An arms race is a common strategy of countries involved in war. Oftentimes, during war, a country would increase the quality and most often the size of its war and military resources in order to become the superior contender. But once two or more countries do the same, we refer to it as an arms race—literally, a competition of who has better armory—which often ends in deadly scenarios.

The arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union fought during the Cold War is of great significance, as it is often referred to as the "nuclear arms race."

It was the 1949 atomic bomb that the Soviet Union dropped that initiated the Cold War arms race. Both the US and the Soviet Union were set on building the biggest nuclear bomb in existence, with the US testing the hydrogen bomb only three years later in 1952.

The Cold War affected many international relations negatively, in the sense that it produced a lot of mistrust between the countries' leaders and instilled constant fear into the minds of their people. In short, the relationship between the US and the Soviet Union (now Russia) was forever changed.

These frictions have lasted decades, and are still present today. Many people have expressed new fears after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, dreading the ghastly consequences should the US join the war.

The key events that drove up the severity of Cold War were as follows:

• Containment of the USSR as the US attempted to prevent the spread of communism.
• Arms race between the United States & Soviet Union, for reasons explained above.
• Development of the hydrogen bomb, which proved a greater threat that the already powerful atomic bomb.
• Space exploration, offering yet another way for the two countries to compete and test their strengths.
• Fall of the Berlin wall, symbolising for many the end of communism and the Cold War.