THE COLD WAR

Before World War II a few nations of Europe basically dominated the globe.  But the destruction of the War was so immense that Europe emerged crippled, her cities bombed, her populations decimated and her economies bankrupt.  A global situation arose in which all but two powerful nations were leveled by war: the United States and the Soviet Union.  The Cold War describes the decades-long period after World War II that centered around tensions between these two superpowers. The era marks the replacement of European hegemony with two competing power centers. The globe during this time was divided into three parts: the United States and its allies, the Soviet Union and its allies, and a "Third World," of unaligned, generally less developed countries that both "superpowers" competed to influence.

It was a “cold” war because the United States and the Soviets never directly confronted each other militarily (although they went to the brink of nuclear war).  Each side represented opposing ideologies; each wanted to create spheres of influence throughout the world.  The US supported the forces of democracy, the Soviets supported communism.

It was an ideal time to build these spheres of influence.  The war had crippled the imperial nations of Europe and they could no longer hold on to their vast colonial empires.  All over the world, de-colonization was occurring.  And competing to influence these newly emerging nations were the Americans and Soviets, each offering very different visions of life.

American policy toward the Cold War was shaped by president Harry Truman. The Truman Doctrine, also called the policy of containment, vowed to stop the creeping threat of communism where ever it appeared.  It would lead the US to intervene initially in Europe, but soon the policy was extended throughout the globe.  In Korea, Cuba, Central America, Africa, and Vietnam, the US got involved in regional powers struggles to stop communism from spreading.  

 

The greatest asset of the US after the war was money, and this too was used to lure recovering countries into the democratic camp.  The Marshall Plan, introduced in 1947, offered aid to any country that applied. Because the US could stipulate how the money could be spent, it was a way to influence others.  Stalin saw it as a plot to undermine communism, for America to spread its sphere of influence. Czechoslavakia was considering Marshall Aid and Stalin slammed the door shut.

 

Two events of 1949 raised the intensity of the Cold War:

1.  China became a communist nation.  This brought the most populated nation in the world into the communist camp.

           

3.  Russia exploded a nuclear bomb.     This had an enormous pychological effect on the US.  The security Americans felt in being the only ones with the “bomb” was shattered.  Americans built bomb shelters. NATO and the Warsaw Pact were formed.  An arms race ensued of apocalyptic proportion. 

The Arms Race
The competition between the United States and the Soviet Union extended to almost all areas, including a race to develop space technology and attempts to gain support from Third World countries. However, the deadliest competition came as both countries built their nuclear arsenals. In 1949 the Soviet Union developed the atom bomb, and from that point until the 1980s, the U.S.S.R. and the U.S. introduced new and increasingly powerful weapons, as well as new kinds of missile systems to develop them.

The Cold War was at its height during the 1950s and 1960s, with people around the globe fearing the worst: the outbreak of a third world war, but this time with nuclear weapons that would almost certainly destroy the world. During the 1970s, both countries saw the need to compromise, and a series of negotiations led to arms reductions. Tensions eased further during the late 1980s, partly because the Soviet Union was on the verge of economic collapse.

The Collapse of the Soviet Union
Russia had emerged from World War II as a superpower, largely as a result of Stalin's focus on industrial strength. However, economic development was uneven. The USSR produced a great army, developed a sophisticated missile program, and participated in a "race to space" with the United States. Much money was spent on maintaining control over satellite states, but the consumer economy failed to grow. By the mid-1980s, the country was on the verge of economic collapse, although the severity of its problems was largely unknown to outsiders. Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to revive the country through a 3-pronged program:

  • Perestroika - Economic reforms attempted to infuse some capitalism into the system, reduce the size of the army, stimulate under-producing factories, and stabilize the monetary system.
  • Glasnost - Loosely translated as "openness", glasnost attempted to loosen censorship restrictions and allow nationalist minorities to address their concerns to the government.
  • Democratization - Gorbachev's plan allowed some choice of candidates for the national congress, a body that in turn selected a president.

The Gorbachev reforms backfired after a conservative coup attempt in 1991. Although the coup failed, and Gorbachev retained his position as president, the crisis resulted in unrest that quickly brought an end to the U.S.S.R. as the republics one by one declared their independence. By the year's end, Gorbachev had no job because he had no country, and Russia - the largest of the republics - emerged under the leadership of Boris Yeltsin. The 1990s saw a weakened Russia struggling to establish a democracy and regain some of its former power.