The Cold War - a global geopolitical, economic and ideological confrontation between the Soviet Union and its allies on the one hand, and the United States and its allies - the other, which lasted from mid-1940's to the early 1990's.
One of the main components of the confrontation was an ideology. The deep contradiction between the capitalist and socialist models is the main cause of the Cold War. Two superpower - the victorious World War II tried to rebuild the world according to their ideology. Over time, the confrontation was part of the ideology of the two sides and helped the leaders of the military-political blocs consolidate around allies "in the face of an external enemy." New opposition demanded the unity of all members of opposing blocs.
The phrase "cold war" first used April 16, 1947, Bernard Baruch, advisor to U.S. President Harry Truman, in a speech before the House of Representatives of South Carolina.
The internal logic of opposition demanded that the parties participate in the conflict and interference in the course of events in any part of the world. Efforts by the United States and the Soviet Union were sent primarily to the dominance in the military sphere. Since the beginning of the confrontation turned the militarization of the two superpowers.
U.S. and USSR have established their spheres of influence, securing their military-political blocs - NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Although the United States and the USSR never came into direct military confrontation, and their rivalry for influence has often led to outbreaks of local armed conflicts around the world.
The Cold War was accompanied by a race of conventional and nuclear weapons, and it threatens to lead to a third world war. The most famous of these cases, when the world found itself on the brink of disaster, became the Missile Crisis of 1962. In this connection, in 1970 the two sides have been efforts to "defuse" international tensions and arms limitation.
The growing technological backwardness of the USSR, along with the stagnation of the Soviet economy and exorbitant military expenditures in the late 1970's - early 1980's, forced the Soviet leadership to make political and economic reforms. Announced by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985, the policy of perestroika and glasnost led to the loss of leadership of the Communist Party and contributed to economic collapse in the USSR. Ultimately, the Soviet Union, burdened with the economic crisis, as well as social and international problems, fell apart in 1991.
In Eastern Europe, communist governments, deprived of Soviet support have been removed even earlier, in 1989-1990. The Warsaw Pact formally ceased to have effect July 1, 1991, which can be considered the end of the Cold War.