Capitalism vs. Communism:
Events of the Cold War, 1947-1991
Reykjavik, Iceland
Moscow, Russia
(Soviet Union)
Berlin, Germany
Paris, France
Toronto,
Canada
Munich, Germany
(West Germany)
Romania
Beijing, China
Washington, D.C.
Fulton, Missouri
Los Angeles,
California
Warsaw, Poland
Lake Placid,
New York
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Sverdlovsk, Russia
(Soviet Union)
Malta
Dallas, Texas
Tripoli,
Libya
Houston, Texas
Korean
War
Beirut,
Lebanon
Afghanistan
Cuba
Vietnam
War
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Fulton, Missouri: Winston Churchill warns of a communist “iron curtain” across Europe during a speech on March 5, 1946.
Washington, D.C.: The House Un-American Activities Committee conducts hearings into alleged communist propaganda in
the Hollywood motion picture industry, eventually blacklisting hundreds of artists including Orson Welles.
Berlin, Germany: The Soviet Union begins a blockade of Berlin from 1948 to 1949. Western Allies organized the Berlin airlift.
West Germany is established in May of 1949, with the protection of U.S. troops based in the new country.
East Germany is established with Soviet help in October 1949.
Korean War lasts from 1950-1953, pitting Soviet- and China-backed North Korea against U.S.-backed South Korea, ending in
a truce.
Moscow, Soviet Union: The Soviet Union sends Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, into space on October 4, 1957,
beginning the space race of the Cold War.
Washington, D.C.: In July 1958, the U.S. Congress creates NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Agency) to compete in the
space program.
Vietnam War began in 1959 and lasts through 1975 as the U.S. intervenes and ultimately loses in a battle against the spread of
communism.
Sverdlovsk, Soviet Union: A U.S. U-2 spy plane piloted by Gary Powers is shot down over the airspace of the Soviet Union in
May 1961. The U.S. government attempts to cover up the incident.
Ann Arbor, Michigan: During a campaign speech at the University of Michigan, presidential candidate John F. Kennedy
proposes a volunteer service program to help people in countries of the developing world, later the Peace Corps.
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Paris, France: Ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defects from the Soviet Union on June 17, 1961. Defections became public
relations victories/defeats in the cultural Cold War.
East Berlin, East Germany: The Soviets began construction of the Berlin Wall on August 13, 1961. The Wall served as a
barrier to prevent massive emigration and defection from East Berlin.
Cuban Missile Crisis: The first nuclear standoff of the Cold War between the two superpowers occurs in October 1962. After
a failed U.S. invasion at the Bay of Pigs, the Soviet Union places nuclear missiles in Cuba to deter future invasion attempts.
Houston, Texas: NASA successfully lands Apollo 11 on the moon on July 20, 1969. American Astronaut Neil Armstrong
becomes the first man to walk on the lunar surface.
Reykjavik, Iceland: American Bobby Fischer beats Soviet Boris Spassky in the World Chess Championship in 1972.
Beijing, China: U.S. President Richard Nixon becomes the first president to visit the People’s Republic of China in 1972. The
trip marked an important shift in the Cold War balance from China being less allied with the Soviet Union and closer to the
U.S.
Munich, West Germany: Controversy marks the Soviet Union’s 51-50 defeat of the U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1972. This
was the first time the U.S. did not win the gold medal since the sport’s introduction in the Olympics in 1936.
Toronto, Canada: Soviet ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defects to Toronto in 1974, soon working in the United States.
Warsaw, Poland: Pope John Paul II promotes nationalism against communism in a visit to his native Poland in 1979. The visit
inspired Poles and the revolutionary Solidarity non-Communist union and led to the demise of Communist rule in Poland.
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Afghanistan: The Soviet Union intervenes in a war pitting Soviet-led Afghan forces against U.S.-backed Mujahideen.
Lake Placid, New York: The U.S. hockey team defeats the Soviet Union in the Olympics in 1980. Dubbed the “Miracle on Ice,”
the U.S. team of amateurs defeated the Soviet national team, which had won gold in six of seven previous Olympics.
Moscow, Soviet Union: President Carter announced the U.S. team would boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to
protest the Soviet Union intervention in Afghanistan.
Romania: Romanian gymnastics team coach Bela Karolyi (who coached gold medalist Nadia Comaneci) defects to the U.S.
with his wife in 1981. Karolyi was the individual coach for Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton in 1984.
Beirut, Lebanon: U.S. President Ronald Reagan intervenes in a civil war in Lebanon in 1983 until American Marines were
killed in a barracks bombing.
Los Angeles, California: The Soviet Union boycotts the Olympic Games hosted in Los Angeles in 1984 in response to the
previous U.S. boycott of the Olympics in Moscow.
Tripoli, Libya: In 1986 President Reagan orderes the bombing of Libya in response to terrorist attacks on American
servicemen in Europe.
Berlin, West Germany: In November 1989, Germans began destroying the Berlin Wall.
Malta: In 1989, President George H.W. Bush and President Mikhail Gorbachev declare the end of the Cold War. The following
year, Gorbachev consents to the reunification of Germany.
Russia: The collapse of the Soviet Union was final in 1991. The country was officially dissolved. Fifteen countries now make
up the former Soviet Union.