Arms and Space Race
Four years after the atomic bomb had been dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki,the Soviets exploded their first atomic bomb and became a nuclear power.During the decades of the Cold War both countries increase their nuclear stockpiles.They developed intercontinental missiles which could reach all corners of the world in a short time.During the 1970s each country had enough nuclear weapons to wipe out all life on earth.Later on,they agreed to stop the arms race and set a limit to the number of weapons each country had.The Soviet Union and USA extended their rivalry in what became known as the space race.Both superpowers wanted to demonstrate their technological superiority.In 1957,the Soviets launched the first satellite into space and in 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the earth.The space race ended in 1969 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon.
End of the Cold War
The letter half of the 1980s slowly brought an end to the Cold War.In the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachov took power.He wanted to open up the economy of the largest country on earth. His policy of glasnost and perestroika aimed at giiving the Soviet population more freedom and rights.
In 1989 Communism started to collapse in many parts of eastern Europe.In November 1989 the Berlin Wall was torn down and East Germans were allowed to travel freely to the west.In 1991 the Soviet Union ceased to exist and broke up into 15 independent countries.Commnism survived in only a few countries,including cuba.