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The Cold War was a conflict that threatened to steep the world in a nuclear war.

It lasted from the end of WWII(1945) until the fall of the Soviet Union around 1991. Beware though, since this is such a large topic, exam questions will normally ask you to focus on a certain time period. Overshooting the time period won't help you.

Factors contributing to the Cold War

1945 Meetings:

• Yalta:
  • Germany to be split into four zones, Berlin too.
  • Eastern Europe to have free elections
  • U.N. to be created
  • Stalin agreed to join the war against Japan
    • Condition: Japanese-occupied territory given to USSR
• Pottsdam
  • Couldn't agree on what to do with Poland or Germany

American Position

Mainly, suspicion of Russia from a number of sources:

• Kennan's Long Telegram (1946, followed later by the "X Article"):
  • telegram sent by George Kennan, Deputy Chief of Mission (second to the Ambassador) at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, basically said that Russia believed that communism and capitalism could not peacefully coexist, and one would have to make way for the other.
    • See Wikipedia page for more info or the original text on Wikisource
• NSC-68: National Security Council report on Communist aims.
  • Main jist was that the USSR wanted to "impose its absolute authority over the rest of the world."
  • Depicted the USA as "the center of power in the free world."
• During the Russian Civil War, the Bolsheveiks had fought U.S. supported forces and, after winning, renounced all Russian international debts.
• At the end of WWII, Russia appeared to forcefully impose communist governments in Eastern Europe.
  • Free elections did not happen as agreed at Yalta
• These led to the American policy of containment of communism

Soviet Position

Mainly, suspicion of the West from these sources:

• USSR was not well-informed of the development and planned use of the atomic bomb.
• Old tensions from the Russian Civil War
• Russia had been invaded twice in 50 years by Western powers
• The dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan prevented Russia gaining back territory lost in the Russo-Japanese war which they had been offered if they helped defeat Japan
• Therefore Russia wanted border states to prevent future invasions

Also...

• Idealogical differences
• Power vacuum in Europe after the fall of Hitler's regime
• War losses incurred: Russia and many East European countries having great losses from WWII
• Recent experience with war: pacifist movements common

Events of the Cold War

• Korean War 1950-1953 (however, it didn't officially end yet)

• Vietnam War (U.S. gets involved in 1957, Saigon falls 1975)

Stuff in Eastern Europe

'Western Bloc'

• 1947 - Marshall Plan
  • USA offers economic aid to all European countries. Idea: Europe is in danger of economic recession, and that would affect the USA. Strong European economies are good trading partners for the USA, and will prevent the spread of communism.
    • Billions of dollars spent. Successful in repairing economies of Western Europe (NEED DATA)
    • Churchill called it "the single least selfish move in history"
  • Countries under Soviet influence were not allowed to accept the aid
    • Led to a difference in quality of life in Eastern and Western Europe.

Eastern Bloc

• Russia consolidates, using:
  • Cominform to coordinate Communist parties in Europe
  • Comecon - Unification of economies of countries under Soviet influence. Different industries were assigned to different countries.
    • Accompanied by Stalinisation: adapting societies to match Stalinist Russia
  • Warsaw Pact
  • Red Army

Berlin Events

Berlin Blockade 1948-49

• Berlin is within the Russian sector of Germany, but the city is partitioned between the different powers. France, G.B. and the USA each have their own part, but they have unified economic systems and widespread cooperation between the sectors. The USSR's section is isolated.
• Russia cuts off transportation lines in and out of East Berlin, hoping that East Berlin will starve and surrender itself to the USSR.
• American response: the Berlin Airlift. Unprecedented amounts of supplies are airlifted to East Berlin, keeping the city supplied for a year.
  • Result: Soviet embarrassment, psychological victory for capitalism

Berlin wall

Cuba

• Cuban missile crisis - October 1962
  • Russia builds nuclear bases on Cuba