Cold War

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?

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

Cuban Missile Crisis WL

The Cuban Missile Crisis World on the brink

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

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Episode 3 Dangerous 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

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"

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

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Episode 1 Tensions 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

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 fears How has the UK prepared for Armageddon?

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

President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev together

What brought a thaw in the Cold War?