Early tensions + after effects

• Soviet satellite states

  • Countries freed from Nazi control in 1945 that became satellite states as USSR was reluctant to give up control
• Truman saw the Soviet satellite states as

  Evidence of the USSR wanting to spread communism worldwide
• The US developed the atomic bomb for the war against Japan and used it in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Political beliefs


  • Stalin believed in communism (property/businesses were state owned)
  • Roosevelt and Churchill believed in capitalism (property/businesses were privately owned)
• The different political beliefs


  Made Stalin convinced that the West wanted to destroy communism and made Churchill very suspicious of Stalin's intentions
• Both the US and USSR had weapons able to kill millions by 1949, which made tensions increase but made the possibility of war decrease (deterrent)
• The Kennan and Novikov telegrams distinguished the hostile attitudes of the US and USSR towards each other
• Tehran Conference (Nov 1943)


  US, Britain and USSR agreed to: Invade Nazi Germany from the West to aid the USSR in the East, set up an international organisation to settle disputes (UN), USSR would help fight Japan after the war
• Potsdam Conference (Jul-Aug 1945)


  UN was officially set up, USSR took half of Germany's $20 billion reparations, Germany split into 4 zones each controlled by a power (France, USA, Britain, USSR), Stalin agreed future governments of Eastern Europe would be decided by free elections
• The Berlin Crisis 1948-49


  Stalin shut off land routes across the USSR-controlled zone of Germany, stopping West Berlin from communicating with West Germany. The US, Britain and France responded by flying in food, coal etc. to get over the blockade, and a year later the Soviets lifted the blockade.
• After the blockade was lifted, the US, Britain and France zones came together to form the state of West Germany (FRG), which was much larger than East Germany (GDR) which was only recognised by the communist bloc countries
• Purpose of the Cominform


  • To provide economic aid as an alternative to the Marshall Plan, organise industrial plans and encourage trade between members
• The Truman Doctrine


  Announced $400 million aid to Greece and Turkey to stop the threat of communism spreading, signalled US policy of containment and began the strong split between the US and USSR as Stalin became suspicious of the US wanting to crush the USSR
• The Marshall Plan


  Announced by the US to provide economic aid to war-torn European countries to keep them tied to the US instead of falling to communist ideology, which Stalin saw as 'dollar imperialism' and a way for the US to spread its influence and split Europe in two
• De-Stalinisation


  Removing all negative aspects of Stalinism like politics, economics and society
• The nuclear arms race between the US and USSR from 1945-1957 saw both sides constantly trying to maintain equal capabilities to ensure the likelihood of war was reduced through the idea of nuclear deterrent
• Korean War (1950-1953)


  Stalin agreed with North Korea's leader to invade South Korea, the US intervened to aid South Korea, China joined the North Koreans but after Stalin died a ceasefire agreement was reached, the war was a failure for the USSR as South Korea did not become communist and the US was determined to stop the spread of communism
• Hungarian Uprising 1956


  Hungarian people protested against poor living conditions and shortages, Khrushchev sent Soviet troops to restore order and replace the leader, Nagy introduced reforms but Khrushchev wouldn't accept them and Soviet troops invaded and crushed the uprising, this strengthened Khrushchev as a deterrent for other satellite states
• The Berlin Wall


  Khrushchev was forced to accept Western control in Berlin, so the only way the USSR could control its zone was to lock East Berliners in, this became a symbol of defiance against communism
• Rakosi


  Communist leader of Hungary
• Reforms introduced by Rakosi with Nagy


  1. Ending one-party state

  2. Removal of troops
• Krushchev wouldn't accept Nagy's


  Announcement that Hungary would leave the Warsaw Pact on 1st Nov 1956
• Events of the Hungarian Uprising

  1. 4th Nov Soviet troops invaded

  2. Uprising crushed

  3. 201,000 killed

  4. Pro-communist government installed
• The Hungarian Uprising was a deterrent for other satellite states to do the same
• The West's policy of only containing communism in the USSR zone


  Krushchev forced to accept Western control in Berlin
• The building of the Berlin Wall


  Prevented East Germans from leaving for the West, damaging the East German economy
• Reasons for the refugee problem 1958


  • 47 million East Germans left for West Germany 1958-1961 (better standard of living)
  • Krushchev's ultimatum to the Allies that Berlin should be demilitarised and a free city, making it harder for East Germans to leave
• The Paris Summit and U-2 Incident 1960

  Increased tensions between the USA and USSR further
• The Berlin Wall became a symbol of the stark differences between East and West Germany for 30 years
• Brezhnev Doctrine


  Moscow justified its actions in Czechoslovakia as necessary to maintain communist control over the bloc, forcing countries to stay communist
• Dubček's reforms in Czechoslovakia (Prague Spring)


  1. Less censorship

  2. More power for trade unions

  3. More freedom to travel abroad
• Moscow's reaction to Dubček's reforms


  Brezhnev urged Dubček not to go too far, and ordered Warsaw Pact troops to invade Czechoslovakia to end the reforms
• Around 100 people were killed during the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
• The invasion of Czechoslovakia showed the power of the USSR to shut down communist threats immediately
• SALT I


  Negotiations between the USA and USSR to reduce the arms race, including the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and an interim agreement on limiting strategic offensive weapons
• Reasons for détente between the USA and USSR

  The USA needed the USSR's cooperation to end the Vietnam War and stabilise their economy, while the USSR wanted to reduce military spending and gain equality with the USA
• The SALT treaties only lasted 5 years and did not limit the development of conventional weapons or the number of warheads on missiles
• The détente period reduced the chances of nuclear conflict, but the superpowers still maintained their ideological differences
• Berlin Wall


  The construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 divided East and West Berlin, symbolsizing the ideological and physical barrier between the Western and Eastern Blocs until it was torn down in 1989.
• Détente


  A period of relaxed tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1979, characterized by increased communication, agreements, and summits between leaders, but the Cold War was still ongoing.