The Cold War The Cold War was a conflict between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the United States lasting from 1947 until 1991. As its name implies, the Cold war didn’t involve much fighting. “Although the Soviet Union and the United states never fought each other directly, battles did take place in countries where people allied themselves with one superpower or the other” (O’Connell). It started with tensions after World War II and remained a standoff for many years. Both countries attempted to intimidate the other by having better weapons and more advanced technology. Eventually, the USSR and US were able to compromise and end the Cold War. After World War II tensions began to increase between the United States and
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His views were very different from former Soviet Union leaders, which made him open to non-Communist ideals. After implementing Perestroika and Glasnost, the USSR was starting to focus more on the economic issues (History.com Staff, 2010). These new reforms also gave USSR citizens more freedom of religion, which in turn led to Soviet Union becoming a form of democratic nation. Mikhail Gorbachev was determined to end the arms race with the United States. and decided to attempt to negotiate with President Ronald Reagan. Reagan and Gorbachev met several times and eventually both signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987. The treaty required that both countries remove their close range nuclear weapons. This was the beginning of the end of the Cold War. Soon Gorbachev pulled Soviets out of Communist-controlled nations in East Europe. Finally, in December 1988 Gorbachev announced that all Nations were free to choose pro-Communist or anti-Communist. The Berlin Wall came down and the city was reunited after many years. East Berlin and West Berlin were free to choose their government. June 27th, 1989 marked the shedding of the Iron Curtain, a Soviet tactic that isolated non-Communist parts of Europe. Slowly, the fear of Communism dissipated and tensions eased between the USSR and the U.S. As a result of Mikhail Gorbachev’s unique leadership, the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics occurred on December 26th, 1991 and finalized the Cold
His views were very different from former Soviet Union leaders, which made him open to non-Communist ideals. After implementing Perestroika and Glasnost, the USSR was starting to focus more on the economic issues (History.com Staff, 2010). These new reforms also gave USSR citizens more freedom of religion, which in turn led to Soviet Union becoming a form of democratic nation. Mikhail Gorbachev was determined to end the arms race with the United States. and decided to attempt to negotiate with President Ronald Reagan. Reagan and Gorbachev met several times and eventually both signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987. The treaty required that both countries remove their close range nuclear weapons. This was the beginning of the end of the Cold War. Soon Gorbachev pulled Soviets out of Communist-controlled nations in East Europe. Finally, in December 1988 Gorbachev announced that all Nations were free to choose pro-Communist or anti-Communist. The Berlin Wall came down and the city was reunited after many years. East Berlin and West Berlin were free to choose their government. June 27th, 1989 marked the shedding of the Iron Curtain, a Soviet tactic that isolated non-Communist parts of Europe. Slowly, the fear of Communism dissipated and tensions eased between the USSR and the U.S. As a result of Mikhail Gorbachev’s unique leadership, the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics occurred on December 26th, 1991 and finalized the Cold