What is the Cold War? Meaning of the term explained and when the conflict between the US and USSR ended

As Russian troops advance through Ukraine, some experts and historians have been speculating that this could be the start of a new Cold War.

But what was the Cold War and why are people talking about it again now? Here’s what we know.

A cold war is a state of conflict between nations that does not involve direct military action but is pursued primarily through economic and political actions, propaganda, acts of espionage or proxy wars.

The Cold War was a long period of tension between the democracies of the West and the communist countries of Eastern Europe.

The West was led by the United States and Eastern Europe was led by the Soviet Union and both became known as superpowers.

They never declared war on each other but fought through proxy wars which were between different countries but were supported by one of the superpowers.

Examples of these include the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Yom Kippur War, and the Soviet Afghanistan War.

The US and the Soviet Union also came up against each other in arms and space races, in which each one would show off their technology and power.

The arms race saw them try and prove they had the best weapons, including nuclear bombs in an attempt to deter the other from declaring war.

The space race saw each one launch space missions and try to outdo each other with their science and technology.

It started in 1945, not long after the Second World War ended due to distrust between the Soviet Union and the West.

The Allies were worried about the brutal communist leadership of Joseph Stalin and in 1949 created Nato due to concerns about an attack by the Soviets. In 1955, the Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact in response to Nato’s global policy against Soviet influence containment.

Major crises of this phase included the 1948-49 Berlin Blockade, the 1950-1953 Korean War, the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, the 1956 Suez Crisis, the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

The US and the USSR also competed for influence in Latin America, the Middle East, and the decolonising states of Africa, Asia, and Oceania.

The Berlin Wall then came down between 1989 and 1990 which opened borders, gave the people free elections and ousted Communist regimes in eastern Europe.

Then, in 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved, the Iron Curtain – the political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union to seal itself and its dependent eastern and central European allies from open contact with the West and other non-communist areas – was lifted and the Cold War came to an end.