Open yet restricted rivalry and hostility that developed after World War II between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and their respective allies.
The U.S. and Britain, alarmed by the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, feared the expansion of Soviet power and communism in Western Europe and elsewhere. The Soviets were determined to maintain control of Eastern Europe, in part to safeguard against a possible renewed threat from Germany. The Cold War (the term was first used by Berlin blockade and airlift , the formation of NATO , the victory of the communists in the Chinese civil war, and the Korean War . Another intense stage occurred in 1958–62 with the Cuban missile crisis , which resulted in a weapons buildup by both sides. A period of détente in the 1970s was followed by renewed hostility. The Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.