History glossary
Iron Curtain
the symbolic division between Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe and the West during the Cold War.
- Category
- Cold War concept
- Region
- Europe
- Date range
- c. 1945-1989
What it means
The Iron Curtain was a phrase popularized by Winston Churchill to describe the political, military, and ideological division of Europe after the Second World War. It separated Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe from Western Europe until the revolutions of 1989.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Cold War
Rivalry between East and West shapes global politics - through proxy wars, propaganda, and nuclear tension.
The Soviets
From revolution to superpower, the Soviet Union rose, struggled internally, and collapsed in 1991.
Origins of the Cold War
From the Grand Alliance to the Truman Doctrine, this story traces how the United States and Soviet Union shifted from wartime cooperation to global confrontation.
The Collapse of the Soviet Union
From Gorbachev’s reforms to the lowering of the Soviet flag over the Kremlin, this story traces the rapid unravelling of the USSR and the end of the Cold War.
