| 1945 | 1953 |
| – Yalta Conference; end of World War II in Europe; Potsdam Conference; Nuremberg trials begin | – Death of Stalin |
| 1945–1960s | 1955–1964 |
| – Decolonization of Asia and Africa | – Khrushchev in power; de-Stalinization of Soviet Union |
| 1945–1965 | 1955 |
| – United States takes lead in Big Science | – Warsaw Pact founded |
| 1947 | 1956 |
| – Truman Doctrine; Marshall Plan | – Suez crisis |
| 1948 | 1957 |
| – Founding of Israel | – Formation of Common Market; Pasternak publishes Doctor Zhivago |
| 1948–1949 | 1961 |
| – Berlin airlift | – Building of Berlin Wall |
| 1949 | 1962 |
| – Creation of East and West Germany; formation of NATO; establishment of COMECON | – Cuban missile crisis; Solzhenitsyn publishes One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich |
| 1950–1953 | 1964 |
| – Korean War | – Brezhnev replaces Khrushchev as Soviet leader |