The post-war structure of the world cold war briefly. Post-war order of the world. Beginning of the Cold War. USSR in the post-war years

1945 in Potsdam. The system of occupation of Germany was finally agreed upon; it was envisaged that the supreme power in the defeated country would be exercised by the commanders-in-chief of the armed forces of the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France - each in his own zone of occupation.

An acute struggle flared up over the western borders of Poland. Under pressure, the western border of Poland was established along the Oder and Neisse rivers. The city of Königsberg and the area adjacent to it were transferred to the USSR, the other part of East Prussia went to Poland.

US attempts to make diplomatic recognition of some Eastern European countries contingent on a reorganization of their governments ended in failure. Thus, the dependence of these countries on the USSR was actually recognized. The three parties reaffirmed their decision to bring the major war criminals to justice.

The successful solution of important political problems for the USSR as a whole was prepared by the favorable international situation, the successes of the Soviet army, and the interest of the allies in the USSR's entry into the war with Japan.

Formation of the United Nations (UN).

The UN was created at the final stage of World War II at a conference in San Francisco, which began work on April 25, 1945. Invitations were sent to 42 states on behalf of the four great powers: the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and China. The Soviet delegation managed to organize an invitation for representatives of Ukraine and Belarus. A total of 50 countries participated in the conference. On June 26, 1945, the Conference completed its work by adopting the UN Charter.


The UN Charter obliged the members of the organization to resolve disputes among themselves only by peaceful means, to refrain in international relations from the use of force or threats to use force. The charter also proclaimed the equality of all people, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, the need to comply with all international treaties and obligations.

The main task of the UN was to promote the maintenance of world peace and international security.

It was established that sessions of the UN General Assembly would be held annually with the participation of delegates from all UN member countries. In matters of maintaining world peace, the main role was assigned to the UN Security Council, consisting of fourteen members. Five of them were considered permanent (USSR, USA, Great Britain, France, China), the rest were subject to re-election every two years. The most important condition was the established principle of unanimity of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. This principle protected the UN from turning it into an instrument of diktat in relation to any country or group of countries.

Beginning of the Cold War.

Already by the end of the war, the contradictions between the USSR, on the one hand, and the USA and Great Britain, on the other, were sharply outlined. The main issue was the question of the post-war structure of the world and the spheres of influence in it of both sides. The tangible superiority of the West in economic power and the monopoly on nuclear weapons allowed him to hope for the possibility of a decisive change in the balance of power in his favor. Back in the spring of 1945, a plan of military action against the USSR was developed (Operation Unthinkable): W. Churchill planned to start the Third World War on July 1, 1945 with a joint attack by the Anglo-Americans and formations of German soldiers against the Soviet troops in Germany. Only by the summer of 1945, due to the obvious military superiority of the Red Army, this plan was abandoned.

Both sides soon shifted to a policy of brinkmanship. In 1947, the American journalist W. Lippman called this policy the "cold war." A turning point in relations between the USSR and the Western world was the speech of the former Prime Minister Churchill at the military college in Fulton (USA) in March

Mr. Churchill called on "the world that speaks English" to unite and show the "Russians strength." US President Harry Truman supported Churchill's ideas. These threats sparked a concern that called the speech a "dangerous act". The USSR actively increased its influence not only in the countries of Europe occupied by the Soviet Army, but also in Asia.

The beginning of the formation of a bipolar (bipolar) world.

In 1947, relations between the USSR and the USA continued to deteriorate. Europe lay in ruins. Under these conditions, the influence of the ideas of communism and the prestige of the USSR grew. To undermine such sentiments, the United States adopted a program of assistance to Europe - the Marshall Plan (named after US Secretary of State J. Marshall). The condition for providing assistance was its use under the control of the United States. This was unacceptable for the USSR. Under his pressure, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Finland refused to participate in the Marshall Plan.

In order to strengthen Soviet influence in the fall of 1947, the Information Bureau of the Communist Parties (Cominform) was created - a kind of Comintern dissolved in 1943. Soon, Stalin decided to abandon the course he had originally adopted for the transition of the Eastern European countries to socialism by parliamentary methods. Communist governments in 1gg. came to power in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Prior to this, the Communists gained power in Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Albania. In 1949, the Civil War in China ended with the victory of the Communists. The Communists came to power in North Vietnam and North Korea. This is how the socialist camp was formed.


Despite the colossal internal difficulties, the USSR provided all these countries with enormous material assistance, which allowed them by the beginning of the 50s. basically overcome the post-war devastation. In 1949, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) was created to coordinate development issues. At the same time, in the socialist countries (countries of people's democracy), repressions were carried out against a number of figures, including the leaders of the communist parties, who were suspected of trying to take their states out of the control of the USSR. Only the ruler of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito, managed to defend his right to an independent policy, which caused the rupture of relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia in 1948.

The Marshall Plan and the USSR's response to it led to a further division of the world into two opposing parts: East and West (a bipolar world).

P first international crises.

In 1948, the United States decided to consolidate the division of Germany by creating a separate West German state. The economic split of Germany was determined by the introduction of the West German mark. Prior to this, Stalin sought to implement the decisions of the Yalta Conference on a united democratic Germany, hoping to make it a neutral buffer between West and East. Now the Soviet Union had to take a course to strengthen its positions in East Germany. Soviet troops blocked the communication routes linking Berlin with the western occupation zone. In response to this, an “air bridge” was created, through which the western part of Berlin (the zone allocated for the Allied occupation forces) was supplied for almost a year.

The Berlin crisis brought the world to the brink of war and led to the final division of Germany. On May 8, 1949, the Parliamentary Council under the leadership of Konrad Adenauer adopted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). On September 20, 1949, Adenauer presented the first composition of the new state to the parliament. On October 7, 1949, the pro-Soviet German Democratic Republic (GDR) was formed.

Even earlier, in April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) was signed, which formalized the military-political alliance of Western countries under the leadership of the United States. It includes 12 states: the USA, Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal, Iceland and Canada.

Korean War.

After the defeat of Japan, its former colony of Korea was divided along the 38th parallel into the Soviet and American zones of occupation. When the Soviet and American troops were withdrawn, both the northern government of communist Kim Il Sung and the southern government of Syngman Rhee sought to extend their power to all of Korea.

On June 25, 1950, the troops of North Korea (DPRK) began to successfully move south. In September 1950, the troops of fifteen countries, led by the United States under the UN flag, landed troops in the rear of the DPRK army. During fierce fighting, the Americans reached the Korean-Chinese border. Rescuing the DPRK, "volunteers" from China acted on its side, and Soviet aviation also operated successfully (Soviet fighters shot down 1097 enemy aircraft, the Americans destroyed 335 Soviet aircraft).

In 1951, the front line was established in the area of ​​the same 38th parallel. In 1953 an armistice was signed. The Korean War gave impetus to a new stage in the arms race.

QUESTIONS AND TASKS

1. What decisions did the Potsdam Conference make?

2. When was the UN created? What were her goals? What items were included in the UN Charter?

3. What is the Cold War? What were her reasons?

4. What is a bipolar world? How did he develop?

5. What were the causes and consequences of the Berlin crisis?

6. Why did the Korean War start? What were its results?

7. Was the Cold War inevitable? Justify your answer.

International relations after World War II became an era of confrontation between two socio-political systems: capitalism and socialism. This confrontation became known as the Cold War. Its first stage refers to 1949-1953.

Background of the Cold War

At the Tehran (1943) and Yalta (1945) conferences, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill managed to find a common language. At the same time, controversial questions arose regarding the post-war structure of the world:

  • the procedure for creating an international organization to maintain peace and security (future UN);
  • the fate of colonial possessions;
  • the post-war situation of Germany and France;
  • western borders of the USSR, etc.

The Allied heads of state and government met for the last time at the Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945).

Rice. 1. Churchill, Truman and Stalin at the Potsdam Conference. 1945.

As a result, decisions were made on the post-war structure of Europe:

  • restructuring the political life of Germany on a democratic basis;
  • securing zones of occupation for the allies;
  • recognition of the influence of the USSR in Central and Eastern Europe.

The unity of the Allies at the Potsdam Conference was maintained only through the ongoing war with Japan.

Nuclear weapon

Since the end of the 30s. The USA, Germany, Great Britain and the USSR are actively developing nuclear weapons. In the United States, these works are called the "Manhattan Project".

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In July 1945, the first atomic bomb was successfully tested at a test site in New Mexico. In early August, the United States used atomic weapons for the first time against Japan. The enormous destructive power struck the whole world and became the basis for the American idea of ​​​​world domination.

Rice. 2. Model of the bomb "Kid" dropped on Hiroshima.

On September 4, 1945, the United States developed the first plan for an atomic war against the USSR, according to which 20 large cities were to be bombed.

The superiority of the United States remained until 1949, when the atomic bomb was not invented in the USSR. From that time on, the arms race began - one of the main components of the Cold War.

Stages of increasing confrontation

When did the Cold War start? On March 5, 1946, in Fulton, W. Churchill, in the presence of the American President G. Truman, delivered a speech on the need to destroy the USSR as an “Evil Empire”.

This speech and the date of its delivery are considered the beginning of the Cold War.

  • economic, financial and military assistance to all non-communist regimes;
  • the US right to intervene in events anywhere in the world.

In April 1949, the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) was formed, led by the United States. In response, in 1955, the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe created a military-defensive alliance, called the Warsaw Pact.

Korean War

The first "hot spot" of the Cold War was the war in Korea. The peace settlement resulting from World War II divided the country into northern (pro-Soviet) and southern (pro-American) halves.

Rice. 3. Tanks of the UN forces in Seoul. 1950.

Until now, there are disputes about who unleashed the war. In 9th grade, you need to remember the following:

  • the war began in June 1950;
  • 15 UN countries sent their troops to South Korea;
  • China took the side of North Korea;
  • The Soviet Union provided assistance to the North with equipment and military specialists.

In the summer of 1953, a peace agreement was signed, which fixed the division of the country into North and South Korea along the 38th parallel.

Briefly about the beginning of the Cold War 1945-1953 it can be said that both camps were equally guilty. The USA and the USSR made every effort to establish a bipolar world.

What have we learned?

During 1945-1949. contradictions accumulated in the relations of the former allies. The creation of NATO consolidated the division of the world into two distinct systems. The first armed clash between the countries of capitalism and socialism was the Korean War (1950-1953).

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1939 - 1935 relations between the leading powers are formed under the influence of two factors.

The first trend was based on the awareness by the world community of the need for interaction between states to ensure peace and security, cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian nature.

The second trend was the dominance of two superpowers: the USSR and the USA.

The share of the United States in world industrial production by the end of the war was 60%. USA after WW2 concentrated in their hands

After 1945, the Cold War began - a global military-political confrontation between the USSR and the USA.

Former British Prime Minister Churchill in March 1946, speaking in the city of Coulton, called for the unification of all democratic peoples to protect their freedom.

In March 1947, US President Truman, in a message to Congress, identified the containment of the USSR and its allied political forces as a vital interest in ensuring US security.

The main areas of the Cold War were:

  1. Arms race
  2. Development and deployment of new types of weapons of mass destruction, increasing their number
  3. Confrontation of military-political blocs
  4. Direct military confrontation in local wars
  5. Psychological warfare, that is, subversive propaganda and support for the opposition
  6. Fierce confrontation between intelligence and special services
  7. Struggle for influence in third world countries

Key milestones of the Cold War:

Marshall Plan. In 1947, US Secretary of State George Marshall presented a plan to help Europe.

Germany was divided into 4 occupation zones between the USA, the USSR, England and France. In January 1948, England, France and the United States merged their zones into Trizonia. In April 1948, the USSR introduced a control regime on the highway and railway. In June 1948, the Soviet military administration banned the import of banknotes and goods from Trizonia into Berlin. During May-October 1949, Germany was divided into a liberal-democratic state of the Western type - the FRG and the GDR - a state with a socialist orientation. Diplomatic relations between the USSR and the FRG were established only in 1955. East Berlin was proclaimed the capital of the GDR. As a result, in 1961, the East German authorities, with the mediation of the Soviet Union, erected a wall that divided the city into two parts.

On April 4, 1949, in Brussels, representatives of 12 countries (USA, Canada, Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Portugal) signed the North Atlantic Pact, creating NATO. Greece and Turkey joined the alliance in 1952, and Germany in 1955.

In 1949, the CMEA, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, was founded.

The climax of the Cold War was the Caribbean Crisis of 1962. On January 1, 1959, a revolution took place in Cuba, directed against the dictatorial regime of the American protege Bastista. The leader of the Cuban revolution, Castro, declared the socialist nature of the revolution, his Marxist-Leninist views and orientation towards the USSR.

The first crisis - in the conditions of 1 mv

Second - 2nd century

The third is the Cuban revolution

The USSR secretly decided to place 42 nuclear missiles with a medium range of 2000 km on the island of Freedom. There were 40,000 Soviet soldiers and officers in Cuba. The American leadership announced an economic blockade of Cuba. In October 1962, the United States prepared to deliver a powerful blow to Cuba. Over the territory of Cuba on the night of October 27-28, an American reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by a Soviet missile. The pilot is dead. As a result of the negotiations that began, the Soviet Union removed all nuclear missiles from the territory of Cuba, and the United States abandoned plans for armed aggression against Cuba and the deployment of its own nuclear missiles in Turkey.

After the Caribbean crisis in 1963, a treaty was signed to ban nuclear weapons tests in three areas: on land, under water and in space. This treaty was signed by the USA, the USSR and England.

In the wake of the United States in 1945, the USSR in 1949 - nuclear weapons. Great Britain first tested a nuclear weapon - 1952, France - 1960, China - 1964, India - 1974, Pakistan - 1998. North Korea - 2006. Israel does not comment on the presence of nuclear weapons.

1968 Nuclear non-proliferation treaty signed.

  • 4. Fragmentation of Russia. Tatar-Mongol conquest and its consequences.
  • 5. Unification of Russian lands around Moscow, overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke
  • 6. The policy of Ivan IV the Terrible and the consequences of his reign
  • 7. "Time of Troubles": main events and results. The policy of the first Romanovs and the spiritual split of the 17th century.
  • 8. The reign of Peter 1: foreign policy. Major transformations, their results and historical significance
  • 9. Russia in the 18th century: the era of palace revolutions. Enlightened absolutism of Catherine II.
  • 11. Reign of Alexander II. The results and significance of his transformations. Development of capitalism in Russia
  • 12. Socio-political and revolutionary movement in Russia in the middle of the second half of the 19th century. Alexander 3 and the policy of counter-reforms
  • Liberals and Guardians
  • 13. The beginning of the "proletarian" stage of the revolutionary movement. The first Russian Marxists and the creation of the RSDLP
  • 14. Russia in the first half of the twentieth century. Russo-Japanese War and Revolution 1905-1907
  • 15. Manifesto October 17, 1905 Leading political parties of the early twentieth century and the basis of their programs
  • 2. Right-wing centrist parties.
  • 3. Left centrist organizations.
  • 4. Left radical parties.
  • 16. The main contradictions in Russian society on the eve of the 1st World War 1910-1914. Reforms p.A. Stolypin
  • Agrarian reforms by P.A. Stolypin
  • 17. Russia in World War I, February Revolution of 1917
  • 18. Dual power and its evolution. Seizure of power by the Bolsheviks. The first events in late 1917-early 1918.
  • 19. Civil war: background, active forces, periods and results
  • 20. Politics of War Communism and the New Economic Policy (NEP)
  • 21. National policy of the Soviet leadership in the 1920s. USSR education. The foreign policy of the country's leadership in the 1920s and early 1930s (until 1934)
  • 22. Industrialization in the USSR, goals and results
  • 23. Collectivization of agriculture: goals, objectives, methods and consequences
  • 3 stages of complete collectivization:
  • 24. Internal political development of the country in 1922-1940. Command-administrative management system. Mass repression.
  • 25. International relations in 1933-1941. Causes, prerequisites and the beginning of the 2nd World War
  • Beginning of World War II
  • 26. Periods of the Great Patriotic War
  • The initial period of the war
  • period of radical change
  • Third period of the war
  • 27. The USSR at international conferences during the 2nd World War. Principles of the post-war structure of the world
  • Yalta and Potsdam conferences. The problem of the post-war structure of the world
  • 28. USSR in the post-war period (until 1953). Strengthening the command and administrative system. Post-war judicial repression
  • 29. XX Congress of the CPSU. The beginning of destanilization (n.S. Khrushchev). "Political thaw" and its contradictions
  • 30. Khrushchev's reforms in the economy and their results
  • 31. The main directions of economic and political development of the country in 1965-1984. The mechanism of inhibition of socio-economic progress
  • 32. International relations and foreign policy of the USSR in 1946-1984. "Cold War"
  • 33. Goals and objectives of perestroika, its course and results.
  • 34. The crisis of the party-Soviet state system. The collapse of the USSR and the creation of the CIS
  • 27. The USSR at international conferences during the 2nd World War. Principles of the post-war structure of the world

    The successes of the Soviet army during the hostilities of 1942-1943. forced the governments of the United States and Britain to consider the most important international problems jointly with the government of the USSR. At international conferences during World War II, the powers of the anti-Hitler coalition adopted decisions that subsequently had colossal international significance.

    Tehran conference. November 28 - December 1 in Tehran (Iran) - the first of three "Big Three" conferences.

    Conference of the leaders of the three allied powers in World War II: the USSR (JV Stalin), the USA (F. Roosevelt) and Great Britain (W. Churchill). The most important issue is the problem of the second front.

    At the conference, an agreement was reached on the landing of Anglo-American troops in France in May 1944. Soviet diplomacy regarded this decision as a significant victory. In turn, at the conference, Stalin promised that the USSR would declare war on Japan after the defeat of Germany.

    Issues of the post-war structure of the world were discussed (including the recognition of the Curzon Line as the future border of Poland; the consent of the allies to the transfer of East Prussia to the USSR with the city of Kaliningrad and the annexation of the Baltic states). The delegation of the USSR, meeting the wishes of the allies, promised to declare war on Japan after the defeat of the German army.

    Yalta and Potsdam conferences. The problem of the post-war structure of the world

    The tasks of the post-war peace order were brought to the fore at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences of the "Big Three".

    Yalta (Crimean) conference heads of governments of the three great powers was held February 4-11, 1945 in the Livadia Palace. It agreed on plans for the final defeat of Germany, the terms of its surrender, the procedure for its occupation, the mechanism of allied control.

    The goal of the occupation and control was declared to be "the destruction of German militarism and Nazism and the creation of guarantees that Germany will never again be able to disturb the peace of the whole world."

    Plan "three D" (demilitarization, denazification and democratization of Germany) united the interests of the three great powers. At the insistence of the Soviet delegation, France was also involved in the occupation of Germany on an equal footing with other great powers.

    The conference adopted "Declaration on a Liberated Europe", where it was declared the need to destroy the traces of Nazism and fascism in the liberated countries of Europe and create democratic institutions of the peoples' own choice. Polish and Yugoslav issues were highlighted, as well as a complex of Far Eastern issues, including the transfer of the Kuril Islands to the USSR and the return of South Sakhalin, captured by Japan in 1904, to it. At the conference in Crimea, the issue of creating the United Nations to ensure international security was finally resolved in the postwar years.

    The arena of sharp confrontation on the problems of the post-war peace settlement was Potsdam (Berlin) conference "Big Three" (July 17 - August 1, 1945). At this conference there was no longer a supporter of active cooperation with the USSR F. Roosevelt. He died shortly after returning home from the Yalta Conference. The American side was represented by the new US President G. Truman. The British delegation at the conference was first led by British Prime Minister W. Churchill, and from July 28, the leader of the Labor Party, C. Attlee, who won the election. As before, I.V. Stalin was at the head of the Soviet delegation.

    The leaders of the three powers came to mutually acceptable decisions on the German question (the dissolution of all the armed forces of Germany, the liquidation of its military industry, the prohibition of the National Socialist Party, the ban on any militaristic activity, including military propaganda.

    Agreements were reached on the question of reparations, on the new borders of Poland, and on the problems of Central and South-Eastern Europe.

    In addition, the leaders of the United States, Britain and China published on July 26, 1945, on behalf of the Potsdam Conference declaration on japan, which called on the Japanese government to immediately declare unconditional surrender. Despite the fact that the preparation and publication of the declaration took place without the participation of the USSR, the Soviet government joined it on August 8.

    Potsdam secured a new balance of power in Europe and throughout the world.

    In April-June 1945, the founding conference of the United Nations was held in San Francisco. The conference discussed the draft UN Charter, which entered into force on October 26, 1945. This day became the day of the official creation United Nations as a tool for maintaining and strengthening peace, security and development of cooperation between peoples and states.

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