Foreign policy. Cold War - Russia, Russia. Foreign policy of the USSR in the post-war period. "cold war"
The term “Cold War” itself was coined by US Secretary of State D.F. Dulles. Its essence is political, economic, ideological confrontation between two systems, brinkmanship .
It makes no sense to argue about who started the Cold War - convincing arguments are presented by both sides. In Western historiography, the Cold War is the response of Western democracies to an attempt Soviet Union export the socialist revolution. In Soviet historiography the reasons " cold war"were called attempts by American imperialism to establish US world domination, to eliminate socialist system, restore the capitalist system in people's democracies, suppress national liberation movements.
It is illogical and unwise to completely whitewash one side and place all the blame on the other. Today the Cold War can be seen as the inevitable cost of creating bipolar structure the post-war world, in which each of the poles (USSR and USA) sought to strengthen its influence in the world based on its geopolitical and ideological interests, while being aware of the limits of possible expansion. Already during the war with Germany, plans to start a war with Russia were seriously considered in some circles in the United States and England. The fact of negotiations that Germany conducted at the end of the war with the Western powers on a separate peace (Wolf mission) is widely known. The upcoming entry of Russia into the war with Japan, which would save the lives of millions of American boys, tipped the scales and prevented these plans from being realized.
The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not so much military operation as much as a political act with the aim of putting pressure on the USSR.
The main axis of confrontation was the relationship between the two superpowers - USSR and USA. The turn from cooperation with the Soviet Union to confrontation with it began after the death of President F. Roosevelt. The beginning of the Cold War is usually dated to the speech of W. Churchill in an American city Fulton V March1946 g., in which he called on the people of the United States to jointly fight against Soviet Russia and its agents - the communist parties.
The ideological justification for the Cold War was Truman Doctrine , nominated by the US President in 1947. According to this doctrine, the conflict between Western democracy and communism is irreconcilable. The task of the United States is to fight communism throughout the world, “contain communism,” “throw back communism within the borders of the USSR.” American responsibility for the events taking place throughout the world was proclaimed; all these events were viewed through the prism of the confrontation between communism and Western democracy, the USSR and the USA.
Monopoly possession of the atomic bomb allowed the United States, as they believed, to dictate its will to the world. In 1945 The development of plans for an atomic strike on the USSR began. The plans “Pincher” (1946), “Dropshot” (1949), “Broiler” (1950) and others were consistently developed. American historians, without denying the existence of such plans, say that they were talking only about operational military plans, which drawn up in any country in case of war. But
after atomic bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the presence of such plans could not but cause sharp concern to the Soviet Union.
In 1946 A strategic military command was created in the United States,
carried by aircraft carrying atomic weapons. In 1948 bombers with atomic weapons were stationed in Great Britain and West Germany. The Soviet Union was surrounded by a network of American military bases. In 1949 there were more than 300 of them.
The US pursued a policy of creating military -political blocs against the USSR. IN 1949 was created North Atlantic block (NATO ). It included: USA, England, France, Italy, Canada, Belgium, Holland, Norway, Greece and Turkey. Were created: in 1954 g. - military organization Yugo -East Asia (SEATO ), V 1955 G. - Baghdad Pact . A course was taken to restore Germany's military potential. IN 1949 g., in violation of the Yalta and Potsdam agreements, from three zones of occupation - British, American and French - was created Federal Republic of Germany , which joined NATO that same year.
The Soviet Union did not develop plans for aggression against other countries, in particular the United States. He did not have the necessary fleet for this (aircraft carriers of all classes, landing craft); until 1948 it had practically no strategic aviation until August 1949. atomic weapons. Developed at the end of 1946 - beginning of 1947. The “Plan for the Active Defense of the Territory of the Soviet Union” had exclusively defensive objectives. Since July 1945 to 1948 number Soviet army decreased from 11.4 to 2.9 million people. But, despite the inequality of forces, the Soviet Union sought to pursue a tough foreign policy line, which led to strengthening confrontation . For some time, Stalin hoped for cooperation with the Americans in the technical and economic fields. However, after the death of Roosevelt, it became clear that such assistance was not part of the plans of US politicians. Back in 1945 Stalin demanded the creation of a system of joint defense of the Black Sea straits of the USSR and Turkey, the establishment of joint guardianship by the allies of Italy's colonial possessions in Africa (at the same time, the USSR planned to provide a naval base in Libya).
In 1946 a conflict situation arose around Iran. In 1941 Soviet and British troops were brought there. After the war, British troops were withdrawn, but Soviet troops continued to remain. On the territory they occupied in Iranian Azerbaijan, a government was formed that proclaimed autonomy and began transferring part of the landowners' and state lands to the peasants. At the same time, Iranian Kurdistan proclaimed national autonomy. Western countries regarded the position of the Soviet Union as preparation for the dismemberment of Iran. The Iranian crisis provided the occasion for Churchill's Fulton speech. The USSR was forced to withdraw its troops.
Confrontation has also emerged in Asia. Since 1946 The civil war began in China. Troops of Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang government attempted to occupy communist-controlled territories. Western countries supported Chiang Kai-shek, and the Soviet Union supported the communists, transferring them a significant amount of trophies. Mao Zedong nogo Japanese weapons. In 1948 The People's Liberation Army of China (PLA), as the CPC army became known, went on the offensive and defeated the last large formations of the Kuomintang army in the north of the country. The capital peacefully capitulated on October 1, 1949. The People's Republic of China was proclaimed. Communist leader Mao Zedong headed the government. The formation of the PRC dramatically changed the balance of power in the world. Previously, the United States, having a monopoly on the atomic bomb, could dictate its will to the world. Now the communists were in power in the two largest countries in the world, in which over a third of the world's population lived.
The Soviet Union agreed to the creation of a coalition government in Poland, which included representatives of the London emigration, but did not agree to hold general elections in Poland, which led to a conflict situation in the country.
The final collapse of the world is associated with the advancement of the United States " Marshall plan "(US Secretary of State) and the sharply negative attitude of the USSR towards him.
The United States became immeasurably rich during the war. With the end of the war they were threatened with a crisis of overproduction. At the same time, the economies of European countries were destroyed, their markets were open to American goods, but there was nothing to pay for these goods. The United States was afraid to invest capital in the economies of these countries, since there was a strong influence of leftist forces there and the situation for investment was unstable: nationalization could follow at any moment.
The Marshall Plan offered help to European countries to rebuild their devastated economies. Loans were provided for the purchase of American goods. The proceeds were not exported, but were invested in the construction of enterprises in these countries. The Marshall Plan was adopted by 16 Western European countries. Political conditions assistance was the removal of communists from governments. In 1947 Communists were removed from the governments of Western European countries. Help was also offered to Eastern European countries. Poland and Czechoslovakia began negotiations, but under pressure from the USSR they refused assistance. At the same time, the United States broke the Soviet-American loan agreement and adopted a law banning exports to the USSR. Thus, European countries were divided into two groups with different economic systems.
In 1949 was tested in the USSR atomic bomb , and in 1953 created thermonuclear bomb(earlier than in the USA). The creation of atomic weapons in the USSR marked the beginning arms race between the USSR and the USA.
In contrast to the bloc of Western states, a economic And military -political union of socialist countries . IN 1949 was created Council for Mutual Economic Assistance - body for economic cooperation of Eastern European states. The conditions for joining it were the rejection of the Marshall Plan. In May 1955 g. is created Warsawmilitary -political union . The world split into two opposing camps.
This affected economic relations . After the adoption of the Marshall Plan and the formation of the CMEA, two parallel world markets emerged, with little connection with each other. The USSR and Eastern Europe found themselves isolated from developed countries, which had a detrimental effect on their economies.
Inside himself socialist camp Stalin pursued a tough policy and consistently implemented the principle “Whoever is not with us is against us.” He wrote: “Two camps - two positions; the position of unconditional defense of the USSR and the position of struggle against the USSR. Here you have to choose, because there is not and cannot be a third position. Neutrality in this matter, hesitation, reservations, and the search for a third position are an attempt to evade responsibility... What does it mean to evade responsibility? This means slipping unnoticed into the camp of opponents of the USSR.” Reprisals against dissidents were carried out within socialist countries. If the leadership of a country took a special position, then that country was excommunicated from the socialist camp and all relations with it were severed, as happened in 1948. With Yugoslavia , whose leadership tried to pursue an independent policy.
With the death of Stalin, the first stage of the Cold War ended. During this phase, the Cold War was perceived by both sides as a temporary, intermediate phase between two world wars. Both sides feverishly made military preparations, expanded their alliance systems, and fought wars with each other along their periphery. Most sharp moments of this period were: Berlin crisis (summer1948 G.) and war V Korea (1950 - 1953).
The reason for Berlin crisis There was a monetary reform in the western zones of occupation, when the entire mass of old-style money was not withdrawn from circulation and poured into the eastern zone. In response, the Soviet administration introduced a blockade of West Berlin, which served as the reason for the unification of the western zones of occupation and the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany
War V Korea (1950 - 1953 ) is a conflict between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), supported by China and the USSR, and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), supported by the United States. These states were formed from the Soviet and American occupation zones. Each of them sought to reunite the country under their own rule. The war began with the invasion of North Korean troops. The United States took advantage of the fact that the USSR withdrew from participation in the work of the UN Security Council in protest against the refusal to admit the People's Republic of China to the UN, and achieved a decision to send UN troops to Korea, and in fact troops of the Western bloc, who fought there with the troops of China and THE USSR. Military operations proceeded with varying degrees of success. The United States did not dare to use atomic weapons. The war ended on the same lines where it began.
Cardinal changes in the geopolitical situation in the post-war world, different balances of power in the international arena, fundamental differences in the socio-political system, value system, ideology of the USSR and the West, and primarily the USA, became powerful factors that led to the split of the alliance of the former victorious powers, led to the formation of a bipolar picture of the world. IN post-war period The Cold War was inevitable; it was a kind of payment for the creation of a bipolar structure of the post-war world, in which each of the poles (USSR and the USA) sought to strengthen its influence based on its geopolitical and ideological interests, while being aware of the limits of possible expansion.
3. Political system THE USSR.
In the USSR, after the war, a restructuring of the country's governance began. Was dissolved State Committee Defense is an emergency body created during the war. However, there was no return to even those limited forms of democracy that existed before the war. The Supreme Council met once a year to approve the budget. Party congresses had not been convened for 13 years, and the plenum of the Central Committee was held only once during this time.
At the same time, certain changes took place in the political system after the war. Firstly, the internationalist component of “Marxism-Leninism” was replaced as the main political line by state patriotism, designed to unite all forces within the country in the context of the unfolding confrontation with the West. Secondly, the center of political power shifted after the war from the party elite to executive power - to the government. For 1947 - 1952 Protocol meetings of the Politburo took place only twice (decisions were made by oral questioning), the Secretariat of the Central Committee became in fact a personnel department. All practical work on governing the country was concentrated in the USSR Council of Ministers. Eight bureaus were created in it, between which most ministries and departments were distributed. Their chairmen are G.M. Malenkov, N.A. Voznesensky, M.Z. Saburov, L.P. Beria, A.I. Mikoyan, L.M. Kaganovich, A.N. Kosygin, K.E. Voroshilov were members of Bureau of the Council of Ministers , which was headed by I.V. Stalin. All government issues were decided in a narrow circle " comrades-in-arms of Stalin ", which included V.M. Molotov, L.P. Beria, G.M. Malenkov, L.M. Kaganovich, N.S. Khrushchev, K.E. Voroshilov, N.A. Voznesensky, A.A. Zhdanov, A. Andreev. The regime of personal power of I.V. Stalin, established since the late 1930s, has reached its highest development .
The period after the end of the Great Patriotic War and right up to the death of Stalin it is generally accepted apogee of totalitarianism in the USSR, its highest point. In the literature, various approaches have been outlined in assessing the effect of the repressive component of the Stalinist post-war regime. There was a certain general understanding that repression was the most important tool for achieving stabilization of the situation in the country, mobilizing the forces of nations to solve economic problems, unity of society in the context of the outbreak of the Cold War, solving situational problems in the struggle for power within the ruling elites.
Summer 1946G. ideological campaigns began, which went down in history under the name “ Zhdanovshchina ", named after A.A. Zhdanov, who led them. A number of resolutions of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks were issued on issues of literature, music, and cinematography, to which many Soviet poets, writers, film directors, and composers were sharply and biasedly criticized for “lack of ideas” and preaching “ideologies alien to the spirit of the party.” The resolutions emphasized that literature and art should be placed at the service of the communist education of the masses.
The following summer, this ideological campaign spread to the social sciences. A.A Zhdanov held a meeting of philosophers, at which he condemned Soviet philosophy for “excessive tolerance” towards idealistic bourgeois philosophy and proposed to consistently proceed from the principle “ partisanship ”, and not from “bourgeois objectivism”. Ideological control was extended to all spheres of spiritual life. The party acted as a legislator in linguistics, biology, and mathematics. Wave mechanics, cybernetics, and genetics were condemned as “bourgeois pseudosciences.”
WITH late 1948 G. ideological campaigns took on a new direction. Their basis was " fight by sycophancy "before the West. This aspect of the ideological offensive was particularly brutal. It was based on the desire to isolate ourselves from Western states, from “bourgeois influence” with an “iron curtain”. Western culture was almost entirely declared bourgeois and hostile. The idea was raised about the priority of Russian scientists in various fields of knowledge, about the superiority of Russia over the West. Any invention from a bicycle to an airplane was declared the brainchild of Russian talent.
needed image of the enemy , and this enemy became a cosmopolitan - “a man without family or tribe,” who worships the West and hates his homeland. Criticism cosmopolitanism became more and more anti-Semitic in nature, persecution of Jews began: Jewish cultural organizations were closed, a number of representatives of the Jewish intelligentsia were arrested. The culmination of the campaign against “cosmopolitanism” was “ business doctors » (January 1953.), when a group of doctors of the Kremlin hospital, Jews by nationality, were accused of killing, through improper treatment, the secretaries of the Central Committee A.A. Zhdanov and A.S. Shcherbakov and preparing the murder of Stalin.
In the second half of the 40s, mass repression . Prisoners of war released from fascist concentration camps Allied troops. And although the repressions did not reach the scale of the 30s, there were no high-profile show trials, there was a tendency for the repressive wave to somewhat attenuate, but they were still quite widespread. In 1946 123,294 people were convicted on political charges in 1947. - 78810, in 1952 - 28800. Total in 1946 - 1952. 490,714 people were convicted on political charges, of which 7,697 (1.5%) received death sentences, 461,017 people. sent to prison, the rest - into exile. In general, by January 1953 in the Gulag there were 2,468,542 prisoners, of which over half a million were convicted on political charges, while the share of political prisoners at that time amounted to 0.3% of the population of the USSR. It should be borne in mind that the article “counter-revolutionary crimes” applied to everyone who collaborated with the Germans during the war.
The tightening of the political climate was primarily a consequence of the Cold War. The situation was similar in the countries of the Western bloc. A campaign of anti-Sovietism unfolded there, taking place under the banner of the fight against the “Soviet military threat”, with the USSR’s desire to “export communism” to other countries. Under the pretext of fighting “subversive communist activities,” a campaign was launched against communist parties, which were portrayed as “agents of Moscow.” In 1947 communists were removed from the governments of France, Italy, etc. In England and the USA, a ban was introduced on communists holding positions in the army and state apparatus. In Germany, the Communist Party was banned.
The “witch hunt” took on a special scale in the United States in the early 1950s, during the period of “McCarthyism” (named after Senator D. McCarthy, its inspirer). Congress created commissions to investigate “un-American activities,” to which any citizen could be summoned. On their recommendation, anyone could be fired from their job. In 1954 The law “On control over
communists." Communists were required to register as agents of a foreign power. If they refused, they faced a fine of 10 thousand dollars or imprisonment up to five years.
In the absence of democratic mechanisms, repression was also a manifestation of the struggle for power in the Stalinist environment. Since the late 1940s. Stalin actually stepped down from power due to a serious illness. The personal rivalry that developed between the two blocs of forces surrounded by I.V. Stalin - A.A. Zhdanov and A.A. Kuznetsov, on the one hand, and G.M. Malenkov and L.P. Beria, on the other - determined the main conflict line in relations between representatives of the power elite. In this confrontation, a temporary advantage was first on the side of the Leningraders (A.A. Zhdanov and A.A. Kuznetsov). A.A. Kuznetsov was a member of the secretariat of the Central Committee and oversaw the Ministry of State Security. In April 1946 were arrested former minister aviation industry A. Shakhurin, Air Force commander A. Novikov, which gave grounds to remove G.M. Malenkov, who oversaw the aviation industry during the war and previously headed the personnel department, from the secretariat of the Central Committee. A. Zhdanov, at the same time a member of the three highest government bodies (Politburo, Organizing Bureau and the Secretariat of the Central Committee), occupied a strong position in the leadership. He dealt primarily with issues of propaganda and ideology. Summer 1948 The influence of A.A. Zhdanov sharply weakened, which ultimately ended in the defeat of the Leningrad group and the strengthening of the positions of G.M. Malenkov and L.P. Beria, who retained their leading role until Stalin’s death. The consequence of this rivalry was " Leningrad case » (1948 G.), when such prominent figures as the Chairman of the State Planning Committee N. Voznesensky, the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee A.A. Kuznetsov, the Chairman of the Council of the RSFSR M. Rodionov, the head of the Leningrad party organization P. Popkov and others were arrested and secretly shot. They were charged with factionalism, an attempt to oppose the Leningrad party organization to the entire CPSU(b), in Russian chauvinism (for the proposal to create a Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) for the RSFSR and the Communist Party of the RSFSR, which could lead to a split of the united CPSU(b) into national communist parties and to the collapse of the USSR). Thus, the winners dealt with the vanquished.
Domestic history: lecture notes Kulagina Galina Mikhailovna
19.1. Foreign policy of the USSR and international relations in the post-war world. "Cold War"
The decisive contribution of the Soviet Union to the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition over fascism led to serious changes in the international arena.
The world authority of the USSR increased as one of the victorious countries in the fight against fascism, and it again began to be perceived as a great power. The influence of our state was predominant in Eastern Europe and China. In the second half of the 1940s. Communist regimes formed in these countries. This was largely due to the presence of Soviet troops on their territories and a large financial assistance from the USSR.
But gradually the contradictions between the former allies in World War II began to worsen.
The manifesto of the confrontation was W. Churchill’s speech “The Muscles of the World” in Fulton (USA) on March 5, 1946, where he called on Western countries to fight the “expansion of totalitarian communism.”
In Moscow, this speech was perceived as a political challenge. I.V. Stalin sharply responded to W. Churchill in the Pravda newspaper, noting: “... that in essence, Mr. Churchill now stands in the position of warmongers.” The confrontation intensified further and the Cold War flared up on both sides.
Then the initiative to develop confrontational actions in line with the Cold War passed to the United States. In February 1947, President G. Truman, in his annual message to the US Congress, proposed specific measures aimed against the spread of Soviet influence, which included economic assistance to Europe, the formation of a military-political alliance under US leadership, the placement of American military bases along Soviet borders, as well as providing support to opposition movements in Eastern European countries.
An important milestone in American expansion was the program of economic assistance to countries affected by Nazi aggression, proclaimed on June 5, 1947 by US Secretary of State J. Marshall.
Moscow pointedly refused to participate in the Marshall Plan and put pressure on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe to do the same.
The Kremlin's response to the Marshall Plan was the creation in September 1947 of the Information Bureau of Communist Parties (Cominform) with the aim of strengthening control over the communist movement in the world and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Cominform focused only on Soviet model the formation of socialism, condemning the previously existing concepts of “national paths to socialism.” In 1947–1948 At the instigation of the Soviet leadership in the countries of Eastern Europe, a series of revelations occurred regarding a number of party and government figures accused of sabotage and deviations from the agreed line of socialist construction.
In 1948, relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia sharply deteriorated. The head of this state I.B. Tito sought leadership in the Balkans and put forward the idea of creating a Balkan federation under the leadership of Yugoslavia; due to his own ambitions and authority, he refused to act under the dictates of I.V. Stalin. The Cominform in June 1948 issued a resolution on the situation in the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, accusing its leaders of departing from Marxist-Leninist ideology. Further, the conflict deepened, which led to the severance of all relations between the two countries.
Having refused to participate in the implementation of the Marshall Plan, the countries of Eastern Europe, on the initiative of the USSR, created their own international economic organization in January 1949 - the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA). Its main objectives were material support for the countries of the pro-Soviet bloc, as well as their economic integration. All activities of CMEA were built on planning and directive principles and were imbued with recognition political leadership USSR in the socialist camp.
In the late 1940s - early 1960s. The confrontation between the USSR and the USA intensified in Europe and Asia.
As part of the implementation of the “Marshall Plan”, on April 4, 1949, at the initiative of the United States, a military-political alliance was created - the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which included the USA, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Iceland. Later, Turkey and Greece (1952), as well as the Federal Republic of Germany (1955), joined NATO.
An acute problem remained the confrontation in Germany occupied by the Allied forces, in which the process of dividing the country into two parts was taking place: western and eastern. In September 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was formed from the western zones of occupation, and in October of the same year, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was formed in the Soviet zone.
On Far East in 1950–1953 broke out Korean War between North and South, which became an almost open military clash between opposing blocs. The Soviet Union and China provided political, material and human assistance to North Korea, and the United States to South Korea. The war went on with varying degrees of success. As a result, neither side managed to achieve a decisive military advantage. In July 1953, peace was established in Korea, but the country remained split into two states, which have survived to this day.
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After the end of the Second World War, which became the largest and most brutal conflict in the entire history of mankind, a confrontation arose between the countries of the communist camp on the one hand and 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 competition for dominance in the new post-war world.
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Historians identify the following stages of the Cold War:
· March 5, 1946 – 1953 The Cold War began with Churchill's speech in Fulton in the spring of 1946, which proposed the idea of creating an alliance of Anglo-Saxon countries to fight communism. The goal of the United States was an economic victory over the USSR, as well as achieving military superiority. In fact, the Cold War began earlier, but it was by the spring of 1946, due to the USSR’s refusal to withdraw troops from Iran, that the situation seriously worsened.
· 1953 – 1962 During this period of the Cold War, the world was on the brink 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, events in the GDR and, earlier, in Poland, as well as the Suez crisis took place. International tensions increased following the Soviet development and successful testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile in 1957. But, the threat of nuclear war receded, since the Soviet Union was now able to retaliate against US cities. This period of relations between the superpowers ended with the Berlin and Caribbean crises of 1961 and 1962, respectively. The Cuban missile crisis was resolved only through personal negotiations between the heads of state Khrushchev and Kennedy. Also, as a result of the negotiations, a number of agreements on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons were signed.
· 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 arms are signed. The joint Soyuz-Apollo space program 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 are again strained after the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan. In 1983, the United States deployed ballistic missiles at bases in Italy, Denmark, England, Germany, and Belgium. An anti-space defense system is being developed. The USSR reacts to the actions of the West by withdrawing from the Geneva negotiations. During this period, the missile attack warning system is in constant combat readiness.
· 1987 – 1991 M. Gorbachev’s coming to power in the USSR in 1985 entailed not only global changes within the country, but also radical changes in foreign policy, called “new political thinking.” Ill-conceived reforms completely 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 no longer support the arms race, as well as pro-Soviet communist regimes. Anti-war protests in various parts of the world also played a certain role. The results of the Cold War were dismal for the USSR. The symbol of the victory of the West was the reunification of Germany in 1990.
As a result, after the USSR was defeated in the Cold War, a unipolar world model emerged with the dominant superpower of the United States. However, there are other consequences of the Cold War. This is the rapid development of science and technology, primarily military. Thus, the Internet was originally created as a communication system for the American army.
Today, many documentaries and feature films the Cold War period. One of them, telling in detail about the events of those years, is “Heroes and Victims of the Cold War.”
FOREIGN POLICY OF THE USSR IN THE POST-WAR PERIOD. THE BEGINNING OF THE COLD WAR
USSR in the post-war world. The defeat of Germany and its satellites in the war radically changed the balance of forces in the world. The USSR turned into one of the leading world powers, without which, according to Molotov, not a single issue of international life should now be resolved.
However, during the war years, the power of the United States grew even more. Their gross national product rose by 70%, and economic and human losses were minimal. Having become an international creditor during the war years, the United States gained the opportunity to expand its influence on other countries and peoples. President Truman said in 1945 that victory in World War II “challenged the American people to rule the world.” The American administration began a gradual retreat from wartime agreements.
All this led to the fact that instead of cooperation in Soviet-American relations, a period of mutual distrust and suspicion began. The Soviet Union was worried about the US nuclear monopoly and attempts to dictate terms in relations with other countries. America saw a threat to its security in the growing influence of the USSR in the world. All this led to the beginning of the Cold War.
The beginning of the Cold War. The “cold snap” began almost with the last salvos of the war in Europe. Three days after the victory over Germany, the United States announced a halt to the supply of military equipment to the USSR and not only stopped shipping it, but also returned American ships with such supplies that were already off the coast of the Soviet Union.
After the successful American test of nuclear weapons, Truman's position hardened even more. The United States gradually moved away from the agreements already reached during the war. In particular, it was decided not to divide defeated Japan into occupation zones (only American units were introduced into it). This alarmed Stalin and pushed him to increase influence on those countries on whose territory Soviet troops were located at that time. In turn, this led to increased suspicion among the leaders of Western countries. It intensified even more due to the sharp increase in the number of communists in these countries (their number from 1939 to 1946 Western Europe tripled).
Former British Prime Minister W. Churchill accused the USSR of “the limitless spread of its power and its doctrines” in the world. Truman soon proclaimed a program of measures to “save” Europe from Soviet expansion (the “Truman Doctrine”). He proposed providing large-scale economic assistance to European countries (the terms of this assistance were set out later in the Marshall Plan); create a military-political alliance of Western countries under the auspices of the United States (this became the NATO bloc created in 1949); place a network of American military bases along the borders of the USSR; support internal opposition in Eastern European countries; use conventional weapons and nuclear weapons to blackmail the Soviet leadership. All this was supposed to not only prevent further expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR (the doctrine of containing socialism), but also force the Soviet Union to withdraw to its former borders (the doctrine of rejecting socialism).
Stalin declared these plans a call for war against the USSR. Since the summer of 1947, Europe has been divided into allies of two superpowers - the USSR and the USA. The formation of economic and military-political structures of the East and West began.
Formation of the "socialist camp". CPSU(b) and the communist movement. By this time, communist governments existed only in Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria. However, since 1947, the process of their formation was accelerated in other countries of “people's democracy”: Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia. That same year, a pro-Soviet regime was established in North Korea. In October 1949, the Communists came to power in China. The political dependence of these countries on the USSR was ensured not so much by the military presence of Soviet troops (they were not present in all countries of the “people's democracy”), but by enormous material assistance. For 1945-1952 the amount of long-term concessional loans to these countries alone amounted to 15 billion rubles. ($3 billion).
In 1949, the economic foundations of the Soviet bloc were formalized. For this purpose, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance was created. For military-political cooperation, a Coordination Committee was first created, and then, already in 1955, the Warsaw Pact Organization.
After the war, communists found themselves in power not only in people's democracies, but also in a number of large Western countries. This reflected the great contribution that leftist forces made to the defeat of fascism.
Since the summer of 1947, in the face of the emerging final gap between the USSR and the West, Stalin tried to once again organizationally unite the communists different countries. Instead of the Comintern, which was abolished in 1943, the Cominform was formed in September 1947. He was given the task of “exchanging experience” between communist parties. However, during this “exchange”, “working out” of entire parties began, which, from Stalin’s point of view, did not act energetically enough against the United States and its allies. The Communist Parties of France, Italy and Yugoslavia were the first to be subjected to such criticism.
Then began the struggle against “opportunism” in the ruling communist parties Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania. More often than not, this concern for “cleanliness of the ranks” resulted in settling scores and a struggle for power in the party leadership. This ultimately led to the deaths of thousands of communists in Eastern European countries.
All those leaders of the countries of the “socialist camp” who had own opinion about ways to build a new society. Only Yugoslav leader J.B. Tito escaped this fate. However, relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia were severed. After this, none of the leaders of the countries of Eastern Europe spoke about “different paths” to socialism.
Korean War. The most serious clash between the USSR and the USA was the Korean War. After the withdrawal of Soviet (in 1948) and American (in 1949) troops from Korea (which had been there since the end of World War II), the governments of both South and North Korea stepped up preparations to unite the country by force.
On June 25, 1950, citing provocations from the South, the DPRK launched an offensive with a huge army. On the fourth day, the troops of the North occupied the capital of the southerners, Seoul. There was a threat of complete military defeat South Korea. Under these conditions, the United States, through the UN Security Council, passed a resolution condemning the aggression of the DPRK and began to form a unified military coalition against it. About 40 countries have expressed their desire to provide assistance in the fight against the aggressor. Soon, allied troops landed at the port of Chemulpo and began liberating South Korean territory. The Allies' success was unexpected for the northerners and quickly created a threat of defeat for their army. The DPRK turned to the USSR and China for help. Soon they began to receive from the Soviet Union modern views military equipment (including MiG-15 jets), military specialists will arrive. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers came from China to help. At the cost of heavy losses, the front line was leveled, and ground fighting stopped.
The Korean War claimed the lives of 9 million Koreans, up to 1 million Chinese, 54 thousand Americans, and many Soviet soldiers and officers. It showed that a cold war could easily turn into a hot war. This was understood not only in Washington, but also in Moscow. After General Eisenhower won the 1952 presidential election, both sides began searching for a way out of the impasse in international relations.
What you need to know about this topic:
Socio-economic and political development of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. Nicholas II.
Domestic policy tsarism. Nicholas II. Increased repression. "Police Socialism"
Russo-Japanese War. Reasons, progress, results.
Revolution 1905 - 1907 Character, driving forces and features of the Russian revolution of 1905-1907. stages of the revolution. The reasons for the defeat and the significance of the revolution.
Elections to the State Duma. I State Duma. The agrarian question in the Duma. Dispersal of the Duma. II State Duma. Coup d'etat of June 3, 1907
Third June political system. Electoral law June 3, 1907 III State Duma. The alignment of political forces in the Duma. Activities of the Duma. Government terror. Decline of the labor movement in 1907-1910.
Stolypin agrarian reform.
IV State Duma. Party composition and Duma factions. Activities of the Duma.
Political crisis in Russia on the eve of the war. Labor movement in the summer of 1914. Crisis at the top.
International position of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.
The beginning of the First World War. Origin and nature of the war. Russia's entry into the war. Attitude to the war of parties and classes.
Progress of military operations. Strategic forces and plans of the parties. Results of the war. Role Eastern Front in the first world war.
The Russian economy during the First World War.
Worker and peasant movement in 1915-1916. Revolutionary movement in the army and navy. The growth of anti-war sentiment. Formation of the bourgeois opposition.
Russian culture of the 19th - early 20th centuries.
The aggravation of socio-political contradictions in the country in January-February 1917. The beginning, prerequisites and nature of the revolution. Uprising in Petrograd. Formation of the Petrograd Soviet. Interim Committee State Duma. Order N I. Formation of the Provisional Government. Abdication of Nicholas II. The reasons for the emergence of dual power and its essence. The February revolution in Moscow, at the front, in the provinces.
From February to October. The policy of the Provisional Government regarding war and peace, on agrarian, national, and labor issues. Relations between the Provisional Government and the Soviets. Arrival of V.I. Lenin in Petrograd.
Political parties (Kadets, Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, Bolsheviks): political programs, influence among the masses.
Crises of the Provisional Government. Attempted military coup in the country. The growth of revolutionary sentiment among the masses. Bolshevization of the capital's Soviets.
Preparation and conduct of an armed uprising in Petrograd.
II All-Russian Congress Soviets. Decisions about power, peace, land. Formation of government and management bodies. Composition of the first Soviet government.
Victory of the armed uprising in Moscow. Government agreement with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries. Elections to the Constituent Assembly, its convocation and dispersal.
The first socio-economic transformations in the field of industry, Agriculture, finance, labor and women's issues. Church and State.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, its terms and significance.
Economic tasks of the Soviet government in the spring of 1918. Aggravation of the food issue. Introduction of food dictatorship. Working food detachments. Combeds.
The revolt of the left Socialist Revolutionaries and the collapse of the two-party system in Russia.
The first Soviet Constitution.
Reasons for intervention and civil war. Progress of military operations. Human and material losses during the civil war and military intervention.
Domestic policy of the Soviet leadership during the war. "War communism". GOELRO plan.
The policy of the new government regarding culture.
Foreign policy. Treaties with border countries. Russia's participation in the Genoa, Hague, Moscow and Lausanne conferences. Diplomatic recognition of the USSR by the main capitalist countries.
Domestic policy. Socio-economic and political crisis of the early 20s. Famine 1921-1922 Transition to a new economic policy. The essence of NEP. NEP in the field of agriculture, trade, industry. Financial reform. Economic recovery. Crises during the NEP period and its collapse.
Projects for the creation of the USSR. I Congress of Soviets of the USSR. The first government and the Constitution of the USSR.
Illness and death of V.I. Lenin. Intra-party struggle. The beginning of the formation of Stalin's regime.
Industrialization and collectivization. Development and implementation of the first five-year plans. Socialist competition - goal, forms, leaders.
Formation and strengthening of the state system of economic management.
The course towards complete collectivization. Dispossession.
Results of industrialization and collectivization.
Political, national-state development in the 30s. Intra-party struggle. Political repression. Formation of the nomenklatura as a layer of managers. Stalin's regime and the USSR Constitution of 1936
Soviet culture in the 20-30s.
Foreign policy of the second half of the 20s - mid-30s.
Domestic policy. Growth of military production. Emergency measures in the field of labor legislation. Measures to solve the grain problem. Armed forces. The growth of the Red Army. Military reform. Repressions against the command cadres of the Red Army and the Red Army.
Foreign policy. Non-aggression pact and treaty of friendship and borders between the USSR and Germany. The entry of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus into the USSR. Soviet-Finnish War. Inclusion of the Baltic republics and other territories into the USSR.
Periodization of the Great Patriotic War. The initial stage of the war. Turning the country into a military camp. Military defeats 1941-1942 and their reasons. Major military events. Surrender of Nazi Germany. Participation of the USSR in the war with Japan.
Soviet rear during the war.
Deportation of peoples.
Guerrilla warfare.
Human and material losses during the war.
Creation of an anti-Hitler coalition. Declaration of the United Nations. The problem of the second front. "Big Three" conferences. Problems of post-war peace settlement and comprehensive cooperation. USSR and UN.
The beginning of the Cold War. The USSR's contribution to the creation of the "socialist camp". CMEA education.
Domestic policy of the USSR in the mid-40s - early 50s. Restoration of the national economy.
Social and political life. Policy in the field of science and culture. Continued repression. "Leningrad case". Campaign against cosmopolitanism. "The Doctors' Case"
Socio-economic development of Soviet society in the mid-50s - the first half of the 60s.
Socio-political development: XX Congress of the CPSU and condemnation of Stalin’s personality cult. Rehabilitation of victims of repression and deportation. Internal party struggle in the second half of the 50s.
Foreign policy: creation of the Department of Internal Affairs. Entry of Soviet troops into Hungary. Exacerbation of Soviet-Chinese relations. Split of the "socialist camp". Soviet-American relations and the Cuban missile crisis. USSR and "third world" countries. Reduction in the size of the armed forces of the USSR. Moscow Treaty on the Limitation of Nuclear Tests.
USSR in the mid-60s - first half of the 80s.
Socio-economic development: economic reform of 1965
Increasing difficulties in economic development. Declining rates of socio-economic growth.
Constitution of the USSR 1977
Social and political life of the USSR in the 1970s - early 1980s.
Foreign policy: Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Consolidation of post-war borders in Europe. Moscow Treaty with Germany. Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). Soviet-American treaties of the 70s. Soviet-Chinese relations. Entry of Soviet troops into Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan. Exacerbation of international tension and the USSR. Strengthening Soviet-American confrontation in the early 80s.
USSR in 1985-1991
Domestic policy: an attempt to accelerate the socio-economic development of the country. An attempt to reform the political system of Soviet society. Congresses of People's Deputies. Election of the President of the USSR. Multi-party system. Exacerbation of the political crisis.
Exacerbation national question. Attempts to reform the national-state structure of the USSR. Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR. "Novoogaryovsky trial". Collapse of the USSR.
Foreign policy: Soviet-American relations and the problem of disarmament. Agreements with leading capitalist countries. Withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Changing relations with the countries of the socialist community. Collapse of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and the Warsaw Pact Organization.
Russian Federation in 1992-2000
Domestic policy: “Shock therapy” in the economy: price liberalization, stages of privatization of commercial and industrial enterprises. Fall in production. Increased social tension. Growth and slowdown in financial inflation. Intensification of the struggle between the executive and legislative branches. Dissolution of the Supreme Council and the Congress of People's Deputies. October events of 1993. Abolition of local authorities Soviet power. Elections to the Federal Assembly. Constitution of the Russian Federation 1993 Formation of a presidential republic. Exacerbation and overcoming national conflicts in the North Caucasus.
Parliamentary elections of 1995. Presidential elections of 1996. Power and opposition. An attempt to return to the course of liberal reforms (spring 1997) and its failure. Financial crisis of August 1998: causes, economic and political consequences. "Second Chechen War". Parliamentary elections of 1999 and early presidential elections 2000 Foreign Policy: Russia in the CIS. Participation of Russian troops in “hot spots” of the neighboring countries: Moldova, Georgia, Tajikistan. Relations between Russia and foreign countries. Withdrawal of Russian troops from Europe and neighboring countries. Russian-American agreements. Russia and NATO. Russia and the Council of Europe. Yugoslav crises (1999-2000) and Russia’s position.
- Danilov A.A., Kosulina L.G. History of the state and peoples of Russia. XX century.
After the war, the crisis hit the British Empire and its power in the world, and the collapse of its colonial empire began. Two superpowers appeared on the world stage: the USSR and the USA. The contradictions were ideological. The question was posed harshly: socialism or capitalism. The COLD WAR began, a war without open confrontation, a war of the arms race, a war of confrontation between the USA and the USSR.
A state of acute political, economic, ideological, etc. confrontation (confrontation, opposition), which did not develop into an open military phase, which took place between the USSR and its allies on the one hand, and the USA and its allies on the other hand.
Causes of the Cold War Lack of a common enemy among the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition The desire of the USSR and the USA for dominance in the post-war world Contradictions between capitalist and socialist societies political systems. Political ambitions of the leaders of the USSR (Joseph Stalin) and the USA (Harry Truman)
Controversy over the future of Germany grew more and more. The USSR was not satisfied with the Soviet plan regarding Germany, and the USA was not satisfied with the Soviet plan. The confrontation led in 1949 to the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in the West and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the East. Thus, 3/2 Germany appeared in Europe, or, in reality, three, since Berlin was also divided.
The beginning of the “Cold War” The cooling in relations between the USSR and the USA appeared immediately after the end of World War II The “Cold War” began in March 1946 with a speech in Fulton by Winston Churchill. The proclamation of the Truman Doctrine in 1947 further worsened the USSR’s relations with its former allies. Churchill's Fulton speech and the Truman Doctrine were perceived by the USSR as a call to war
The Truman Doctrine envisaged: Providing economic assistance to European countries Creating a military-political alliance of Western countries under the leadership of the United States Placing a network of US military bases along the borders of the USSR Supporting internal opposition in Eastern European countries Using nuclear weapons
The confrontation between the two superpowers was growing. The USSR's testing of its atomic bomb delayed a direct confrontation between the USSR and the USA. But the confrontation continued. This period, which lasted for decades, kept the whole world in tension and was called the “COLD WAR”. According to Churchill, “The Iron Curtain has fallen” on Europe. In the territories liberated by the USSR, “people's democracies” were established according to the Soviet model. Instead of democratic Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Socialist Republic, and Yugoslavia were formed. A socialist camp was formed. Dictator of Socialist Romania Gheorghe Gheorghiu Dej, “Stalin’s own man.” Flag and coat of arms of the SRR
Truman Doctrine Marshall Plan Creation of NATO Split of Germany: Federal Republic of Germany -1949
The influence of the CPSU on the politics of the countries of Eastern Europe (rejection of the Marshall Plan) Assistance in the transfer of power to the communists in a number of countries Creation of the CMEA and the War of Internal Affairs - 1949 and 1955 Test of the atomic bomb - 1949 Support for the split of Germany - GDR - 1949
The confrontation led to the start of an arms race. More and more new and terrible methods of exterminating people were created. Often the race only led to an increase in the number of weapons. The USSR and the USA used their weapons in absentia during the war in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and the Middle East. The world was divided into opposing camps.
In April 1948, Secretary of State Marshall decided to assist Western Europe in post-war reconstruction, thus making Europe his eternal debtor. The goal of the Marshall Plan was to strengthen the foundations of capitalism in Europe. In 1949, the military North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created, ostensibly against possible German aggression, but in fact against the USSR. NATO includes 12 European countries. The USSR's response was the creation in 1949 of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) for the countries of Eastern Europe and in 1955 of the military Warsaw Pact Organization, which included 9 countries. Europe was divided into two camps. NATO and ATS emblem
Consequences of the Cold War for the USSR Huge expenses on the arms race Expenditures on supporting satellite countries (countries included in the Warsaw Warfare) Establishment of the “Iron Curtain”, restriction of contacts with Western countries Tightening of the domestic political course Lack of access to the latest foreign technologies, technological lag behind Western countries
