Superpower relations and the cold war edexcel history

• Russia revolution 1917


  Led by Lenin who was a communist
• Civil war in Russia 1918-1921

  1. Bolshevik (communist) known as the Red Army

  2. Supporters of Tsar called White Army
• USA, UK, France supported the White Army


  To stop communism
• White Army lost, Tsar and his family were killed by the reds
• Lenin never trusted the west
• Communism


  • All property should belong to the state and everyone should have a fair share
  • No upper, middle or lower classes, everyone is equal
  • Individual needs not prioritised, the people as a whole prioritised
• Capitalism


  • Everyone should be free to own property/business and generate money
  • There can be several parties and free elections
  • Spread influence to other countries to encourage trade and investment
• Communism included the Soviet Union, Capitalism included Britain and the USA
• Communism only has one choice of political party, Capitalism has little censorship of the media
• Communism has complete censorship of the media, Capitalism values the freedom of the individuals but limits it by majority opinion
• The Grand Alliance


  During WW2, 1941, the USA, Britain and the USSR (Soviet Union) formed an alliance against Germany and Japan
• After the defeat of Hitler

  Tensions began to grow between the Grand Alliance
• 'The Big Three'


  • Roosevelt (1882-1945)
  • Stalin (1878-1953)
  • Churchill (1874-1965)
• Roosevelt


  President of the USA from 1933-1945, believed in democracy and disliked colonisation
• Stalin


  Leader of the Soviet Union 1925-1953, cut back on people's rights and have a one-party rule in the USSR
• Churchill


  PM of Britain from 1940-45 and 51-55, he was a conservative and from an aristocratic family with traditional values
• Roosevelt


  Alliance with Stalin after Pearl Harbour in 1941 (he needed Soviet Support against Japan)
• Churchill


  He was suspicious of Stalin (so was Roosevelt)
• Non-aggression pact signed by Germany and Soviet Union

  23-24th August 1939
• Operation Barbarossa, Hitler attacks soviet Union with 4 million German troops


  22nd June 1941
• Lenin died and Stalin took power

  1924
• Tehran Conference (November 1943)

  1. The 'Big Three' met in Tehran, Persia (modern day Iran) to plan a winning strategy to end the War

  2. The USA and Britain agreed to open a 'second front' by launching an attack on Germany in Western Europe (to ease pressure on Eastern front were Soviets were suffering heavy losses)

  3. Stalin agreed that he would declare war on Japan

  4. They also discussed what would happen to Germany and countries east of Germany after the war (they unofficially agreed that Germany should remain weak, and that the SU could keep land seized from Poland which was essential for Stalin's buffer zones)

  5. They also agreed that an international body should be set up to deal with disputes through negotiation rather than war (would be the formation of the UN)
• Moscow (9-19th October 1944)


  1. Churchill went to Moscow to meet Stalin face-to-face to try and sort out their differences

  2. This was known as the 'Percentages agreement'

  3. Churchill and Stalin divided up Europe on a scrap bit of paper
• Yalta Conference (February 1945)


  1. The 'second front' had been launched - D-day

  2. British and American lead forces were pushing Germans towards Berlin

  3. Soviets had defeated Germans in SU

  4. It was agreed that Germany would be split into 4 (USSR, Britain, France and USA). The extent of the Soviet's 'Sphere of Influence' over Germany was decided

  5. Germany had to pay $20 billon (half of which going to SU)

  6. Nazi party banned

  7. Stalin agreed to free elections in Eastern Europe, and to war against Japan

  8. Stalin wanted 16 Soviet Republic memberships to UN, the first meeting of the UN was planned to go ahead on the 25th April 1945

  9. Poland was a problem – it was agreed that boarders would give the USSR significant gains
• Harry S. Truman (1884-1972)


  President of the USA from 1945-53, after Roosevelt died in April 1945, he was replaced by Truman
• Clement Attlee (1883-1967)


  He was the PM of Britian from 1945-51 after Churchill lost the vote in the 1945 election, he was the leader of the Labour party and he wanted Britian to take charge and be strong
• Potsdam Conference (July – August 1945)

  1. This was held in Germany and attended by Stalin, Truman and Attlee

  2. The aim of this conference was to finalise the decisions made in the Yalta conference

  3. Germany is still going to be divided in 4 (as well as Berlin being divided in 4)

  4. Reparations – each owner of a sector took payments as they saw fit

  5. As the SU got the poorest zone of Germany, they could have a quarter of industrial equipment from each of the other zones. In addition, they would get $10 million of the $20 million reparations (however Truman worried about Germany's economy)

  6. An agreement regarding Eastern Europe was not reached

  7. Truman objected to the boarders for Poland and wanted a government with less communist influence

  8. This conference also made the official creation of the UN (June 1945) in the Treaty of San Francisco. 51 members signed the treaty, and the USA, Britian, China and the USSR were made permeant members with the power to veto ideas
• Impact of the Atomic Bomb

  1. On the 6th August 1945, the USA exploded a bomb over Hiroshima, Japan. The blast was equivalent to over 12,000 tons of TNT and around 12,000 Japanese civilians were killed

  2. A second bomb was released over Nagasaki on the 9th August

  3. Stalin took this as a threat and decided to make the Soviet Union more secure rather than allowing other countries more freedom

  4. On the 29th August 1949, the SU had developed their own atomic bomb – this made tensions even higher and resulted in the Arms Race
• Weapons developed in the Arms Race

  • ICBM – guided ballistic missile with a minimum range of 5,500 km
  • MRBM – Medium Range Ballistic Missiles
  • IRBM – Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles
  • AMB – Anti-ballistic missiles – to intercept and destroy any ballistic threat
  • MIRV – Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle – several warheads that can be aimed at different targets
• The Telegrams


  1. Both Stalin and Truman feared that the breakup of the Grand Alliance might lead to future conflict

  2. In 1946, they both asked their embassies (bases for their country abroad) to report on attitudes in each other's countries
• The Long Telegram


  1. George Keenan (America's ambassador in Moscow), 22nd Feb 1946

  2. In this telegram, it established that Stalin wanted to see the destruction of capitalism, and that he believed that the world outside the SU was hostile and was looking to destroy communism. Keenan believed that the SU was not suicidal and would back down if they were faced with too strong resistance
• The Novikov Telegram


  1. Nikolai Novikov (Soviet diplomat working in Washington), 27th Feb 1946

  2. The Novikov telegram suggested that the SU thought equally poorly of the West. The USA wanted to use their military power in order to dominate the world. It also portrayed that following Roosevelt's death, the Americans no longer wanted to be involved with the SU and would back their government in war if necessary
• The Iron Curtain Speech (5th March 1946)


  1. Churchill was not PM at the time, but still had enormous influence

  2. In his speech, he made it clear that he thought that the SU was a threat to world peace

  3. He was provoked to make this speech due to the fact that communist governments had recently set up in Hungary, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria

  4. This led to worsening relationships between the east and the west because it increased mistrust – the SU strengthened its forces

  5. Stalin assumed that what Churchill said were also the beliefs of the US as Truman must have cleared the speech (as it was said in the US)

  6. Stalin set up a campaign of anti-Western propaganda
• How Eastern Europe countries became satellite states

  1. In 1944 and 1945, the Soviet Red Army freed many countries from the control of the Nazis, but when the war was over, Stalin wonted to keep these as they were useful buffer zones between the SU and Germany

  2. He turned them into satellite states with a communist gov – Truman saw this as Stalin trying to spread communism. This increased tensions

  3. Countries under Soviet influence included; East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria (all had a communist gov)

  4. Yugoslavia and Albania were also satellite states but were never occupied by the Red Army – more independence

  5. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were all conquered by the SU in 1940 and treated as a part of the Soviet Union
• The Truman Doctrine


  1. After WW2, many European countries were struggling financially, Britain could no longer provide military support to the Greek gov to fight off communism. As a result, Truman took action

  2. In a speech, Truman announced that the US would provide an economic aid package to Greece and Turkey - $400 million + military personnel

  3. He also made it clear that he viewed communism as the will of the minority being forced on the majority (rather than the majority rule with freedom)

  4. He said that communism should not be allowed to grow – and that the USA would send support to those countries that were trying to resist it

  5. The USA were turning from isolationism (not getting involved) to containment (limiting the spread of communism)
• The Greek Civil War

  1. There was resistance of the invasion of Greece by Germany (during WW2) by two groups – communists and royalists

  2. After Germany left, the two groups fell out

  3. The British restored the Greek monarchy and put down a communist rebellion

  4. The communists renewed their fight in 1946, Britain tried to supress them but asked the USA to take over in 1947

  5. Communists were finally defeated in 1949 and fled to Albania
• The Marshall Plan


  1. George Marshall (US secretary of state) made a speech 3 months after Truman's speech saying how aid would be provided

  2. Between 1948 and 1952, the USA gave $12.7 billion dollars of aid (as well as $13 billion before the plan was put into action)

  3. 16 countries accepted Marshall Aid

  4. This had a hugely positive impact on European countries, providing them a 'lifeline'

  5. It was decided that Marshall aid could also be offered to the SU and Satellite States – however they would have to review their finances (which they knew Stalin would not allow) so none of these countries benefitted

  6. The Marshall plan also directly provided help to those in need (nets for Norwegian fishermen, mules for Greek farmers, food for starving people…)

  7. One boy who received food as part of the Marshall plan went on to be Chancellor and reunited Germany after the Cold War
• Was the Marshall Plan Successful for the USA?

  • Yes
  • No
• Dollar Imperialism


  • Although the US saw the Marshall plan as something to contain communism, Stalin believed that the US were trying to expand their influence on the world
  • Stalin saw the Marshall plan as trying to use money to divide Europe and establish an American economic empire there
• Consequences of the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan

  • Grand Alliance was 100% gone
  • USA in direct opposition to the Soviet Union
  • Stalin now believed he had evidence of the US trying to crush the SU
  • European countries who received aid were supporting the USA
  • Europe was now divided into 2 economic and political camps