The Cold War began after the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945, when the uneasy alliance between the United States and Great Britain on the one hand and the Soviet Union on the other started to fall apart. Historians on the beginning of the Cold War. While most historians trace its origins to the period immediately following World War II, others argue that it began with the October Revolution in Russia in 1917 when the Bolsheviks took power.

“Bipolarity” in international politics describes distribution of power between two states which exercise majority of economic, military and cultural influence internationally. There was bipolarity during the Cold War as the world had only two big super powers- former Russia and the USA.

Organisation for European Economic Co-operation

Second prime minister of India ;Gulzarilal Nanda

Term of office:  7 May,1964 to 9 June 1964, 13 days  : First acting PM of India

The main military characteristic of the Cold War are as follows :
(i) The two superpowers and their allies were expected to act as rational and responsible actors.
(ii) Responsibility meant being restrained and avoiding the risk of another World War.

The most of the non-aligned countries were the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and their main objective was development and to lift their people out of poverty.

 The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) brought a report in 1972 entitled ‘Towards a New Trade Policy for Development’. It proposed the changes in the global trading system so as to :

(i) give the LDCs control over their natural resources.
(ii) obtain access to Western markets for the LDCs.
(iii) reduce the cost of technology from the Western countries, and
(iv) provide the LDCs a greater role in international economic institutions.

Mikhail Gorbachev was the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union, having been General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991. He believed that reforms were necessary to keep USSR at par with the West. He initiated policies to democratise and reform the Soviet Union. The efforts of Gorbachev to give some degree of autonomy to people in the Soviet Union made people to demand more rights and freedom. The efforts of Gorbachev to give some degree of autonomy to people in the Soviet Union made people to demand more rights and freedom. They started protesting against their own governments and the communist regimes began to fall one after the other. THus, Gorbachev played an important role int eh disintegration of USSR.

 (i) The Soviet System was very bureaucratic and authoritarian.
 (ii) Lack of democracy and the absence of freedom of speech.
 (iii) Tight control over all institutions and was unaccountable to the people.
 (iv) Russia dominated everything and people from other regions felt neglected and often suppressed.

The Cold War was a period of economic, political and military tension between the United States and Soviet Union from 1945 to 1991. This battle of ideologies resulted in increased national security, diplomatic tension and proxy wars between the two powerful nations.

The Cold War was a period of economic, political and military tension between the United States and Soviet Union from 1945 to 1991. This battle of ideologies resulted in increased national security, diplomatic tension and proxy wars between the two powerful nations.