history timeline

Tehran conference - First meeting of the ‘Big Three’ between Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill.

Potsdam conference - Second meeting between Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill.  Agree on spheres of influence and ‘democracy’.  Nobody defines ‘democracy’.

Yalta conference - Meeting between Truman, Stalin, and Churchill.  Truman dislikes Stalin, and reveals the existence of the atomic bomb.

Division of Germany - Germany divided between Britain, France, the US, and the USSR, and Berlin is also divided into four.

Iron curtain speech - Churchill makes a speech saying the USSR has created an ‘Iron Curtain’ across Europe and cannot be trusted.

Long telegram - Suggests the USSR is preparing for war and cannot be trusted.

Novikov telegram - Suggests the US is preparing for war and cannot be trusted.

Cominform and Comecon set up - Set up to establish control over the Communist parties of Europe and control the economies of Eastern Europe.

The Berlin airlift - The USSR cuts off land-based routes to West Berlin.  The US supplies it by air.

USSR creates its first atomic bomb - First Soviet Atomic Bomb detonated, confirming US fears.

NATO established - Series of military alliances between the powers of Western Europe.

Warsaw pact established - Military alliances established between the powers of Eastern Europe to defend against the West.

Hungarian uprising - Imre Nagy creates reforms and people assume Communism will end.  Rebellion against the USSR ends in invasion.

Laika the dog goes into space - First dog sent into orbit.  There was no intention of Laika ever returning, so she had been given poisoned dog food if necessary, but died of overheating within two hours anyway.

Cuba turns communist - US companies thrown out of Cuba and Communist government established.

Bay of pigs invasion - US CIA operatives support an…