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The conflict which developed shortly after the Second World War between the Soviet Union and the United States, together with their respective allies. It is generally regarded as having been brought to an end at the summit meeting in Paris in November 1990. It was distinguished by the absence of direct military engagement or ‘hot war’ and, after the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, agreement on certain ground rules. Its real flavour was provided by propaganda, subversion, surrogate wars, and the use of foreign aid in the attempt to win adherents in the non-aligned world. The term was invented in 1947 by the US financier and presidential adviser Bernard Baruch, and popularized in the press. The most evocative symbol of the Cold War was the Berlin Wall (which was erected by East Germany in 1961 and remained in place until late 1989), dividing East from West Berlin.
Diplomatic relations (sense 1) between the Soviet Union and the United States were never severed during the Cold War and large embassies were maintained by each in the capital of the other. However, as well as being used for traditional diplomatic purposes, these missions were more than usually important as covers for intelligence-gathering activities. Furthermore, American and Soviet embassies in many states, not least in the Third World, were used to direct military assistance programmes and, sometimes, covert operations. American diplomats sometimes described this as the ‘militarization of diplomacy’. |
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