Cold War
Both the United States and the Soviet Union drifted apart after the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Russian Civil War and the Paris Peace Conference. Diplomatic and extensive trading relationships were established under Roosevelt, but relations soured following the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States and eastern Poland. After Hitler broke the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact the Western powers worked closely with the Soviet Union during the Second World War. Distrust reemerged as Stalin's plans for placing Eastern Europe in the Soviet Union's sphere of influence became apparent towards the war's end, and came to the fore at the Potsdam Conference, just before the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Interviewees include George F. Kennan, Vladimir Yerofeyev, Zoya Zarubina, Hugh Lunghi and George Elsey. The pre-credits scene shows the US Congress nuclear bunker at The Greenbrier, and introduces the television series by explaining how for several decades the world was close to a nuclear holocaust.
Tweet- Clip length: 46'26''
- Broadcast year: 1998
- History | The Cold War
Licence: ERA Licence required
UK only
Staff and students of licensed education establishments only
Cannot be adapted
- Provider: BBC
- Channel: BBC Two
- Programme: Cold War
- Episode: 1: Comrades: 1917-1945
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S1E3: Heart of a King | David Starkey's Elizabeth
In July 1588 beacons were lit across England to warn of the arrival of the Spanish Armada. Elizabeth I's darkest fears had come true.
![](https://era.org.uk/app/uploads/2024/07/elizabeth-400x230.jpg)
S1E2: The Virgin Queen | David Starkey's Elizabeth
David Starkey explores the tensions created by Elizabeth I's reluctance to marry,which strained the political and religious machinations of her reign.