In what year did the Cold War begin? Cold War: Briefly

The article briefly talks about the Cold War - the confrontation between the USSR and the USA after World War II. The superpowers were in a state of confrontation. The Cold War found expression in a series of limited military conflicts in which the USSR and the USA took some part. For about half a century the world was waiting for the Third World War.

1. Introduction
2. Causes of the Cold War
3. Progress of the Cold War
4. Results of the Cold War

Causes of the Cold War

• After the end of World War II, two superpowers emerged in the world: the USSR and the USA. The Soviet Union made a decisive contribution to the victory over fascism, possessed at that time the most combat-ready army, armed with last word technology. The movement in support of the Soviet Union intensified throughout the world thanks to the emergence of Eastern Europe states with a socialist regime.
• Western countries, led by the United States, watched with alarm the growing popularity of the Soviet Union. The creation of the atomic bomb in the United States and its use against Japan allowed the American government to believe that it could dictate its will to the whole world. Plans for an atomic attack on the Soviet Union immediately began to be developed. The Soviet leadership realized the possibility of such actions and hastily carried out work to create such weapons in the USSR. During the period while the United States remained the sole owner atomic weapons the war did not start only because the limited number of bombs would not have allowed for complete victory. In addition, the Americans were afraid of support from many states for the USSR.
• The ideological justification for the Cold War was W. Churchill’s speech in Fulton (1946). In it, he stated that the Soviet Union was a threat to the whole world. The socialist system strives to conquer the globe and establish its dominance. Churchill considered the English-speaking countries (primarily the USA and England) to be the main force capable of countering the global threat, which should declare a new crusade against the Soviet Union. The USSR took note of the threat. From this moment the Cold War begins.

Progress of the Cold War

• The Cold War did not develop into World War III, but situations arose when this could well have happened.
• In 1949, the Soviet Union invented the atomic bomb. The seemingly achieved parity between the superpowers turned into an arms race - a constant increase in military-technical potential and the invention of more powerful weapons.
• In 1949, NATO was formed - a military-political bloc of Western states, and in 1955 - the Warsaw Pact, which united the socialist states of Eastern Europe led by the USSR. The main warring parties have emerged.
• The first "hot spot" of the Cold War was the Korean War (1950-1953). IN South Korea there was a pro-American regime in power, and a pro-Soviet one in the North. NATO sent its armed forces, USSR assistance was expressed in the supply of military equipment and the dispatch of specialists. The war ended with recognition of the division of Korea into two states.
• The most dangerous moment of the Cold War was the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962). The USSR stationed its nuclear missiles in Cuba, in close proximity to the United States. The Americans became aware of this. The Soviet Union was demanded to remove the missiles. After the refusal, the military forces of the superpowers were put on alert. However, common sense prevailed. The USSR agreed to the demand, and in return the Americans removed their missiles from Turkey.
• The further history of the Cold War was expressed in the material and ideological support by the Soviet Union for third world countries in their national liberation movement. The United States, under the pretext of the struggle for democracy, provided the same support to pro-Western regimes. The confrontation led to local military conflicts around the globe, the largest of which was the US war in Vietnam (1964-1975).
• Second half of the 70s. marked by a relaxation of tensions. A series of negotiations were held, and economic and cultural ties between the Western and Eastern blocs began to be established.
• However, in the late 70s, the superpowers made another breakthrough in the arms race. Moreover, in 1979, the USSR sent its troops into Afghanistan. Relations became strained again.
• Perestroika and the collapse of the Soviet Union led to the collapse of the entire socialist system. The Cold War ended due to the voluntary withdrawal of one of the superpowers from the confrontation. Americans rightfully consider themselves victors in the war.

Results of the Cold War

• The Cold War for a long time kept humanity in fear of the possibility of a Third World War, which could well be the last in human history. By the end of the confrontation, according to various estimates, the planet had accumulated such a quantity of nuclear weapons that would be enough to blow up the globe 40 times.
• The Cold War led to military clashes in which people were killed and states suffered enormous damage. The arms race itself was ruinous for both superpowers.
• The end of the Cold War should be recognized as an achievement for humanity. However, the conditions under which this became possible led to the collapse of the great state with all the ensuing consequences. There was a threat of the formation of a unipolar world led by the United States.

During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union fought together as allies against the Axis powers. However, relations between the two peoples were tense. Americans had long feared Soviet communism and were concerned about the autocratic behavior of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

For its part, the USSR was outraged by the Americans' long-term refusal to consider the country as a legitimate part of the world community, as well as their late entry into World War II, which led to the deaths of tens of millions of Soviet citizens.

After the end of the war, these grievances grew into an overwhelming feeling of mutual mistrust and enmity. Postwar Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe fueled many Americans' fears of wanting to control the world order.

Meanwhile, the USSR resented American officials' bellicose rhetoric, military buildup, and interventionist approach to international relations. In such a hostile atmosphere, neither country was entirely to blame for the Cold War, the problem was mutual and in fact some historians believe it was inevitable.

Cold War: Containment

By the time the Second ended World War, most American officials agreed that better protection against the Soviet threat there was a strategy of “containment”. In 1946, in his famous "long telegram", diplomat George Kennan (1904-2005) explained it this way: Soviet Union, was a “political force” fanatical that there could be no permanent modus vivendi (agreement between parties who disagree) with the United States.”

As a result, America's only choice was "long-term, patient, but tough and vigilant measures to contain Russian expansionist tendencies."

President Harry Truman (1884-1972) agreed: “It shall be the policy of the United States,” he told Congress in 1947, “to support free peoples who are resisting attempts at subjugation by outside pressure.” This way of thinking will determine foreign policy USA for the next four decades.

The term "Cold War" first appeared in a 1945 essay by English writer George Orwell, which he called "You and the Atom Bomb."

Atomic Age of the Cold War

The containment strategy also served as the basis for an unprecedented arms buildup in the United States. In 1950, the National Safety Council report known as NSC-68 joined Truman's recommendation that the country use military force to “contain” communist expansionism. In this regard, the authors of the report called for a fourfold increase in defense spending.

In particular, American officials called for the creation, despite the fact that it had just ended. Thus began a deadly “arms race.”

In 1949, the Soviet Union tested its own atomic bomb. In response, President Truman announced that the United States would build a weapon even more destructive than the atomic bomb: the hydrogen bomb, or “superbomb.” Stalin followed suit.

As a result, the stakes in the Cold War were dangerously high. First H-bomb tested at Eniwetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands, showed how terrible the nuclear age could await us all.

The explosion created a 25-square-mile fireball that vaporized the island and tore a huge hole in the ocean floor. Such an explosion could easily and easily destroy half of Manhattan.

Subsequent American and Soviet tests spewed tons of toxic radioactive waste into the atmosphere.

The constant threat of nuclear annihilation has had an impact a huge impact to American inner life. People built bomb shelters in their backyards. Schoolchildren practiced evacuation techniques and ways to survive a nuclear attack.

In the 1950s and 1960s, many new films were released, depicting nuclear strikes and the devastation that followed them, the mutation of people exposed to radiation, the audience was horrified. In all aspects of life, the Cold War was constantly present in Everyday life Americans.

Expansion of the Cold War into space

Outer space became another dramatic arena for competition in the Cold War. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet P-7 intercontinental ballistic missile is delivered to the world's first artificial satellite, and the first man-made object launched into Earth orbit.

The launch of Sputnik came as a surprise, and not a very pleasant one, for most Americans. In the United States, outer space was seen as the next frontier, a logical extension of the Great American Tradition of exploration.

In addition, the demonstration of the power of the R-7 missile, which was apparently capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to US territory from outer space, was like a slap in the face for the Americans. Intelligence increased the collection of information about Soviet military activities.

In 1958, the United States launched its satellite, developed by the US Army under the leadership of rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, and the Space Race began. That same year, President Dwight Eisenhower signed an executive order creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The federal agency dedicated to space exploration, as well as several programs, have been aimed at harnessing the military potential of outer space. Still, the USSR was one step ahead; the launch of the first man into space took place in April 1961.

After becoming the first American in space, Alan Shepard (1917-1963) made a bold statement to the public, he claimed that the US planned to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. His prediction came true on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong, on NASA's Apollo 11 mission, became the first man to set foot on the moon. This event marked the victory of the Americans in the space race. American astronauts came to be regarded as American national heroes. The Soviets, in turn, were presented as villains who were putting all their efforts into overtaking America and proving the great strength of the communist system.

Cold War: Red Scare

Meanwhile, starting in 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) began to work in the other direction. The committee began a series of hearings designed to show that communist subversion was occurring in the United States.

In Hollywood, HUAC forced hundreds of people who worked in the film industry to abandon their left-wing political beliefs and testify against each other. More than 500 people lost their jobs. Many of these blacklisted people were screenwriters, directors, actors and others. They could not find work for more than ten years. HUAC also accused State Department employees of carrying out subversive activities. Soon other anti-communist politicians, especially Senator Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957), expanded this to eliminate anyone who worked in the federal government. Thousands of federal employees were under investigation. Some of them were fired or even had criminal charges brought against them. This anti-communist hysteria continued throughout the 1950s. Many liberal college professors have lost their jobs, people have been forced to testify against colleagues, and the “Oath of Allegiance” has become commonplace.

Impact of the Cold War on the World

The fight against subversion in the United States was reflected in the growing Soviet threat abroad. In June 1950, the first actual military operations began. cold war" when the pro-Soviet North Korean People's Army invaded the territory of its pro-Western southern neighbor. Many American officials feared that this was the first step in a Communist campaign to take over the world. And they believe that non-intervention is a bad option for the development of events. President Truman sent, but the war dragged on, became a stalemate and ended in 1953.

Other international conflicts followed. In the early 1960s, President Kennedy faced a number of troubling situations in the Western Hemisphere. The Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis the following year. It seemed that in order to prove that there was no real communist threat to third world countries, the Americans had to take part in civil war in Vietnam, where the collapse of the French colonial regime led to fighting between pro-American Dinh Diem and communist Ho Chi Minh in the north. Since the 1950s, the United States had implemented a series of measures to ensure the survival of the anti-communist state in the region, and in the early 1960s it seemed obvious to American leaders that if they were to successfully “contain” communist expansionism, it would require more active intervention in conflicts. However, what was planned as a short-term action, in reality, lasted for 10 years of armed conflict.

End of the Cold War

Almost immediately after taking office, President Richard Nixon (1913-1994) began implementing a new approach to international relations. Instead of viewing the world as hostile, “bi-polar,” he suggested why not use diplomacy rather than military action? To this end, he called on the United Nations to recognize the communist Chinese government and, after a trip there in 1972, the Americans began to establish diplomatic relations with Beijing. At the same time, he adopted a policy of “détente”—“relaxation”—toward the Soviet Union. In 1972, he and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev (1906-1982) signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT), which banned the production of nuclear missiles for both sides and took a step toward reducing the decade-long threat nuclear war.

Despite Nixon's efforts, the Cold War flared up again during the administration of President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004). Like many leaders of his generation, Reagan believed that the spread of communism anywhere threatened freedom throughout the world. As a result, he worked to provide financial and military assistance to anti-communist governments and insurgencies against established communist authorities around the world. This policy, especially in countries such as Grenada and El Salvador, was known as the Reagan Doctrine.

Cold War - Briefly covers just a few global events that are actually worth knowing. Of course, there are also small events that should not be overlooked. Without knowing these events, it is extremely difficult to navigate tests and exam assignments. Everything must be systematized, because history is an exact science. So I recommend reading this short article to the end, in which we briefly and clearly outlined the key events.

Key events

Before reading this article, I strongly recommend that you read and. Otherwise, things won't work out! In addition to these events, which we discussed below, we must also keep in mind the arms race, the unification of Germany, and many more nuances that will really help you learn the material at the proper level. Where to find all this, I wrote at the end of the article.

The Cold War covers the following events:

Berlin crisis of 1948-49.

Causes: Berlin was for the most part in the Soviet zone of occupation, as a result people fled to the western zone of occupation. Plus, the Western Allies decided to carry out a monetary reform, which led to chaos in the monetary system of the Eastern part of the city.

Course of events:

• On June 21, 1948, the USSR imposed a blockade of Berlin.
• Western countries are trying to organize an air bridge. Any plane crash could lead to a new world war.
• In May 1949, the USSR lifted the blockade of Berlin, and relations normalized.

Results: in 1949, Germany was split into two states, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, under Western and Soviet influence, respectively. For a very long time, these two states did not diplomatically recognize each other.

Korean War 1950 - 1953

Causes: After the unconditional surrender of Japan, on September 2, 1945, the USSR and the USA agreed that North Korea would fall under the protectorate of the USSR, and South Korea would fall under the protectorate of the US. What does Korea have to do with it if we are talking about the surrender of Japan? If you asked this question, then you are not at all aware of world history. The fact is that Korea, like the lion’s share of China, lived under Japan throughout the first half of the 20th century.

Accordingly, in North Korea A communist government was formed, controlled by the USSR, headed by Kim Il Sung, and the South followed the path of capitalist development. However, the USSR and the North wanted to expand their influence and, since 1948, had been preparing an attack on South Korea.

Course of events:

Results: As a result of the peace treaty, the border between the Koreas again passed along the 38th parallel.

Suez crisis of 1956

Berlin crisis of 1961

Cause: the USSR's desire for greater independence of the GDR, ideally to extend its influence to the Federal Republic of Germany. Tension was created by the fact that there was still no peace treaty between the GDR and the FRG.

Course of events: negotiations took place continuously from 1958 to 1961. And in principle, both sides were ready to compromise. Questions were raised by Khrushchev's aggressive rhetoric. As a result, Kennedy declared that if necessary, the United States would fight for West Germany and West Berlin.

Results: In 1961, the Berlin Wall was erected overnight, dividing West and East Berlin.

Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962

This event is considered the highest peak of the Cold War.

Causes: the emergence of the communist regime of F. Castro in Cuba in the late 1950s, right “under the nose” of the United States, as well as the deployment of Soviet nuclear missiles there.

Course of events: deployment of US nuclear missiles in Turkey, which could reach the territory of the USSR.

Negotiations between the USA and the USSR lasted throughout September and October 1962. As a result, on October 28, the USSR accepted the US conditions: it removed missiles from Cuba in exchange for the US removing missiles from Turkey.

Consequences: this event showed that nuclear war was real and predetermined the period of détente.

• The Vietnam War 1964 - 1975.
• Final Act on Security and Cooperation in Europe 1975.
• War in Afghanistan 1979 - 1989
• Collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Other events will be added as I have free time. By the way, I analyzed all of them and many other nuances in.

In conclusion, I would like to clarify something. It seems that the events of the Cold War have sunk into history. However, one can look at the current international situation and say that nothing is over: the incomprehensible confrontation between states with imperial ambitions has not disappeared and continues to pose a threat to global security. And it is not a fact that a new crisis, like the Caribbean one, is already on the way. What do you think about this? Write in the comments!

Best regards, Andrey Puchkov

As you remember, the site decided to start a series of articles that we devoted to quite deep and serious topics. Last time we looked at the question of why the USSR collapsed, this time we want to consider an equally serious, and from a historical and analytical point of view, a very interesting episode called the “Cold War”. Many representatives of the younger generation have heard about this, and some even witnessed these events and remember all the tense moments of this conflict. Now many people use this concept as a common noun, in a situation of a “bad world”, but, nevertheless, today in the political aspect the Cold War is relevant again, but this is a topic for a separate article. Today we will briefly look at the Cold War during the period of relations between the USSR and the USA.

What is the Cold War

The Cold War is a period of time when there was confrontation between two superpowers, and as you understand, it was between the USSR and the USA. This concept was used because the two countries were not engaged in a weapons war. And in all other, mostly peaceful ways. It seems that diplomatic relations were maintained between the countries, and sometimes the peaks of confrontation subsided, meanwhile, a quiet struggle was constantly going on in all areas and directions.

The years of the Cold War are counted from 1946 to 1991. The Cold War began with the end of World War II, and ended with the collapse of the USSR. The essence of the Cold War was to establish world dominance by one country and defeat the other.

Causes of the Cold War

After the end of World War II, when both superpowers considered themselves victors in this war, they wanted to build the world situation at their own discretion. Each of them wanted to dominate the world, while both countries had diametrically opposed systems of government and ideology. Subsequently, such a confrontation would become part of the ideology of the two countries; the Soviet Union wanted to destroy America and establish communism throughout the world, and the United States wanted to “save” the world from the USSR.

If we analyze everything that happened, we can say with confidence that this is an artificial conflict, since any ideology must have its enemy, and both the USA for the USSR and the USSR for America were ideal options as an enemy. Moreover soviet people they hated the mythical enemies of the Americans, although they perceived the inhabitants of America themselves as normal, just like the Americans - they were afraid of the mythical “Russians” who do not sleep, but think about how to conquer and attack America, although they had nothing against the inhabitants of the union themselves. Therefore, it is safe to say that the Cold War was a conflict of leaders and ideologies, inflated due to their own ambitions.

Cold War politics

First of all, both countries tried to enlist the support of other countries in their course. The USA supported all countries Western Europe when the USSR was supported by Asian countries and Latin America. Essentially, during the Cold War, the world was divided into two confrontational camps. Moreover, there were only a few neutral countries.

Most of all, the aggravation of the political situation was caused by the Cold War conflicts, in particular, we will highlight only two of them: the Berlin and Cuban missile crises. It was they who became the catalyst for the deterioration of the situation, and the world was really on the brink of a nuclear war, which, fortunately, was prevented and the situation was defused.

The constant race, in everything, was also part of the Cold War. First of all, there was an arms race, both countries developed different kinds weapons: new military equipment, weapons (mostly of mass destruction), missiles, spy equipment, etc. There was also a propaganda race on television and in other sources; fierce propaganda was constantly carried out against the enemy. The race was not only in the military sphere, but also in science, culture and sports. Each country sought to overtake the other.

Both countries constantly monitored each other, and there were spies and intelligence agents on both sides.

But, probably, to a greater extent, the Cold War took place on foreign territory. As the situation accumulated, both countries installed long-range missiles in countries neighboring the enemy; for the USA it was Turkey and the countries of Western Europe, while for the USSR it was the countries of Latin America.

Results of the Cold War

Many people often wonder who won the Cold War? Maybe. America won the Cold War, since the war ended with the fall of its enemy, and main reason the end of the Cold War - the collapse of the USSR, it is not a fact that it was not the work of the American intelligence services.

If we talk about the results, then none of the countries (the USA and Russia) learned any useful lessons, except that the enemy does not sleep and is always ready.

If there had been no Cold War, then all the enormous potential of the two countries could have been used for peaceful purposes: space exploration, new technologies, etc. It's possible that Cell phones, Internet, etc. If scientists had appeared 20 years earlier, instead of developing weapons, they would have been engaged in solving various world mysteries, of which there are a huge number.

With the support of various allies on all sides. This confrontation lasted for almost fifty years (from 1946 to 1991).

The Cold War was not a military battle in the truest sense. The basis for the dispute was the ideology of the two most powerful states on the planet at that time. Scientists characterize this confrontation as a very deep contradiction between the socialist and capitalist systems. It is symbolic that the Cold War began immediately after the end of World War II, as a result of which both countries remained victorious. And since devastation prevailed in the world at that time, ideal conditions were created for the planting of many territories by its people. But, unfortunately, the USA and the USSR at that time differed in their opinions, so each side wanted to get ahead of its rival and make sure that in a vast territory where people did not know what to believe in and how to continue to live, they would implant their ideology as quickly as possible. As a result, the people of the losing states will trust the victorious country and enrich it at the expense of their human and natural resources.

This confrontation is divided into stages of the Cold War, among which the following can be distinguished:

Beginning (1946-1953). This stage can be characterized as attempts by the USSR and the USA to hold the first events in Europe that would be aimed at inculcating their ideology. As a result, since 1948, the possibility of a new war loomed over the world, so both states began to rapidly prepare for new battles.

On the brink (1953-1962). During this period, relations between the opponents improved a little and they even began to make friendly visits to each other. But at this time, European states are starting revolutions one by one in order to independently lead their country. To eliminate the indignation, the USSR actively began bombing the conflicts that broke out. The United States could not allow such freedom to the enemy and began to set up its own air defense system. As a result, the relationship deteriorated again.

Stage of détente (1962-1979). During this period, more conservative rulers came to power in the warring countries, who were not particularly willing to wage an active confrontation, which could well lead to war.

A new round of confrontation (1979-1987). The next stage began after the Soviet Union sent troops into Afghanistan and several times shot down foreign civilian aircraft that flew over the state. These aggressive actions provoked the United States to place its own on the territory of several European countries, which, naturally, infuriated the USSR.

Gorbachev's rise to power and the end of the confrontation (1987-1991). The new one did not want to continue the struggle for ideology in other European countries. Moreover, his policy was aimed at eliminating communist power, which was the founder of political and economic repression towards the United States.

The end of the Cold War was marked by the fact that the Soviet Union made great concessions and did not particularly lay claim to power in Europe, especially since the defeated countries had already recovered from devastation and began independent development. The USSR began to experience a deep crisis, which led to the final crisis in December 1991. Thus, the Cold War did not bring a positive result to our state, but became one of the elements that led to the collapse of the great state.