The term "Iron Curtain" refers to the political and ideological division between the Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe and the Western democratic nations during the Cold War. Initially popularized by Winston Churchill in a speech in 1946, it described the separation that not only physically divided the continent but also symbolized the broader tensions and hostilities of the Cold War era. Countries behind the Iron Curtain were under communist influence, while those to the west enjoyed democratic governance, leading to a period of rivalry, conflict, and competition between the two global superpowers.