Soviet Expansion and US Reactions

• End of WW2: Between 1945 and 1947 the USSR created satellite states in: East Germany, Romania, Poland, Albania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria.
• Feb 1946: American ambassador in USSR wrote The 'Long Telegram' to the USA, which stated:

  • The Soviets were determined to destroy the American way of life and would do everything they could to oppose America
  • The Soviets could be beaten
  • This could be done without going to war, using propaganda
• March 1946: Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech in USA described an 'iron curtain' between Communist and Capitalist countries in Europe, showing deeper divisions between both sides.
• Sep 1946: Telegram from Soviet ambassador in USA (Novikov) to Stalin stated:

  • USA hated communism and was preparing for a war
  • USA had money for a war but Soviet economy was weak
• 1947: Cominform was set up to strengthen the links between the Communist governments; Stalin could tell eastern European leaders what to do