1945: The end of World War II marks the beginning of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, with tensions rising over ideology, politics, and military strategy.
1947: The Truman Doctrine is announced, outlining the U.S. policy of containment to prevent the spread of communism.
1948: The Soviet Union blockades West Berlin, leading to the Berlin Airlift.
1949: The Soviet Union tests its first nuclear bomb, and the Communist Party takes power in China.
1950-1953: The Korean War sees the United States and other Western nations fight against communist forces supported by the Soviet Union and China.
1955: The Warsaw Pact is signed, establishing a military alliance among the Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies.
1956: The Hungarian Uprising takes place, with Hungarian citizens rebelling against Soviet control, only to be suppressed by Soviet military intervention.
1961: The construction of the Berlin Wall begins, separating East and West Berlin.
1962: The Cuban Missile Crisis occurs, with the United States and Soviet Union coming to the brink of nuclear war over the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba.
1968: The Prague Spring takes place, with Czechoslovakia attempting to reform its communist government, only to be invaded by Soviet forces.
1979: The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, leading to a long and costly war.
1985: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union and initiates a series of reforms known as perestroika and glasnost.
1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall marks the beginning of the end of the Cold War.
1991: The Soviet Union collapses, ending the Cold War and marking a new era in international relations.