Cold War

Historical eventMarch 151991

Cold War

Cold War: The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany comes into effect, granting full sovereignty to the Federal Republic of Germany.

Everything on March 15Original source

In context

When
Friday, March 15 199135 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1990s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1991.

What happened

The Cold War was a period of international geopolitical rivalry between the United States (USA) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc. It began in the aftermath of the Second World War and ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The term cold war is used because there was no direct fighting between the two superpowers, though each supported opposing sides in regional conflicts known as proxy wars.

March 15 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1986Collapse of Hotel New World
  2. 1990Farzad Bazoft
  3. 1990Mikhail Gorbachev
  4. 1991Cold War
  5. 20082008 Gërdec explosions
  6. 2011Syrian revolution
  7. 2019Fridays for Future
  8. 20192019–2020 Hong Kong protests
  9. 2019Christchurch mosque shootings
  10. 20222022 Sri Lankan protests
  11. 2026Killing of members of the Bani Odeh family

Also in 1991

  • September 9TajikistanTajikistan declares independence from the Soviet Union.
  • September 11Continental Express Flight 2574Continental Express Flight 2574 crashes in Colorado County, Texas, near Eagle Lake, killing 11 passengers and three crew.
  • March 14EscondidaEscondida, one of the most productive copper mines in the world, was officially inaugurated.
  • September 12Space Shuttle DiscoveryNASA launches Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-48 to deploy the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.
  • September 17EstoniaEstonia, North Korea, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia join the United Nations.
  • September 17LinuxThe first version of the Linux kernel (0.01) is released to the Internet.
  • September 5Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989The current international treaty defending indigenous peoples, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989, comes into force.
  • October 201991 Uttarkashi earthquakeAn earthquake struck the Indian state of Uttarakhand, killing at least 768 people and destroying thousands of homes.

Everything we record for 1991 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Cold War”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/cold-war-1991-march-15, accessed October 25, 2026.

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Questions about this entry

When did Cold War happen?

March 15 1991 — 35 years ago, on a Friday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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