The Cold War was a stand off between the capitalist USA and the communist USSR (Soviet Union, led by Russia).

The sides did not trust each other because:

they had very different ideologies (beliefs about how to organise society).
they thought the other side wanted to expand their territories.

In earlier times, this tension may have led to a direct conflict between the two nations. However, this did not happen because of the fear of nuclear war. Both sides had nuclear weapons and it was felt that any war between the USA and the Soviet Union could easily end in a nuclear disaster as neither side would accept losing. This was known as M.A.D. - Mutually Assured Destruction.

Instead, each side tried to strengthen their position and weaken their opponents by:

The Arms Race: developing more and more powerful weapons.
The Space Race: developing space rockets and satellites would give a possible military advantage and it was also part of the wider propaganda battle about who had the most advanced civilisation.
Proxy Wars: both sides became directly involved in other conflicts as they thought the outcome would affect the global balance of power between capitalists and communists. For example, the USA sent soldiers to Korea and Vietnam whilst the USSR invaded Afghanistan.

Year 9 Challenges and Change

What was the Cold War?