Cold War Timeline by

Yalta Conference - Feb 4, 1945 – Feb 11, 1945

21015982_ — 2023-11-28 18:41:40 UTC

The Yalta conference contributed to the start of the Cold war by creating tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. The negotiations were very much in Stalin's favour as Roosevelt wanted the USSR's help in the pacific as well as for Stalin to agree to go to war with Japan.

Iron Curtain - March 5, 1946

21015982_ — 2023-11-28 18:42:40 UTC

The Iron Curtain not only symbolized the Cold War divide between capitalist and communist nations but also led to the creation of opposing alliances.

Berlin Blockade - 24 June 1948 to 12 May 1949

21015982_ — 2023-11-28 18:45:19 UTC

The incident solidified the demarcation between East and West in Europe; it was one of the few places on earth that U.S. and Soviet armed forces stood face-to-face. It also transformed Berlin, once equated with Prussian militarism and Nazism, into a symbol of democracy and freedom in the fight against Communism.

Nato Formed - April 4, 1949

21015982_ — 2023-11-28 18:46:40 UTC

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. NATO was the first peacetime military alliance the United States entered into outside of the Western Hemisphere.

Berlin Wall Torn Down - 9 November 1989

21015982_ — 2023-11-28 18:49:11 UTC

It was on 9 November 1989, five days after half a million people gathered in East Berlin in a mass protest, that the Berlin Wall dividing communist East Germany from West Germany crumbled. East German leaders had tried to calm mounting protests by loosening the borders, making travel easier for East German

Warsaw Pact - 14 May 1955

21015982_ — 2023-11-28 18:49:40 UTC

The Warsaw Pact was a collective defence treaty established by the Soviet Union and seven other Soviet satellite states in Central and Eastern Europe: Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania (Albania withdrew in 1968).

Cuban Missile Crisis

21015982_ — 2023-11-29 16:39:06 UTC

The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was a direct and dangerous confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and was the moment when the two superpowers came closest to nuclear conflict.

Salt Treaty - June 17, 1979

21015982_ — 2023-11-29 16:39:48 UTC

The first round of talks began in 1969 under President Nixon. After a period of negotiations, the first treaty, known as SALT I, was signed on May 26, 1972. By signing SALT I, the US and the USSR agreed to a limited number of ballistic missiles, as well as a limited number of missile deployment sites.

Soviet Union Collapses - December 25, 1991

21015982_ — 2023-11-29 16:41:31 UTC

During 1989 and 1990, the Berlin Wall came down, borders opened, and free elections ousted Communist regimes everywhere in eastern Europe. In late 1991 the Soviet Union itself dissolved into its component republics. With stunning speed, the Iron Curtain was lifted and the Cold War came to an end.

Arms Race Begins - 1949

21015982_ — 2023-11-29 16:57:03 UTC

The nuclear arms race was perhaps the most alarming feature of the Cold War competition between the United States and Soviet Union. Over the decades, the two sides signed various arms control agreements as a means to manage their rivalry and limit the risk of nuclear war.