United States Vice-President Richard Nixon engaged in several talks with Nikita Khrushchev during the 1950s. One of these was the 1959 "Kitchen Debate" in a model kitchen in Moscow. These debates highlighted the political and economic differences between the USA and the USSR. The following year, the United States U-2 spy plane crashed in the Soviet Union. Tensions between the two countries increased.
After the United States tried to invade Cuba and failed (Bay of Pigs), the Soviet Union attempted to supply Cuba with nuclear missiles. These missiles in Cuba would have allowed the Soviet Union to effectively target almost the entire United States. In response the United States sent a large number of ships to blockade Cuba thus preventing the Soviet Union from delivering these weapons. The United States and Soviet Union came to agreement that the Soviet Union would no longer give nuclear weapons to Cuba as long as the United States does not invade Cuba again. This was the highest period of tension during the Cold War and it was the closest the world came to a nuclear war, with possible global conflict to follow.
After the agreement that ended the Cuban Missile Crisis, relations between the two sides eased up. Several treaties, designed to reduce the number of nuclear weapons, were signed. In 1964, the USA under the Lyndon Johnson administration invaded North Vietnam, which resulted in a humiliating defeat for the USA and South Vietnam in 1975. During this period of Détente, the United States began building a good relationship with the People's Republic of China, a previous ally of the Soviet Union.
The policy of détente ended in 1981, when the U.S. president Ronald Reagan ordered a massive military massing to challenge the Soviet Union's influence around the world. The United States began to support anti-communists all over the world with money and weapons. The idea was to help them overthrow their communist governments.
The Soviet Union had a slow economy during this decade because military spending was at an all-time high. They tried to keep up with the United States in military spending, but could not. In the Soviet war in Afghanistan starting in 1979, the Soviet Union had a difficult time fighting resistance groups, some of them armed and trained by the United States. The Soviet Union's failed invasion of Afghanistan is often compared to the United States' failure during the Vietnam War.
In the late 1980s the new Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev made an effort to make an ally of the United States to fix world problems caused by the war, with the ultimate aim of eliminating nuclear weapons completely. However, this did not take place because the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, insisted on having a nuclear missile defense system. The people of the Soviet Union were divided on their feelings about this. Some wanted President Gorbachev to fight harder to eliminate nuclear weapons, while others did not want him to be talking to the United States at all. These mixed feelings created an atmosphere of political in-fighting, and the people were no longer united behind one goal. Because of this, the Communist Party started to crumble.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and without Communist rule holding together the countries that comprised the Soviet Union, the USSR broke into smaller countries, like Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania and Georgia. The nations of Eastern Europe returned to capitalism, and the period of the Cold War was over. The Soviet Union ended in December 1991.
Not all historians agree on when the Cold War ended. Some think it ended when the Berlin Wall fell. Others think it ended when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Mainland China
Mainland China, also called the Chinese Mainland, is the part of China not including the Republic of China controlling Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, and the Pescadores. The term also excludes Hong Kong and Macau.
In the Qing Dynasty (Manchu Dynasty), all of Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, the Pescadores, and Mongolia were part of the Manchu Empire. Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau were colonized by foreigners for some years (Taiwan to the Japanese, Hong Kong to the British, and Macau to the Portuguese).
By the end the Qing Empire, China became Nationalist China (the Republic of China) and it got Taiwan back in 1945. After the Communists (the People's Republic of China) took over most of China, the Nationalists kept only Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, and the Pescadores. Mongolia became an independent state later.
Since then, Communist China only includes the part on the continent (mainland) and some small islands that are very near (the largest communist island is Hainan). This region is Mainland China.
Later Hong Kong and Macau were returned to the government of China, but because the government calls them "special administrative regions" under a "one country, two systems" idea, they are still not thought of as part of Mainland China.
Capital city
A capital city, or capital town or capital, is a city or town, specified by law or constitution, by the government of a country, or part of a country, such as a state, province, or county. It usually serves as the location of the government's central meeting place and offices. Most of the country's leaders, embassy and officials work in the capital city.
Capitals are usually among the largest cities in their regions and often are the biggest. For example, Montevideo is Uruguay's capital and its biggest city. The capital may also be the most important center of commerce, as in London or Bangkok.
However, a capital is not always the largest city in a country. For example, the capital of the India is New Delhi, which is smaller than Mumbai. The capital of Pakistan is Islamabad, which is smaller than Karachi.
In countries with subdivisions like the United States, the capitals of the federated states are often not the biggest cities. For example, New York City is the biggest city in the United States and in New York State, but is not the capital of either. The capital the country is Washington, DC, and the capital of the state is Albany.
An unusual case exists in Canada since the federal capital, Ottawa, is not the largest city in its province, Ontario, which is Toronto. However, Toronto is the capital of Ontario, so Toronto is a provincial capital but not a federal one.
Some countries have more than one capital for different purposes. For example, Bolivia has two (Sucre and La Paz) and South Africa has three (Pretoria, Cape Town, and Bloemfontein). In a city-state like Singapore, Monaco, and the Vatican City, the capital is the country.
Not all countries have capitals. Nauru is a country that does not officially have a capital, but the district of Yaren, which is where the government is, can be called the "de facto" capital. Also, although many people consider the city of Bern in Switzerland to be the capital of the country, it is by law not the capital but the "."
Capitals can be in cities that are already there like London or Rome, or a new town can be built and made the capital like Canberra and Alexandria. Countries can change capitals from time to time. Several cities have been the capital of China. The United States once had its capital in Philadelphia and later in New York City but moved to the new city of Washington, D.C. in 1800. Rio de Janeiro was the capital of Brazil until the new city of Brasilia was built between 1956 and 1960.
Most countries have their seat of government within their capital. However, Malaysia has its capital at Kuala Lumpur, but its seat of government is at Putrajaya. In the Netherlands, the constitution calls Amsterdam the capital, but the seat of government is The Hague.
Climate