Russian Revolution and Lenin's Rise (1917)

• Germans put Lenin on train to Russia hoping to create internal crisis
• Lenin overthrew government, pulled Russia out of WWI, made country communist
• Started 3-year civil war, broke economy, caused famine
• Lenin died warning not to let Stalin become next leader

Stalin's Rise to Power

• Stalin eliminated opponents through arrests/disappearances
• Implemented 5-year plans transforming agriculture-based to industrial economy
• Ruled through terror - critics killed or sent to Soviet war camps
• WWII: Hitler invaded Russia, pushed to Moscow
• Russians with help from winter pushed Germans back to Berlin

Post-WWII Allied Relations Deteriorate

• Allied conferences decided post-war arrangements
• Stalin already knew about atomic bomb through spies
• US dropped atomic bomb on Japan, WWII ended
• Stalin promised free/fair elections in Eastern Europe but installed communist puppet governments
• Churchill declared "Iron Curtain" descended across continent

Early Cold War Tensions (1945-1950)

• British intervened in Greece to prevent communist takeover
• Russians demanded control of Turkey's sea access, US sent largest battleship
• Iran occupied by Soviets and British post-war
  • British pulled out, Stalin stayed
  • UN pressure forced Soviet withdrawal
• NATO established, Soviets felt encircled
• Truman Doctrine announced: prevent spread of communism worldwide
• Official Cold War declaration moment

Marshall Plan and Economic Battle

• Post-war Europe: cities in rubble, food shortages
• US sent $12 billion to Western Europe under Marshall Plan
• Stalin's Eastern Bloc countries envious (Czechoslovakia couldn't participate)
• Stalin created rival economic plan "Comic-con" and Cominform for political control
• Economic battle: capitalism vs communism development race

Berlin Crisis and Airlift (1948-1949)

• Berlin divided between Allies, 100+ miles behind Soviet lines
• East Berliners could travel to West Berlin, see economic prosperity
• Stalin blocked Western supply routes to West Berlin
• Western Allies responded with Berlin Airlift
• Major success for West, Stalin ended blockade

Nuclear Arms Race Begins

• Soviet Union developed atomic bomb
• US lost nuclear monopoly
• Stalin declared war with West "inevitable"
• World realized major war would be more destructive than imaginable

China Goes Communist (1949)

• Civil war since 1927
• Mao Zedong's People's Liberation Army defeated Republic of China
• Republic of China fled to Taiwan
• Communist China and Soviet Union signed mutual defense treaty

Korean War (1950-1953)

• Korea divided at 38th parallel: Soviet-backed North, US-backed South
• Both led by ruthless dictators wanting reunification
• Stalin gave Kim permission to attack South (June 25, 1950)
• North Korea took Seoul in 3 days with Soviet aid
• UN created emergency force from 16 countries
• West pushed North Koreans out, continued up peninsula
• China worried about UN advance, sent 500,000 troops
• General MacArthur fired for reassuring no Chinese involvement
• US considered nuclear option but feared Soviet retaliation
• Stalemate at original starting point
• Peace settlement worked toward in 2018

Leadership Changes (1953)

• Americans elected Eisenhower as tough anti-communist president
• Stalin died from cerebral hemorrhage (1953)
• Had imprisoned best doctors, remaining too terrified to treat him
• Nikita Khrushchev became new Soviet leader

De-Stalinization Campaign

• Khrushchev denounced Stalin's imprisoning/murdering of citizens
• Removed Stalin statues, renamed Stalingrad
• Promised greater freedom and happiness for Soviet people
• Brutal suppression of uprisings in East Germany, Hungary, Poland
• Allowed mild reforms in Soviet Union
• Permitted more cultural expression but banned based on personal tastes
  • Modern art, jazz music, depressing poetry all banned
• Young people enjoyed Western pop culture, faced restrictions

Espionage and Technology Race

• KGB had spies throughout Western life and government
• US spies in Soviet Union usually arrested immediately
• Manhattan Project members aided Soviet bomb development
• US had edge in espionage technology, particularly U-2 spy planes
• 1961 incident: U-2 shot down, pilot captured with gun and poison needle
• Soviet Union ahead in space race: first satellite, first man in space
• Missile gap appeared to favor Soviets
• Khrushchev allowed US technology exhibit in Moscow
• Nixon-Khrushchev exchange: color TV vs space/nuclear arsenal

Military Escalation (1950s)

• Both sides upgraded to hydrogen bombs
• West Germany joined NATO (1955)
• Khrushchev created Warsaw Pact strengthening Soviet-satellite military ties
• 1960: Americans elected JFK as tough anti-communist president

Berlin Wall Crisis (1961)

• Soviet military spending bleeding coffers dry
• Life under communism remained difficult
• East Berliners freely traveling to prosperous West Berlin
• Millions defected to West Germany via West Berlin
• Eastern factories losing workers, economy suffering
• Khrushchev threatened: "Leave West Berlin or else"
• Kennedy: West Berlin is ours, East Berlin is yours
• Kennedy's response implied US wouldn't interfere in Soviet section
• August 13, 1961: Berliners woke to barbed wire dividing city
• Wall constructed over time, families torn apart
• Hundreds died trying to escape
• Kennedy: "Democracy not perfect but never had to wall up to keep people in"

Checkpoint Charlie Standoff (October 1961)

• US diplomats harassed at East Berlin crossing
• Kennedy rolled tanks to Checkpoint Charlie
• Soviets responded with tanks
• 16-hour standoff, world braced for nuclear war
• Kennedy called Khrushchev directly
• Both sides inched tanks away from confrontation
• Crisis averted through direct communication