The Cold War was a struggle between two competing visions for the Post-World War II world.  One view, centered on political and economic authoritarianism (one party state, centrally planned and controlled economy) was championed by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (aka Soviet Union, USSR, the Eastern Bloc, the Communist World); and the other view, centered on free political and economic relationships (parliamentary democracy; free, competitive markets) was led by the United States of America (aka USA, "The States", the Western World, the Free World).

This clash, compounded by the emergence of nuclear weapons with the potential to obliterate all life on earth, was viewed by both sides as a life or death struggle for survival and/or world dominance.  That the USSR and USA were never in full scale military combat with each other is the basis of the term Cold War (as opposed to an actual shooting war, which would be a "hot war"?).  However, there were a number of wars and near wars including:
      - the Berlin Blockade - 1948
      - the Korean War - 1950 - 1953
      - the Hungarian Revolution - 1956
      - the Cuban Missile Crisis - 1962
      - the "Czech Summer" - 1968
      - the Vietnam War - 1954 - 1975
      - the Soviet - Afghanistan War 1979 - 1989

It is important, however, to remember the economic, political, economic, cultural and ideological dimensions of the Cold War.  While some would say the Cold War lasted from 1945 - 1990, the seeds were sown before this period, and, ironically, many of the ideological dimensions of the war are still very much with us - not least within our present Canadian society.

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