Cold War

The Cold War was a term used to denote the tensions between the Capitalist nations of the world (particularly the United States and the United Kingdom) and the Communist nations of the world (particularly the Soviet Union) in which, though the tensions were high, no actual fighting occurred. The east and west were, according to the Eleventh Doctor, "standing on the brink of nuclear oblivion." Both sides could easily have destroyed the other. (TV: Cold War)

History
In 1903, after receiving a wealth of information from the future, Grigori Rasputin foresaw the Cold War. (AUDIO: The Wanderer)

The Doctor took part in some events of the Cold War. The Eighth Doctor was blackmailed by Kim Philby into assisting him against the Players in 1951, whilst his seventh incarnation held Majestic clearance with the United States in 1957. (PROSE: First Frontier, PROSE: Endgame)

During World War II, when it appeared that the United Kingdom would be invaded by Nazi Germany, four citadels were built under the surface of London. They were intended to allow the British government to continue operations if the worst happened. After the war, the citadels were maintained due to the threat posed by the Soviet Union in the Cold War. (AUDIO: The Fifth Citadel)

The Tenth Doctor made reference to the Cold War during a visit to New Mexico in 1958. Cassie Rice used the Cold War slang "Reds" to refer to Russians. (TV: Dreamland)

The Jalaphron tried to end the Cold War in 1962 by starting the Cuban Missile Crisis. (PROSE: Checkpoint)

In October 1963, Susan Foreman read an article about the Cold War in The Daily Sketch. She had never previously heard of the conflict. (AUDIO: Hunters of Earth)

In November of that year, a group of Russian spies including Miles Barrington Smythe, aided by MI6 double agent Barker, operated in London. (TV: The Cambridge Spy)

In 1983, the Ice Warrior, Skaldak, tried to end the Cold War by launching a nuclear weapon from the Soviet submarine, the Firebird, causing both the east and the west to annihilate each other in mutually assured destruction. He was stopped when an Ice Warrior ship rescued him. (TV: Cold War)

The Cold War had ended by 1993. (PROSE: Goth Opera) However, there were two unnamed power blocs poised to annihilate each other again by 2084. (TV: Warriors of the Deep)

Projects and plans
During the Cold War, there were plans to build an underground headquarters for the British government in the event of a nuclear war. (TV: Invasion of the Dinosaurs)

At one point, to avoid warring, America, China and Russia gave their nuclear destructor codes to Great Britain. (TV: Robot)

The Golgotha Project was formed during the war. (PROSE: Heart of TARDIS)

Behind the scenes

 * Both Invasion of the Dinosaurs and Robot imply that the Cold War was already over at the time those stories took place. However, in the novel Goth Opera, by Paul Cornell, it is noted by Tegan Jovanka, who comes from the year 1981, that the Cold War had ended by 1993.