February 4 – 11: Yalta Conference.

Tags: World War II, Diplomacy, Allied Powers, Soviet Union, Cold War, Divided Germany, International Relations

April 12: Death of Franklin D. Roosevelt; Vice President Harry Truman assumes office as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidency, World War II, Succession, Political Transition, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Cold War

July – August: The Potsdam Conference divides Europe into Western and Soviet blocs.

Tags: Cold War, Post-World War II, Geopolitics, Soviet Union, Iron Curtain, International Relations, Winston Churchill

First images of the Earth taken from space.

Tags: Space Exploration, Photography, Cold War

Breaking of the sound barrier by Chuck Yeager in Bell X-1.

Tags: Aviation, Aerospace, World War II, Cold War

March 12: Harry Truman establishes the Truman Doctrine of containment of Communism.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Containment, Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, Ideology

July 26: Creation of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

Tags: Cold War, Intelligence, Espionage, National Security, Post-World War II, Covert Operations, Geopolitics, Foreign Policy, CIA

April 23: The Soviet Sever-2 expedition become the first party to indisputably set foot on the North Pole.

Tags: Polar Exploration, Arctic, Soviet Union, Cold War, Geopolitics, Scientific Expedition, Exploration

February 4: Independence of Burma and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from Britain.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, British Empire, Nationalism, Self-determination, Political Transition, Cold War

August – September: Division of North and South Korea.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Democracy, United Nations, Korean War, Geopolitics, Post-World War II

June 14: Albert II became the first mammal launched into space

Tags: Space Race, Aeronautics, Cold War, Space Exploration

May 23: Creation of NATO-backed Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany).

Tags: Cold War, NATO, Post-World War II, Federalism, Western Bloc, Geopolitics, Reconstruction

October 1: Chinese Communist Revolution: Establishment of the People's Republic of China under CCP Chairman Mao Zedong; The Republic of China relocate...

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong, Chinese Civil War, Republic of China, Political Revolution, Post-World War II

Partition of Kashmir.

Tags: Post-Colonialism, Partition, Kashmir, Border Disputes, Cold War, Regional Conflict, Geopolitics, United Nations, Self-determination

The Toroidal chamber with axial magnetic fields (the Tokamak) is developed by Igor E. Tamm and Andrei D. Sakharov.

Tags: Physics, Scientific Innovation, Cold War, Soviet Union

November 17: Lhamo Dondrub assumes full political powers as the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

Tags: Dalai Lama, Tibet, Religious Leadership, Cold War, Exile, Buddhism, Theocracy

December 30: Peoples' World Convention (PWC) at Palais Electoral, Geneva, Switzerland

Tags: Cold War, International Relations, Ideology

October 26: Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Tags: Prime Minister, Post-War, Cold War, British Politics

May: Bonn–Paris conventions end allied occupation of West Germany.

Tags: Post-War, Cold War, Occupation, West Germany, International Relations, Sovereignty, Allied Powers

July 23: Egyptian Revolution under Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrows King Farouk and ends British occupation.

Tags: Revolution, Cold War, Nationalism, Decolonization, British Empire, Monarchy, Political Change

The Slansky Trial in Czechoslovakia.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Czechoslovakia, Stalinism, Eastern Bloc, Purge, Political Repression

January 20: Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: President, Inauguration, Cold War, Government, Executive Branch

March 5: Death of Stalin.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Stalinism, Dictatorship, Communist Party, Post-War

June 16 – 17: An East German Uprising leads to the arrest and execution of Lavrentiy Beria; power struggle begins between Georgy Malenkov and Nikita K...

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, East Germany, Rebellion, Political Purge, Nikita Khrushchev, Eastern Bloc

August 19: Mohammed Mossadeq deposed in Iran.

Tags: Cold War, Coup d'état, CIA, Nationalization, Democracy, Oil, Geopolitics

November 9: Independence of Cambodia.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, Cold War, Nationalism

September 14: The Soviet Union generates first electricity by nuclear power.

Tags: Soviet Union, Cold War, Energy, Atomic Age, USSR

April 18 – 24: Bandung Conference.

Tags: Decolonization, Cold War, International Relations, Diplomacy, Post-Colonialism

After winning the power struggle that followed Stalin's death two years earlier, Nikita Khrushchev assumes control of the Soviet Union.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, Power Struggle, Communism, USSR

March 7: The United States recognises Morocco's independence from France

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, Foreign Relations, Cold War, Post-Colonialism, Diplomacy

March 23: Pakistan becomes a republic.

Tags: Republic, Post-Colonialism, Political Transition, Independence, Government, Cold War

October 29 – November 7: Nasser's nationalisation of the Suez Canal triggers the Suez crisis.

Tags: Cold War, Nationalization, Decolonization, Middle East Conflict, Suez Canal, International Relations, Imperialism, United Nations

October 4: Launch of Sputnik 1 and the beginning of the Space Age.

Tags: Space Race, Cold War, Soviet Union, Scientific Advancement, Space Exploration, Satellite, Geopolitics

November 3: Laika becomes the first animal launched into Earth orbit.

Tags: Space Race, Soviet Union, Cold War, Space Exploration, Scientific Advancement

The first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, is launched.

Tags: Space Race, Soviet Union, Cold War, Space Exploration, Satellite, Geopolitics

January 10: Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Tags: Prime Minister, Cold War, British Empire, Conservative Party

March 6: Independence of Ghana from Britain.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, Post-Colonialism, British Empire, Nationalism, Self-determination, Cold War

August 31: Independence of the Federation of Malaya.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, Malaysia, British Empire, Cold War, Nationalism, Post-Colonialism

July 29: NASA formed.

Tags: Space Exploration, Space Race, Cold War, Scientific Advancement, Astronauts

October 2: Guinea gains independence from France.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, Post-Colonialism, French Empire, Political Transition, Nationalism, Cold War, Pan-Africanism

November: Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) founded. CND's symbol, the peace sign, is first used.

Tags: Cold War, Peace, Activism, Protest

October 7: The USSR probe Luna 3 sends back the first ever photos of the far side of the Moon.

Tags: Space Exploration, Cold War, Soviet Union, Moon, Astronomy, Space Race

January 1: Cuban Revolution ends.

Tags: Cold War, Revolution, Communism, Dictatorship, Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, Political Change

January 3: Admission of Alaska, the 49th state, into the United States.

Tags: Alaska, Statehood, American Expansion, Cold War

February 19: Independence of Cyprus.

Tags: Independence, Decolonization, Cold War, Post-Colonialism, Ethnic Conflict, Self-determination, British Empire

March 10 – 23: Uprising in Tibet against China leads to the exile of the Dalai Lama.

Tags: Cold War, Tibet, Dalai Lama, Exile, Religious Violence, Political Conflict, Buddhism, Human Rights

January 22: First crewed descent to the deepest point on Earth, the Mariana Trench.

Tags: Exploration, Oceanography, Cold War, United States Navy

May 1: 1960 U-2 incident sparks deterioration in relations between superpowers.

Tags: Cold War, Espionage, Soviet Union, Diplomacy, Intelligence, Arms Race, International Relations, Khrushchev

Sirimavo Bandaranaike becomes Prime Minister of Ceylon and the first female Prime Minister in the world.

Tags: Prime Minister, Ceylon, Political Leadership, Post-Colonialism, Cold War

October 12: Inejiro Asanuma, a Japanese socialist politician, is assassinated during a broadcast on TV.

Tags: Assassination, Political Violence, Socialism, Cold War, Post-War

Year of Africa: Independence of 17 African nations.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence Movements, Cold War, Pan-Africanism, Post-Colonialism, Nationalism, Political Transition, Self-determination, African History

Khrushchev withdraws Soviet cooperation with China, initiating the Sino-Soviet split.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Soviet Union, Ideology, Geopolitics, Khrushchev, Mao Zedong, International Relations, Political Division

April 12: Yuri Gagarin, flying the Vostok 1 spacecraft as part of the Vostok program, becomes the first human in space.

Tags: Space Exploration, Space Race, Cold War, Soviet Union, Astronautics, Scientific Achievement

May 25: In an address to Congress, John F. Kennedy declares the United States' objective of "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the...

Tags: Space Race, Cold War, John F. Kennedy, Exploration

January 17: The assassination of Patrice Lumumba begins the Congo Crisis.

Tags: Cold War, Decolonization, African History, Political Assassination, Proxy War, United Nations

January 20: John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidency, Cold War, John F. Kennedy, American History, Leadership, Democracy, Inauguration

August 13: Construction of the Berlin Wall.

Tags: Cold War, East Germany, West Germany, Berlin, Iron Curtain, Divided Germany, Political Division, Communism, Soviet Union

March 19: The Algerian War ends with the independence of Algeria.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, Nationalism, Cold War, Post-Colonialism, Charles de Gaulle

July 26: Launch of the first geostationary satellite, Syncom 2.

Tags: Space Race, Telecommunications, Cold War, Space Exploration, Communication

November 2: 1963 South Vietnamese coup: Arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, the South Vietnamese President.

Tags: Cold War, Vietnam War, Coup d'état, Political Assassination, South Vietnam, Anti-Communism, Proxy Wars

November 22: Assassination of John F. Kennedy. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson assumes office as President of the United States.

Tags: Assassination, Presidency, Cold War, Political Violence, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, American History

December 10 – 12: Independence of Kenya and Zanzibar and creation of Malaysia.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, Post-Colonialism, Nationalism, British Empire, Cold War, Kenya, Malaysia, Self-determination

November 28: NASA launches the Mariner 4 space probe from Cape Kennedy toward Mars to take television pictures of that planet in July 1965.

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Mars, Space Race, Planetary Science, Cold War, Astronomy

March 31 – April 1: A coup d'état establishes a military dictatorship in Brazil.

Tags: Military Coup, Dictatorship, Cold War, Political Instability, Authoritarianism, Coup d'état

July 6: Independence of Malawi.

Tags: Independence, Decolonization, African History, Post-Colonialism, Nationalism, British Empire, Cold War

October 14: Leonid Brezhnev ousts Khrushchev and assumes power in the Soviet Union.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Leadership Change, Khrushchev, USSR, Communist Party

January 24: Death of Winston Churchill.

Tags: World War II, Cold War, British Empire, Prime Minister, Leadership, Legacy

August 9: Singapore gains independence.

Tags: Independence, Decolonization, Cold War, Nation Building, Post-Colonialism, Self-determination

September 30: 30 September Movement in the Indonesia.

Tags: Cold War, Anti-Communism, Coup, Purge, Sukarno, Human Rights, Mass Violence

November 24 – 25: Congo Crisis ends; Joseph Mobutu becomes dictator of the Congo.

Tags: Cold War, Dictatorship, Military Coup, Zaire, Post-Colonialism, African Politics, Political Instability, Authoritarianism

December 30: Ferdinand Marcos becomes President of the Philippines.

Tags: Presidency, Cold War, Authoritarianism, Government

Vela nuclear test detection satellites discover the first gamma-ray burst

Tags: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Exploration, Cold War, Particle Physics

April 21: Greek military coup establishes a military dictatorship led by Georgios Papadopoulos. The dictatorship ends in 1974.

Tags: Military Dictatorship, Coup d'état, Cold War, Political Instability, Authoritarianism, Human Rights

August 8: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) founded.

Tags: Regionalism, International Relations, Cold War, Political Cooperation, Economic Development, Diplomacy, Post-Colonialism

September – Zond 5 travels to the Moon with the first lifeforms to reach Earth's satellite

Tags: Space Exploration, Soviet Union, Cold War, Space Race, Moon, Biology, Astronautics, Scientific Advancement

December – Apollo 8 orbits the Moon with three NASA astronauts, becoming the first human spaceflight mission to enter the gravitational influence of a...

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Cold War, Space Race, Astronauts, Moon, Human Spaceflight

The Years of Lead, a period of social turmoil, political violence, and upheaval in Italy, begin.

Tags: Political Violence, Terrorism, Social Unrest, Cold War, Political Instability

July 20: Apollo 11 Moon landing, in which Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first two humans on the Moon.

Tags: Space Exploration, Cold War, Space Race, NASA, Astronauts, Lunar Exploration

October 29: Creation of Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), the earliest incarnation of the Internet.

Tags: Internet, Computer Science, Networking, Information Technology, Digital Revolution, Cold War, Development, Communication

January 20: Richard Nixon is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidential Inauguration, Cold War, Richard Nixon, American History, Executive Branch

September 1: Muammar Gaddafi overthrows King Idris of Libya in a Coup d'état and establishes the Libyan Arab Republic.

Tags: Coup d'état, Revolution, Dictatorship, Pan-Arabism, Cold War, Muammar Gaddafi, Post-Colonialism, Political Transition

April 11: Apollo 13 (Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, Jack Swigert) is launched toward the Moon.

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Moon Landing, Cold War, Space Race, Astronauts

March 5: Ratification of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Tags: Nuclear Weapons, Arms Control, Cold War, Treaty, International Relations, Nuclear Proliferation, Global Security

October 15: Anwar Sadat becomes President of Egypt.

Tags: Leadership, President, Cold War, Arab World

The first space station, Salyut 1, is launched.

Tags: Space Exploration, Space Race, Cold War, Soviet Union, Space Station, Astronomy

January 25: Idi Amin seizes power in Uganda.

Tags: Military Coup, Dictatorship, Cold War, Idi Amin, Political Instability, Post-Colonialism, Uganda

October 27: Joseph Mobutu renames The Republic of the Congo Zaire.

Tags: Decolonization, Dictatorship, Cold War, African History, Post-Colonialism, Mobutu Sese Seko, Nationalism, Political Transition, Zaire

COINTELPRO officially ends.

Tags: FBI, Surveillance, Political Repression, Civil Rights Movement, Activism, Cold War, Intelligence, Covert Operations

February 21 – 28: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon makes an unprecedented 8-day visit to the People's Republic of China and meets with Mao Zedong.

Tags: Cold War, Diplomacy, Mao Zedong, Detente, Foreign Policy

May 26: Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT I treaty in Moscow, as well as the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and other agreements.

Tags: Cold War, Nuclear Arms Race, Arms Control, Richard Nixon, Treaty, International Relations, Diplomacy

May 14: The first space station, Skylab, is launched.

Tags: Space Exploration, Space Race, Cold War, NASA, Astronauts, Space Station, Scientific Advancement

January 1: Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joins the European Communities.

Tags: European Integration, Post-War, Cold War, International Relations, Trade, Expansion

September 11: 1973 Chilean coup d'état.

Tags: Cold War, Coup d'état, Military Dictatorship, Socialism, Democracy, Human Rights

April 25: Carnation Revolution in Portugal begins transition to democracy.

Tags: Revolution, Democracy, Political Transition, Cold War, Authoritarianism, Colonialism, Military Coup

August 1: The Helsinki Accords, which officially recognize Europe's national borders and respect for human rights, are signed in Finland.

Tags: Cold War, Human Rights, Detente, International Relations, Soviet Union, Diplomacy

Death of Mao Zedong.

Tags: Communist China, Cold War, Chinese Communist Party, Political Transition, Cultural Revolution, Leadership Change, Post-Mao Era

Church Committee, a U.S. Senate select committee that investigated abuses by the CIA, NSA, FBI and Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Tags: Ancient rome, Intelligence Agencies, CIA, FBI, Investigations, Cold War

January 20: Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidency, Inauguration, Cold War, Foreign Policy

June 27: Djibouti gains independence from France.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, Nationalism, French Empire, Self-determination, Cold War

September 5: German Autumn: Red Army Faction abduction of Hanns Martin Schleyer.

Tags: Terrorism, Political Violence, Cold War, West Germany, Kidnapping, Extremism

October 19: Suicide of members of Baader-Meinhoff Group and murder of Hanns Martin Schleyer ends crisis in West Germany.

Tags: Terrorism, Cold War, West Germany, Political Violence, Crisis

The Global Positioning System (GPS) enters service. While not the first Satellite navigation system, it is the first to enter widespread civilian use.

Tags: Navigation, United States Military, Cold War, Space Race

September 17: The Camp David Accords are signed between Israel and Egypt.

Tags: Peace Treaty, Diplomacy, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Anwar Sadat, Cold War, International Relations

February 11: The Iranian Revolution ends. Shah Reza Pahlavi is overthrown and forced into exile.

Tags: Revolution, Shah, Theocracy, Political Upheaval, Cold War

May 4: Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Tags: Prime Minister, Conservative Party, Gender Equality, Cold War, Political Leadership

October 26: Assassination of Park Chung Hee, President of South Korea.

Tags: Cold War, Presidential Assassination, Dictatorship, Political Instability, Authoritarianism, Military Coup

November 4: The Iran hostage crisis begins.

Tags: Cold War, Revolution, Diplomacy, Hostage Crisis, International Relations, Political Conflict

August 31: Solidarity union forms at Poland's Gdańsk Shipyard under Lech Wałęsa, and begins agitation for greater personal freedoms.

Tags: Cold War, Eastern Bloc, Human Rights, Lech Wałęsa, Socialism, Political Protest

April 12: First orbital flight of the Space Shuttle.

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Space Shuttle Program, Aerospace Engineering, Cold War, Scientific Advancement

The first reusable spacecraft, the Space Shuttle undergoes test flights ahead of full operation in 1982.

Tags: Space Exploration, Aerospace Engineering, NASA, Space Race, Cold War, Orbital Mechanics

January 1: Greece joins the European Communities.

Tags: European Union, European Integration, Political Alliances, International Relations, Economic Development, Cold War, Post-War

January 20: Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as President of the United States. Iran releases the 52 U.S. hostages held in Tehran after 444 days.

Tags: Presidency, Hostage Crisis, Cold War, Diplomacy, Ronald Reagan

March 30: Assassination attempt on U.S. president Ronald Reagan.

Tags: Assassination, Political Violence, Reagan Administration, Cold War

May 13: Pope John Paul II assassination attempt.

Tags: Assassination, Pope John Paul II, Cold War, Terrorism, Religion, International Relations, Catholicism

October 6: Assassination of Anwar Sadat.

Tags: Assassination, Anwar Sadat, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Islamist Extremism, Cold War

December 13: Martial law in Poland begins.

Tags: Cold War, Eastern Bloc, Solidarity, Communism, Political Repression, Polish People's Republic, Human Rights, Soviet Union

November 10 – 15: Death of Leonid Brezhnev; Yuri Andropov becomes General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Communist Party, Leadership Change, Succession, Eastern Bloc

December 10: End of dictatorship in Argentina.

Tags: Democracy, Dictatorship, Cold War, Human Rights, Military Rule

October 31: Assassination of Indira Gandhi, Indian Prime Minister.

Tags: Assassination, Prime Minister, Political Violence, Cold War, Indian National Congress, Political Instability

March 11: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Communism, Mikhail Gorbachev, Perestroika, Glasnost, Political Transition

March 15: End of military leadership in Brazil.

Tags: Military Dictatorship, Democratization, Cold War, Authoritarianism

August 20: Beginning of the Iran–Contra affair, a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administra...

Tags: Scandal, Cold War, Reagan Administration, Covert Operations, International Relations, Political Corruption

January 1: Portugal and Spain joins the European Communities.

Tags: European Union, European Integration, Trade, International Relations, Cold War

February 22 – 25: The People Power Revolution leads to the end of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines.

Tags: Revolution, Dictatorship, Democracy, Cold War, Political Transition

February 28: Assassination of Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden.

Tags: Assassination, Political Violence, Cold War, Prime Minister, International Relations

October 11 – October 12: A breakthrough in nuclear arms control at the Reykjavík Summit.

Tags: Cold War, Nuclear Arms Race, Arms Control, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Union

October 19: Samora Machel, the first President of Mozambique, dies in a plane crash.

Tags: Cold War, Decolonization, Plane Crash, Presidency, Apartheid

November 3: The Iran–Contra affair publicly announced.

Tags: Political Scandal, Cold War, Covert Operations, Reagan Administration, Nicaragua, National Security, Executive Branch, Foreign Policy

June 10 – 29: The June Democratic Struggle, a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea, leads to democratic reforms and an end to authoritaria...

Tags: Democracy, Protest, Authoritarianism, Political Reform, Human Rights, Cold War, Social Movements

January 2: Beginning of the perestroika ("restructuring"), a political movement for reformation within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during ...

Tags: Soviet Union, Perestroika, Glasnost, Cold War, Mikhail Gorbachev, Communism, Political Reform

January 13: Lee Teng-hui takes control of Taiwan and oversee end of martial law and full democratization of island.

Tags: Democratization, Martial Law, Political Transition, Cold War

October 5: Chile's Augusto Pinochet loses a national plebiscite on his rule.

Tags: Dictatorship, Democracy, Chile, Cold War, Political Transition, Human Rights

1988 Polish strikes.

Tags: Labor Unions, Cold War, Communism, Solidarity, Workers' Rights, Polish People's Republic, Political Protest, Eastern Bloc, Lech Wałęsa

Revolutions of 1989 bring down Communist and authoritarian regimes around the world.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Eastern Bloc, Democracy, Political Transition, Revolutions, Human Rights, Globalization, Iron Curtain

January 20: George H. W. Bush is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidency, Elections, Cold War, Government, Inauguration

February 2: Alfredo Stroessner is overthrown in Paraguay. End of dictatorship.

Tags: Dictatorship, Political Transition, Coup d'état, Cold War, Human Rights, Military Rule, Democratization

June 4, 1989: Polish elections led to a peaceful transition to democracy, while in Beijing, the Tiananmen Square protests ended with a military crackd...

Tags: Democracy, Human Rights, Communism, Cold War, Political Transition, Solidarity Movement, Tadeusz Mazowiecki

June 5: An unknown Chinese protester, "Tank Man", stands in front of a column of military tanks on Chang'an Avenue in Beijing, temporarily halting the...

Tags: Political Protest, Human Rights, Cold War, Communism, Civil Disobedience

November 9: Fall of the Berlin Wall; the Revolutions of 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Bloc begin in Europe, which leads to the end of the Cold W...

Tags: Cold War, Eastern Bloc, Soviet Union, Democracy, Geopolitics, Iron Curtain

November 24: The Communist government of Czechoslovakia falls during the Velvet Revolution.

Tags: Communism, Democracy, Cold War, Czechoslovakia, Political Transition, Nonviolent Resistance

December 25: Romanian Revolution: Trial and execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu in Romania.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Revolution, Dictatorship, Political Violence, Human Rights, Romania

March 11: End of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile.

Tags: Dictatorship, Transition to Democracy, Human Rights, Political Reform, Cold War, Chilean History, Democratization, Military Rule

March 27: The United States begins broadcasting Radio y Televisión Martí to Cuba.

Tags: Cold War, Propaganda, Television, Cuban Revolution, International Relations

May 22: North and South Yemen unify to form the Republic of Yemen.

Tags: Unification, Political Transition, Arab World, Republic, Nationalism, Cold War, Middle East Politics

October 3: German reunification.

Tags: Cold War, German History, Political Transition, Nationalism, Eastern Bloc, Western Bloc, European Integration

May 16: Elizabeth II becomes the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress during a 13-day royal visit in Washington, D.C.

Tags: Diplomacy, Monarchy, Cold War, Heads of State, International Relations, Ceremony

July 10: Boris Yeltsin becomes the first President of Russia.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin, Presidency, Democracy

August 19: Soviet coup attempt of 1991: A coup occurs in response to a new union treaty to be signed on August 20.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Coup d'état, Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, Perestroika, Glasnost

September 17: North and South Korea are admitted to the United Nations.

Tags: Cold War, United Nations, Diplomacy, International Relations, Political Development

December 26: Dissolution of the Soviet Union and independence of 15 former Soviet republics. Beginning of the Algerian Civil War.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Independence, Geopolitics, Civil War, Decolonization, Vladimir Putin

1991 Sino-Soviet Border Agreement.

Tags: Border Disputes, Diplomacy, Cold War, Soviet Union, International Relations