War is incredible
peace is impossible.
Raymond Aron

Today's relations between Russia and the collective West can hardly be called constructive, let alone partnership. Mutual accusations, loud statements, growing saber-rattling and furious propaganda - all this creates a strong impression of deja vu. All this once was and is repeated now - but already in the form of a farce. Today, the news feed seems to return to the past, at the time of the epic confrontation between two powerful superpowers: the USSR and the USA, which lasted more than half a century and repeatedly brought humanity to the brink of a global military conflict. In history, this long-term confrontation has been called the Cold War. Historians consider its beginning to be the famous speech of the British Prime Minister (at that time already former) Churchill, delivered in Fulton in March 1946.

The era of the Cold War lasted from 1946 to 1989 and ended with what the current Russian President Putin called "the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century" - the Soviet Union disappeared from the map of the world, and with it the entire communist system sank into oblivion. The confrontation between the two systems was not a war in the truest sense of the word, a clear clash between the armed forces of the two superpowers was avoided, but the numerous military conflicts of the Cold War that it gave rise to in different regions of the planet claimed millions of human lives.

During the Cold War, the struggle between the USSR and the United States was not only in the military or political sphere. No less intense was the competition in the economic, scientific, cultural and other fields. But the ideology was still the main one: the essence of the Cold War is the sharpest confrontation between the two models of the state system: communist and capitalist.

By the way, the very term "cold war" was coined by the cult writer of the 20th century, George Orwell. He used it even before the start of the confrontation itself in his article "You and the Atomic Bomb". The article was published in 1945. Orwell himself in his youth was an ardent supporter of the communist ideology, but in his mature years he was completely disillusioned with it, therefore, probably, he understood the issue better than many. Officially, the term "cold war" was first used by the Americans two years later.

The Cold War was not only fought by the Soviet Union and the United States. It was a global competition involving dozens of countries around the world. Some of them were the closest allies (or satellites) of the superpowers, while others were drawn into the confrontation by accident, sometimes even against their will. The logic of the processes required the parties to the conflict to create their own zones of influence in different regions of the world. Sometimes they were reinforced with the help of military-political blocs, NATO and the Warsaw Pact became the main alliances of the Cold War. On their periphery, in the redistribution of spheres of influence, the main military conflicts of the Cold War took place.

The described historical period is inextricably linked with the creation and development of nuclear weapons. Mainly, it was the presence of this most powerful means of deterrence in the hands of the opponents that did not allow the conflict to go into a hot phase. The Cold War between the USSR and the USA gave rise to an unheard of arms race: already in the 70s, the opponents had so many nuclear warheads that they would be enough to destroy the entire globe several times. And that's not counting the huge arsenals of conventional weapons.

Over the decades, there have been both periods of normalization of relations between the US and the USSR (détente) and times of tough confrontation. The crises of the Cold War several times brought the world to the brink of a global catastrophe. The most famous of these is the Cuban Missile Crisis, which took place in 1962.

The end of the Cold War was swift and unexpected for many. The Soviet Union lost the economic race with the West. The lag was already noticeable at the end of the 60s, and by the 80s the situation had become catastrophic. The most powerful blow to the national economy of the USSR was dealt by the fall in oil prices.

In the mid-80s, it became clear to the Soviet leadership that something must be changed in the country immediately, otherwise a catastrophe would come. The end of the Cold War and the arms race were vital for the USSR. But perestroika, started by Gorbachev, led to the dismantling of the entire state structure of the USSR, and then to the collapse of the socialist state. Moreover, the United States, it seems, did not even expect such a denouement: back in 1990, American Soviet experts prepared for their leadership a forecast for the development of the Soviet economy until the year 2000.

At the end of 1989, Gorbachev and Bush officially announced during a summit on the island of Malta that the global cold war was over.

The theme of the Cold War is very popular in the Russian media today. Speaking of the current foreign policy crisis, commentators often use the term "new cold war". Is it so? What are the similarities and differences between the current situation and the events of forty years ago?

Cold War: causes and background

After the war, the Soviet Union and Germany lay in ruins, and Eastern Europe suffered greatly during the fighting. The economy of the Old World was in decline.

On the contrary, the territory of the United States was practically not affected during the war, and the human losses of the United States could not be compared with the Soviet Union or Eastern European countries. Even before the start of the war, the United States had become the world's leading industrial power, and military supplies to the allies further strengthened the American economy. By 1945, America had managed to create a new weapon of unheard of power - a nuclear bomb. All of the above allowed the United States to confidently count on the role of a new hegemon in the post-war world. However, it soon became clear that on the way to planetary leadership, the United States had a new dangerous rival - the Soviet Union.

The USSR almost single-handedly defeated the strongest German land army, but paid a colossal price for it - millions of Soviet citizens died at the front or in occupation, tens of thousands of cities and villages lay in ruins. Despite this, the Red Army occupied the entire territory of Eastern Europe, including most of Germany. In 1945, the USSR, no doubt, had the strongest armed forces on the European continent. No less strong were the positions of the Soviet Union in Asia. Literally a few years after the end of World War II, the communists came to power in China, which made this huge country an ally of the USSR in the region.

The communist leadership of the USSR never abandoned plans for further expansion and spread of its ideology to new regions of the planet. It can be said that throughout almost its entire history, the foreign policy of the USSR was quite tough and aggressive. In 1945, especially favorable conditions developed for the promotion of communist ideology in new countries.

It should be understood that the Soviet Union was incomprehensible to most American, and Western politicians in general. A country where there is no private property and market relations, churches are being blown up, and society is under the complete control of the special services and the party, seemed to them some kind of parallel reality. Even Hitler's Germany was somewhat more understandable to the average American. In general, Western politicians had a rather negative attitude towards the USSR even before the start of the war, and after its completion, fear was added to this attitude.

In 1945, the Yalta Conference took place, during which Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt tried to divide the world into spheres of influence and create new rules for the future world order. Many modern researchers see the origins of the Cold War in this conference.

Summarizing the above, we can say: the cold war between the USSR and the USA was inevitable. These countries were too different to coexist peacefully. The Soviet Union wanted to expand the socialist camp to include new states, while the US sought to reshape the world to create more favorable conditions for its large corporations. However, the main causes of the Cold War are still in the realm of ideology.

The first signs of a future Cold War appeared even before the final victory over Nazism. In the spring of 1945, the USSR made territorial claims against Turkey and demanded that the status of the Black Sea straits be changed. Stalin was interested in the possibility of creating a naval base in the Dardanelles.

A little later (in April 1945), British Prime Minister Churchill instructed to prepare plans for a possible war with the Soviet Union. He later wrote about this in his memoirs. At the end of the war, the British and Americans kept several divisions of the Wehrmacht undisbanded in case of a conflict with the USSR.

In March 1946, Churchill gave his famous Fulton speech, which many historians consider the "trigger" of the Cold War. In this speech, the politician called on Britain to strengthen relations with the United States in order to jointly repel the expansion of the Soviet Union. Churchill considered the growing influence of communist parties in the states of Europe to be dangerous. He urged not to repeat the mistakes of the 1930s and not to be led by the aggressor, but to firmly and consistently defend Western values.

“... From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, the Iron Curtain was lowered across the entire continent. Behind this line are all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. (…) The communist parties, which were very small in all the eastern states of Europe, seized power everywhere and gained unlimited totalitarian control. (…) Police governments predominate almost everywhere, and so far, apart from Czechoslovakia, there is no true democracy anywhere. The facts are as follows: this, of course, is not the liberated Europe for which we fought. This is not what is needed for permanent peace…” – this is how Churchill, undoubtedly the most experienced and insightful politician in the West, described the new post-war reality in Europe. The USSR did not like this speech very much, Stalin compared Churchill with Hitler and accused him of inciting a new war.

It should be understood that during this period, the Cold War confrontation front often ran not along the external borders of countries, but within them. The poverty of Europeans, ravaged by the war, made them more receptive to leftist ideology. After the war in Italy and France, about a third of the population supported the communists. The Soviet Union, in turn, did everything possible to support the national communist parties.

In 1946, the Greek rebels became more active, led by local communists, and the Soviet Union supplied weapons through Bulgaria, Albania and Yugoslavia. It was not until 1949 that the uprising was put down. After the end of the war, the USSR for a long time refused to withdraw its troops from Iran and demanded that it be granted the right to protectorate over Libya.

In 1947, the Americans developed the so-called Marshall Plan, which provided for significant financial assistance to the states of Central and Western Europe. This program included 17 countries, the total amount of transfers was 17 billion dollars. In exchange for money, the Americans demanded political concessions: the recipient countries were to exclude communists from their governments. Naturally, neither the USSR nor the countries of the "people's democracies" of Eastern Europe received any assistance.

One of the real "architects" of the Cold War can be called the Deputy American Ambassador to the USSR George Kennan, who sent telegram No. 511 to his homeland in February 1946. It went down in history under the name "Long Telegram". In this document, the diplomat recognized the impossibility of cooperation with the USSR and called on his government to oppose the communists, because, according to Kennan, the leadership of the Soviet Union respects only force. Later, this document largely determined the position of the United States in relation to the Soviet Union for many decades.

In the same year, President Truman announced the "containment policy" of the USSR throughout the world, later called the "Truman Doctrine".

In 1949, the largest military-political bloc was formed - the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. It included most of the countries of Western Europe, Canada and the United States. The main task of the new structure was to protect Europe from the Soviet invasion. In 1955, the communist countries of Eastern Europe and the USSR created their own military alliance, called the Warsaw Pact Organization.

Stages of the Cold War

The following stages of the Cold War are distinguished:

• 1946 - 1953 The initial stage, the start of which is usually considered to be Churchill's speech in Fulton. During this period, the Marshall Plan for Europe is launched, the North Atlantic Alliance and the Warsaw Pact Organization are created, that is, the main participants in the Cold War are determined. At this time, the efforts of Soviet intelligence and the military-industrial complex were aimed at creating their own nuclear weapons; in August 1949, the USSR tested its first nuclear bomb. But the United States for a long time retained a significant superiority both in the number of charges and in the number of carriers. In 1950, the war on the Korean Peninsula began, which lasted until 1953 and became one of the bloodiest military conflicts of the last century;
• 1953 - 1962 This is a very controversial period of the Cold War, during which there was Khrushchev's "thaw" and the Cuban Missile Crisis, which almost ended in a nuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union. These years saw anti-communist uprisings in Hungary and Poland, another Berlin crisis and a war in the Middle East. In 1957, the USSR successfully tested the first intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States. In 1961, the USSR conducted demonstrative tests of the most powerful thermonuclear charge in the history of mankind - the Tsar Bomba. The Caribbean crisis led to the signing of several documents between the superpowers on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons;
• 1962 - 1979 This period can be called the apogee of the Cold War. The arms race reaches its maximum intensity, tens of billions of dollars are spent on it, undermining the economy of rivals. Attempts by the government of Czechoslovakia to carry out pro-Western reforms in the country were thwarted in 1968 by the entry of troops of members of the Warsaw Pact into its territory. Tension in relations between the two countries, of course, was present, but the Soviet Secretary General Brezhnev was not a fan of adventures, so acute crises were avoided. Moreover, in the early 1970s, the so-called "detente of international tension" began, which somewhat reduced the intensity of the confrontation. Important documents relating to nuclear weapons were signed, joint programs in space were implemented (the famous Soyuz-Apollo). In the conditions of the Cold War, these were out of the ordinary events. However, "détente" ended by the mid-1970s, when the Americans deployed medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe. The USSR responded by deploying similar weapon systems. Already by the mid-1970s, the Soviet economy began to noticeably slip, and the USSR was lagging behind in the scientific and technical sphere;
• 1979 - 1987 Relations between the superpowers deteriorated again after Soviet troops entered Afghanistan. In response, the Americans staged a boycott of the Olympics, which was hosted by the Soviet Union in 1980, and began to help the Afghan Mujahideen. In 1981, a new American president came to the White House - Republican Ronald Reagan, who became the most tough and consistent opponent of the USSR. It was with his submission that the program of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) began, which was supposed to protect the American territory of the United States from Soviet warheads. During the Reagan years, the United States began to develop neutron weapons, and appropriations for military needs increased significantly. In one of his speeches, the American president called the USSR an "evil empire";
• 1987 - 1991 This stage is the end of the Cold War. A new general secretary, Mikhail Gorbachev, came to power in the USSR. He began global changes within the country, radically revised the foreign policy of the state. Another discharge has begun. The main problem of the Soviet Union was the state of the economy, undermined by military spending and low energy prices - the main export product of the state. Now the USSR could no longer afford to pursue a foreign policy in the spirit of the Cold War, it needed Western loans. Literally in a few years, the intensity of the confrontation between the USSR and the USA practically vanished. Significant documents were signed regarding the reduction of nuclear and conventional weapons. In 1988, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan began. In 1989, one after another, pro-Soviet regimes began to crumble in Eastern Europe, and at the end of the same year the Berlin Wall was broken. Many historians consider this event to be the true end of the Cold War era.

Why did the USSR lose in the Cold War?

Despite the fact that every year the events of the Cold War are getting further and further away from us, topics related to this period are of increasing interest in Russian society. Domestic propaganda tenderly and carefully nurtures the nostalgia of a part of the population for those times when "there were two to twenty sausages and everyone was afraid of us." Such, they say, the country was destroyed!

Why did the Soviet Union, having huge resources at its disposal, having a very high level of social development and the highest scientific potential, lost its main war - the Cold War?

The USSR appeared as a result of an unprecedented social experiment to create a just society in a single country. Such ideas appeared in different historical periods, but usually they remained projects. The Bolsheviks should be given their due: for the first time they managed to realize this utopian plan on the territory of the Russian Empire. Socialism has a chance to take its place as a fair system of social organization (socialist practices are becoming more and more evident in the social life of the Scandinavian countries, for example) - but this was not feasible at a time when this social system was being introduced by revolutionary, forced means. We can say that socialism in Russia was ahead of its time. It is unlikely that he became such a terrible and inhuman system, especially in comparison with the capitalist one. And it is all the more appropriate to recall that historically it was the Western European "progressive" empires that caused the suffering and death of the largest number of people around the world - Russia is far in this respect, in particular, to Great Britain (probably, it is she who is the true "evil empire"). ", a tool of genocide for Ireland, the peoples of the American continent, India, China and many others). Returning to the socialist experiment in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century, it should be recognized that the peoples living in it cost innumerable victims and suffering throughout the century. The German Chancellor Bismarck is credited with the following words: "If you want to build socialism, take a country that you do not mind." Unfortunately, it turned out not to be a pity for Russia. However, no one has the right to blame Russia for its path, especially given the foreign policy practice of the past 20th century in general.

The only problem is that under Soviet-style socialism and the general level of productive forces of the 20th century, the economy does not want to work. From the word at all. A person deprived of material interest in the results of his labor does not work well. Moreover, at all levels, from an ordinary worker to a high official. The Soviet Union - having Ukraine, Kuban, Don and Kazakhstan - already in the mid-60s was forced to buy grain abroad. Even then, the food supply situation in the USSR was catastrophic. Then the socialist state was saved by a miracle - the discovery of "big" oil in Western Siberia and the rise in world prices for this raw material. Some economists believe that without this oil, the collapse of the USSR would have happened already in the late 70s.

Speaking about the reasons for the defeat of the Soviet Union in the Cold War, of course, one should not forget about ideology. The USSR was originally created as a state with a completely new ideology, and for many years it was its most powerful weapon. In the 1950s and 1960s, many states (especially in Asia and Africa) voluntarily chose the socialist type of development. Believed in the construction of communism and Soviet citizens. However, already in the 1970s, it became clear that the construction of communism was a utopia that could not be realized at that time. Moreover, even many representatives of the Soviet nomenklatura elite, the main future beneficiaries of the collapse of the USSR, stopped believing in such ideas.

But at the same time, it should be noted that today many Western intellectuals admit that it was the confrontation with the “backward” Soviet system that forced the capitalist systems to mimic, to accept disadvantageous social norms that originally appeared in the USSR (8-hour working day, equal rights for women , various social benefits and much more). It will not be superfluous to repeat: most likely, the time of socialism has not yet come, since there is no civilizational base for this and an appropriate level of development of production in the global economy. Liberal capitalism is by no means a panacea for world crises and suicidal global wars, but rather, on the contrary, an inevitable path to them.

The loss of the USSR in the Cold War was due not so much to the power of its opponents (although it was certainly great), but to the insoluble contradictions inherent within the Soviet system itself. But in the modern world order, there are no fewer internal contradictions, and certainly no more security and peace.

Results of the Cold War

Of course, the main positive outcome of the Cold War is that it did not develop into a hot war. Despite all the contradictions between the states, the parties were smart enough to realize what edge they were on and not cross the fatal line.

However, other consequences of the Cold War cannot be overestimated. In fact, today we live in a world that was largely shaped during that historical period. It was during the Cold War that the current system of international relations emerged. And at the very least, it works. In addition, we should not forget that a significant part of the world elite was formed back in the years of confrontation between the US and the USSR. We can say that they come from the Cold War.

The Cold War had an impact on almost all international processes that took place during this period. New states arose, wars broke out, uprisings and revolutions broke out. Many countries in Asia and Africa gained independence or got rid of the colonial yoke thanks to the support of one of the superpowers, which thus sought to expand their own zone of influence. Even today, there are countries that can safely be called "cold war relics" - for example, Cuba or North Korea.

It is impossible not to note the fact that the Cold War contributed to the development of technology. The confrontation of the superpowers gave a powerful impetus to the study of outer space, without it it is not known whether the landing on the moon would have taken place or not. The arms race contributed to the development of rocket and information technologies, mathematics, physics, medicine and much more.

If we talk about the political results of this historical period, then the main one, without a doubt, is the collapse of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the entire socialist camp. As a result of these processes, about two dozen new states appeared on the political map of the world. Russia inherited from the USSR the entire nuclear arsenal, most of the conventional weapons, as well as a seat in the UN Security Council. And as a result of the Cold War, the United States has significantly increased its power and today, in fact, is the only superpower.

The end of the Cold War led to two decades of explosive growth in the global economy. Huge territories of the former USSR, previously closed by the Iron Curtain, have become part of the global market. Military spending dropped sharply, and the freed funds were directed to investments.

However, the main result of the global confrontation between the USSR and the West was a clear proof of the utopian nature of the socialist model of the state in the conditions of social development at the end of the 20th century. Today in Russia (and other former Soviet republics) disputes about the Soviet stage in the history of the country do not subside. Someone sees in it a blessing, others call it the greatest catastrophe. At least one more generation must be born in order for the events of the Cold War (as well as for the entire Soviet period) to be viewed as a historical fact - calmly and without emotions. The communist experiment is, of course, the most important experience for human civilization, which has not yet been “reflected”. And perhaps this experience will still benefit Russia.

If you have any questions - leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them.

The Cold War is a global military, geopolitical and economic confrontation between the Soviet Union and supported by various allies from all sides. This confrontation continued for almost fifty years (from 1946 to 1991).

The Cold War was not a military battle in the truest sense. The basis for the disputes was the ideology of the two most powerful states on the planet at that time. Scientists characterize this confrontation as a very deep contradiction between the socialist and capitalist systems. It is symbolic that the Cold War began immediately after the end of World War II, as a result of which both countries remained victorious. And since devastation prevailed in the world at that time, ideal conditions were created for planting many territories by their people. But, unfortunately, the United States and the USSR at that time disagreed in their opinions, so each side wanted to get ahead of the rival and make sure that on a vast territory where people did not know what to believe in and how to live, as soon as possible to implant their ideology. As a consequence, the people of the losing states will trust the winning country and enrich it at the expense of their human and natural resources.

This confrontation is divided into stages of the Cold War, among which are the following:

Beginning (1946-1953). This stage can be characterized as attempts by the USSR and the USA to hold the first events in Europe that would be aimed at imposing their ideology. As a result, since 1948, the possibility of starting a new war has hung over the world, so both states began to rapidly prepare for new battles.

On the verge (1953-1962). During this period, relations between the opponents improved slightly and they even began to make friendly visits to each other. But at this time, the European states, one by one, start revolutions in order to independently lead their country. The USSR, in order to eliminate the indignation, actively began the bombing of the outbreak of conflicts. The United States could not allow such liberties to the enemy and began to set up their air defense system themselves. As a result, the relationship deteriorated again.

Stage of detente (1962-1979). During this period, more conservative rulers came to power in the warring countries, who were not particularly willing to conduct an active confrontation, which could well lead to war.

A new round of confrontation (1979-1987). The next stage began after the Soviet Union sent troops to Afghanistan and several times shot down foreign civilian aircraft that flew over the state. These aggressive actions provoked the United States to deploy its forces on the territory of several European countries, which naturally pissed off the USSR.

Gorbachev's coming to power and the end of the confrontation (1987-1991). The new one did not want to continue the struggle for ideology in other European countries. Moreover, his policy was aimed at eliminating the communist government, which was the ancestor of political and economic repressions towards the United States.

The end of the Cold War was marked by the fact that he made great concessions and did not particularly claim power in Europe, especially since the defeated countries had already moved away from devastation and began independent development. The USSR began to experience a deep crisis, which led to the final one in December 1991. Thus, the Cold War did not bring a positive result to our state, but became one of the elements that led to the collapse of a great state.

Results of the Cold War

It was obvious that the huge costs incurred by the superpowers could not continue indefinitely, and as a result, the confrontation between the two systems was reduced to confrontation in the economic sphere. It was this component that turned out to be decisive in the end. The more efficient economy of the West made it possible not only to maintain military and political equality, but also to satisfy the growing needs of modern man, which, due to purely market mechanisms of management, she was able to competently manipulate. At the same time, the heavy-weight economy of the USSR, focused only on the production of weapons and means of production, could not, and did not want to, compete with the West in the economic sphere. In the end, this was reflected at the political level, the USSR began to lose the struggle not only for influence in the countries of the third world, but also for influence within the socialist community.

As a result, the socialist camp collapsed, the credibility of the communist ideology was undermined, although the socialist regimes in some countries of the world survived and over time their number began to increase (for example, in Latin America). Russia, the legal successor of the USSR, has retained its status as a nuclear power and its seat in the UN Security Council, but due to the extremely difficult domestic economic situation and the decline in the influence of the UN on international politics, this does not look like a real achievement. Western values, primarily everyday and material, began to be actively introduced in the post-Soviet space, and the country's military power has significantly decreased.

The United States, on the contrary, strengthened its position as a superpower, from that moment - the only superpower. The primary goal of the West in the "Cold War" - the non-proliferation of the communist regime and ideology around the world was achieved. The socialist camp was destroyed, the USSR was defeated, and the former Soviet republics fell under the political influence of America for a while.

Conclusion

The results of the Cold War, which ended in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the entire socialist camp, can be divided into two categories: those that are important for all mankind, since almost all countries of the world were involved in the Cold War in one way or another, and those that affected on its two main participants - the USA and the USSR.

As a global positive outcome of the war, it can be noted that the Cold War never developed into a Hot War, despite the reality of the Third World War, for example, during the Caribbean crisis of 1962. It was timely understood and realized that a global conflict with the use of nuclear weapons could lead to disastrous consequences, up to the death of the entire planet.

Also, the end of the confrontation was the end of the ideological division of the world according to the principle of "friend or foe" and removed the psychological pressure that people were under all this time.

The arms race gave rise to unprecedented scientific discoveries, stimulated space research, the development of nuclear physics, and created conditions for the powerful growth of electronics. In addition, the end of the Cold War gave an impetus to the economic development of the world economy, as the material, financial, labor resources, scientific and technological developments that used to go to the arms race and for military needs turned into investments and began to be used to improve living standards. population.

The rivalry between the USSR and the USA made it easier for the peoples of the colonial and dependent countries to fight for independence, but as a negative result, this emerging "third world" was turned into an arena of endless regional and local conflicts for spheres of influence.

As for the results for the two superpowers, the long-term confrontation exhausted the already undermined economy of the USSR and reduced the competitiveness of the American economy, but the outcome of the confrontation is obvious. The USSR could not withstand the arms race, its economic system turned out to be uncompetitive, and the measures to modernize it were unsuccessful and eventually led to the collapse of the country. The United States, on the contrary, strengthened its position as a superpower, from that moment on it was the only superpower and achieved its goal in the collapse of the socialist camp. Meanwhile, the United States, which created the most powerful military machine in the world during the arms race, has received an effective tool for protecting its interests and even imposing them anywhere in the world and, by and large, regardless of the opinion of the international community. Thus, a unipolar model of the world has been established, which allows one superpower to use the necessary resources for its own benefit.

There are such historical phenomena that are really important not only for passing the exam, but also for understanding the entire period. For example, if you simply study the foreign policy of the Soviet Union, but did not pay attention to the fact that the lion's share of events relate to this historical phenomenon, then it will not be easy for you to remember all this.

In this article, we will briefly reveal, point by point, the causes of the Cold War, which lasted from 1946/49 to 1989. A publication on this topic will help you answer the most “dumpy” exam question: why did the anti-Hitler coalition disintegrate so quickly, and the allied countries turned out to be enemies after 1946?

The reasons

The Cold War is a period of political, economic and military confrontation (confrontation) between states and systems of states. It was mainly between the USSR and the USA, between two systems of economic and political structure. In fact, there are key reasons for this.

• The confrontation was due to mutual distrust between countries, between the Soviet Union and the United States. Added fuel to the fire was the fact that the Soviet army was right in the center of Europe, and nothing prevented it from moving further - to the West.
• There is a big difference in ideologies: capitalism dominated in the USA with its inherent liberalism and neoliberalism; in the Soviet Union, the Marxist-Leninist ideology dominated, which, by the way, envisaged a course towards a world revolution. That is, it was about the overthrow of the bourgeois governments by the forces of the local working class and the establishment of Soviet power.
• Different system of management: in the USA there was a market and mainly natural market mechanisms, which were improved after the Great Depression of the 30s. In the USSR, there was a planned command-administrative system of management.
• The popularity of the post-war USSR was extremely high all over the world: this also added fuel to the fire.

You should also remember about the accompanying prerequisites: in the course of the liberation of the states of Europe from the Nazis and fascists, pro-Soviet and pro-communist regimes were established in them, in which, immediately after the war, industrialization and collectivization of the Soviet type took place. Of course, it was incomparably softer than in the Soviet Union itself, but it was.

Such an unprecedented intervention of the USSR in the internal affairs of the liberated states created a real threat to the existence of other independent states. As a result, no one could give guarantees that the Soviet army would move further: towards England, or France, or the USA. It was these fears, among other things, that W. Churchill expressed in his speech in Fulton on March 5, 1946. By the way, I highly recommend reading this speech, because the text from it may well be included in the exam.

Course of events

As part of a regular post, I do not have the opportunity to talk in detail about these events. In addition, I have already done this in my video tutorials available on our training courses and in. But I still wanted to name the events in order to give you at least some guidance.

• 1949 - the formation of NATO, the testing of the Soviet atomic bomb.
• 1950 - 1953 - The Korean War is the first serious military confrontation in which both sides indirectly and directly participated.
• 1955 - the formation of the Department of Internal Affairs.
• 1956 Suez Crisis.
• 1961 - Cuban Missile Crisis. This is the peak of the confrontation between the USSR and the USA, when these countries, and indeed the whole world, were on the brink of nuclear war. It was this event that initiated the process of defusing international tension under L.I. Brezhnev. It was after this event that subcultures appeared in the West in large numbers, within which young people are trying to find their way in life.
• 1965 - 1975 - Vietnam War.
• 1973 - 75 - negotiations in Helsinki and the adoption of the Final Act on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
• 1979 - 1989 - the war in Afghanistan.

Again, these are just guidelines. I have analyzed everything in detail in my video tutorials, and

The Cold War is the historical period from 1946 to 1991, which was marked by the confrontation between two major superpowers - the USSR and the USA, which took shape after the end of World War II in 1945. The rivalry between the two strongest states of the planet at that time gradually acquired a fierce character of confrontation in all spheres - economic, social, political and ideological. Both states created military-political associations (NATO and the Warsaw Pact), accelerated the creation of nuclear and conventional weapons, and also constantly took a covert or overt part in almost all local military conflicts on the planet.

Main causes of confrontation

• The desire of the United States to secure world leadership and create a world based on American values, taking advantage of the temporary weakness of potential opponents (European states, like the USSR, lay in ruins after the war, and other countries at that time could not even close compete with the strengthened overseas "empire" )
• Different ideological programs of the USA and the USSR (Capitalism and Socialism). The authority of the Soviet Union after the defeat of Nazi Germany was unusually high. Including in the states of Western Europe. Fearing the spread of communist ideology and mass support for it, the United States began to actively oppose the USSR.

The position of the parties at the beginning of the conflict

The United States initially had a colossal economic head start over its eastern adversary, thanks to which, in many respects, they got the opportunity to become a superpower. The USSR defeated the strongest European army, but paid for it with millions of lives and thousands of destroyed cities and villages. No one knew how long it would take to restore the economy destroyed by the fascist invasion. The territory of the United States, unlike the USSR, did not suffer at all, and the losses against the background of the losses of the Soviet army looked insignificant, since it was the Soviet Union that took the strongest blow from the fascist core of all of Europe, fighting alone against Germany and its allies from 1941 to 1944.

The United States, on the other hand, participated in the war in the European theater of operations for less than a year - from June 1944 to May 1945. After the war, the United States became a creditor to the Western European states, effectively formalizing their economic dependence on America. The Yankees proposed the Marshall Plan to Western Europe, an economic aid program that 16 states had signed by 1948. For 4 years, the United States had to transfer 17 billion to Europe. dollars.

Less than a year after the victory over fascism, the British and Americans began to look anxiously at the East and look for some kind of threat there. Already in the spring of 1946, Winston Churchill delivers his famous Fullton speech, which is usually associated with the beginning of the Cold War. Active anti-communist rhetoric begins in the West. By the end of the 1940s, all communists were removed from the governments of Western European states. This was one of the conditions under which the United States provided financial assistance to European countries.

The USSR was not included in the financial aid program for obvious reasons - it was already seen as an enemy. The countries of Eastern Europe, which were under the control of the communists, fearing the growth of US influence and economic dependence, also did not accept the Marshall Plan. Thus, the USSR and its allies were forced to restore the destroyed economy solely on their own, and this was done much faster than expected in the West. The USSR not only quickly restored infrastructure, industry and destroyed cities, but also quickly eliminated the US nuclear monopoly by creating nuclear weapons, thereby depriving the Americans of the opportunity to strike with impunity.

Creation of military-political blocs of NATO and the Warsaw Pact

In the spring of 1949, the United States initiated the creation of a NATO military bloc (Organization of the North Atlantic Alliance), citing the need to "fight the Soviet threat." The union initially included the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Great Britain, Iceland, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, as well as the USA and Canada. American military bases began to appear in Europe, the number of armed forces of European armies began to increase, and the number of military equipment and combat aircraft increased.

The USSR reacted in 1955 with the creation of the Warsaw Treaty Organization (OVD), in the same way creating the unified armed forces of the Eastern European states, as they did in the West. The ATS included Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR, Poland, Romania, the USSR and Czechoslovakia. In response to the buildup of military forces by the Western military bloc, the strengthening of the armies of the socialist states also began.

Symbols of NATO and the Warsaw Pact

Local military conflicts

Two military-political blocs launched a large-scale confrontation with each other all over the planet. A direct military clash was feared on both sides, since its outcome was unpredictable. However, there was a constant struggle in various parts of the globe for spheres of influence and control over non-aligned countries. Here are just a few of the most striking examples of military conflicts in which the USSR and the USA indirectly or directly participated.

1. Korean War (1950-1953)
After World War II, Korea was divided into two states - in the South, pro-American forces were in power, and in the north, the DPRK (People's Democratic Republic of Korea) was formed, in which the Communists were in power. In 1950, a war broke out between the two Koreas - “socialist” and “capitalist”, in which, of course, the USSR supported North Korea, and the United States supported South Korea. Soviet pilots and military specialists, as well as detachments of Chinese "volunteers", unofficially fought on the side of the DPRK. The United States provided direct military assistance to South Korea, intervening openly in the conflict, which ended with the signing of peace and the preservation of the status quo in 1953.

2. Vietnam War (1957-1975)
In fact, the scenario of the beginning of the confrontation was the same - Vietnam after 1954 was divided into two parts. In North Vietnam, the communists were in power, and in South Vietnam, political forces oriented towards the United States. Each side sought to unify Vietnam. Since 1965, the United States has provided open military assistance to the South Vietnamese regime. Regular American troops, along with the army of South Vietnam, participated in hostilities against North Vietnamese troops. Covert assistance to North Vietnam with weapons, equipment and military specialists was provided by the USSR and China. The war ended with the victory of the North Vietnamese communists in 1975.

3. Arab-Israeli wars
In a whole series of wars in the Middle East between the Arab states and Israel, the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc supported the Arabs, and the US and NATO supported the Israelis. Soviet military specialists trained the troops of the Arab states, which were armed with tanks and aircraft that came from the USSR, and the soldiers of the Arab armies used Soviet equipment and equipment. The Israelis used American military equipment and followed the instructions of US advisers.

4. Afghan war (1979-1989)
The USSR sent troops to Afghanistan in 1979 to support a political regime that was oriented toward Moscow. Large formations of the Afghan Mujahideen fought against the Soviet troops and the government army of Afghanistan, who enjoyed the support of the United States and NATO, and accordingly armed themselves with them. Soviet troops left Afghanistan in 1989, the war continued after their departure.

All of the above is only a small part of the military conflicts in which the superpowers participated, covertly or almost overtly fighting each other in local wars.

1 - American soldiers in position during the Korean War
2-Soviet tank in the service of the Syrian army
3-American helicopter in the sky over Vietnam
4-Column of Soviet troops in Afghanistan

Why did the USSR and the USA never enter into a direct military conflict?

As mentioned above, the outcome of the military conflict between the two large military blocs was completely unpredictable, but the main deterrent was the presence of nuclear missile weapons in huge quantities both in the United States and in the Soviet Union. Over the years of confrontation, the parties have accumulated such a number of nuclear charges that would be enough to repeatedly destroy all life on Earth.

Thus, a direct military conflict between the USSR and the USA would inevitably mean an exchange of nuclear missile strikes, during which there would be no winners - everyone would be losers, and the very possibility of life on the planet would be called into question. Nobody wanted such an outcome, so the parties avoided an open military clash with each other in every possible way, but nevertheless periodically tried each other's strength in local conflicts, helping any state covertly or directly participating in hostilities.

So, with the beginning of the nuclear age, local conflicts and information wars have become almost the only ways to expand their influence and control over other states. This situation persists to this day. The possibilities of the collapse and liquidation of such major geopolitical players as modern China and Russia lie only in the sphere of attempts to undermine the state from within by means of information wars, the purpose of which is a coup d'etat with subsequent destructive actions of puppet governments. There are constant attempts on the part of the West to find the weaknesses of Russia and other uncontrolled states, to provoke ethnic, religious, political conflicts, etc.

End of the Cold War

In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. There was only one superpower left on planet Earth - the United States, which tried to rebuild the whole world on the basis of American liberal values. Within the framework of globalization, an attempt is being made to impose on all mankind a certain universal model of social structure along the lines of the United States and Western Europe. However, this has not yet been possible. There is active resistance in all parts of the globe against the imposition of American values, which are unacceptable to many peoples. The story goes on, the struggle continues ... Think about the future and the past, try to understand and comprehend the world around you, develop and do not stand still. Passive waiting and burning through life is essentially a regression in your development. As the Russian philosopher V. Belinsky said - who does not go forward, he goes back, there is no standing position ...

Best regards, mind-point administration