USA vs. USSR MCQs [USA – America] January 8, 2026August 20, 2024 by u930973931_answers 40 min Score: 0 Attempted: 0/40 Subscribe 1. What was the main ideological difference between the USA and the USSR during the Cold War? (A) Democracy vs. Communism (B) Capitalism vs. Socialism (C) Authoritarianism vs. Democracy (D) Monarchy vs. Republic 2. Which event marked the beginning of the Cold War? (A) The Cuban Missile Crisis (B) The Berlin Airlift (C) The end of World War II (D) The Yalta Conference 3. What was the name of the U.S. policy aimed at containing the spread of communism? (A) The Eisenhower Doctrine (B) The Monroe Doctrine (C) The Marshall Plan (D) The Truman Doctrine 4. Which two leaders were most prominently associated with the USA and USSR during the early Cold War years? (A) Harry S. Truman and Nikita Khrushchev (B) Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin (C) Dwight D. Eisenhower and Leonid Brezhnev (D) John F. Kennedy and Mikhail Gorbachev 5. What was the primary purpose of the Berlin Wall? (A) To separate East and West Berlin (B) To stop the flow of refugees from West to East Berlin (C) To protect against an external invasion (D) To showcase East German architecture 6. Which conflict is often referred to as the “forgotten war” due to its overshadowing by other conflicts of the Cold War? (A) The Korean War (B) The Vietnam War (C) The Afghan War (D) The Cuban Missile Crisis 7. Which Soviet leader was in power during the Cuban Missile Crisis? (A) Joseph Stalin (B) Mikhail Gorbachev (C) Leonid Brezhnev (D) Nikita Khrushchev 8. What was the main objective of the U.S. Marshall Plan? (A) To support the construction of the Berlin Wall (B) To establish NATO (C) To prevent the spread of communism in Asia (D) To aid European recovery after World War II 9. Which U.S. President is associated with the policy of “peace through strength”? (A) Lyndon B. Johnson (B) Richard Nixon (C) Ronald Reagan (D) Jimmy Carter 10. What was the main purpose of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)? (A) To create a missile defense system against Soviet attacks (B) To promote nuclear disarmament (C) To establish a new space program (D) To strengthen NATO 11. Which U.S. Senator was known for his anti-communist investigations in the 1950s? (A) John F. Kennedy (B) Joseph McCarthy (C) Richard Nixon (D) Harry S. Truman 12. Which event brought the USA and USSR closest to nuclear war? (A) The Korean War (B) The Cuban Missile Crisis (C) The Vietnam War (D) The Berlin Blockade 13. What was the name of the Soviet space program that successfully launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik? (A) Soyuz Program (B) Luna Program (C) Sputnik Program (D) Vostok Program 14. Which treaty aimed at reducing the number of strategic nuclear weapons was signed by the USA and USSR in 1968? (A) SALT I (B) START I (C) Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) (D) INF Treaty 15. What was the main focus of the U.S. policy known as “detente”? (A) Increasing military spending (B) Supporting anti-communist regimes (C) Expanding the space race (D) Easing tensions between the USA and USSR 16. Which U.S. President’s administration is associated with the implementation of the “Reagan Doctrine”? (A) Ronald Reagan (B) Gerald Ford (C) Richard Nixon (D) George H. W. Bush 17. Which major Cold War conflict was characterized by guerrilla warfare and involved U.S. support for anti-communist forces? (A) The Korean War (B) The Six-Day War (C) The Suez Crisis (D) The Vietnam War 18. Which Soviet leader is known for initiating the policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring)? (A) Mikhail Gorbachev (B) Nikita Khrushchev (C) Leonid Brezhnev (D) Yuri Andropov 19. What was the name of the U.S. military alliance formed in 1949 to counter Soviet influence? (A) NATO (B) CENTO (C) SEATO (D) ANZUS 20. Which Soviet space mission was the first to successfully land on the moon? (A) Luna 1 (B) Luna 2 (C) Vostok 1 (D) Luna 9 21. Which international crisis involved a U.S.-backed invasion of Cuba in 1961? (A) The Bay of Pigs Invasion (B) The Cuban Missile Crisis (C) The Berlin Blockade (D) The Suez Crisis 22. Which 1957 Soviet space achievement marked a significant milestone in the space race? (A) First manned space flight (B) Launch of Sputnik 2 (C) Launch of Sputnik 1 (D) First lunar landing 23. What was the name of the U.S. initiative to support and rebuild Western European economies after World War II? (A) The Truman Doctrine (B) The Marshall Plan (C) The Eisenhower Doctrine (D) The Kennedy Plan 24. Which major Cold War event involved a standoff between the USA and USSR over missile installations in Cuba? (A) The Cuban Missile Crisis (B) The Berlin Airlift (C) The Prague Spring (D) The Korean War 25. Which Soviet leader was known for his policy of “socialism in one country”? (A) Leon Trotsky (B) Joseph Stalin (C) Nikita Khrushchev (D) Mikhail Gorbachev 26. Which U.S. policy aimed to prevent the spread of communism by providing aid to countries resisting communist movements? (A) The Monroe Doctrine (B) The Truman Doctrine (C) The Marshall Plan (D) The Eisenhower Doctrine 27. What was the name of the agreement that led to the withdrawal of Soviet missiles from Cuba? (A) The Geneva Accords (B) The Helsinki Accords (C) The Kennedy-Khrushchev Agreement (D) The Moscow Agreement 28. Which event led to the establishment of a Soviet-backed communist government in North Korea? (A) The Korean War (B) The Vietnam War (C) The Sino-Soviet Split (D) The Cuban Missile Crisis 29. Which Cold War strategy involved the USA and USSR building up large stockpiles of nuclear weapons? (A) Brinkmanship (B) Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) (C) Containment (D) Detente 30. Which treaty, signed in 1972, aimed to limit strategic offensive arms between the USA and USSR? (A) START I (B) SALT I (C) INF Treaty (D) ABM Treaty 31. Which U.S. President’s foreign policy focused on “Vietnamization” and reducing American involvement in Vietnam? (A) Richard Nixon (B) Lyndon B. Johnson (C) Gerald Ford (D) Jimmy Carter 32. Which Soviet leader was responsible for the Soviet Union’s intervention in Afghanistan in 1979? (A) Leonid Brezhnev (B) Yuri Andropov (C) Konstantin Chernenko (D) Mikhail Gorbachev 33. What was the primary focus of U.S. foreign policy during the early years of the Cold War? (A) Establishing economic alliances in Latin America (B) Promoting democratic governments in Europe and Asia (C) Supporting colonial independence movements (D) Containing the spread of communism 34. Which military alliance was formed in response to the perceived threat from NATO? (A) SEATO (B) OAS (C) CENTO (D) Warsaw Pact 35. What was the primary objective of the U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983? (A) To overthrow a communist government (B) All of the above (C) To establish a democratic government (D) To protect American citizens 36. Which major Cold War event involved a failed attempt by Cuban exiles to invade Cuba? (A) The Cuban Missile Crisis (B) The Bay of Pigs Invasion (C) The Berlin Blockade (D) The Suez Crisis 37. Which agreement in 1987 aimed to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles? (A) SALT II (B) START I (C) INF Treaty (D) CTBT 38. Which term describes the easing of hostility between the USA and USSR in the 1970s? (A) Cold War (B) Brinkmanship (C) Iron Curtain (D) Detente 39. What was the primary goal of the U.S. policy of “rollback”? (A) To contain communism (B) To promote economic stability (C) To support democratic governments (D) To overthrow communist regimes 40. Which event led to the establishment of the Warsaw Pact? (A) The formation of NATO (B) The Berlin Airlift (C) The Korean War (D) The Cuban Missile Crisis