1945–1949USSR establishes satellite states in eastern Europe
1947Truman Doctrine announces American commitment to contain communism; Marshall Plan provides massive aid to rebuild Europe
1948–1949Soviet troops blockade Berlin; United States airlifts provisions to Berliners
1949West Germany and East Germany are formed; Western nations form North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); Soviet bloc establishes Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON); USSR tests its first nuclear weapon
1950–1953Korean War
1950–1954U.S. senator Joseph McCarthy leads hunt for American Communists
1953Stalin dies
1955USSR and eastern-bloc countries form military alliance, the Warsaw Pact
1956Khrushchev denounces Stalin in “secret speech” to Communist Party Congress; Hungarians revolt unsuccessfully against Soviet domination
1959Fidel Castro comes to power in Cuba
1961Berlin Wall is erected
1962Cuban missile crisis