Here is the tension graph - this was generated from the tension data in the timeline. The first graph is a graph of tension per event, and the second is over time. Initially, tensions between the U.S. and US.S.R. are relatively at ease, due to the "marriage of convenience" of WWII. Certain background events such as the founding of the Việt Minh and Greek civil war caused minor moments of friction, but ultimately did not disrupt tensions profoundly. After Berlin, tensions ramped up, leading to a relatively long-lasting state wherein the U.S. and U.S.S.R. were highly distrustful of one another. After the Cuban missile crisis opened the possibility of genuine nuclear war between the Americans and Soviets, tensions reached a flashpoint - the apex of the graph is October 25th, 1962, when Kennedy asked Khrushchev to withdraw missiles from Cuba following the blockade. After the Cuban missile crisis was averted, tensions returned to "background levels" of mutual distrust. After a brief spike following Reagan's aggressive attitude towards the New Cold War, tensions reached zero upon Gorbachev's dismantling of the Soviet Union, as there was no longer a U.S.S.R. for the U.S. to distrust.
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