A natural point of departure for discussing the Cold War is to note that the title itself reflects both a post–World War II (WWII) change in the structure of the international system from multipolar to bipolar and the fact that the subsequent struggle between the global superpowers therein—the United States and Soviet Union—never escalated to a direct “hot” military conflict pitting one against the other. Instead, the Cold War, which unfolded from 1945 to 1991, was a contest for power, prestige, and influence on the world stage, with the United States and Soviet Union leading the way in the West and East, respectively.