Revisionism contradicts the proposals of the traditionalism and its blame of the Soviet Union. This view however is challenged by how the Cold War ended. This question asks for explanation of the first based in light of the latter. In order to do so, the causes and events of the Cold War will have to be explained according to the revisionist approach, only then to be critically analysed, taking the end of Cold War into an account. This should allow one to reach an informed conclusion.
The first was Vladimir Lenin, whose style of government was referred to as Leninism. The second was Joseph Stalin, whose style of government was referred to as Totalitarianism. The third and last major leader during the Russian Revolution was Leon Trotsky. His style of leadership was called Trotskyism, which was essentially Marxism, with a few differences. Overall, Marxism, Leninism, Totalitarianism, and Trotskyism were the basic principles of Communism during the Russian Revolution, and their personal principles created the downfall of Russian Socialism.
1. What were the causes of the cold war? How did the United States and the Soviet Union each react to what it perceived to be the other’s hostility? What was the effect of the Cold War on Europe? The paper will focus on the cause and effect of the Cold War that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union that began at the end World War II.
In examining the factors that shaped the various strategies of the struggle, a more balanced post-revisionist approach must be taken. As such, an investigation of Cold War policy - from Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe to the US containment strategy; from Khrushchev's 'peaceful coexistence' to Eisenhower's 'brinkmanship'; until the eventual relief of détente and later disarmament- reveals that both the East and the West were driven by "the combination of ideological and strategic interests.” The Soviet establishment of the Eastern Bloc, for example, is condemned by orthodox historians such as Norman Bailey - a heavily prejudiced former US government official - as "the initiation of an epic struggle between incompatible ideologies: the Cold War could not end in stalemate, because the utopian,
Is it reasonable to blame the breakdown of East-West relations that ultimately led to the cold war, on one or two men, is this rational, but even so, what roles did Stalin and Truman play and where can the blame of this breakdown of alliance and international relations be placed on. Many can argue that in one sense the origins of this breakdown of trust can be traced back to the 1917 Bolshevik revolution which set up the Soviet system - an alternative model of political, economic and social organization which proclaimed itself an enemy of and more significantly, the successor of the capitalist system. Communism was initially viewed by capitalist governments with great suspicion and during the civil war in Russia 1918 several capitalist states aided anti-communist forces and even though they were unsuccessful Stalin was still weary of these capitalist states and believed they still hoped to destroy the USSR. (Lowe, 2008) In many ways Stalin’s paranoia had stemmed from the actions of these capitalist states and it was this paranoia that clouded his senses and led him to make decisions that made Western governments wary of Stalin and the USSR. Roosevelt was keen to encourage closer ties with the USSR and although many Americans were skeptical, Roosevelt worked hard to keep the peace between America and the USSR.
How far do you agree with the view that the development of the Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union in the years 1945-53 was primarily due to traditional great power rivalry? Use sources 7, 8 and 9 and your own knowledge. The development of the Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union in the years 1945-53 was primarily due to great power rivalry, though this rivalry was only made clear, due to the ideological differences between the two superpowers. The Cold war has been a clash on conflicting ideologies, which fuelled the great power rivalry between the USA and Soviet Union, and these differences led to increasing tensions almost to the extent of nuclear war. Yalta was the first event in the time period, and was where ‘the big thee’, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt met and discussed the reorganization of Germany and Eastern Europe after WWII.
Source A is the view of a Liberal writer and commentator on Churchill’s views on Communism in a short book about contemporary public figures in 1924. From the source’s provenance, we can depict that Phillip Guedalla may possibly be in a good position to judge Churchill’s thoughts on Communist Russia as, due to the fact he has published a book, he has most likely had to gather evidence to support his statements, and therefore we can start to question the reliability of the source. Guedalla is consistent throughout the source regarding his statements about Churchill which suggests that this source is of good reliability. However, Source A is a second hand account, and is not said by Churchill himself and therefore may contain errors of judgement. Due to this, we can see that the source may be of good reliability but may also contain errors (Guedalla may have over-exaggerated Churchill’s views to make his book more popular.)
Practice Essay – Development of Totalitarianism Account for the development of totalitarianism in the USSR between 1928 and 1945 The development of a totalitarian society in the USSR between 1928 and 1945 can be greatly attributed to the increasingly centralized control and actions of Stalin and the Communist Party. Stalin’s actions resulted in this growth of totalitarianism according to the Friedrich-Brzezinski model as they completely reformed public opinion and increasingly centralized control over soviet life and economy. This establishment of a totalitarian state can be accounted for by three clear aspects of Stalin’s rule: his Cult of Personality, his use of Purges and terror and his increasing control over the population. Stalin’s Cult of Personality was crucial to the growth of totalitarianism in the USSR as they enabled him to indoctrinate the population in order to ensured that their views aligned with his and the Party’s. This was in accordance to the Friedrich-Brzezinski model of totalitarianism as it resulted in public adherence of an official ideology and evidences a state monopoly over effective mass communication.
Another distinct event where their difference in ideology was clearly shown was during the Yalta Conference where the party declined strictly to have their say accepted about the liberal of the Eastern Europe. Stalin strictly insisted for Eastern Europe to be under USSR as they had given them aid as defeating Germany inwards her land but USA insist for them to have a free election and thus this results in the two superpowers to have a tension between them. Stalin’s continuation taking up action such as the Salami
stalinism was nothing like marxism or leninism. how true it this Stalinism, when used in its broadest sense, refers to socialist states comparable to the Stalin-era Soviet Union, i.e. that are characterized by a totalitarian figure head, secret police, propaganda, and especially brutal tactics of political coercion. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, "Stalinism is associated with a regime of terror and totalitarian rule." [3] Stalinism usually defines the style of a government rather than an ideology.