Origins of the Cold War

1917 - Bolshevik Revolution and Civil WarBolshevik.communist revolution (Russia 1917) = Bolsheviks (led by Lenin) established a communist government (conflicting ideals- communism verse capitalism) - Britain, France, USA feared the spread of communism.1918-21 - intervened in a Russian civil war, providing the communists’ opposition with arms and supplies. (Whites)

Grand Alliance: alliance between the superpowers; Britain, the USA and the Soviet Union during the Second World War was one of convenience and necessity (to defeat Germany)  -- they were united through a common enemy

Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in 1945: - In May 1945 the Germans were defeated, WWII had ended -Soviets liberated countries in Eastern Europe but didn’t remove their military presence. -Stalin had set up a communist government in Poland (disregarding agreements made at Yalta and the wishes of the majority of the Poles) -The red army was the largest in the world. While there was demilitarisation in the West, Stalin continued to expand his army

Eastern Europe was supposed to be a "Soviet sphere of influence"

The US President Roosevelt died in 1945. He was replaced by Truman who was strongly anti-Communist and, as the war came to an end, the relationship between America and Russia fell apart. Summary In 1945, Harry S Truman became president of the USA, determined to confront Communism. He is reported to have told his advisers: The Russians only understand one language - how many armies have you got? I'm tired of babying the Soviets. Harry S Truman, 1945

20 million Russians died during the Second World War --> Stalin wanted a buffer zone of friendly states around Russia to make sure that Russia could never be invaded again.Stalin was planning the takeover of Eastern Europe. During the war, Communists from the occupied countries of Eastern Europe escaped to Moscow and set up Communist governments in exile there. As the Red Army drove the Nazis back, it occupied large areas of Eastern Europe and Churchill in the so-called percentages agreement - agreed that Eastern Europe could be a Soviet "sphere of influence".In the countries that the Red Army"liberated", communist-dominated governments took power. The Communists made sure that they controlled the army, set up a secret police force, and began to arrest their opponents. Non-Communists were gradually beaten, murdered, executed and terrified out of power. By 1949, all the governments of Eastern Europe, except Yugoslavia, were hard line Stalinist regimes.In 1946, in a speech at Fulton in the USA, Churchill declared that an Iron Curtain had come down across Europe, and that Soviet power was growing and had to be stopped. Stalin called Churchill's speech a "declaration of war". In 1947, Stalin set up Comintern - an alliance of Communist countries designed to make sure they obeyed Soviet rule.

-On the 16th of July Americans successfully tested an atomic bomb (Truman informed Stalin at the Potsdam conference and he was furious he hadn’t been consulted despite being allies in the war).  This gave the US more leverage and confidence and also added to distrust between US and the Soviet Union. Stalin’s fury at the US fuelled him into fighting his best to get what he wanted out of the deals.  -Halfway through the Potsdam conference Churchill was defeated in elections and replaced by Atlee and In April 1945 Roosevelt died and was replaced by Truman who mistrusted Stalin - thinking he intended to take over the whole of Europe and was determined to stand up to him, he was very critical and suspicious of the Soivet Union. Stalin had an advantage over the Western powers as he was more experienced than the other two and he was present at the Yalta conference.  

fiercely anti-communist

Soviets set up a communist government in Poland

Stalin could not forgive Britain and America for helping the Whites against the Bolsheviks in the Civil Wars (1918-1921), and he believed that they had delayed D-Day in the hope that the Nazis would destroy Russia.   In the meantime, Britain and America blamed the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 for starting the Second World War.   Also, the two sides’ aims for Germany were different – Stalin wanted Germany to be ruined by reparations, and he wanted a buffer of friendly states round Russia to prevent a repeat of the Nazi invasion of 1941.   Britain and America wanted a democratic and capitalist Germany as a world trading partner, strong enough to stop the spread of Communism westwards.  

Long term rivalry

Differences during Second World War and at Yalta and Potsdam

Soviet Union and Eastern Europe

Attitude of truman