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The Cold War
Origins
The Cold War (CW) extends back to:
① The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917
② The Russian Civil War → Western countries
supported anti-Bolshevik forces

Key Ideological Differences

↳ Communism vs Capitalism
capitalist systems
thrived on private
opposed private
ownership
ownership

• After WWII had ended in 1945 the USA & USSR (known as superpowers) terminated their alliance
because common enemy (Germany) was defeated
↳ end of alliance led to dev of CW
↳ started with the Potsdam Conference (July 1945)
↳ dev of CW increased with creation of Spheres of Influence + Containment + Berlin Blockade +
formation of NATO in 1949

Reasons For Mutual Mistrust

Western Mistrust Of USSR Soviet Mistrust Of USA

① Communism posed a threat to Western values. ① The Paris Peace Conference (1919)
distributed Russian lands to other nations,
② Bolsheviks withdrew from World War I by
such as Poland.
making peace with Germany in 1917.

② Stalin's suspicion of Western appeasement

③ Western powers supported anti-Bolshevik
policies in the 1930s.
forces during the Russian Civil War.

③ The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (1939)

④ Disapproval of Stalin's totalitarian policies:
was seen as a defensive strategy by Stalin.
◦ Forced labor.
◦ Public trials and purges in the 1930s.
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End of WWll: Origins Of Cold War

Introduction
• After whill ended in 1945 → alliance between the USA + USSR dissolved as common enemy
(Germany) was defeated.
• This led to the Cold War, a period of geopolitical tension that forced the world to take sides.

• The Cold War began with disagreements at the Potsdam Conference (July 1945)
↳ This escalated to:
① The creation of spheres of influence.
② The policy of containment.
③ The Berlin Blockade (1948–1949).
④ The formation of NATO (1949).

• Over time, tensions increased further with:

① The Warsaw Pact (1955) as the Soviet response to NATO.
• In the USSR countered NATO with military alliance of their own (Warsaw Pact)

② The Berlin Wall (1961), dividing East and West Berlin.

• In 1961 Berlin became a focal point of conflict between East + West -→ led to building
of Berlin wall

③ The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), bringing the world close to nuclear war.
• In October 1902 the world was tense during the Cuban crisis → world thought WWill
would happen

* The Cold War lasted for over 40 years, spreading beyond Europe and North America
to proxy wars worldwide, including conflicts in Africa.
* The origins of the Cold War remain controversial, with debates over which superpower
bears more responsibility.
 The Cold War
The Grand Alliance

• The Grand Alliance (1941 -1945) was formed to defeat Nazi Germany but it was a
marriage of convenience
• The USA provided weapons + supplies to the USSR through the lend -Lease system
→but the tension began to surface before Germany was defeated
• In public → they praised war efforts of their allies but behind the scenes there was
constant arguments

Stalin Suspicions
Stalin became suspicious because of the following events:

① 1941 onwards the USSR carried main burden of fighting the Nazi is → result was that the
USSR casualties mounted
• USA only began to help two years later by opening a 2nd front by invading Normandy
(France) in July 1944
• Stalin viewed this as an attempt to weaken the ussr

② USA ended the Lend- Lease programme which was essential to the Soviet people

③ The atomic bomb made Stalin suspicious

• The bomb had been developed during WWII without Stalin being informed (he was told
after Germany was defeated)
•

War Conferences

* Done on another page

 • Creation Of Spheres Of Interest

Installation of USSR Satellite Stutes

• When Germany attacked Poland (1939) the USSR occupied a large part of eastern Poland as
one of the terms of the Non-Aggression Pact.
↳ When the war was over Europe concerned itself with the rehabilitation of their
devastated countries the USSR made significant territorial advances in Eastern Europe (EE)
• The Red Army remained in occupation + communist governments closely controlled by
Moscow were established in Poland + Hungary + Czechoslovakia + Yugoslavia + Albania +
Bulgaria + East Germany
• These countries became known as Soviet satellite states (dependent economically and
politically on the USSR)

Reasons for USSR Take Over Of Eastern Europe

• Despite the Russian victory over Nazi Germany and the emergence of Stalin as an
outstanding world states-man, the USSR still felt vulnerable to the West.
• Stalin still believed that the West could be a threat to the USSR → fear was intensified by
the knowledge that USA had a-bomb
• Stalin, felt it was necessary to protect the USSR behind a defensive barrier (provided by
the wartime acquisition of various states in EE)
• Despite advances made under Stalin the strain of the war had completely exhausted the
Russian economy = reason why Stalin was adamant that they would extract reparations
from Germany
• Germany became the new front line in the defensive system
↳ This explains why Stalin was unco-operative on the German issue at Yalta + Potsdam =
regarded any suggestions for settlement as a wedge being driven into Soviet security.
• Tense atmosphere that existed between West + USSR → the Western allies interpreted
Soviet defensive moves as a desire for expansion → came to thish conclusion as a
result of the way in which the communists took control of the governments in EE.

Evidence
→ Coalition governments (included non-communist) were established in the liberated
territories of Eastern Europe.
→ Non-communists began to be persecuted + communists too,k control of key posts in these
governmentse were able to assiert Russian dominance.
→ This was followed by the elimination of non-communists.
→ EE was thus under Russian control.
 • Stalin Interest In EE

Why was Stalin so interested in Eastern Europe?

① He wanted EE to act as a buffer between Germany and the USSR, to prevent another
invasion of USSR
② He saw it as vital to the development of the Soviet economy → countries were a source of
cheap goods and raw materials = forced to trade with the Soviet Union.
③ Some historians believe that Stalin's interest in EE was part of a patter of conquest
④ Others believe that Stalin would have been happy to allow coalition governments to
continue, but hostility from the West, forced him to impose a harsh regime in this area.

West's Reaction to USSR control Of EE

• West grew increasingly alarmed at the situation in EE → West saw Stalin as a dictator
who had eliminated his opposition.
• Prompted Winston Churchill to make his famous 'Iron Curtain' speech in Fulton, Missouri
(USA) in March 1946.
The speech
① Churchill declared that an 'iron curtain' had descended across Europe from Stettin in the
Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic.
② He had basically stated that Europe was divided into two separate halves by Soviet
policy. On the one hand in the West, there were free democratic states, while in the East
behind the 'iron curtain', were the countries under communist domination controlled by
the Soviet Union.
③ He called for a Western alliance to combat the threat of communism.
↳ Stalin was angered by this speech and accused Churchill of being a warmonger who
was trying to stir up war against the Soviet Union.
☆ This speech certainly widened the gap between the USSR and the West, but did little to
combat communist expansion in Eastern Europe ☆
• USA Policy Of Containment