The policy that restricted trade and communication between the Soviet bloc and Western nations during the Cold War was known as the Iron Curtain. This term symbolized the ideological and physical divide between the Eastern bloc, which was under Soviet influence, and the Western nations, which upheld democratic and capitalist values. The Iron Curtain encompassed not only barriers like the Berlin Wall but also encompassed the political, military, and economic isolation that defined relations between the two spheres. This policy created hostility and a lack of communication that fueled tensions during the Cold War, ultimately affecting global geopolitics for decades.