How did both the USSR and USA start the Cold War and why
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How did both the USSR and USA start the Cold War and why?
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Introduction
After the second world war, the Harmony between the US and the USSR was gone. Old suspicions returned, and although no real fighting took place, the Opposing camps attacked each other with economic measures, propaganda, and a general policy of non-cooperation.
Part 1- The USA and USSR started the cold war in the following ways:-
- The Potsdam conference involved Stalin, Truman, and Churchill(later replaced by Attlee). Poland proved to be the bone of contention. Truman and Churchill were against the Pro-communist Polish Government, and Truman never informed Stalin about the exact nature of the Atomic bomb.
- Post-Potsdam conference, Russia started interfering in Eastern Europe and set up a pro-Communist Government, causing great alarm in the west.
- Stalin, in his speech, expressed how Communism and capitalism could never exist together. Churchill responded by calling for a western alliance against Communism.
- The speeches further widened the gap between the two.
- The Russians continued to expand their influence in Eastern Europe, while Truman started his Marshall plan to form his Western alliance.
- Stalin retaliated by Cominform, an organization aimed to bring together various European communist parties.
- The Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia shocked the Western Bloc, as Czechoslovakia was the only democratic state in Eastern Europe.
- The German Blockade and Airlift marked the climax of the Cold war.
- The Warsaw Pact of the Communists countered the NATO military alliance of the Western Bloc.
Part II- Due to the following reasons, the cold war started:-
- Different ideologies- The USA promoted capitalism, a free economy, and society working on Profit, while the USSR promoted Communism, a state-controlled economy.
- Stalin’s foreign Policies- Stalin’s aggressive foreign policies caused alarm among the Western Bloc. He aimed to strengthen Russian influence in Europe.
- The US and the British were Hostile to the Soviet Government- during the war, the British and the US made attempts to bring Russia to exhaustion. Russia did not know about the atomic bomb.
- The emergence of nuclear weapons- nuclear weapons made the world highly unstable. To avoid a direct fight that would cause irreparable damage, the leaders engaged in the cold war.
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