The start of the Cold War is connected. Confrontation between the USSR and the USA in the second half of the 20th century. Was there a winner in the cold war
cold war
cold war- this is a military, political, ideological and economic confrontation between the USSR and the USA and their supporters. It was the result of contradictions between two state systems: capitalist and socialist.
The Cold War was accompanied by an intensification of the arms race, the presence of nuclear weapons which could lead to a third world war.
The term was first used by the writer George Orwell October 19, 1945 in You and the Atomic Bomb
Period:
1946-1989
Causes of the Cold War
Political
An insoluble ideological contradiction between the two systems, models of society.
Fear of the West and the United States of strengthening the role of the USSR.
Economic
The struggle for resources and markets for products
Weakening the economic and military power of the enemy
Ideological
Total, irreconcilable struggle of two ideologies
The desire to fence the population of their countries with the way of life in enemy countries
Objectives of the parties
To consolidate the spheres of influence achieved during the Second World War.
Put the enemy in unfavorable political, economic and ideological conditions
The goal of the USSR: the complete and final victory of socialism on a world scale
US goal: containment of socialism, opposition to the revolutionary movement, in the future - "throw socialism into the dustbin of history." The USSR was seen as "evil empire"
Conclusion: neither side was right, each aspired to world domination.
The forces of the parties were not equal. The USSR bore all the hardships of the war on its shoulders, and the United States received huge profits from it. It was not until the mid-1970s that parity.
Cold War Means:
Arms race
Block confrontation
Destabilization of the military and economic situation enemy
psychological warfare
Ideological confrontation
Intervention in domestic politics
Active intelligence activity
Collection of compromising materials on political leaders and etc.
Major periods and events
March 5, 1946- W. Churchill's speech in Fulton(USA) - the beginning of the Cold War, in which the idea of creating an alliance to fight communism was proclaimed. The speech of the Prime Minister of Great Britain in the presence of the new American President Truman G. had two goals:
Prepare the Western public for the subsequent rupture between the victorious countries.
Literally eradicate from the consciousness of people the feeling of gratitude to the USSR, which appeared after the victory over fascism.
The United States set a goal: to achieve economic and military superiority over the USSR
1947 – The Truman Doctrine". Its essence: containment of the spread of the expansion of the USSR by creating regional military blocs dependent on the United States.
1947 - Marshall Plan - a program to help Europe after World War II
1948-1953 - Soviet-Yugoslav conflict over the ways of building socialism in Yugoslavia.
Split the world into two camps: supporters of the USSR and supporters of the USA.
1949 - the split of Germany into the capitalist FRG, the capital is Bonn and the Soviet GDR, the capital is Berlin. (Before that, two zones were called Bizonia)
1949 - creation NATO(North Atlantic military-political alliance)
1949 - creation CMEA(Council for Mutual Economic Assistance)
1949 - successful atomic bomb test in the USSR.
1950 -1953 – war in korea. The United States participated directly in it, while the USSR veiled it by sending military specialists to Korea.
US target: to prevent Soviet influence on Far East. Outcome: the division of the country into the DPRK (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (the capital of Pyongyang), established close contacts with the USSR, + into the South Korean state (Seoul) - the zone of American influence.
2nd period: 1955-1962 (cooling in relations between countries , growing contradictions in the world socialist system)
During this period, the world stood on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe.
Anti-communist speeches in Hungary, Poland, events in the GDR, the Suez Crisis
1955 - creation ATS- Organizations of the Warsaw Pact.
1955 - Geneva Conference of Heads of Government of the Victorious Countries.
1957 - development and successful testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile in the USSR, which increased tension in the world.
October 4, 1957 - opened space age. Launch of the first artificial earth satellite in the USSR.
1959 - the victory of the revolution in Cuba (Fidel Castro). Cuba became one of the most reliable partners of the USSR.
1961 - aggravation of relations with China.
1962 – Caribbean crisis. Settled by Khrushchev N.S. and D. Kennedy
The signing of a number of agreements on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.
The arms race, which significantly weakened the economies of countries.
1962 - complication of relations with Albania
1963 - USSR, UK and USA signed first prohibition treaty nuclear testing in three spheres: atmosphere, space and under water.
1968 - complication of relations with Czechoslovakia ("Prague Spring").
Dissatisfaction with Soviet policy in Hungary, Poland, the GDR.
1964-1973- US war in Vietnam. The USSR provided military and material assistance to Vietnam.
3rd period: 1970-1984- tension strip
1970s - the USSR made a number of attempts to strengthen " detente" international tension, arms reduction.
A number of strategic arms limitation agreements have been signed. So in 1970, an agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany (V. Brand) and the USSR (Brezhnev L.I.), according to which the parties pledged to resolve all their disputes exclusively by peaceful means.
May 1972 - arrival in Moscow of US President Richard Nixon. Treaty signed on limiting missile defense systems (PRO) and OSV-1- Interim Agreement on Certain Measures in the Sphere of Strategic Offensive Arms Limitation.
Convention on the prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling bacteriological(biological) and toxic weapons and their destruction.
1975- high point of détente, signed in August in Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and Declaration of Principles on Relations between states. Signed by 33 states, including the USSR, USA, Canada.
Sovereign equality, respect
Non-use of force and threats of force
Inviolability of borders
Territorial integrity
Non-intervention in internal affairs
Peaceful settlement of disputes
Respect for human rights and freedoms
Equality, the right of peoples to control their own destiny
Cooperation between states
Fulfillment in good faith of obligations under international law
1975 - joint space program Soyuz-Apollo.
1979- Treaty on the Limitation of Offensive Arms - OSV-2(Brezhnev L.I. and Carter D.)
What are these principles?
4 period: 1979-1987 - complication of the international situation
The USSR became a truly great power that had to be reckoned with. The détente was mutually beneficial.
The aggravation of relations with the United States in connection with the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan in 1979 (the war lasted from December 1979 to February 1989). The goal of the USSR- protect the borders Central Asia against the penetration of Islamic fundamentalism. Eventually- The US has not ratified SALT-2.
Since 1981 new president Reagan R. deployed programs SOI– Strategic defense initiatives.
1983- USA host ballistic missiles in Italy, England, Germany, Belgium, Denmark.
Anti-space defense systems are being developed.
The USSR withdraws from the Geneva talks.
5 period: 1985-1991 - The final stage easing tension.
Having come to power in 1985, Gorbachev M.S. pursues a policy "new political thinking".
Negotiations: 1985 - in Geneva, 1986 - in Reykjavik, 1987 - in Washington. Recognition of the existing world order, expansion of economic ties between countries, despite different ideologies.
December 1989 - Gorbachev M.S. and Bush at the summit on the island of Malta announced about the end of the Cold War. Its end was caused by the economic weakness of the USSR, its inability to support the arms race anymore. In addition, pro-Soviet regimes were established in the countries of Eastern Europe, the USSR lost support in their person as well.
1990 - German reunification. It became a kind of victory for the West in the Cold War. The fall berlin wall(existed from August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989)
December 25, 1991 - President D. Bush announced the end of the Cold War and congratulated his compatriots on the victory in it.
Results
The formation of a unipolar world, in which the United States, a superpower, began to occupy a leading position.
The United States and its allies defeated the socialist camp.
Beginning of Westernization of Russia
The collapse of the Soviet economy, the fall of its authority in the international market
Emigration to the West of citizens of Russia, the way of his life seemed too attractive to them.
The collapse of the USSR and the beginning of the formation of a new Russia.
Terms
Parity- the primacy of the side in something.
Confrontation- confrontation, clash of two social systems (people, groups, etc.).
Ratification- giving the document legal force, accepting it.
Westernization- borrowing Western European or American image life.
Material prepared: Melnikova Vera Aleksandrovna
cold war USSR USA
capitalist and socialist
Manifestations of the Cold War:
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forcing ;
intermittent occurrences international crises
· interventions
maintaining a massive "psychological warfare"
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Outcome:
Beginning of the Arab-Israeli conflict
In 1947, the UN decided to create a Jewish and Arab state in Palestine - a British mandated territory - Israel and Palestine. This decision was due to the fact that the Jews until that time did not have nation state, as well as mass extermination Jews by fascists during the Second World War. But the neighboring Arab states, seeking to take over the entire territory of Palestine, took the UN decision with hostility. As soon as the creation of Israel was proclaimed (May 1948), it was attacked by the armies of seven Arab States. In response, Jewish volunteers from many countries rushed to Israel, and the USSR and Czechoslovakia provided him with weapons, since Stalin in those years expected that new country will develop along the socialist path.
As a result of the first Arab-Israeli war, Israel defended its independence. According to the truce concluded with the Arabs (1949), a significant part of the never-created Palestinian state became part of it, and the rest of the territories went to Jordan and Egypt. But the Palestinian issue remained unresolved, which for many years became the subject of contention between Israel and the surrounding Arab states.
Question number 82. Successes and contradictions of the development of Western countries at the end XX-early XXI
Question number 69. Cold War: Causes, Manifestations, Consequences
After the end of the Second World War, which became the largest and most violent conflict in the history of mankind, a confrontation arose between the countries of the communist camp on the one hand and the Western capitalist countries on the other hand, between the two superpowers of that time, the USSR and the USA. The Cold War can be briefly described as a rivalry for dominance in the new post-war world.
cold war- global geopolitical, military, economic and ideological confrontation between USSR and his allies, on the one hand, and USA and their allies - on the other, which lasted from 1946 to 1991 (45 years).
The name "war" is arbitrary, since this confrontation was not a war in the literal sense. . One of the main components of the confrontation was ideology. deep conflict between capitalist and socialist models is the main cause of the Cold War. The two superpowers tried to rebuild the world according to their ideological guidelines. Over time, confrontation became an element of the ideology of the two sides and helped the leaders of the military-political blocs to consolidate allies around them "in the face of external enemy". A new confrontation required the unity of all members of the opposing blocs.
The USA and the USSR created their own spheres of influence, securing them with military-political blocs - NATO and the Warsaw Pact (Warsaw Pact Organization). Although the United States and the USSR did not enter into a direct military clash, their rivalry for influence often led to outbreaks of local armed conflicts around the world.
The Cold War was accompanied by a race of conventional and nuclear arms that every now and then threatened to lead to a third world war. The most famous of these cases, when the world was on the brink of disaster, was the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. In this regard, in the 1970s, the USSR made efforts to "defeat" international tension and limit arms.
In Eastern Europe, communist governments, deprived of Soviet support, were removed even earlier, in 1989-1990. The Warsaw Pact officially ended on July 1, 1989, marking the end of the Cold War.
Manifestations of the Cold War:
· creation of an extensive network of military bases USA and USSR in the territory foreign countries;
forcing arms race and military preparations;
intermittent occurrences international crises(Berlin Crises, Caribbean Crisis, Korean War, Vietnam War, Afghan War);
· interventions into the states of the pro-Soviet and pro-capitalist space (“division of the world”), with the aim of overthrowing this or that government under any pretext, and at the same time demonstrating their military superiority (Soviet intervention in Hungary, Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia, organized by the United States coup d'état in Guatemala, the US and UK orchestrated overthrow of the anti-Western government in Iran, the US orchestrated invasion of Cuba, the US occupation of the Dominican Republic, the US intervention in Grenada, Civil War in the Congo)
maintaining a massive "psychological warfare" the purpose of which was to promote their own ideology and way of life. For this purpose, radio stations were created that broadcast to the territory of the countries of the “ideological enemy”), the production of ideologically directed literature in their country was financed (for example, books were published in the United States about the possibility of war with the USSR and an assessment of the forces of NATO and the Department of Internal Affairs was given) and periodicals in foreign languages, forcing class, racial, national contradictions was actively used. The first main department of the KGB of the USSR carried out the so-called "active measures" - operations to influence foreign public opinion and the policy of foreign states in the interests of the USSR.
· reduction of economic and humanitarian ties between states with different socio-political systems.
· boycotts of some Olympic Games. For example, the United States and a number of other countries boycotted summer Olympic Games 1980 in Moscow. In response, the USSR and most socialist countries boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
In early 1992, the President of Russia announced that nuclear missiles redirected from the facilities of the United States and other Western countries to uninhabited territories of the Earth, and the joint declaration of Russia and the United States signed on February 1, 1992 at Camp David officially ended the Cold War.
Outcome:
The victory of the capitalist camp, the collapse of the USSR, the termination of the Warsaw Pact, the collapse of the CMEA, the reunification of Germany.
"Cold War" is a term used to denote a period in world history from 1946 to 1989, characterized by a confrontation between two political and economic superpowers - the USSR and the USA, which are guarantors of new system international relations, established after the Second World War.
Origin of the term.
It is believed that for the first time the expression " cold war” was used by the famous British science fiction writer George Orwell on October 19, 1945 in the article “You and the Atomic Bomb”. In his opinion, the countries possessing nuclear weapons will dominate the world, while between them there will be a constant "cold war", that is, a confrontation without direct military clashes. His prediction can be called prophetic, since at the end of the war the United States had a monopoly on nuclear weapons. At the official level, this expression sounded in April 1947 from the lips of US presidential adviser Bernard Baruch.
Churchill's Fulton speech
After the end of World War II, relations between the USSR and the Western allies began to deteriorate rapidly. Already in September 1945, the Joint Chiefs of Staff approved the idea of the United States delivering a first strike against a potential enemy (meaning the use of nuclear weapons). On March 5, 1946, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, in his speech at Westminster College in Fulton, USA, in the presence of American President Harry Truman, formulated the goals of "a fraternal association of peoples who speak English", calling on them to rally to protect "the great principles of freedom and rights person." “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended over the European continent,” and “ Soviet Russia wants ... the unlimited expansion of his power and his doctrines. Churchill's Fulton speech is considered a turning point in the beginning of the Cold War between East and West.
"Truman Doctrine"
In the spring of 1947, the President of the United States promulgated his "Truman Doctrine" or the "containment of communism" doctrine, according to which "the world as a whole must accept American system", and the United States is obliged to fight with any revolutionary movement, any claims Soviet Union. The decisive factor was the conflict between the two ways of life. One of them, according to Truman, was based on individual rights, free elections, legal institutions and guarantees against aggression. The other is in control of the press and the media mass media, imposing the will of the minority on the majority, on terror and oppression.
One of the instruments of deterrence was the American plan economic aid, announced on June 5, 1947 by US Secretary of State J. Marshall, who announced the provision of gratuitous assistance to Europe, which will be directed "not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, despair and chaos."
Initially the USSR and countries Central Europe showed interest in the plan, but after negotiations in Paris, a delegation of 83 Soviet economists headed by V.M. Molotov left them at the direction of V.I. Stalin. The 16 countries that joined the plan received significant assistance from 1948 to 1952; its implementation actually completed the division of spheres of influence in Europe. The Communists lost their positions in Western Europe.
Cominformburo
In September 1947, at the first meeting of the Cominformburo (Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties), A.A. Zhdanov about the formation of two camps in the world - "the imperialist and anti-democratic camp, which has as its main goal the establishment of world domination and the defeat of democracy, and the anti-imperialist and democratic camp, which has as its main goal the undermining of imperialism, the strengthening of democracy and the elimination of the remnants of fascism." The creation of the Cominformburo meant the emergence single center leadership of the world communist movement. In Eastern Europe, the communists completely take power into their own hands, many opposition politicians go into exile. Socio-economic transformations on the Soviet model begin in the countries.
Berlin Crisis
The Berlin Crisis became the stage of deepening of the Cold War. Back in 1947. Western allies set a course for the creation of the territories of the American, British and French occupation zones of the West German state. In turn, the USSR tried to oust the allies from Berlin (the western sectors of Berlin were an isolated enclave within the Soviet zone of occupation). As a result, the “Berlin Crisis” occurred, i.e. transport blockade of the western part of the city by the USSR. However, in May 1949, the USSR lifted restrictions on transportation to West Berlin. In the autumn of the same year, the division of Germany took place: in September the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was created, in October the German democratic republic(GDR). An important consequence of the crisis was the establishment by the US leadership of the largest military-political bloc: 11 states of Western Europe and the United States signed the North Atlantic Mutual Defense Treaty (NATO), according to which each side pledged to provide immediate military aid, in case of an attack on any country included in the block. Greece and Turkey joined the pact in 1952, and the FRG in 1955.
"Arms race"
Another feature Cold War became an arms race. In April 1950, a Council directive was adopted national security"The goals and programs of the United States in the field of national security" (SNB-68), which was based on the following provision: "The USSR is striving for world domination, Soviet military superiority is increasing, and therefore negotiations with the Soviet leadership are impossible." Hence the conclusion was drawn about the need to build up the American military potential. The directive focused on a crisis confrontation with the USSR "until there is a change in the nature of the Soviet system." Thus, the USSR was forced to join the arms race imposed on it. In 1950-1953 the first armed local conflict involving two superpowers in Korea.
After the death of I.V. Stalin, the new Soviet leadership, headed by G.M. Malenkov, and then took a number of major steps to mitigate international tension. Declaring that "there is no such controversial or unresolved issue that could not be resolved peacefully", the Soviet government agreed with the United States to end the Korean War. In 1956 N.S. Khrushchev proclaimed a course to prevent war and declared that "there is no fatal inevitability of war." Later, the Program of the CPSU (1962) emphasized: “The peaceful coexistence of socialist and capitalist states is an objective necessity for the development human society. War cannot and should not serve as a way to resolve international disputes.
In 1954, Washington accepted military doctrine"massive retaliation", which provided for the use of the full power of the American strategic potential in the event of an armed conflict with the USSR in any region. But in the late 50s. the situation changed dramatically: in 1957 the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, in 1959 commissioned the first submarine with a nuclear reactor on board. Under the new conditions for the development of armaments, a nuclear war would lose its meaning, since it would not have had a winner in advance. Even taking into account the superiority of the United States in the number of accumulated nuclear weapons, nuclear missile potential The USSR was enough to inflict "unacceptable damage" on the US.
In the circumstances of the nuclear confrontation, a series of crises occurred: on May 1, 1960, an American reconnaissance aircraft was shot down over Yekaterinburg, the pilot Harry Powers was captured; in October 1961, the Berlin crisis erupted, the “Berlin Wall” appeared, and a year later the famous Cuban Missile Crisis occurred, putting all of humanity on the brink of nuclear war. The onset of détente was a peculiar outcome of the crises: on August 5, 1963, the USSR, Great Britain and the USA signed in Moscow an agreement banning nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water, and in 1968 an agreement on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
In the 60s. when the Cold War was in full swing, in the face of confrontation between two military blocs (NATO and the Warsaw Pact since 1955), Eastern Europe was under the complete control of the USSR, and Western Europe in a strong military-political and economic alliance with the United States, the countries of the "third world" became the main arena of the struggle between the two systems, which often led to local military conflicts around the world.
"Discharge"
By the 1970s, the Soviet Union had reached approximate military-strategic parity with the United States. Both superpowers, in terms of the totality of their nuclear missile power, have acquired the ability to " guaranteed retribution”, i.e. causing unacceptable damage to a potential adversary by retaliatory strike.
In a message to Congress dated February 18, 1970, President R. Nixon outlined three components of US foreign policy: partnership, military force and negotiations. The partnership concerned allies, military strength and negotiations - "potential adversaries."
What is new here is the attitude towards the enemy, expressed in the formula "from confrontation to negotiations." On May 29, 1972, the countries signed the “Fundamentals of Relations between the USSR and the USA, emphasizing the need for peaceful coexistence of the two systems. Both sides pledged to do everything possible to prevent military conflicts and nuclear war.
The structural documents of these intentions were the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems (ABM) and the Interim Agreement on Certain Measures in the Field of Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (SALT-1), which establishes a limit on the build-up of weapons. Later, in 1974, the USSR and the USA signed a protocol under which they agreed to missile defense of only one area: the USSR covered Moscow, and the USA covered the base for launching interballistic missiles in the state of North Dakota. The ABM Treaty was in effect until 2002, when the US withdrew from it. The result of the policy of "détente" in Europe was the pan-european meeting on Security and Cooperation in Helsinki in 1975 (CSCE), which proclaimed the renunciation of the use of force, the inviolability of borders in Europe, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
In 1979, in Geneva, at a meeting between US President J. Carter and the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, a new treaty on the limitation of strategic offensive arms (SALT-2) was signed, reducing total nuclear launchers up to 2400 and providing for containment of the process of modernization of strategic weapons. However, after entering Soviet troops to Afghanistan in December 1979, the US refused to ratify the treaty, although its clauses were partially respected by both sides. At the same time, a rapid reaction force was being created to protect American interests anywhere in the world.
Third World
Apparently, in the late 70's. in Moscow, there was a point of view that in the conditions of the achieved parity and the policy of "détente", it is the USSR that has the foreign policy initiative: there is an increase and modernization of conventional weapons in Europe, the deployment of medium-range missiles, a large-scale build-up of naval forces, Active participation in support of friendly regimes in third world countries. Under these conditions, a course of confrontation prevailed in the United States: in January 1980, the president proclaimed the "Carter Doctrine", according to which Persian Gulf declared a zone of American interests and allowed the use of armed force to protect it.
With R. Reagan coming to power, a program of large-scale modernization of various types of weapons using new technologies was undertaken, with the goal of achieving strategic superiority over the USSR. It was Reagan who famously said that the USSR is an "evil empire", and America is "a people chosen by God" to carry out a "sacred plan" - "to leave Marxism-Leninism in the ashes of history." In 1981-1982 restrictions on trade with the USSR were introduced, in 1983 a program of strategic defense initiatives or so-called " star wars”, designed to create a multi-layered defense of the United States against intercontinental missiles. At the end of 1983, the governments of Great Britain, Germany and Italy agreed to deploy American missiles on their territory.
End of the Cold War
The last stage of the Cold War is associated with serious changes that took place in the USSR after the new leadership of the country came to power, led by a policy of "new political thinking" during foreign policy. The real breakthrough was highest level between the USSR and the USA in November 1985, the parties agreed that "a nuclear war should not be unleashed, there can be no winners in it", and their goal is "to prevent an arms race in space and stop it on Earth." In December 1987, a new Soviet-American meeting was held in Washington, which ended with the signing of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate and Shorter-Range Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Missiles (from 500 to 5.5 thousand km). These measures included regular mutual control over the implementation of agreements, thus for the first time in history an entire class of the latest weapons was destroyed. In 1988, the concept of "freedom of choice" was formulated in the USSR as a universal principle of international relations, the Soviet Union began to withdraw its troops from Eastern Europe.
In November 1989, a symbol of the Cold War, a concrete wall separating West and East Berlin, was destroyed during spontaneous demonstrations. In Eastern Europe, a series of "velvet revolutions" is taking place, the communist parties are losing power. On December 2-3, 1989, a meeting was held in Malta between the new US President George W. Bush and M.S. Gorbachev, at which the latter confirmed the "freedom of choice" for the countries of Eastern Europe, proclaimed a course for a 50% reduction in strategic offensive weapons. The Soviet Union was giving up its zone of influence in Eastern Europe. Following the meeting, M.S. Gorbachev declared that "the world is emerging from the era of the Cold War and is entering into new era". For his part, George Bush emphasized that "the West will not try to extract any advantage from the unusual changes taking place in the East." In March 1991, the official dissolution of the Department of Internal Affairs took place, in December the collapse of the Soviet Union took place.
The current international relations between East and West can hardly be called constructive. In international politics today it is becoming fashionable to talk about a new round of tension. At stake is no longer a confrontation for the spheres of influence of two different geopolitical systems. Today the new cold war is the fruit of reactionary politics ruling elites a number of countries, the expansion of international global corporations in foreign markets. On the one hand, the United States, the European Union, the NATO bloc, on the other - Russian Federation, China and other countries.
The foreign policy inherited by Russia from the Soviet Union continues to be influenced by the Cold War, which kept the whole world in suspense for 72 long years. Only the ideological aspect has changed. There is no longer a confrontation between communist ideas and the dogmas of the capitalist path of development in the world. The emphasis is shifting to resources, where the main geopolitical players are actively using all available opportunities and means.
Foreign relations before the start of the Cold War
On a cold September morning in 1945 aboard the American battleship Missouri, which was on the roadstead of Tokyo Bay, official representatives Imperial Japan signed the surrender. This ceremony marked the end of the bloodiest and most brutal military conflict in the history of human civilization. The war, which lasted 6 years, engulfed the entire planet. During the hostilities that took place in Europe, Asia and Africa at different stages, 63 states became participants in the bloody slaughter. 110 million people were drafted into the ranks of the armed forces of the countries participating in the conflict. There is no need to talk about human losses. The world has never known or seen such a large-scale and massacre. The economic losses were also colossal, but the consequences of the Second World War, its results created ideal conditions for the start of the Cold War, another form of confrontation, with other participants and with other goals.
It seemed that on September 2, 1945, the long-awaited and long peace would finally come. However, already 6 months after the end of the Second World War, the world again plunged into the abyss of another confrontation - the Cold War began. The conflict took other forms and resulted in a military-political, ideological and economic confrontation between the two world systems, the capitalist West and the communist East. It cannot be asserted that Western countries and communist regimes were going to continue to coexist peacefully. Plans for a new global military conflict were being developed in the military headquarters, and ideas of destroying foreign policy opponents were in the air. The state in which the Cold War arose was only a natural reaction to the military preparations of potential adversaries.
This time, the guns did not roar. Tanks, warplanes and ships did not meet in another deadly battle. A long and exhausting struggle of the two worlds for survival began, in which all methods and means were used, often more insidious than a direct military clash. The main weapon of the Cold War was the ideology, which was based on economic and political aspects. If earlier large and large-scale military conflicts arose mainly for economic reasons, on the basis of racial and misanthropic theory, then in the new conditions a struggle for spheres of influence unfolded. Masterminds crusade Communism was opposed by US President Harry Truman and former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The tactics and strategy of confrontation have changed, new forms and methods of struggle have appeared. The Cold War was given this name for a reason. There was no hot phase during the conflict, the opposing sides did not open fire on each other, however, in terms of its scale and size of losses, this confrontation can easily be called the Third World War. After World War II, instead of detente, the world again entered a period of tension. In the course of the hidden confrontation between the two world systems, humanity has witnessed an unprecedented arms race, the countries participating in the conflict plunged into the abyss of spy mania and conspiracies. The clashes between the two opposing camps went on with varying success on all continents. The Cold War stretched out for a long 45 years, becoming the longest military-political conflict of our time. There were also decisive battles in this war, there were periods of calm and confrontation. There are winners and losers in this confrontation. History gives us the right to assess the scale of the conflict and its results, drawing the right conclusions for the future.
Causes of the Cold War that broke out in the 20th century
If we consider the situation in the world that has developed after the end of the Second World War, it is easy to notice one important point. The Soviet Union, bearing the brunt of the armed struggle against fascist Germany, was able to significantly expand its sphere of influence. Despite the huge human losses and the devastating consequences of the war for the country's economy, the USSR became the leading world power. This fact could not be ignored. The Soviet Army stood in the center of Europe, and the positions of the USSR in the Far East were no less strong. This in no way suited the countries of the West. Even taking into account the fact that the Soviet Union, the USA and Great Britain nominally remained allies, the contradictions between them were too strong.
These same states soon found themselves on opposite sides of the barricades, becoming active participants in the Cold War. Western democracies could not come to terms with the emergence of a new superpower and its growing influence on the world political arena. The main reasons for not accepting this state of affairs are the following aspects:
- huge military power of the USSR;
- the growing foreign policy influence of the Soviet Union;
- expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR;
- the spread of communist ideology;
- activation in the world of people's liberation movements led by parties of the Marxist and socialist persuasion.
Foreign policy and the Cold War are links in the same chain. Neither the United States nor Great Britain could calmly look at the collapse of the capitalist system before their eyes, at the collapse of imperial ambitions and the loss of spheres of influence. Great Britain, which lost its status as a world leader after the end of the war, clung to the remnants of its possessions. The United States, emerging from the war with the most powerful economy in the world, owning atomic bomb, sought to become the sole hegemon on the planet. The only obstacle to the realization of these plans was the mighty Soviet Union with its communist ideology and its policy of equality and brotherhood. The reasons that prompted another military-political confrontation also reflect the essence of the Cold War. The main goal of the warring parties was as follows:
- destroy the enemy economically and ideologically;
- limit the enemy's sphere of influence;
- try to destroy it political system from within;
- bringing the socio-political and economic base of the enemy to complete collapse;
- the overthrow of the ruling regimes and the political liquidation of state formations.
In this case, the essence of the conflict did not differ much from the military version, because the goals set and the results for the opponents were very similar. The signs that characterize the state of the Cold War also very much resemble the state in world politics that preceded the armed confrontation. This historical period is characterized by expansion, aggressive military-political plans, an increase in military presence, political pressure and the formation of military alliances.
Where did the term "cold war" come from?
For the first time such a phrase was used by the English writer and publicist George Orwell. In such a stylistic way, he designated the state post-war world where the free and democratic West had to face the cruel and totalitarian regime of the communist East. Orwell made clear his opposition to Stalinism in many of his works. Even when the Soviet Union was an ally of Great Britain, the writer spoke negatively about the world that awaits Europe after the end of the war. The term coined by Orwell turned out to be so successful that it was quickly picked up by Western politicians, using it in their foreign policy and anti-Soviet rhetoric.
It was with their submission that the Cold War began, the date of which began on March 5, 1946. The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, during his speech in Fulton, used the phrase "cold war". During the statements of the high British politician, for the first time, the contradictions between the two geopolitical camps that had developed in the post-war world were publicly voiced.
Winston Churchill became a follower of the British publicist. This man, thanks to whose iron will and strength of character Britain emerged from a bloody war, the winner, is rightfully considered " godfather» new military-political confrontation. The euphoria that the world experienced after the end of the Second World War did not last long. The alignment of forces that was observed in the world quickly led to the fact that the two geopolitical systems collided in a fierce battle. During the Cold War, the number of participants on both sides was constantly changing. On one side of the barricade stood the USSR and its new allies. On the other side stood the United States, Great Britain and other allied countries. As in any other military-political conflict, this era was marked by its acute phases and periods of detente, military-political and economic unions, in whose face the Cold War clearly identified the participants in the global confrontation.
The NATO bloc, the Warsaw Pact, bilateral military-political pacts have become a military instrument of international tension. The arms race contributed to the strengthening of the military component of the confrontation. Foreign policy took the form of open confrontation between the parties to the conflict.
Winston Churchill, despite his active participation in the creation of the anti-Hitler coalition, pathologically hated the communist regime. During the Second World War, Britain, due to geopolitical factors, was forced to become an ally of the USSR. However, already during the hostilities, at a time when it became clear that the defeat of Germany was inevitable, Churchill understood that the victory of the Soviet Union would lead to the expansion of communism in Europe. And Churchill was not mistaken. The leitmotif of the subsequent political career of the British ex-premier was the theme of confrontation, the Cold War, the state in which it was necessary to restrain the foreign policy expansion of the Soviet Union.
The British ex-premier considered the United States to be the main force capable of successfully resisting the Soviet bloc. The American economy, the American armed forces and the navy were to become the main instrument of pressure on the Soviet Union. Britain, which found itself in the wake of American foreign policy, was assigned the role of an unsinkable aircraft carrier.
With the filing of Winston Churchill, the conditions for the start of the Cold War were clearly outlined already overseas. At first, this term began to be used during his election campaign. American politicians. A little later, they started talking about the Cold War in the context of the foreign policy of the United States.
Key milestones and events of the Cold War
Central Europe, lying in ruins, was divided iron curtain into two parts. AT Soviet zone occupation turned out East Germany. Almost all of Eastern Europe found itself in the zone of influence of the Soviet Union. Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Romania, with their people's democratic regimes, unwittingly became allies of the Soviets. It is wrong to assume that the Cold War is a direct conflict between the USSR and the USA. Canada, all of Western Europe, which was in the zone of responsibility of the United States and Great Britain, joined the orbit of confrontation. The situation was similar on the opposite edge of the planet. In the Far East in Korea, the military-political interests of the United States, the USSR and China clashed. In every corner the globe hotbeds of confrontation arose, which later became the most powerful crises of the Cold War policy.
Korean War 1950-53 was the first result of the confrontation of geopolitical systems. Communist China and the USSR tried to expand their sphere of influence on the Korean Peninsula. Even then it became clear that armed confrontation would become an inevitable companion of the entire period of the Cold War. In the future, the USSR, the USA and their allies did not take part in hostilities against each other, limiting themselves to using the human resources of other participants in the conflict. The stages of the Cold War are a whole series of events that, to one degree or another, influenced global foreign policy development. Equally, this time can be called a rollercoaster ride. The end of the Cold War was not included in the plans of either side. The fight was to the death. The political death of the enemy was the main condition for the beginning of detente.
The active phase is replaced by periods of detente, military conflicts in different parts of the planet are replaced by peaceful agreements. The world is divided into military-political blocs and alliances. The subsequent conflicts of the Cold War brought the world to the brink of a global catastrophe. The scale of the confrontation grew, new subjects appeared on the political arena, which became the cause of tension. First Korea, then Indochina and Cuba. The most acute crises in international relations were the Berlin and Caribbean crises, a series of events that threatened to bring the world to the brink of a nuclear apocalypse.
Each period of the Cold War can be described in different ways, given the economic factor and the geopolitical situation in the world. The mid-1950s and early 1960s were marked by growing international tension. The opposing sides took an active part in regional military conflicts, supporting one side or another. The arms race was gaining momentum. Potential adversaries entered a steep dive, where the time count was no longer for decades, but for years. The economies of the countries were under enormous pressure from military spending. The end of the Cold War was the collapse of the Soviet bloc. The Soviet Union disappeared from the political map of the world. The Warsaw Pact, the military Soviet bloc, which became the main opponent of the military-political alliances of the West, has sunk into oblivion.
Final salvos and the results of the cold war
The Soviet socialist system turned out to be unviable in an acute competition with the Western economy. There was a lack of a clear understanding of the way forward economic development socialist countries, an insufficiently flexible mechanism for managing state structures and the interaction of the socialist economy with the main world development trends civil society. In other words, the Soviet Union could not stand the confrontation in economic terms. The consequences of the Cold War were catastrophic. Within just some 5 years, the socialist camp ceased to exist. First, Eastern Europe left the zone Soviet influence. Then came the turn of the world's first socialist state.
Today the USA, Great Britain, Germany and France are already competing with communist China. Together with Russia, the countries of the West are leading hard fight with extremism and the process of Islamization of the Muslim world. The end of the Cold War can be called conditional. The vector and direction of action has changed. The composition of the participants has changed, the goals and objectives of the parties have changed.
After the end of World War II, which became the largest and most violent conflict in the history of mankind, a confrontation arose between the countries of the communist camp on the one hand and the Western capitalist countries on the other, between the two superpowers of that time, the USSR and the USA. The Cold War can be briefly described as a rivalry for dominance in the new post-war world.
The main reason Cold War became insoluble ideological contradictions between the two models of society - socialist and capitalist. The West feared the strengthening of the USSR. The absence of a common enemy among the victorious countries, as well as the ambitions of political leaders, played their role.
Historians distinguish the following stages of the Cold War:
March 5, 1946 - 1953 The beginning of the Cold War was marked by Churchill's speech, delivered in the spring of 1946 in Fulton, in which the idea of creating an alliance of Anglo-Saxon countries to fight communism was proposed. The goal of the United States was an economic victory over the USSR, as well as the achievement of military superiority. In fact, the Cold War began earlier, but it was precisely by the spring of 1946, due to the USSR's refusal to withdraw troops from Iran, that the situation seriously escalated.
1953 - 1962 During this period of the Cold War, the world was on the verge of nuclear conflict. Despite some improvement in relations between the Soviet Union and the United States during Khrushchev's "thaw", it was at this stage that the anti-communist uprising in Hungary, the events in the GDR and, earlier, in Poland, as well as the Suez crisis took place. International tensions have risen since the development and successful test USSR in 1957 intercontinental ballistic missile. But, the threat of nuclear war receded, as the Soviet Union now had the opportunity to retaliate against US cities. This period of relations between the superpowers ended with the Berlin and Caribbean crises of 1961 and 1962, respectively. It was possible to resolve the Caribbean crisis only during personal negotiations between the heads of state Khrushchev and Kennedy. Also, as a result of the negotiations, whole line agreements on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
1962 - 1979 The period was marked by an arms race that undermined the economies of rival countries. The development and production of new types of weapons required incredible resources. Despite the presence of tension in relations between the USSR and the USA, agreements on the limitation of strategic weapons are signed. A joint space program "Soyuz-Apollo" is being developed. However, by the beginning of the 80s, the USSR began to lose in the arms race.
1979 - 1987 Relations between the USSR and the USA become aggravated again after the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan. In 1983 the United States deployed ballistic missiles at bases in Italy, Denmark, England, the FRG, and Belgium. An anti-space defense system is being developed. The USSR reacts to the actions of the West by withdrawing from the Geneva talks. During this period, the missile attack warning system is in constant combat readiness.
1987 - 1991 The coming to power in the USSR of M. Gorbachev in 1985 led not only to global changes within the country, but also to radical changes in foreign policy, called "new political thinking". Ill-conceived reforms finally undermined the economy of the Soviet Union, which led to the country's virtual defeat in the Cold War.
The end of the Cold War was caused by the weakness of the Soviet economy, its inability to support the arms race any longer, as well as the pro-Soviet communist regimes. Anti-war speeches in various parts of the world also played a certain role. The results of the Cold War were depressing for the USSR. The reunification of Germany in 1990 became a symbol of the West's victory.