The Cold War was a prolonged period of geopolitical tension and rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR), along with their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and the communist Eastern Bloc. It lasted roughly from 1947 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991
. This conflict was termed "cold" because it did not involve direct military fighting between the two superpowers. Instead, it was characterized by proxy wars, an arms race including nuclear weapons, ideological competition, espionage, propaganda, economic embargoes, and technological contests such as the Space Race
. The Cold War began after World War II when the wartime alliance between the US and USSR broke down. The Soviet Union established communist governments in Eastern Europe, while the US sought to contain the spread of communism through policies like the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, as well as military alliances such as NATO
. Key events during the Cold War included the Berlin Blockade (1948–49), the Korean War (1950–53), the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), and the building of the Berlin Wall (1961). The rivalry was marked by a nuclear stalemate, with both sides possessing weapons capable of mutual destruction, which helped prevent direct war but fueled an arms race
. The Cold War ended with the fall of communist regimes in Eastern Europe, symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991
. In summary, the Cold War was a global ideological, political, and military struggle between the US-led capitalist bloc and the USSR-led communist bloc, fought mainly through indirect means rather than direct warfare.
