The Arms Race Between the USSR and the USA / Cold War / History Lessons / MINAEV

The arms race unfolded amid the sharp confrontation between the USSR and the USA. Its main goal was to achieve superiority in nuclear weapons, and both powers poured enormous resources into developing their military‑industrial complexes, drawing on the best scientific talent. In this episode we’ll talk about the path from the launch of the first satellite to the Cuban Missile Crisis, from Khrushchev’s visit to the US and meeting with Nixon to high‑profile spy scandals, from the Berlin Question to the conflict between China and Taiwan. The Cold War was a global confrontation between two ideologies, two systems – a struggle for influence that spanned the entire world. Figures like Churchill, Stalin, Khrushchev, Mao Zedong, and other key leaders of the 20th century all took the stage. 00:00 About the episode 03:13 The first space satellite 05:45 Panic in the USA 07:03 Ad break 09:17 A blow to US prestige 13:14 Why the USA underestimated the Soviet Union 16:31 The Eisenhower Doctrine 18:13 The Middle East and US influence 23:32 Khrushchev’s foreign policy 24:58 Coup in Iraq and USSR‑Egypt rapprochement 31:15 Nixon and Khrushchev meet in Moscow 33:00 Nikita Khrushchev’s visit to the USA 34:02 US spy planes over Soviet territory 36:20 Khrushchev at the UN General Assembly 39:12 Gagarin’s flight into space 42:18 The Berlin Question 47:17 Scandal involving Soviet spy Rudolf Abel 50:40 Spy scandal in the UK 55:18 Soviet defector Oleg Penkovsky 57:05 The Cuban Missile Crisis 58:05 Weapons testing and military bases 59:27 China and Mao Zedong 01:01:34 Taiwan and the Tibetan uprising 01:03:46 The anti‑war movement in the USA 01:05:00 Peaceful rivalry between the two countries