Although it unified, it also brought about separation, with the division of Germany and of Berlin. After World War 2 Russia unified all surrounding countries with communism. It began with the setting up of satellite states surrounding Russia later becoming commonly known as the ‘Iron Curtain’. They were set up to protect Russia because they believed the allies would invade, just as they did after the First World War. Russia’s main national interest after setting up other communist republics was to further spread communism.
However, you shouldn't make the assumption that devotion to ideology was all that was behind Cold War animosity; countries tend to be more complaint trading partners with countries that share their political systems and both Stalin and the Cold War Era presidents in the US knew this. The tension eventually built, but no one wanted to go to actual war again after the colossal massacre of WWII, hence the term Cold War. 2. Describe and explain the ideological differences between the United Stated and the Soviet Union. In 1917, Russia became a communist country with an agenda of converting the world to communism.
Lenin had a great impact on Russia and the Russian people with his range of policies and events that took place during his time in power. These had huge political and economic effects and had both short-term and long-term impacts. Even in exile, Lenin’s time in Germany did not stop him from organizing yet another Bolshevik uprising in Russia in October 1917. He put the Bolshevik Central Committee under massive pressure and their final decision to hold an uprising shows Lenin’s power and influence within the party. This was only a temporary victory for the Bolsheviks as they lost support of the majority of the Russian population.
This resulted in risings such as the Spartacist rising where communists fuelled by the success of the Russian revolution almost occupied nearly every major city in Germany. However, the Reichstag led by the SPD had stepped into a power that was left by the Kaiser, and as a result of this it had no real option but to accept the Versailles Treaty. The most irritating part for the German people was the to pay reparations to Britain and France. Germany's failure to pay her debt led to the invasion of the Ruhr, resulted in very little success for France but did succeed in the complete collapse of the German economy. This led to the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 Hitler aided by General Lundendorff and a few hundred supporters marched on the Munich town hall as a pretext to a national revolution, unfortunately for Hitler this attempt failed and he was sent to prison.
At the end of World War 2 Stalin and his army had driven the Nazis out of many countries in Eastern Europe but he told his armies to stay in these countries and set up communist governments. As capitalists the Americans were scared of communism and the fact that it was spreading throughout Eastern Europe so rapidly. As a result of this expansion America felt they
With the end of World War II and the fall of Nazism and Imperialism, a form of a political powerhouse was rising rapidly overseas in Soviet Russia. Russia was ruled by Communism while America was ruled by Capitalism. These two political powerhouses would clash constantly, and beginning in 1947, the American people would have to clash with it as well. In 1947, the HUAC, “an investigative group of United States citizens who reprimanded Un-American and subversive activities” (Simkin 1) summoned multiple Hollywood entertainment professionals who they believed were inspired by the Communist Party to place Communist propaganda into films. Ten writers and directors were determined suspects and these men became known as the Hollywood Ten (US History
Soviet and US relations changed dramatically between 1945 and 1947, there were many reasons to explain why and how this happened. Firstly, one reason was the end of WW2. During the Second World War, America and the USSR were members of the Grand Alliance in order to oppose Hitler, but when this war finished there was nothing to bring the Communists and Capitalists together. Therefore, the two countries went from allies to progressing enemies after Germany was defeated. This developed until a confrontation, from Western and Eastern Europe, in a nuclear arms race.
Many would question how a country like Afghanistan could have had any impact on the strongest communist nation of all time, the United of Soviet Socialist Republics, and most people would answer by saying that U.S.S.R was already on the verge of falling apart and Afghanistan was the final conflict that pushed it. I believe that Afghanistan was a strong role in the fall of the Soviet Union. The outcome of the invasion of Afghanistan had proved that the Red Army was in fact not untouchable. Thus, this had caused many Russian republics to demand independence and challenge the Red Army. And most importantly, the economy of the Soviet Union was in ruins after the U.S.S.R had chose to spend massive amounts of money on wars and the arms race.
For instance, when Mother Russia overthrew its tsar, made a revolution, became the Soviet Union, unified itself under Lenin and created an ideological structure called communism, the United States could only react with fear and trepidation. The government could not accept the simple fact that a country could exist with economic and political principles so critically opposed to democracy and industrial capitalism. The first factor is that during World War Two, the USA and the western powers had worked together with the Soviet Union to defeat Nazi Germany and its allies. However, the alliance was based solely on the fact that they had a common enemy- Germany. Once that enemy was near defeat, disagreements began to emerge.
The biggest fear of all growing and developed countries in the 20th century was the spread of communism. Communism is like a disease that spreads and kills all successful economies in its path. For the United States, communism was at its greatest threat potential during the time period between the end of the Second World War in 1945 up until the Vietnam war in 1970. However, the United States was successful in denying the threat of communism dispersion within America. From 1945 at the Yalta Conference, up until the end of the Vietnam war in 1970, the initial goal of United States foreign policy was to deny the spread of communism.