answers.input_text: short
answers.span_text: Soviet Union and its satellite states ) and powers in the Western Bloc ( the United States , its NATO allies and others
questions: who were the major countries involved in the cold war
name: Cold War
contexts: The Cold War was a state of geopolitical tension after World War II between powers in the Eastern Bloc ( the Soviet Union and its satellite states ) and powers in the Western Bloc ( the United States , its NATO allies and others ) . Historians do not fully agree on the dates , but a common timeframe is the period between 1947 , the year the Truman Doctrine , a U.S. foreign policy pledging to aid nations threatened by Soviet expansionism , was announced , and either 1989 , when communism fell in Eastern Europe , or 1991 , when the Soviet Union collapsed . The term `` cold '' is used because there was no large - scale fighting directly between the two sides , but they each supported major regional wars known as proxy wars .