Cold War (1947-1991)
Between 1947 and 1991, the world experienced the Cold War, a period of intense geopolitical dispute between the United States, leader of the capitalist Western bloc, and the Soviet Union, which led the communist Eastern bloc. Without direct confrontations, the conflict manifested itself through indirect wars, such as the Korean War (1950-1953) and the Vietnam War (1955-1975), in addition to an arms race that placed the world under nuclear threat.
The division was evident with the Berlin Wall (1961), which separated Germany into two parts, symbolizing the dispute between the rival political systems. The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) brought the world to the brink of nuclear war, but agreements prevented the worst from happening.
In addition to the military conflict, there was also a space race, culminating in the landing of man on the Moon in 1969. With the weakening of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War, which officially ended in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, consolidating the USA as the leading world power.
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