Tag: Cold War

• Podcast

14th October 1962: U-2 spy plane captures images of Cuban missile sites

• 14th October 2026
• Tagged as: Castro, Cold War, Cuba, Cuban Missile Crisis, Khrushchev, Missile, Nuclear, Spying, U-2, USA

A U-2 spy plane captured images of the construction of a missile site on Cuba, triggering the Cuban Missile Crisis.

• Podcast

15th September 1959: Nikita Khrushchev became the first Soviet leader to visit the United States

• 15th September 2026
• Tagged as: America, Cold War, Eisenhower, Khrushchev, Soviet Union, United States, USA, USSR

At the end of the visit Khrushchev and Eisenhower agreed to continue discussions, signalling a temporary improvement in relations that became known as the ‘Spirit of Camp David’.

• Podcast

19th August 1989: The Pan-European Picnic opens the Cold War border between Hungary and Austria

• 19th August 2026
• Tagged as: Austria, Capitalism, Cold War, Communism, Hungary, Pan-European Picnic

The Cold War border between Austria and Hungary was opened for a short period of time for the Pan-European picnic.

• Podcast

9th July 1971: Henry Kissinger makes a secret diplomatic trip to China

• 9th July 2026
• Tagged as: Capitalism, China, Cold War, Communism, Diplomacy, International Relations, Kissinger, Nixon, Secret, USA, Vietnam War

Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon’s National Security Advisor, made a secret trip to China to meet with Premier Zhou Enlai.

• Podcast

6th July 1947: The Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle goes into production in the USSR

• 6th July 2026
• Tagged as: Cold War, Firearms, Guns, Innovation, Invention, Russia, Technology, USSR, War, Warfare, Weapon

The Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle went into production in the Soviet Union.

• Podcast

12th June 1987: Ronald Reagan calls on Mikhail Gorbachev to ‘Tear down this wall!’

• 12th June 2026
• Tagged as: America, Berlin, Berlin Wall, Cold War, Gorbachev, Reagan, Unification

US President Ronald Reagan made a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in which he called on the USSR’s leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, to ‘Tear down this wall!’

• Podcast

28th May 1987: Mathias Rust, an 18-year-old amateur pilot from West Germany, illegally landed a private aircraft near Moscow’s Red Square

• 28th May 2026
• Tagged as: Aircraft, Border, Cold War, Flight, Russia, Soviet Union, USSR, West Germany

Rust approached Moscow in the early evening and, after passing the city’s ‘Ring of Steel’ anti-aircraft defences, touched down on a bridge next to St Basil’s Cathedral and taxied his aircraft into Red Square.

• Podcast

26th May 1972: The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty at the Moscow Summit

• 26th May 2026
• Tagged as: Brezhnev, Cold War, Detente, ICBM, Missile, Moscow, Nixon, Richard Nixon, SALT, USA, USSR

The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty was intended to limit the development and deployment of missile defence systems during the Cold War to avoid further offensive build-up or create incentives for a first strike.

• Podcast

25th May 1961: US President John F. Kennedy announces his plans for a manned moon landing before the end of the decade

• 25th May 2026
• Tagged as: America, Cold War, Kennedy, Moon, NASA, Space, Space Race, United States, USA, USSR

Kennedy’s $24 billion of investment did work, and Apollo 11 achieved Kennedy’s goal by landing on the moon on 20 July 1969.

• Podcast

12th May 1949: The Soviet Union ends its blockade of West Berlin

• 12th May 2026
• Tagged as: Airlift, America, Berlin Airlift, Berlin Blockade, Cold War, East Germany, Germany, Soviet Union, United States, USA, USSR, West Berlin, West Germany

Instigated on 24 June the previous year, the Soviet blockade prevented all rail, road, and water transport between Berlin and the West of the Germany.