19281991

1928–1991 is a retrospective label for a historical era spanning from the late 1920s to the end of the Cold War. It covers major political, economic, technological, and social changes that reshaped much of the world.

From 1928 to the mid-1930s, industrial expansion coexisted with the Great Depression after 1929, testing economies and provoking political instability. The period witnessed the rise of totalitarian regimes and growing militarization that led to World War II.

World War II (1939–1945) was the defining global conflict of this era. Its aftermath redrew borders, established the United Nations, and launched a US–Soviet rivalry that shaped global politics for decades. Decolonization accelerated in the 1950s and 1960s as many colonies gained independence.

The 1950s and 1960s saw economic growth in many regions, urbanization, and social reform movements. The space race, rapid technological change, and cultural shifts accompanied civil rights struggles in the United States and elsewhere.

The 1970s and 1980s brought economic challenges, energy crises, and shifting geopolitics. Detente yielded to renewed tensions, while technology transformed industry. In the Soviet Union, perestroika and glasnost under Mikhail Gorbachev aimed at liberalization and contributed to upheaval.

By 1991, the Cold War ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, redefining world order and permitting new states and globalization. The period 1928–1991 marks a transition between the interwar and post–Cold War eras.