The Cold War was a global competition for power and influence between the United States, a capitalist democracy, and the Soviet Union, a state-controlled socialist system, from 1945 to 1991, sparked by tensions over how to shape the post-World War II order.
Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
The Cold War spanned much of the world, going far beyond the main territories of the principal players: the US and the Soviet Union. This video map shows where the action took place, from the wars in Southeast Asia to the Suez Canal in Egypt.
In 1953, during the Korean War, US defense spending reached 13.58% of GDP—more than three times today’s level. That peak marked the most militarized moment of the Cold War, and spending has never returned to that level since.
US–Soviet tensions began decades before WWII. After the 1917 revolution, the US refused to recognize the Bolshevik regime and even sent troops to fight against it.
In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt formally recognized the Soviet Union—ending 16 years of nonrecognition and aiming to improve trade and stabilize relations amid growing global instability.
At the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam Conferences, Allied leaders coordinated WWII strategy—but deep disagreements over postwar Europe foreshadowed the Cold War. The USSR’s push for influence in Eastern Europe clashed with US and British calls for self-determination.
In the late 1940s, the USSR solidified control over Eastern Europe by installing pro-communist regimes in countries like Poland, Hungary and Romania—often through rigged elections and political repression.
Introduced in 1947, the Truman Doctrine pledged US support for nations resisting communism—starting with Greece and Turkey—and launched the containment policy that defined early Cold War strategy.
Launched in 1948, the Marshall Plan provided over $12B (roughly $150B today) in US aid to help rebuild Western Europe. While framed as economic recovery, it also served as a Cold War tool—tying countries to the US and excluding the Soviet bloc.
In 1948, the USSR blockaded West Berlin to pressure America and its allies. In response, the US and its partners launched the largest airlift in history—delivering supplies daily for nearly a year until Stalin backed down.
When Apollo 11 astronauts stepped onto the moon in July 1969, it marked a dramatic win in the US–Soviet space race. The televised landing—broadcast across the globe—showcased American technological supremacy.
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