Cold War

• The Cold War involved a simmering tension between the USSR and the West which stopped short of actual physical combat.

  The War led to significant changes in Russian political ideology and on domestic and foreign policies

  When Khrushchev came to power he enacted a policy of de-Stalinisation in an attempt to present a more favourable picture of Russia to the West

  The Cold War also prompted an arms race which required high levels of investment in heavy industry. This prevented more investment in consumer products an caused unrest, which was dealt with ruthlessly
• By 1946, the Grand Alliance was unravelling as .Truman and Stalin were suspicious of one another. Western Politicians, such as Churchill, were concerned that Communism might spread, threatening Western democracy
• Expensive events in the Cold War:

  • Korean War
  • USSR's first hydrogen bomb
  • Space Race
• Events in the Cold War that suggested Russia's system of government wasn't working well:

  • Not allying China
  • Hungarian Revolution
  • Cuban Missile Crisis
  • Sino-Soviet relations
• Impact of the Cold War:

  • Cuban Missile crisis - fall of Khrushchev
  • Detriment of consumer industry
  • Nuclear arms race was very expensive
  • Living standards much lower than in the West
  • Ongoing rivalry
• The Cold War had very little direct effect on the structure and function of Russia's government, other than playing some role in Khrushchev's fall from power