Stalin agreed, under the terms of his assistance with Japan for a sphere of influence in Manchuria, and a portion of Germany to occupy after the war. The major accomplishments of this meeting set the grounds for Post-WWII boundaries, including the beginnings of the divide between Western Free Europe and Communist Eastern Europe/Asia.

The Turkish and Grecian Civil War was the first opportunity to use the Truman Doctrine, sending $40 million to the non-communist countries in need.

Successful, keeps countries out of poverty and kick-starting economies, and generally acting as a PR boost for the US and Democratic Capitalist systems.

In response, the US uses 'Soft-Power' strategies to airdrop supplies to starving citizens across the border for a solid year until the Soviets give up on the blockade, even dropping chocolate bars.

"Not" created specifically to guard against the spread of Communist influence and/or the USSR, but...it kinda is, in effect. Prime example of the US containment policy, polarizing Europe into two main groups with the formation of the Warsaw Pact.

Marked the first real competitor to the US in the Nuclear Warfare field, increasing tensions and starting the Arms Race.

After the Fall of Qing-ruled Imperial China in 1912, two factions formed in the country--The Kuomintang (KMT) and The Chinese Communist Party. Initially working together to unify China, the two factions split after the KMT violently purged all communists from the east, ending the alliance with the CCP. When Japan invaded Manchuria, the KMT lost focus on the internal conflict of the CCP--essentially uniting against Japan and instituting a ceasefire while outside threats were dealt with.

When WWII ended, both factions continued to clash, but the Chinese Communist Party now had support from the Soviet Union. Eventually pushing the KMT out of the mainland and into present-day Taiwan, the People's Republic of China was established, even while the forces in Taiwan continue to claim that they are the one true China.

The alliance of China and the Soviet Union sends the US into a panic as they fear losing Asia to communist control--and to keep tensions down, the US doesn't officially recognize Taiwan as the true China to this day.

In reality, this led to the strategic witch hunting of different groups or individuals that opposed McCarthy or were convenient scapegoats for those on the chopping block. The accused were often innocent, and even so ended up blacklisted and out of luck in life.

Contributed to Anti-Communist sentiment in the US and overall underlying fear/paranoia during the Cold War.

This conflict marked the first direct conflict of the Cold War between Soviet and US-backed forces. It also resulted in the establishment of China as a communist state by demonstrating aid to other sympathetic countries outside of its own borders. This conflict would later be used as a blueprint for the later Proxy Wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan.

This test brought a change in the Cold War's strategies. Due to the new, more destructive nature of this technology, it caused the beginnings of the very real possibility of a 'futile war'--in which no winner would exist, as the world blew itself beyond repair. Suddenly, the strategy shifted from 'our guns are bigger than yours' to 'same gun? Who can hit the heart first?'

Regardless, the tensions in the Arms Race increased as the Soviet Union was pressured to develop their own version.

Similar to the arms race, the Transfermium Wars began the elements race to discover new elements beyond element 100, with discrepancies over the naming and designation of the new elements, with different labs disagreeing or refusing to recognize claims of other labs on both sides of the Cold War.

The few agents that were actually caught and put on trial served to fuel the ongoing theme of McCarthyism and The Red Scare in the US, increasing paranoia and tensions.

The CIA launched propaganda campaigns, air bombings and a naval blockade to destabilize the Guatemalan government. In June of the same year, Armas invaded, causing Arbenz to surrender and step down, ending Guatemala's democratic revolution.

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In Iran, a similar thing went down--changes brought by the democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammed Mosaddegh were made to nationalize Iran's oil industry, angering the British-owned company that had previously monopolized the market. Fearing another possible ally to the communist cause, MI6 and the CIA were involved in funding protests, propaganda and military opposition in Iran, attempting to pressure the Prime Minister into dropping. Eventually the previous Shah, Reza Palahvi, was re-instituted.

The results of this was the beginnings of anti-US sentiment in both areas, counting as yet another proxy conflict and further spurring the US's containment policy abroad, providing blueprints for later involvements around the globe.

This polarized Europe into two main factions, pitting the East against the West, solidifying the communist/capitalist divide.

Trying to settle the rebels, the government re-instituted Nagy but called in Soviet troops--further angering the civilians. Hungary's own military largely stayed neutral in the conflict. Drawing troops to Budapest, The Kremlin voted to crush the resistance with force after Hungary announced recession from the Warsaw Pact. Thousands arrested and hundreds executed, hundreds of thousands more fled the country, and returned to communist dictatorship rule.

Became a calling card and first demonstration of the Soviet's internal management policy towards rebelling states, creating a negative global image.

This same missile technology would later enable the launch of Sputnik 1, and this new possiblity further fueled Thermonuclear War tensions.

The launch would intensify already growing tensions on the technology of the Soviet Union's potential to have military applications as well as espionage paranoia. The satellite would be the first to take readings of the Earth's atmosphere and ionosphere, giving way to a new field of data collection.

Significant in the fact that the now-Communist nation was taken and is so close to Mainland USA that it poses a threat.

Gary is shot down, not dead, parachuting out, survives, is captured and convicted of espionage. We presume he's dead until we learn otherwise. Eventually gets back home via a prisoner exchange.

Bad Press for globe, huge embarrassment for JFK, and general bad PR during the Cold War, incriminating the US as an active anti-communist power. Strengthened Castro's rule, and directly fed into the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Becomes the icon of Communist authoritarian rule, a physical Iron Curtain, trapping East Residents behind a divider for 30 years.

A US spy plane flies over the island nation, takes photos of the new sites but gets shot down. US flips out, starts demanding invasion. Kennedy tries a 'quarantine' (naval blockade), instead of going with the demands of his advisors.

Tension lasts 6 days. Kennedy and Soviet Diplomat Khrushchev work behind the scenes on an agreement--'remove nukes from Italy and Turkey, and we'll leave Cuba.'

Prelude to the de-escalation of the Arms Race about a decade later, as this incident spooked both sides by how close and easy it would be to push a button and end the world.

One of the rare points of cooperation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, easing tensions minutely after the Cuban Missile Crisis, and providing the foundation for future de-escalation work.

All done on sonar--calls into question whether or not it happened--as the engineers 'heard' torpedoes in the water, but nothing was hit and none were killed.

This leads to later controversy on whether or not presidential powers should have been granted expansion, and is used as a point of argument in the later Anti-Vietnam protests of the late 60s and early 70s, marking a turning point in US foreign policy.

Bosch was seen as a possible threat by the US for his leftist-ish ideals, and as such the US backed the loyalists, moving in to occupy the island until 1966, inciting criticism about the US's willingness to intervene in Western affairs to protect their interests. Joaquin Balaguer would become president and lead under a dictatorship disguised as a democracy--but far enough right to satisfy the US.

This would solidify the US's stance against communism on the global stage, signify greater involvement in foreign containment policy as this proxy war raged on. The draft was also a major source of protests back home as being unfair, due to the fact that you could pay your way out of the draft.

---Introduction of Agent Orange, spraying herbicide to kill off the jungle, unintentionally causing a generational exposure of birth and growth defects in Vietnamese children and US troops.

This direct approach of burning turf caused deeper involvement in supporting the conflict from Communist China and the USSR, and the use of B-52s marked a new level of aerial warfare that the US was now using. This strategy, or as some would argue 'lack thereof', would cause a new outbreak of protest and criticism of the war.

Unarmed civilians try to stop the tanks with makeshift barriers, including tractors and busses. Once again, crushed. All reforms null.

This revelation led to the discrediting of the US government, fueling anti-war protest and outrage, as well as shaping media rights during the Cold War--as the Supreme Court ruled in favor of defending newspapers The New York Times and The Washington Post, greatly altering the public perception of the war.

Nixon starts changing that in 1972, visiting China and starting to establish diplomatic ties to Communist China, beginning the rise in economy and outsourcing trend that continues today.

In his book, Foreign Affairs, he details that he made this trip in order to bridge a potentially dangerous gap and include China in the 'big table' of International Great Nations, to avoid an angry power being isolated and shorted. He is trying to drive a friendly wedge between Russia and China, by stealing an ally to weaken the enemy.

This one limited launch sites and launch modules, where SALT II limited number of warheads each launch could carry and/or store, as well as which technologies could be used. An attempt at detente that is later withdrawn.

Marks the de-escalation of the Nuclear Arms Race between the USSR and US.

Contributed to the rise of Authoritarianism in Central and Latin America due to American interventions like Cuba and the Dominican Republic, with the thousands of government-related deaths and disappearances calling the US into question about their intervention policies.

This demonstrated both global superpower's willingness to supply foreign groups to protect their interests. Egypt would eventually lead away from the Soviets and leave the Soviet Union. This conflict also led to global tension as Arabian states put oil embargoes on the US, contributing to the economic slide of the 1970s.

This eventual defeat marked a dark blow to the US foreign policy and demonstrated the limit of intervention, as well as strengthening communist influence in Asia.

Yet another Proxy War of the Cold War, in which both factions were backing outside groups. The outcome of this conflict allowed Soviet influence in Africa to expand, and the US to become involved in South Africa's military and covert ops.

We rent pandas, brand trademark of China.

Cambodia's new communist leader Pol Pot starts murdering everyone--PRIME example of post-WWII genocide, eliminating everyone 'tainted' by the West, including everything from Western musical talent to the Western style dental fillings in one's mouth.

Communist Vietnam invades to stop Pol Pot, and China gets involved in things after Vietnam intervenes. China expects to roll the Vietnamese, and instead the War is fought to a draw.

Deepens the growing seam between the USSR--by fighting a Soviet-aligned nation--and China, as well as highlighting the limit of China's military power.

Then, the Shia storm the US Embassy compound and take 66 Americans hostage in exchange for the Shah, for 444 days. Jimmy Carter in Presidency, looking weak, until he sends out the Black Ops mission into the desert. Helicopter crashes into plane on mission, wrecking the mission and Jimmy Carter's career.

Ronald Reagan is sworn in, not hours afterwards the Americans are released. Shah died of cancer--no point to hostage deal.

Conflict severely damages US-Iran relations for generations to come, fueling anti-American policies, weakening US credibility and allowing the USSR to take a stronger hold of the Middle East.

This conflict led to increased American support of Afghan resistance groups, and simultaneously drained Soviet resources, once again trying to run the USSR bankrupt. As such, it marks the beginnings of the decline of the USSR.

New defensive strategy for dealing with nuclear attacks. Up til now, strategy has been hit back with the best offense.

The idea was to track and triangulate the trajectory of incoming missiles and shoot them down before detonation, with surface to air defense, fighter jets, lasers and satellite technology. Insanely expensive--30 billion dollars spent on R&D over the course of 10 years. Criticized for the cost in the public, but is somewhat successful--can shoot down most ICBM missiles.

Not perfect by any means--other global examples include Israel's 'Iron Dome', the US has 'Aegeus' for traditional missiles, used in the Middle East and other deployments.

Gorbachev tries to fix the economy with two things--"glasnost" and "perestroika".

Glasnost - more freedom. A little bit more freedom in the press and communist practices and enforcement.

Perestroika - Restructuring in the economy, trying a taste of capitalism. Some private businesses introduced.

Does not work, but leads to new revolution. USSR on the downhill fall towards collapse.

These revolutions marked the end of Soviet influence and control over Eastern Europe, opening the path for democratic-based governments, slowly causing the Iron Curtain to dissolve.

The Chinese government rolls in a bunch of tanks in and kills hundreds, violently putting down the rebellion. Exact casualties are unknown and unreleased.

Becomes an international symbol of oppression and brutality under a communist regime.

• Chernobyl - Soviet Leadership tried to hide it, blamed the rest on the West. Wake up call to the corruption of the USSR leadership the citizens were under, leading to the sudden absence of trust in the government.

• Lack of Money - people were poor.

• Communist Puppets - Declaring independence and running.

• Fall of the Berlin Wall

• Gorbachev tried to suck up to the West to save the USSR's economy--reducing military presence and dropping out of the Arms Race.

• The Cold War eased with the end of the USSR. However, US is Indirect Rivals again--Cold War Renewed with Ukraine v. Russia.

The Cold War was characterized as indirectly hostile through both the US and USSR's involvement in Proxy Wars, Athletic Competitions and the Space Race.