Breakdown of trust

• Why did the tensions between the Soviet Union and USA intensify?

  Due to ideological differences (USA was capitalism and the Soviet Union was communist) and the fact that the USA possessed nuclear weapons and the Soviet Union did not
• What was the ideology of the USA, Britain and other capitalist countries?


  They said that communism enslaved people to the state. Capitalism was based on freedom and democracy:

  • Everybody should be free to make money for themselves
  • Individuals are better at deciding what to make/sell than the state
  • Trade between countries make everybody richer
• What was the ideology of the Soviet Union and other communist countries?

  Said capitalism exploited the workers to make the rich even richer. Communism was based on fairness:

  • Capitalism only makes some people rich by exploiting everyone else
  • Individuals are not as strong as everyone working together for the same aim
  • The state should take control of the economy and run it to benefit everybody
• What was The Long Telegram (1946)?


  A secret report from the US ambassador Kennan in Moscow to President Truman
• What was the Novikov‘s Telegram (1946)?


  A report from Novikov, Soviet ambassador in the USA to Stalin
• What did the Long Telegram (1946) tell Truman?

  It said:

  • The Soviet Union saw capitalism as a threat to communism that had to be destroyed
  • The Soviet Union was building its military power
  • Peace between a communist Soviet Union and a capitalist USA was not possible
• What did the Novikov Telegram (1946) tell Stalin?

  It said:

  • The USA wanted world domination and was building up its military strength
  • The Soviet Union was the only country left after the war that could stand up to the USA
  • The USA was preparing its people for war with the Soviet Union
• Why did the USA see the Soviet Union as a threat?

  Saw them as a threat to its economic interest in Europe
• Why did the Soviet Union see the USA as a threat?

  They feared and resented the USA’s nuclear monopoly, which did not end until 1949