insight document

1. UNDERSTANDING THE EARLY COLD
WAR 1945-50
BLOCKADE When a country is blockedin, or
surrounded, preventing supplies getting in.
EAST AND WEST Terms used to describe the two sides in the
Cold War of war. Eastfor those that
followedthe SovietUnion and Communism
and Westfor those who followed the USA
and capitalismand democracy.
FREE ELECTIONS Elections that give the people a real choice
betweencandidates and parties. The voting
is secretand the results are not ‘fixed’.
IDEOLOGY A set of ideas which reflect the beliefs and
interests of a country.
IRON CURTAIN First used by Winston Churchill in 1946 to
describe the guarded border betweenthe
Soviet-controlledcountries of Eastern
Europe and the West.
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Setup
by the WesternPowers as a defensive
alliance againstthe spread of Communism.
SATELLITE STATES Term used to describe those countries in
EasternEurope controlledby the Soviet
Union.

2. SUPERPOWERS Term used to describe the two most
powerful countries in the world after the
SecondWorld War; the USSR and the
USA.
WESTERNPOWERS The Westerndemocracies, especiallythe
USA, Britain and France.