spy Plane Shot Down Over The USSR (May 1960)

craines25 — 2024-04-25 13:29:28 UTC

The U2 Spy plane was a state-of-the-art spy plane during the Cold War, which flew in the high atmosphere where they believed missiles couldn't hit. This plane took pictures and gathered information on multiple nations and when the USSR was able to shoot down the plane over their country, this embarrassed the US. But this also showed the power of the US to gather information on other countries.

Failed Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 1961)

craines25 — 2024-04-25 13:38:39 UTC

The US gathered over 1,000 anti-communist Cubans and trained them at a secret US military base in Guatemala. This was organized by the CIA and the invasion of these anti-communist attackers failed and they were captured by Castro and publically shamed by Cuba. The US is now more determined to overthrow Castro and end his communist led government. This led to Castro seeking help from the USSR and having Nuclear missiles pointed at the US.

Construction of Berlin Wall Begins (August 17, 1961)

craines25 — 2024-04-25 13:49:03 UTC

The Berlin Wall was built almost overnight by the Soviets to stop their people from fleeing to the free western side of the city. The wall was shaped much like a circle as it was built to surround the Western portion of the city to make it an island of democracy inside of communist-controlled Eastern Germany. The wall was heavily guarded and led to many people coming up with ideas to escape to Western Berlin. The Wall stood until 1989.

Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962)

craines25 — 2024-04-25 14:01:15 UTC

After the Soviet Union and Cuba ally the Soviets start to develop Nuclear missile silos and during the building of these silos the US discover them with a U2 spy plane. This led to the US placing military personnel in Florida to invade the island, but JFK stopped this invasion and instead placed a naval blockade around the island and stopped any Soviet attempts to aid Cuba with weapons. After some negotiations, the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba and the US removed their missiles from Greece and Turkey.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Ratified (July 1963)

craines25 — 2024-05-03 13:09:47 UTC

The Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed by US Secretary Dean Rusk, Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, and British Foreign Secretary Lord Home. This treaty had to be convinced to the public that it was good by President Kennedy. The Treaty prohibited the test of nuclear explosives underwater, in the air, or in space, but allowed for them to be tested underground and that the nuclear radiation stays within the nation that the test occurred. It also stated for complete disarmament, an end to the armaments race, and an end to the contamination of the environment by radioactive substances.

Gulf of Tonkin Incident and Resolution (August 1964)

craines25 — 2024-05-03 13:21:49 UTC

President LBJ was dedicated to winning the Vietnam War and when he got the chance to rally the troops and attack he did such as on August 2, 1964. This event had a US Navy vessel be attacked unprovoked by 3 Vietnamese torpedo boats, in which the boat wasn't harmed which led to it calling in air support and the US sending another destroyer to go into the Gulf with it. Which led to more North Vietnamese ships sending attacks. This led to a resolution being made by the US which read that Congress would support any determination made by the President as Commander in Chief, to take any necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the US to prevent further aggression. After LBJ left office the US Congress repealed this act and removed the power to wage war from any president.

US Marines Sent to The Dominican Republic to Fight Communism (April 1965)

craines25 — 2024-05-03 13:44:18 UTC

When President LBJ felt that the Dominican Civil War would end with the communist side winning he decided to intervene. He first sent unarmed US marines into the nation to evacuate any US citizens, they were also later when armed and tasked to protect the US embassy. They also were told to trap and Constitutionalists in a section of the island with help from the loyalists which didn't last long as the loyalists left, leaving the Marines and Paratroopers to fight by themselves. The Army later arrived and separated the two rebel factions forcing them to seek a negotiated solution, the army also helped to close the gap in the line between the Marines and paratroopers, stopping all unregulated trade out of the section that contained the constitutionalists. This separation of the two factions worked and showed that the US could use politics with little help from the military to stop and slow the spread of communism and protect US citizens.

US Announcement to Dispatch 200,000 US Troops to Vietnam (July 1965)

craines25 — 2024-05-03 13:51:29 UTC

President LBJ calls for an increase in US troops in Vietnam and an increase in the monthly draft calls. This reaffirmed US readiness to seek an end to the war. While communist leaders ridiculed Johnson on this decision the US political leaders all backed his decision and effectively gave the US military leader a check to pursue the War.

B-52s Bomb North Vietnam in Operation Rolling Thunder (1966)

craines25 — 2024-05-03 13:56:44 UTC

This was truly the first attack on the Vietnamese homefront by the US. The bombing lasted about 3 years and led to an increase in US military presence in Vietnam.

Red Army Crush Czechoslovakian Revolt (August 1968)

craines25 — 2024-05-03 14:10:46 UTC

The Soviet Army invades Czechoslovakia to put an end to the revolt. The revolt started with the election of a new leader who decided to put an end to the communist leadership and censorship. The push to end the revolt started politically but ultimately led to the Soviet Army invading the nation when they couldn't agree, while Czechoslovakia ordered the nation to give no resistance and to let them in, some citizens didn't listen and it led to many instances of conflict between the Army and citizens. The revolution ended and the Soviet Union replaced the leader of Czechoslovakia.

Apollo 11 Lands on the Moon (July 20, 1969)

craines25 — 2024-05-03 14:21:14 UTC

With the Soviet Union winning in the space race the US thought that just maybe if they could get a man on the moon that would mean victory with this thought the US space program NASA focused on this objective and created a program named Apollo. With the death of JFK, the president who wanted this accomplishment all negotiations to work with the Soviets to reach the moon ended and the Apollo program became a memorial of the president which led to its success on July 20, 1969, when the US put two men Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon.

Publication of the Pentagon Papers (1971)

craines25 — 2024-05-03 14:26:04 UTC

In 1971 the New York Times published a report about a release of the Pentagon Papers. This report had the help of a US military analyst and it consisted of important Vietnam War secrets. It held information about US involvement and lies told to the public about the war. He did this as he believed that the Vietnam War was unwinnable and no longer supported it, this led to him photocopying the reports of the war and planning to release them to the public. These documents proved that the US government was involved in Vietnam for much longer than originally thought almost 15 years. The government quickly wanted to stop the printing of the documents by the New York Times and this was approved by New York but the injunction was unapproved by D.C. because of the US freedom of the press. Even though the papers were released the US ruled Ellsburg for espionage for up to 115 years but these charges were dropped due to evidence of governmental misconduct when President LBJ tried to have people break into Ellsburg's psychiatrist's office and uncover embarrassing or harmful information.

President Nixon Visits China (February 1972)

craines25 — 2024-05-07 13:12:53 UTC

Detente is what a "friendly" period of time is named during the Cold War, instead of the countries wanting to launch nukes. Nixon is pictured here with the Chinese leader as he starts to try and establish an economic friendship. The visit also helped to reestablish a diplomatic friendship between the two nations.

SALT I Signed (July 1972)

craines25 — 2024-05-07 13:18:57 UTC

This treaty was an attempt at limiting the nuclear arms race. It limited the type of nuclear weaponry, amount of number of nukes, and where you can use the nukes. Multiple countries including both the US and USSR are a part of this treaty. This treaty led to the SALT II being made. Both the US and USSR are now not in this treaty.

US Supported Coup Overthrows Chilean Government (Spetember 1973)

craines25 — 2024-05-07 13:35:43 UTC

The US overthrows the Chilean Government due to a collapse in democratic views in the nation. This collapse of the US in Chile made activists and lawmakers take into effect to overthrow the government themselves. This led to the Chilean government being overthrown but it also changed the way Congress would play a part in US foreign affairs. But this wasn't just a civilian-led coup as later the military got involved and even bombed the nation's presidential palace, which in later effects made the Chilean president kill himself leading to the US taking over the country for some time.

Egypt and Syria Attack Israel; Egypt Requests Soviet Aid (October 1973)

craines25 — 2024-05-07 13:48:53 UTC

The two nations of Egypt and Syria both simultaneously attacked Israel on their day of atonement or the most religious day on the Jewish calendar. This attack of course led to war in which Syria attacked from the North and Egypt from the South. The Israeli army repelled these attacks and this made the US fear that the USSR would get involved in the war and help Syria and Egypt. The US did supply Israel in an operation named Nickel Grass. But by the end of October, the United Nations was pressuring any parties involved in the war to stop the fighting.

South Vietnam Falls to Communist North Vietnam (April 17, 1975)

craines25 — 2024-05-07 13:57:48 UTC

With North Vietnam violating the current ceasefire at the time it was clear that South Vietnam would fall. With North Vietnamese soldiers closing in on the capital of South Vietnam President Ford ordered all US troops and citizens to leave or be evacuated from the country. While trying to evacuate a US diplomat from the country the US was told he wasn't leaving and to just take some of the Vietnamese citizens, but the US wouldn't leave without him and they finally did get him after they said the President ordered for him to leave. This left the US embarrassed since they had spent so much time and money in this war to ultimately have to leave.

Soviet and Cuban Forces Help to Establish a Communist Government in Angola (February 1976)

craines25 — 2024-05-07 14:00:00 UTC

The Soviet Union and Cuban forces helped to overthrow the Angolan Government and replace it with one of their own. Making the country communist-led. They were able to do this due to the rising tensions in Angola which led to a civil war.

US and China Officially Establish Diplomatic Relations and Trade & Panda Diplomacy (January 1979)

craines25 — 2024-05-07 14:13:38 UTC

After Nixon started to reestablish relations with China, the nation began to become the production powerhouse of the world again. Due to this China started to loan out pandas to the US since that is what they do to countries they like at the time. But China when China shut down a student revolution violently the US broke this relationship until about 2001 when the relation of trade was reestablished again.

Sino-Vietnamese War (February 1979)

craines25 — 2024-05-08 14:20:09 UTC

A war between Vietnam and China following the Vietnam War. This is due to a disagreement over the new borders between the two nations. Also, it was caused due to an event in Cambodia, their leader Pol Pot was a very extreme communist who killed anyone who supported anything Western and always started border skirmishes against Vietnam. Due to this Vietnam invaded Cambodia to stop Pol Pot which in turn made China invade Vietnam due to them being good allies with Cambodia. The war ends in a draw.

Shah of Iran Overthrown; Iran Hostage Crisis Begins (November 1979)

craines25 — 2024-05-08 14:27:51 UTC

The US helps to overthrow the Iranian government to replace their leader with The Shah their prior leader. Iran doesn't like this and overthrows the Shah again so he flees to the US and the government becomes ruled by religion instead of a monarchy. Iran wanted the shah to return to Iran from the US to put him on trial for the way he treated them, to do this they protested by storming the US embassy taking 60 hostages, and holding them for over 440 days. The US sends navy seals to return the hostages but this mission fails due to a helicopter crashing into a plane. This made President Carter look weak as he couldn't free the hostages. When President Regan is elected the hostages are released in under a week. These problems created the current issues between the US and Iran.

Soviet Forces Invade Afghanistan (December 1979)

craines25 — 2024-05-08 14:45:48 UTC

The communist government in Afghanistan is about to be overthrown, to stop this the USSR sent military forces to Afghanistan for a decade. The US supplies the Afghanistan militias. They are unable to take over the nation and pull out of the nation. The USSR's version of Vietnam.

US Hockey Defeats USSR at Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY (February 22, 1980)

craines25 — 2024-05-08 14:50:37 UTC

The US defeats the USSR in Hockey during the Winter Olympics. Their team comprised of college students none of whom are professional athletes while the Soviets were made up of the best professionals in the sport.

US Boycotts Summer Olympics in Moscow (June-August 1980)

craines25 — 2024-05-08 14:56:08 UTC

The US boycotts this Olympics due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Reagan proposes SDI or “Star Wars” (1983)

craines25 — 2024-05-10 13:03:17 UTC

The strategic defense initiative, or a nuclear missile protection system. This system would use advanced technology to intercept nuclear missiles with nuclear missiles. While it worked it only worked for about 3 out of 4 missiles. It is nicknamed Star Wars by people who think it won't work or that it is too advanced for the time.

US Troops Invade and Overthrow Regime in Grenada (October 1983)

craines25 — 2024-05-14 14:04:58 UTC

The US invaded Soviet and Cuban-controlled Grenada to stop the spread of communism and the destruction of a peaceful colony. While pushing back the resistance the US found what is believed to be a new military base being made by the Soviets and Cubans. The Soviets and Cubans were able to do this through control over the Grenadian people.

Eastern Bloc Boycotts LA Summer Olympics (July-August 1984)

craines25 — 2024-05-14 14:09:56 UTC

Due to the boycotting of the previous Moscow Olympics the USSR and Soviet states boycott the LA Olympics.

Gorbachev Begins “Glasnost” and “Perestroika” in Efforts to Reform The USSR

craines25 — 2024-05-14 14:29:37 UTC

The Soviet leader tries to modernize the USSR due to their falling economy. Glasnost means more freedom, of speech and press, and an openness of Western supplies. Perestroika means restructuring or the rebuilding of the soviet economy to be more like capitalism. Both fail and don't save the Soviet Union from collapse.

Soviet Troops Withdraw From Afghanistan (Jan. 1989)

craines25 — 2024-05-17 13:09:37 UTC

About 80,000 Soviet troops and billions of dollars wasted on a war in Afghanistan. Realizing this the Soviets leave Afghanistan to try and save their nation from an economic failure resulting in the nations downfall.

Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania Oust Communist Governments (1989)

craines25 — 2024-05-17 13:17:31 UTC

Communist countries neighboring the USSR removed communism from their governments resulting in their leaving the protection and alliance of the USSR. Making them a fully independent country and making the Iron Curtain fall.

Tiananmen Square Massacre (June 1989)

craines25 — 2024-05-17 13:24:19 UTC

The US and China are normalizing their relationship, through trade and more at this time. Also, other countries are starting to remove communism and reform their country. This makes the people of China believe it is their time to reform the Chinese government to be more free. This is done by college students through protesting. The Chinese government doesn't like this and rolls tanks into Tiananmen Square, capturing, killing, and torturing multiple people.

Berlin Wall Falls (November 1989)

craines25 — 2024-05-17 13:40:43 UTC

To try and stop the East Berlin people from wanting freedom from communist control the USSR gives them easier traveling methods. But this didn't work as the people of East Berlin crowded the wall and forced the guards to open the gates. This led to celebrations on and around the wall, but also people started to break the wall with anything they could find.

Boris Yeltsin Elected as President of Russia (May 1990)

craines25 — 2024-05-17 13:48:02 UTC

With the belief in Democratic views and economic success, Boris Yeltsin is elected as the President of Russia and dissolves the Communist Party leading to an end of the Soviet Union. While he did enable the Western economic systems most Russians fell into poverty as the cost of living rose during his Presidency. But, he also allowed for freedom of Speech, Press, and more.

Germany Reunited (October 3, 1990)

craines25 — 2024-05-17 13:54:00 UTC

With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the fall of Communist leadership in Germany, and the start of the fall of the Soviet Union. Leaders from both East and West Berlin and East and West Germany gathered they raise the new German flag symbolizing the creation of the new non communist Germany.

USSR Dissolved - 15 Republics Gain Independence, Including Russia (August 1991)

craines25 — 2024-05-17 14:12:26 UTC

Despite the restructuring of the Soviet Union through economics and freedom the nation still collapsed. This is due to the declaration of independence by 15 Soviet nations, including Russia. The communist government tries to stop this militarily but the soldiers refuse to fire on the people when told to and the people just climb on the Soviet tanks. This is the end of the Soviet Union.

Final Post

craines25 — 2024-05-20 13:51:34 UTC