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Cold War

Joseph McCarthy: life of the week. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Former Soviet Colonel Stanislav Petrov at his home in 2004.

The Soviet soldier who saved the world: how did Stanislav Petrov prevent nuclear Armageddon?

Oleg Gordievsky

Oleg Gordievsky: the double agent who changed the course of the Cold War

How Kissinger transformed the Cold War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the moon's surface

The history of the first moon landing: the road to Apollo 11

J Robert Oppenheimer (left), and Cillian Murphy

Oppenheimer: the real history of the ‘father of the atomic bomb’

Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, seen in 1975, would have been the leading candidate to be the first person to step on the Moon had the Soviets landed before the US (Photo by Space Frontiers/Getty Images)

What if...The Soviets had landed on the Moon first and won the Space Race?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Construction of the Berlin Wall begins at Ebertstrasse. The barrier would divide the city for 28 years (Photo by von der Becke/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Life in East Germany: the cultural evolution behind the Iron Curtain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Everyday life in East Germany. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The KGB’s secret war on the west. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Cuban Missile CrisisWorld on the brink

A journey along the Iron Curtain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Q&AWhy did NORAD begin tracking Santa Claus in the Cold War?

Episode 4The road to resolution. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 3Dangerous days. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Mikhail Gorbachev as seen in a 1995 portrait. His leadership saw the Soviet Union undergo dramatic reform, leading to its dissolution in 1991 (Photo by Dana Gluckstein / mptvimages / eyevine)

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev as a Cold War hero or a failed idealist: the historians' verdict. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

On Havana waterfront, Cuban soldiers wait by anti-aircraft artillery, after receiving warning of an invasion from the United States

Max Hastings"If the Americans had bombed Cuba in 1962, escalation would have been almost inevitable". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 2Broken ties & a secret pact. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 1Tensions mount. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Afghan fighters on top of a destroyed Soviet helicopter, 1980 (Photo by Alain Dejean/Sygma via Getty Images)

War without end: conflict in Afghanistan, from the Cold War Soviet invasion to the Taliban. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A missionary preaches to the Native Americans of Massachusetts, c1650. By now, colonists were imposing their values on the indigenous population, encouraging them to dress like the English – and worship the English God. (Photo by Ian Tyas/Keystone/Getty Images)

Britain's nuclear fearsHow has the UK prepared for Armageddon?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The USSR showcases its military might at the 1961 annual May Day parade in Red Square, Moscow. (Photo by Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images)

Nuclear fall-out: how the USA & USSR became bitter enemies

East German leader Willi Stoph greets West German chancellor Willy Brandt at Erfurt. (Getty images)

Cold War summits: how USA & USSR leaders worked to end the conflict. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev together

What brought a thaw in the Cold War?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Second World War allies Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin (left to right) at the Yalta Conference in February 1945. East and west would soon become bitter rivals, however

The Cold War: 9 key questions

George C Marshall, architect of the Marshall Plan, which pledged billions of dollars to help rebuild war-torn Europe

What was the Marshall Plan?

President Truman, seen here in 1948

What was the Truman Doctrine?

Stasi poets: creative writing & the Cold War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

American citizens Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, following their arrest by the FBI 1950. They were convicted of passing infomation to the Soviets and executed in 1953

The secrets and lies of Cold War spies

A mushroom cloud rises into the sky above Enewetak Atoll

The mystery of the missing H-bomb paper. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.