Introduction

The Cold War was an ideological conflict between Communist and non - Communist countries, starting around the mid 1940's, and finishing in the early 1990's. The main countries involved were the United States, and the Soviet Union, which at the time were both leading superpowers in the world.

Although during WWII, the Soviet Union had joined forces with the United States and other Western European countries to fight the Germans, the Soviets supported communism; a political and economic system that they believed was far superior to capitalism (which was practiced elsewhere in the western world), and thus, an ideological barrier between communist and non – communist countries formed.

This map illustrates the state of the worlds balance of power in 1980.

It is apparent that there exists a relatively equal division between nation-states operating under communism and capitalism, and thus tensions for dominance are inevitable.

For more information about the Cold War,click here

Below is a YouTube video of the song 'Russians' by Sting, written during, and about the Cold War. Listen to the lyrics carefully. Once you have completed the webquest, perhaps come back and re-listen to this song. Your understanding about the Cold War, and the events and people that were involved in it should be more advanced, thus the song should be more meaningful to you!