Icing The Competition

The Cold War lasted from 1947 to 1991, and sometimes it was hard to tell there was a war going on at all. Unlike other wars, the Cold War wasn’t fought with guns or missiles. Instead, this war remained largely political and was a rivalry between two nuclear-equipped countries: the Soviet Union and the United States.

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1. Space Race

When people think of the Russian and American rivalry, one of the first things to come to mind is the space race. This was, in fact, integral to the Cold War as both countries were reaching for the moon. The Soviet Union launched Sputnik as the first artificial satellite, which was followed by the U.S.’s Apollo moon landing.

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2. Cuban Missile Crisis

While apocalyptic movies make it seem like a nuclear war is impending, the Cuban Missile Crisis is the closest the real world got to such a fate. This 13-day standoff was sparked by the discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba in 1962 and led to explosive tension.

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3. Berlin Wall

In 1961, the Berlin Wall was erected as a symbol of the division between the East and West. Ironically, the wall was later taken down in 1989, a mere decade before the Cold War came to an official end.

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4. Spies Everywhere

Some people associate the Cold War with spies, and they would be right to do so, as both sides were running rampant with espionage. There were spy planes and secret agents planted all over.

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5. Proxy Wars

It would be easy to assume the war only involved the U.S. and the Soviets, but in reality, numerous proxy wars were also being fought. This included major wars like the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the Soviet-Afghan War.

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6. Nuclear Standoff

Many people could feel the tension in the air during the Cold War, as if at any second the countries would launch nuclear weapons. This was a constant fear that kept people up at night, and a very real one considering how close the countries came.

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7. SALT Treaties

Despite the tension, many efforts were made to mitigate the war. This included treaties like the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, or SALT, which were failed attempts at removing nuclear threats altogether.

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8. Lasted Half a Century

The Cold War is undoubtedly one of the longest wars and actually spans almost half a century. That’s far longer than both World War I and World War II.

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9. The Red Scare

The fear of communists was all too real, as many people feared the red sympathizers in their midst. In fact, pop culture and film were used to promote Western values and diminish communism further.

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10. Soviet Collapse

The Cold War ended with the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union, and despite attempts to reform the nation, it only seemed to lead to a faster dissolution. Some may assume this means the United States won, but considering the state of today’s world, there really aren’t any real winners.

Now that we have discussed some of the integral events that occurred during the Cold War, here are 10 common misconceptions people have about the conflict.

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1. Direct Warfare

Some who are unfamiliar with the event may assume it’s simply another war, but in reality, it was far more than that. What made the Cold War so interesting was the lack of firepower used.

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2. Peaceful Ending

Since the Cold War ended, some might assume it had a peaceful conclusion. However, with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of conflicts in the Balkans and the Middle East, new tensions replaced old ones.

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3. Democratic Victory

It may be easy to mistake the end of the Cold War as a victory for democracy, but in actuality, communism remained a viable and popular option throughout the world. For countries like China and North Korea, it never went away.

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4. Nuclear Disarmament

You would be wrong to assume that the Cold War made waves in nuclear disarmament, as modern countries are as devoted to their weapons of mass destruction as they ever were. That being said, the Cold War clearly showed us how scary a nuclear-armed world is.

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5. End of Espionage

When the war came to an end, the spies didn’t simply pack up and go home. Instead, many operatives remained within their regions, continuing to send back information. Additionally, both nations have continued to invest in their military and espionage capabilities.

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6. More Than Two

Another common misconception would be to assume the Cold War only involved the United States and the Soviet Union. While these two were the major parties at play, countries in the Middle East and even Latin America had influence.

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7. Entirely Cold

While the Cold War remained predominantly "cold," there were moments of heat and intensity. In fact, there were direct moments of conflict through the aforementioned proxy wars. This allowed the nations to fight one another, but indirectly.

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8. Sudden Collapse

Many people considered the Soviet Union a superpower and were shocked by its sudden collapse. But in reality, this collapse wasn’t all that sudden. In fact, the Soviet Union had been struggling for decades, especially economically, before its downfall.

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9. Imminent Nuclear War

While tensions regarding a nuclear fallout were highest during the Cuban Missile Crisis, for the most part, there were plenty of moments of calm. People took comfort in the fact that the countries understood pressing the button would lead to mutually assured destruction.

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10. United States and Democracy

Many people correlate the United States with democracy, as they championed this political movement throughout the Cold War. However, in actuality, the United States wasn’t always so democratic. They supported authoritarian regimes in Chile and South Korea, as long as the countries were anti-communist.

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