[00:00] I've decided that in order to sell more merch, I should do a face reveal wearing it. So are you ready? New minimalist and Cold War merch available now. And get the new limited edition Churchill character pin before it sells out, [00:12] Link in the description down below. Fighting rages on the eastern front of the First World War. - "Soldier, I need you to bring me this man." [00:28] - "Wha-... who ... NO..." "LenIN! The Russian communist! What!?" "Why would I need a Beatle?! Lenin! The Russian communist! He was exiled to Switzerland!" [00:40] - "You know what? I'll do it myself." *USSR ANTHEM STARTS TO PLAY* [01:06] hoping he and his mates would create an internal crisis. The government was overthrown and Lenin was in charge. started a three-year long civil war, [01:21] and then he died. - "Hey, man, tell whoever's in charge of giving people jobs not to let that jerk Stalin become the next leader." - "That would be Stalin, sir." [01:37] He still had some opponents but conveniently, all of them were arrested or disappeared. He implemented his Five-Year Plans to an industrial one. [01:52] Anyone who dared criticize or oppose him in the horrendous Soviet work camps. punched the Russians all the way to Moscow, [02:06] punched them all the way back to Berlin. America, the UK and the Soviet Union were good chums. to decide what would happen next. [02:19] "you must be pretty happy to be standing here in Berlin." - "Tsar Alexander made it all the way to Paris." (whispering) "Hey man, I think something's up with Stalin." [02:33] - "Shall I tell him about the bomb?" "we got this crazy new big A-bomb" - "Yes, my spies told me already." [02:46] "WOW! THAT'S AMAZING!" - "Am I sure I want to send nuclear secrets via" "AM I EVER!" 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[04:20] "If that's not free and fair, I don't know what is." as a buffer zone between the USSR and the West, The relationship between the old Allies [04:36] the British intervened in the Greek Civil War In Turkey, the Russians began demanding more control to send their largest battleship to Turkey [04:48] by both the Soviets and the British, The British pulled out; - "All in favor of kicking Russia out of Iran?" [05:03] - Pressure from the UN forced the Soviets to leave, that the West was out to encircle and destroy them. - "Those guys are not cool," [05:18] "to prevent the spread of Communism around the world." - Many view this moment as the official declaration of the Cold War. brought on by the Second World War. [05:31] - "This is great!" - "Dude, you're really messed up." - America realized what was going on, [05:44] they sent 12 billion dollars to Western Europe for its economic recovery. - "Hey Czechoslovakia." - "Yeah, but I have to check with my mom first." [06:01] This was a full-on economic battle If the Western nations developed faster and better than the East, which he called 'COMECON'. [06:16] over the Eastern Block. than in the city of Berlin. the city had been divided up between the Allies. [06:29] East Berliners could travel freely to West Berlin, "Maybe this communism thing ain't so great after all." *opens door* [06:43] "Stalin..." "You wrere out engaging in imperialist debauchery again!" - Stalin wanted the West out. [06:56] "I'm blockading all of your supply routes to West Berlin." - "I suppose we'll just fly the supplies in." [07:09] The Berlin Airlift was an incredible undertaking And Stalin ended his blockade of West Berlin. but not as much as this did. [07:23] The Soviet Union had developed their very own atomic bomb. The world now knew that if a major war broke out So it was comforting when Stalin came out and said [07:38] was unlikely. - "Hey, you know who I haven't checked in on in a while?" What happened to them was [07:51] The People's Liberation Army, successfully defeated the Republic of China, signed a mutual defense treaty. [08:03] There's more! In the north, the Soviets set up a communist regime. Both were led by very sweet-looking old men. [08:17] and both dreamed of reuniting Korea Stalin was feeling a little more cocky The North launched a surprise invasion of the South [08:30] the North Koreans steamrolled through, with another. made up of troops from 16 countries [08:43] and made landings at Incheon near Seoul. that had replaced the first ruthless dictator that had previously been replaced by the new ruthless dictator. [08:55] At this point China was getting worried The US had sent this guy to lead the operation. General Douglas MacArthur's head was big, [09:07] that there was absolutely no way at all Meanwhile, half a million Chinese troops - "Aw, c'moooon." [09:19] but now that the Soviets also had the bomb, almost to the exact same spot they had all started from, where they remained until both sides finally agreed [09:33] Americans decided they wanted a new president So they elected famed World War II general, It's 1953. [09:46] and his reign of terror kinda came back and those that were left were too terrified to treat him. - "Hey guys." [10:00] "Yeah, he was kind of a jerk." Khrushchev went on a campaign of Stalingrad was renamed, [10:13] and would allow greater freedom in the Soviet Union. was brutally suppressed. were brutally suppressed. [10:28] he permitted more cultural expression, - "Modern art looks like a child" "the feeling of needing to fart." [10:41] "How could anyone in the Soviet Union be depressed?" or that, abhorrent Western pop culture. [10:55] - "Shut up, Dad!" "Turns out he CAN tell me what to do." but world events soon soured relations even more. [11:09] throughout the Cold War. in nearly every aspect of Western life and government; the KGB were usually ready to arrest them on the spot. [11:23] Members of the Manhattan Project aided the Soviet Union in acquiring the bomb. - "I'll sell you three secrets for five million dollars." - "The Allies are digging a tunnel under East Berlin to tap your communications," [11:36] "and sometimes when I'm home alone," "and cry for hours" *weird* In America fear took hold during the Red Scare and the McCarthy trials. [11:49] American values imploded as fear of communism collided with freedom of thought and expression, and "Communist" kind of became a buzzword thrown around to describe anything people didn't like; Communist!! [12:01] when you clearly can't carry ten tups of Baconnaise in your hands? over the Soviet Union was in its espionage technology. In particular, U-2 spy planes flew across Russia carrying out surveillance from the skies [12:15] There was a nasty incident in 1960 though, when one was shot down and Khrushchev was furious. - "He's a... high-altitude weather enthusiast, who flew off course." "Why does he have a gun and a poison needle?" [12:29] "He's a... very NAUGHTY high-altitude weather enthusiast." the Soviet Union appeared to be ahead in the space race. and then they actually sent a man into space. (Yuri Gagarin) [12:43] and Khrushchev was so confident that he even allowed the US to set up a technology exhibit in Moscow, - "Check this out. We have color TV." [12:55] - "Yes, but we've been to space and can obliterate you with our massive nuclear arsenal." Tensions increased further when both sides upgraded their atomic bombs to hydrogen bombs. Khrushchev set up the defensive Warsaw Pact, [13:11] strengthening the military ties between the Soviet Union and its satellites states. In 1960, Americans decided they wanted a new president who would be tough on communism. The Soviet Union was advancing its technology, [13:23] and all of the money was going towards the military, Life under communism was still as hard as ever, and Berlin remained a thorn in the Soviet side. and the struggling East was clearer day-by-day [13:38] Now, many of them were deciding to stay there. causing Eastern factories to lose workers, and taking a heavy toll on the economy. [13:50] First, Khrushchev tried this: - "Or else what?" - "Yeeeeah, no, we're gonna stay. Listen man. " [14:02] "That's just how it is.” But wait a second. Did you catch that? Let's replay it. - "Eeeeeaaaasssst Beeeeeeeerrrliiiinn iiiissssss yooouuurrrrsss." [14:16] in what the Soviets did with their section of Berlin. - "We're gonna build a wall, and it's gonna be a big beautiful wall," - "Oh, sorry. It's gonna keep IN all the Mexicans." [14:32] Berliners woke up to find their city divided into two; Over time, a wall was constructed throughout the city. Thousands would risk their lives escaping over the wall [14:48] To the despair of Berliners, the West were unable to do anything about it. As Kennedy said: "but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in." [15:02] US diplomats were still allowed to travel to East Berlin. But suddenly East Berlin crossing guard started giving them the business In October the US rolled tanks up to the crossing point at Checkpoint Charlie as a show of strength. [15:16] They stayed like that for sixteen hours and the world braced for nuclear Armageddon. - "Hey man, this is getting way too hot!" [15:28] - "How about you back your tanks up by another inch and we'll follow suit?" And they both very slowly inched away from the apocalypse. It wasn't...