The defeat of Germany in World War II radically changed the disposition of the most influential political forces in the world. The USSR became one of the most influential world powers; without it, not a single issue related to international relations was resolved.
The place of the USSR in the post-war world
However, at the end of the war, it became obvious that in addition to the Soviet state, the United States had no less influence in the world, which, in addition to receiving the laurels of the winner, was able to significantly increase its wealth during hostilities in Europe.
The economic dawn of the United States against the backdrop of the destroyed old Europe shocked the consciousness of contemporaries: the level of the national gross product rose by 80% in four years, while human and material losses were minimal.
While the government of the Soviet Union began to rebuild the state that was virtually destroyed by the Germans, the United States willingly accepted the role of the leading link in world politics, as President Truman openly stated in 1945.
The dominant position of the United States could not but cause a negative reaction from the USSR, which had just gained a foothold in the world political arena. The situation was significantly complicated by the fact that the United States had powerful nuclear potential, which posed a threat not only to the Soviet state, but to the entire post-war world.
Beginning of the Cold War
Friendly relations between the two countries ended immediately after the last salvo of World War II. Already on September 5, 1945, the United States broke off supply agreements with the USSR military equipment. It should be noted that at the beginning " cold war" significantly contributed to the massive spread of communism, which puzzled capitalist America a lot.
In 1946, US President Truman developed a special program to save Europe from the harmful influence of Soviet ideology, which was called the Truman Doctrine. The USSR government was shocked by such a policy and, in turn, began to consolidate the countries of the socialist camp.
The world is divided into two blocks communist and capitalist states, whose representatives were united by socio-economic and political ties and completely excluded cooperation with the opposite camp.
Korean War
One of the most serious clashes between the warring USA and the USSR was the military action in Korea. In 1949, the governments of the South and North Korea initiated the unification of the two countries into a single state. However, attempts to create a unified power ended with the outbreak of military aggression between South Korea and the DPRK.
The USSR and the USA intervened in the confrontation between small states. The American government actively supported South Korea, the USSR went over to the side of the DPRK. As a result, the front of the Korean internal confrontation grew into an arena in which the two world superpowers competed in military training and material resources.
More than 10 million civilian citizens of Korea became victims of the games between the two states. As a result, socialism was established in the DPRK authoritarian regime, which still exists in this state, while South Korea followed the capitalist path of its mentor the United States.
After the war, the crisis hit the British Empire and its power in the world, and the collapse of its colonial empire began. Two superpowers appeared on the world stage: the USSR and the USA. The contradictions were ideological. The question was posed harshly: socialism or capitalism. The COLD WAR began, a war without open confrontation, a war of the arms race, a war of confrontation between the USA and the USSR.
A state of acute political, economic, ideological, etc. confrontation (confrontation, opposition), which did not develop into an open military phase, which took place between the USSR and its allies on the one hand, and the USA and its allies on the other hand.
Causes of the Cold War Lack of a common enemy among the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition The desire of the USSR and the USA for dominance in the post-war world Contradictions between capitalist and socialist societies political systems. Political ambitions of the leaders of the USSR (Joseph Stalin) and the USA (Harry Truman)
Controversy over the future of Germany grew more and more. The USSR was not satisfied with the Soviet plan regarding Germany, and the USA was not satisfied with the Soviet plan. The confrontation led in 1949 to the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in the West and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the East. Thus, 3/2 Germany appeared in Europe, or, in reality, three, since Berlin was also divided.
The beginning of the “Cold War” The cooling in relations between the USSR and the USA appeared immediately after the end of World War II The “Cold War” began in March 1946 with a speech in Fulton by Winston Churchill. The proclamation of the Truman Doctrine in 1947 further worsened the USSR’s relations with its former allies. Churchill's Fulton speech and the Truman Doctrine were perceived by the USSR as a call to war
The Truman Doctrine envisaged: Providing economic assistance to European countries Creating a military-political alliance of Western countries under the leadership of the United States Placing a network of US military bases along the borders of the USSR Supporting internal opposition in countries of Eastern Europe Use of nuclear weapons
The confrontation between the two superpowers was growing. The USSR's test of its atomic bomb delayed a direct clash between the USSR and the USA. But the confrontation continued. This period, which lasted for decades, kept the whole world in tension and was called the “COLD WAR”. According to Churchill, “The Iron Curtain has fallen” on Europe. In the territories liberated by the USSR, “people's democracies” were established according to the Soviet model. Instead of democratic Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Socialist Republic, and Yugoslavia were formed. A socialist camp was formed. Dictator of Socialist Romania Gheorghe Gheorghiu Dej, “Stalin’s own man.” Flag and coat of arms of the SRR
Truman Doctrine Marshall Plan Creation of NATO Split of Germany: Federal Republic of Germany -1949
The influence of the CPSU on the politics of the countries of Eastern Europe (rejection of the Marshall Plan) Assistance in the transfer of power to the communists in a number of countries Creation of the CMEA and the War of Internal Affairs - 1949 and 1955 Test of the atomic bomb - 1949 Support for the split of Germany - GDR - 1949
The confrontation led to the start of an arms race. More and more new and terrible methods of exterminating people were created. Often the race only led to an increase in the number of weapons. The USSR and the USA used their weapons in absentia during the war in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and the Middle East. The world was divided into opposing camps.
In April 1948, Secretary of State Marshall decided to assist Western Europe in post-war reconstruction, thus making Europe his eternal debtor. The goal of the Marshall Plan was to strengthen the foundations of capitalism in Europe. In 1949, the military North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created, ostensibly against possible German aggression, but in fact against the USSR. NATO includes 12 European countries. The USSR's response was the creation in 1949 of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) for the countries of Eastern Europe and in 1955 of the military Warsaw Pact Organization, which included 9 countries. Europe was divided into two camps. NATO and ATS emblem
Consequences of the Cold War for the USSR Huge expenses on the arms race Expenditures on supporting satellite countries (countries included in the Warsaw Warfare) Establishment of the “Iron Curtain”, restriction of contacts with Western countries Tightening of the domestic political course Lack of access to the latest foreign technologies, technological lag behind Western countries
The foreign policy activities of the Soviet state in the second half of the 40s took place in an atmosphere of profound changes in the international arena. Victory in the Patriotic War increased the authority of the USSR. In 1945 he had diplomatic relations with 52 states (versus 26 in pre-war years). Soviet Union took Active participation in resolving the most important international issues, and above all in resolving the post-war situation in Europe.
In seven countries of Central and Eastern Europe, leftist, democratic forces came to power. The new governments created in them were headed by representatives of the communist and workers' parties. The leaders of Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia held agrarian reforms, nationalization of large industry, banks and transport. The established political organization of society was called people's democracy. It was seen as one of the forms of proletarian dictatorship.
In 1947, at a meeting of representatives of nine communist parties of Eastern European countries, the Communist Information Bureau (Cominformburo) was created. He was entrusted with coordinating the actions of the communist parties of the people's democracies, which began to call themselves socialist. The documents of the meeting formulated the thesis about dividing the world into two camps - imperialist and democratic, anti-imperialist. The concept of two camps, of confrontation on the world stage between two social systems lay at the heart of the foreign policy views of the party and state leadership of the USSR. These views were reflected, in particular, in the work of J.V. Stalin “Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR.” The work also contained the conclusion about the inevitability of wars in the world as long as imperialism exists.
Treaties of friendship and mutual assistance were concluded between the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe. Identical treaties linked the Soviet Union with the GDR, created on the territory of East Germany, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). The agreement with China provided for a loan of $300 million. The right of the USSR and China to use the former CER was confirmed. The countries reached an agreement on joint actions in the event of aggression by any of the states. Diplomatic relations were established with states that gained independence as a result of the national liberation struggle that unfolded in them (the so-called developing countries).
The beginning of the Cold War. Happy ending Patriotic War There were changes in the relationship of the USSR with its former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition. “Cold War” - this is the name given to the foreign policy pursued by both sides towards each other during the second half of the 40s - the early 90s. It was characterized primarily by hostile political actions of the parties. Forceful methods were used to solve international problems. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the USSR in the initial period of the Cold War were V. M. Molotov, and since 1949 - AD. Vyshinsky.
The confrontation between the parties clearly manifested itself in 1947 in connection with the Marshall Plan put forward by the United States. The program developed by US Secretary of State J. Marshall provided for the provision of economic assistance to European countries that suffered during the Second World War. The USSR and people's democracies were invited to participate in a conference on this matter. Soviet government regarded the Marshall Plan as a weapon of anti-Soviet policy and refused to participate in the conference. At his insistence, the countries of Eastern Europe invited to the conference also announced their refusal to participate in the Marshall Plan.
Instead of a hostile “cordon sanitaire,” the neighbors of the USSR were mostly friendly states. The Soviet Union's ties with other countries expanded: before the war, the USSR had diplomatic relations with 26 states, and by the end of the war - (from 52) It became even more clear that not a single issue of world politics could be resolved without the participation of the USSR.
Before the Soviet foreign policy new tasks arose: the development of fraternal friendship with the people's democracies and the comprehensive strengthening of the world socialist system; support for the national liberation movement and friendly cooperation with young states that have thrown off the colonial yoke. At the same time, the foreign policy of the USSR continued to be aimed at protecting peace and exposing the aggressive essence of imperialism, at implementing and consolidating the Leninist principles of peaceful coexistence of states and developing business ties with all countries.
"Cold War".
The Cold War began in 1946 and continued (with short interruptions) until 1985, when M. S. Gorbachev sharply changed the course of USSR foreign policy. (Although many believe that the Cold War has not ended to this day..) According to one of the leaders of Soviet foreign intelligence, L.V. Shebarshin, “Russia was created by the needs of defense, which forced it to push its outposts and fortresses to new frontiers, spend their resources on defense... And the psychology of a besieged fortress... was a natural product of our history... Hitler’s invasion confirmed the reality of historical fears... What did we face immediately after the war? With the declaration of the “Cold War” and the beginning of a feverish preparations for a new round of the real war. We did not start this preparation. It was not the Soviet Union that created and tested the first atomic bomb on people. Our country was surrounded by a dense ring of military bases, fleets, and military blocs. There was a real, deadly preparation for the destruction of our country... The country was forced to respond to the threat in the only possible way - to prepare to repel it."
Why, from 1946 to 1985, was the USSR forced to exist in the position of a “besieged fortress”? The defeat of Germany and its allies led to the emergence of two superpowers in the world - the USA and the USSR.
The USSR had a large territory, people, and minerals, but the economy, especially in the first post-war years, was a ruin. At the same time, during the Second World War, America's industrial potential increased by 50%. In 1945-1946. the balance of forces, as the American historian J.R. Adelman notes, “was perhaps the worst for the USSR during its entire existence.” However, fearing dependence on the “allies,” Stalin spoke out against the USSR’s participation in the so-called Marshall Plan*.
At this time, US President Truman decided that the time had come to make it clear to Stalin that the days of his influence in the “Big Three” (as the USSR, USA and Great Britain were called in 1943-1945) were over.
Back on June 24, 1941, immediately after Germany’s attack on the USSR, in the New York Times, the future president and then senator from Missouri, Harry Truman, said this: “If we see that Germany is winning, then we "we should help Russia, and if Russia wins, then we should help Germany, and thus let them kill as many as possible."
Once in the presidential chair, Truman, blinded by the military and economic power of his country, its authority and capabilities, turned into a politician with imperial ambitions. In 1945, he said: "Our victory has placed on the American people the burden of responsibility for the continued leadership of the world." The problem was that Stalin and his comrades placed “the burden of responsibility for leading the world” on the Soviet people.
Truman met face to face with Stalin in July 1945 at the Potsdam Conference, on which the future of not only Europe, but the entire world depended.
In Potsdam, Truman informed Stalin that the atomic bomb, a weapon of unprecedented destructive power, had been successfully tested at Alamogordo. However, restraint and composure did not change the “great commander of all times and peoples.” The famous Soviet diplomat A. A. Gromyko recalled: “Churchill was anxiously awaiting the end of Truman’s conversation with Stalin. And when it ended, the English prime minister hastened to ask the US President: “So how?” He replied: “Stalin did not ask me a single clarifying question and limited himself to thanking me for the information.”
But neither Truman nor Churchill knew what would happen next. Marshal G.K. Zhukov recalled: “... having returned from the meeting, I.V. Stalin, in my presence, told V.M. Molotov about the conversation that had taken place with G. Truman. V.M. Molotov immediately said: “I value myself.” stuffed." J.V. Stalin laughed: “Let them stuff it.” We will need to talk with Kurchatov about speeding up our work.” I realized that they were talking about an atomic bomb."
After the conference, Truman wrote in his diary: “Our experience in Germany and Bulgaria, in Romania, Hungary and Poland has shown that it is no longer worth taking risks and entering into an alliance with the Russians... Strength is the only thing the Russians understand.”
With the creation of the Soviet atomic bomb, Stalin received the much-desired first guarantee of safety. But he could not foresee that the arms race was just beginning, and in a few decades the desire to maintain military-strategic parity at all costs - the balance of power between the USSR and the USA - would lead the country's economy to a deep crisis.
"Iron curtain".
Since 1946, Stalin has come to grips with creating a second security guarantee: the USSR should be surrounded by a kind of “cordon sanitaire” that would protect Soviet society both from a possible military attack from the West, and from influence from “bourgeois propaganda”.
Since 1947, power in the countries of Eastern Europe - Poland, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia - is finally assigned to the communist parties, and coalition governments are dispersed, often by force. Stalin harshly suppressed any attempts by European communists to show independence in political decisions. In 1947, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito, and the leader of the Bulgarian communists, Georgi Dimitrov, announced the beginning of the creation of the Balkan Federation. Stalin decided to seize the initiative from Tito and take control of the creation of this federation. And when the Yugoslavs showed “obstinacy,” on December 25, 1949, diplomatic relations between the USSR and the SFRY were severed. Tito was declared a "fascist" and a "Hitler-Trotskyist agent."
Having failed to find a compromise with the former allies on the issue of the future of Germany, Stalin ordered Marshal V.D. Sokolovsky to organize a blockade of West Berlin, which was a zone of Allied occupation. Willy Brandt, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1969-1974, recalled: “On that day, June 24, 1948... we had a presentiment that decisions of enormous importance were coming... The night before, there was a riot in the American, English and French sectors. .. the Western mark was introduced (a single monetary unit for the western occupation zones. - Ed.), and the next morning the East responded to this with a hunger blockade... The crossing points from the western sectors are blocked. Electrical cables coming from the eastern zone are cut off. All supplies , coming from the East to the "rebellious" western sectors of Berlin, are suspended.
This political crisis led to the creation of two Germanys: on September 23, 1949, the occupation zones of the USA, England and France were united into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), and on October 7, 1949, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) appeared in the east, headed by Stalin's protege is Walter Ulbricht, first secretary of the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany).
Relations between the former allies also worsened in the East: in China and Korea. In 1946, China began Civil War between the Kuomintang party, led by Chiang Kai-shek, who was supported by the United States, and the Communists. The prospect of victory for the Chinese communists, led by the ambitious and resourceful Mao Zedong, did not please Stalin at all - a huge, densely populated country could become an independent center of the world communist movement. In 1945-1948. The Kremlin repeatedly called on the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to begin negotiations with Chiang Kai-shek, and only on November 23, 1949, diplomatic relations were established between the USSR and Maoist China. As a sign of protest against the fact that Chiang Kai-shek's representatives continued to sit at the UN, the USSR withdrew from all its bodies.
This demarche was cleverly taken advantage of by the Truman administration, which managed, in the absence of Soviet diplomats, to pass through the UN Security Council a resolution on the deployment of American troops to Korea. At this time, a fierce war began between North Korea, which was adjacent to the socialist camp, and South Korea, which chose the Western path of development. The successful offensive of North Korean troops led to the capture of the capital South Korea- Seoul. After the UN decision, troops were landed in the rear of the North Korean army under the command of American General Douglas MacArthur. In response to this, Mao sent his divisions to Korea, which were covered from the air Soviet aviation. As a result of the bloody war, the split of Korea into two states was consolidated.
The confrontation between the former allies became so serious that in the spring of 1949, on the initiative of the United States, the military bloc NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was created, uniting armed forces majority European countries. In 1955, the leadership of the USSR announced the formation of its military alliance - the Warsaw Pact, although in reality the majority of socialist countries since 1947 have been a single military camp, armed and trained according to Soviet models.
The splits of Germany and Korea symbolized the split of the whole world into two parts, fiercely opposed to each other. “From Stettin on the Baltic to Trieste on the Adriatic, an iron curtain has fallen over the European continent,” Churchill declared.
Relations with Third World countries.
In addition to the “Western” and “Eastern” military-political blocs, a mysterious “Third World” arose. “Third World” countries include states that have relatively recently freed themselves from colonial dependence and have a low level of economic development and an unstable political system.
After World War II, the colonial system began to rapidly disintegrate. Great Britain and France - the main colonial powers - were losing their possessions in Africa, Asia, Indochina, and the Middle East. Which bloc will the governments of the liberated countries join? Often they did not know it themselves, preoccupied with how to maintain power amid the military-revolutionary chaos. And then Stalin set about the legacy of the decrepit “British lion.” Those states of the “third world” that enjoyed active military and economic support from the USSR were called “countries of socialist orientation.”
Stalin's successors will chase the mirage for decades. Billions of rubles will leave the Soviet economy to support “progressive regimes” in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The leaders of these regimes will gladly take rubles from the USSR, and then... with even greater pleasure - dollars from the United States.
At the height of the Cold War, on March 5, 1953, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin died. He passed away when the world, thanks in part to his policies, was teetering on the brink of a third world war. When the name of the new Soviet leader (Khrushchev) became known on the other side of the Iron Curtain, diplomats and intelligence officers only shrugged their shoulders - no one really knew who he was or what he was like.
Between the Cold War and the Cold Peace.
The new head of state sought to immediately separate himself and his policies from the actions of his predecessors. Stalin very rarely received foreign correspondents; his interviews were restrained and laconic; the Generalissimo’s meetings with heads of foreign states could be counted on one hand. V. M. Molotov behaved even more restrained and dryly, as if flaunting his icy composure, during the negotiations, raising a whole galaxy of Soviet diplomats in the same spirit.
Khrushchev burst into this world of sternly withdrawn faces and carefully calibrated diplomatic notes like a tornado. He improvised during his speeches, jumping from one subject to another, argued with foreign correspondents, and it cost him nothing to make friends with the American farmer Garst. It is difficult to say what was more in Khrushchev’s non-standard behavior - a calculated game or the fundamental properties of his nature. However, wittingly or unwittingly, the head of the USSR achieved a very important success: in the eyes of the West, he looked not like a mysterious and creepy “Kremlin tyrant”, but like ordinary person- interesting, a little eccentric, sometimes funny.
At first, Khrushchev and his supporters were lucky. In the summer of 1955, Khrushchev paid a visit to Belgrade and announced the dropping of all charges against Tito and Yugoslavia. In May of the same year, Khrushchev held negotiations in Geneva with US President Dwight David Eisenhower, British and French Prime Ministers Anthony Eden and Felix Faure, marking the beginning of the so-called tradition of the “spirit of Geneva”, i.e. desire to resolve controversial issues through diplomatic negotiations. But in November 1956, Soviet tanks were already crumbling the asphalt on the streets of Budapest, when the Hungarians rebelled against the socialist order being imposed in their country. The suppression of the Hungarian uprising maintained Soviet control over its Eastern European allies. In the same 1956, the “hand of Moscow” reached out to the countries of the “third world”.
In July 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal. Israel, Great Britain and France acted as a united front against Egypt. On the evening of October 31, 1956, Anglo-French aircraft bombed Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said and Suez. On November 2, an emergency session of the UN General Assembly condemned the aggression against Egypt, but hostilities continued. And then, on November 5, the words of the diplomatic note that the USSR government sent to Paris, London and Tel Aviv thundered throughout the world. The note stated that the USSR was ready to “use force to crush the aggressors and restore peace in the East.” Aircraft engines were already warming up at the airfields when the war ended on November 7.
According to the memoirs of Khrushchev’s son, Sergei Nikitovich, he “was proud of his success... The events of 1956 turned the Arab world upside down. Previously, these countries traditionally focused on Western Europe and knew as little about the Soviet Union as we did about them. The failure of the punitive action, "directed against Egypt, changed the orientation of most countries in the region. The USSR built on the success it had achieved. First Czechoslovak and then Soviet weapons went to Arab countries, economic assistance expanded. All our military power was demonstratively set in motion when a threat arose to our allies in the Middle East."
USA, Great Britain and France, in the 50-60s. acted in Africa, Asia and Latin America the old fashioned way, preferring to use brute force, thereby irritating the local population and politicians. Under N. S. Khrushchev, the maximum possible successes of the USSR were achieved in consolidating strategic positions in developing countries. When Western countries began sending their capital there instead of mercenaries, the Kremlin’s successes gradually faded away.
Relieving tension.
General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev and his entourage could not help but notice that the popularity of the USSR in the world in the mid-60s. started to fall. China strengthened its position in Indonesia, Cuba and even in Western Europe, where students increasingly demonstrated under Maoist slogans. In Czechoslovakia, Poland and Romania, dissatisfaction with the harsh directives coming from the Kremlin was brewing. Cuban leader Fidel Castro demanded that the USSR support his idea of transforming the Latin American continent into “several Vietnams.” The leaders of the CPSU decided to show “who is the boss of the house.”
In 1968, the armed forces of the Warsaw Pact entered the territory of Czechoslovakia, forcing the resignation of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, Alexander Dubcek, who was trying to carry out some liberal reforms in the country.
In March - August 1969, armed clashes occurred on the Soviet-Chinese border (China laid claim to some USSR territories in the Far East). After this Mao and the Prime Minister State Council Zhou Enlai began to actively seek contacts with the West.
In an effort to seize the initiative, the leadership of the USSR began to carry out “détente.” The meaning of this policy was to resolve most controversial issues that arose between the West and the East through diplomatic negotiations. The Americans, who had suffered heavy defeats in Vietnam, were also ready for contacts with the Soviet side.
After the expulsion of the French colonial administration in 1954, Vietnam was split into two warring states: North Vietnam, oriented toward the USSR, and South Vietnam, which enjoyed the support of Western countries. Since 1965, the US government has waged war against North Vietnam. Only in 1973, after a series of serious setbacks, was it forced to withdraw its troops. The Soviet Union did not help North Vietnam military force, but only with weapons, finance and propaganda. But the successes of North Vietnam for some time strengthened the authority of the USSR in the Third World.
In May 1972, negotiations took place in Moscow between Brezhnev and Nixon, which ended with the signing of the SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation) Treaty. In 1974, negotiations on SALT 2 began. On April 1, 1975, the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe was signed in the capital of Finland, Helsinki. It was great success Soviet diplomacy. The Soviet Union received recognition for the political order it established in Eastern Europe after the end of World War II. In exchange, the Final Act included articles on the protection of human rights, freedom of information and movement. Since these articles were not observed in the USSR, the opportunity was created to accuse the leaders of the CPSU of violating international agreements.
In 1979, Brezhnev and US President James Carter signed the previously agreed version of SALT II, but the treaty was not ratified by the US Congress. Primarily due to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. The short era of "détente" was coming to an end. In 1981, Moscow provided active political support to Polish General Wojciech Jaruzelski, who, relying on the army and intelligence services, established a state of emergency in Poland in order to prevent the leaders of the anti-Soviet Solidarity trade union from coming to power. But Moscow no longer decided to send troops along the lines of the events in Czechoslovakia in 1968. KGB Chairman Yu. V. Andropov said: “We need to think about how to stabilize the situation in Poland for a long period, but proceed from the fact that the limit of our interventions abroad has been exhausted.” By the beginning of the 80s. The USSR was closer than ever to international isolation.
On the brink of war.
In the wake of dissatisfaction with the foreign policy of the USSR, the “hawk” (as supporters of a tough policy towards socialist countries were called in the United States) Ronald Reagan won the presidential elections in the United States, calling the USSR an “evil empire.” Reagan accused the USSR authorities of pursuing a policy of conquest and subjugation neighboring countries, especially Afghanistan. US diplomats skillfully used the documents signed by L. I. Brezhnev in Helsinki. Because in the 70s - early 80s. In the USSR, dissidents were actively persecuted (see the article "Dissident Movement"), the government of the Soviet Union was accused of non-compliance with human rights. The United States has significantly strengthened its position in Pakistan, neighboring Afghanistan, providing military assistance to both this country and the Afghan opposition. American intelligence services also provided significant support to the Polish trade union Solidarity, correctly calculating that the communists would not be able to retain power in the country for long.
The coming to power of Yu. V. Andropov only complicated the situation in the world. On September 1, 1983, the USSR air defense shot down a Boeing 747 plane of a South Korean civil airline. The leadership of the USSR claimed that the Boeing violated the country's airspace "for a provocative purpose" or was conducting a reconnaissance flight. But such explanations were not accepted by most countries. As the famous French Sovietologist (specialist in the history and politics of the USSR) N. Werth notes, “The United States used this tragedy as confirmation of their ideas about the true nature of the Soviet Union, a country with a barbaric regime, ruled by liars and swindlers.”
In response to the accusations, on November 24, the USSR interrupted negotiations ongoing in Geneva on the non-deployment of American Cruise and Pershing cruise missiles in Europe and announced that Soviet SS-20 missiles would be deployed in Eastern Europe. Never since the end of World War II has the situation on the international scene been so tense.
"Perestroika".
In these troubled years, part Soviet politicians realized that the arms race and aid to Third World countries are an unbearable burden for the country's economy. The new General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee M. S. Gorbachev and his supporters, Foreign Minister E. A. Shevardnadze and head of the international department of the Central Committee A. N. Yakovlev, dramatically changed the nature of the USSR’s foreign policy. After long and difficult negotiations with Reagan, a Soviet-American agreement on the destruction of intermediate-range and shorter-range nuclear missiles was concluded on December 8, 1987. The withdrawal began on May 15, 1988 Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Gorbachev completely abandoned support for pro-Soviet regimes in Eastern Europe, and as a result of the “democratic revolutions”, by 1990 the “Eastern Bloc” ceased to exist. In the Cold War between the two superpowers, which began in 1946, the United States won. The USSR (after August 1991 - the Russian Federation) refuses the status of a superpower, preferring to concentrate all its efforts on internal political and economic reforms.
On September 2, 1945, the act of surrender of Japan was signed on board the American battleship Missouri. The Second Ended World War. Europe lay in ruins. Many areas of Asia and North Africa were devastated. The most popular word, which was pronounced almost with religious trepidation in different parts of the Earth, was the word “peace”. But less than a year had passed before World War II was followed by a new one - the Cold War.
Immediately after the end of the Second World War, the anti-Hitler coalition collapsed. The former allies could not agree among themselves on what the post-war world would look like.
Causes of the Cold War. The leaders of the USA and Great Britain sought to prevent the strengthening of the USSR's influence in Europe and the world. First of all, they did not want pro-Soviet and pro-communist regimes to establish themselves in the countries of Eastern Europe liberated by Soviet troops. They were also afraid of the communist parties coming to power in a number of Western countries. European countries, primarily in Italy, France and Greece, where the Communist parties were the leaders and heroes of the anti-fascist resistance. Already April 24, 1945, i.e. then, when Soviet troops were just storming Berlin, British Prime Minister W. Churchill told his comrades: “In the future, relations with the USSR can only be built if the Russian people recognize Anglo-American power. ... Soviet Russia became mortal danger for the free world. ...a new front must be immediately created against its further advance. …. this front in Europe should run as far as possible in the East.”
Stalin, in turn, sought to maximally strengthen the influence of the USSR on the world stage and saw the main task as turning the Eastern European countries into reliable allies of the USSR.
The fundamental contradiction in the foreign policy goals of the former partners in the anti-Hitler coalition led to the fact that immediately after the end of the Second World War, two new opposing blocs emerged in the international arena: Western and Eastern. They entered into a confrontation that was carried out mainly by ideological, political and economic means and therefore received the name “Cold War”.
The symbolic date of the beginning of the Cold War is considered to be March 5, 1946. On this day, in the American city of Fulton, W. Churchill, already a former prime minister, gave a speech in which he spoke about the “communist threat”:
“In a large number of countries far from Russian borders... communist fifth columns... work in complete unity and absolute obedience to the decrees they receive from the communist center. … Even in the British Commonwealth and in the United States, where communism is still in its infancy, communist parties or fifth columns constitute a growing challenge and danger to Christian Civilization.”
To counter this threat, Churchill proposed creating an alliance of Western countries under the leadership of the USA and Great Britain.
Stalin immediately responded to Fulton's speech. In an interview published in the newspaper Pravda on March 16, 1946, he outlined his vision of the situation in the world in general, and in Eastern Europe in particular. Noting that it was through the territories of the countries of Eastern Europe that Germany attacked the USSR, Stalin asked the question: “What could be surprising in the fact that the Soviet Union, wanting to protect itself for the future, is trying to ensure that governments exist in these countries, loyally related to the Soviet Union?
Stalin further stated that Churchill, hiding behind talk of democracy, would like to place proteges of the West in the governments of Eastern European countries and thereby return to the pre-war situation. Referring to the growing influence of communist parties throughout the world, Stalin explained this by the fact that “in the difficult years of the rule of fascism in Europe, the communists turned out to be reliable, brave, selfless fighters against the fascist regime, for the freedom of peoples.”
Creation of the Western Bloc. Stalin's explanations did not satisfy US President Truman, who began to create what Churchill proposed Western block. The United States had the necessary potential to lead this bloc. The last world war was a period of unprecedented economic growth and military-political power for the United States. Suffice it to say that the United States concentrated in its hands 2/3 of the world's gold reserves and had a monopoly on nuclear weapons. US leaders openly declared their claims to world domination and sought to assert it through a policy of “containing communism.”
This policy was expressed in "Truman Doctrine" adopted by the US Congress in March 1947. As part of the doctrine, the US Congress allocated $400 million to provide economic and military assistance to Greece and Turkey for a year in order to prevent the victory of pro-communist forces in these countries. Subsequently, the amount of assistance was increased and by 1950 it amounted to $650 million.
In April 1948, the “European Recovery Program” came into effect, proposed by J. Marshall, US Secretary of State, and known as "Marshall Plan". The United States offered major economic assistance to European countries on the condition that American control over the distribution of aid be established, private enterprise encouraged, and American goods freely admitted to the markets of European countries. The Marshall Plan prevented the implementation of socialist transformations in Eastern European countries, which prompted the USSR government to reject it and not recommend accepting American assistance to its allies. However, as it later became known, Truman had no intention of providing assistance to Russia.
The Marshall Plan was adopted by 17 Western European countries. Between 1948 and 1951 they received $13 billion in economic aid. The bulk of the allocated funds were loans for the purchase of American goods. Economic and political support from the United States helped right-wing circles in France and Italy, as well as in a number of other Western European countries, split leftist forces and remove communists from the post-war coalition governments.
Berlin crisis. In 1948, the United States headed for the division of Germany by uniting the western zones of occupation (American, British and French) and creating a state there that would be a loyal ally of the West. The western part of Berlin, which was located in the Soviet zone of occupation, but according to the Potsdam Agreements of 1945 was controlled by the Western allies, was also included in this state. In response to these actions, in June 1948, Stalin gave instructions to limit access to East Germany and West Berlin for citizens and goods from West Germany. West Berlin was blockaded. The so-called "Berlin crisis"– the first major crisis in Europe during the Cold War era. The Soviet side was ready to resolve it on the condition that the West renounced the separate division of Germany. In the event of such a division, the blockade should have prompted the West to abandon West Berlin, which was separated from the western zones by many kilometers. However, the US and British governments did not make concessions and organized an “air bridge”, moving food to West Berlin by air - along three air corridors, which they could use at their discretion to supply their troops located in West Berlin. Despite the noisy propaganda, it was impossible to properly feed the 2 million population of West Berlin by air. The blockade lasted for almost a year. In May 1949, Stalin canceled it, as morbidity and mortality among the civilian population sharply increased in West Berlin. The blockade of West Berlin was not liked by the population throughout Europe, which was actively used in anti-Soviet propaganda. Western countries also made some concessions, abandoning plans to directly include West Berlin in the state they were creating. West Berlin was declared an autonomous, self-governing city, but its status was not finally settled. The Berlin crisis was limited and manageable: neither Stalin nor Truman wanted to start a war over West Berlin. At the same time, both sides have demonstrated that they are ready to firmly defend their interests.
On September 20, 1949, a federal Republic Germany (FRG). In response, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was created in the eastern zone on October 7, 1949.
Against the background of the Berlin crisis, Washington managed to create a military-political bloc in April 1949 NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) directed against the USSR. The members of the bloc are the USA, Canada, Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal. Greece and Turkey joined NATO in 1952, and the Federal Republic of Germany in 1955.
Creation of the Eastern Bloc. If Truman managed to consolidate countries Western Europe and to prevent leftist forces from coming to power there, Stalin did everything possible to establish communist governments in countries liberated from German and Japanese occupation with the help of the Red Army. The extent and nature of Soviet assistance to the Communist Parties varied. Politically, in Yugoslavia and Albania, the communists came to power on their own, relying on the support of the majority of the population. In Poland, Hungary and Romania, the presence of Soviet troops had a decisive influence on the outcome of the struggle for power and the choice of development path. In Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia, the communists won by relying on the Soviet factor and on sufficient high degree of your own influence. In China, northern parts of Korea and Vietnam, communists came to power largely on our own. Soviet assistance helped the new allies of the USSR quickly gain international recognition and resolve a number of border issues.
Economically, the USSR helped all its allies. However, his assistance could not compare with the amount of assistance that the United States provided to Western European countries under the Marshall Plan. The difficult economic situation made it difficult to implement political changes in Eastern Europe. In the period from 1945 to 1948, a regime of “people's democracy” emerged in Eastern European countries: there was a multi-party system, a mixed economy, and left-wing parties were searching for their own national path to socialism. However, in the context of the Cold War and harsh confrontation, Stalin took the path of imposing the Soviet experience of a forced transition to socialism on the Eastern European countries. This turned into gross interference in the internal affairs of Eastern European countries. This practice gave rise to many problems, in particular, it led in 1948 to a conflict with the leadership of Yugoslavia. Josip Broz Tito, head of government and leader of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, did not agree with the authoritarian style of Stalin's leadership, which led to a breakdown in Soviet-Yugoslav relations.
In 1949, in Moscow, in response to the Marshall Plan, an economic organization was created - "Council for Mutual Economic Assistance"(CMEA). The organization included Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the USSR and Czechoslovakia. In 1950, the German Democratic Republic joined the CMEA. Stalin did not go for the creation of a military bloc similar to NATO, but in military-political terms the USSR was connected with Eastern European countries by bilateral treaties of friendship and mutual assistance.
The Cold War created the ground for a number of local armed conflicts. The biggest conflict was Korean War (1950–1953). At the end of the Second World War, the territory of North Korea was liberated from Japanese militarists by Soviet troops and partisan detachments led by communists. South Korea was liberated with the help of American troops. As a result, different political regimes, and the country was divided along the 38th parallel. At the same time, the North Korean government tried to annex the southern part of the country, and the South Korean government wanted to extend its power to the north. Both sides were preparing for war. Stalin held back the North Korean government for a long time. However, in 1950, after the communist victory in China, Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong promised North Korean leader Kim Il Sung military assistance, and he received Stalin’s consent to conduct a military operation to reunite the country. The USSR sent several hundred military advisers, specialists and equipment to the DPRK. On June 25, 1950, the DPRK army launched an offensive and quickly occupied almost the entire south.
The United States achieved condemnation of the DPRK's actions at the UN, and US troops and a number of their allies were sent to Korea under the UN flag. By November they had captured almost all of North Korea. Then up to 30 divisions of “Chinese volunteers” (750 thousand) crossed the border. US aircraft began bombing the northern regions of China. They were covered from the air by Soviet aviation. The fighting ended with the restoration of the previous dividing line. The restrained position of the Soviet leadership led to the fact that the local military conflict did not develop into a large-scale war with the participation of the USSR and the USA. However, the conflict had very dire consequences. During the war, up to 4 million Koreans were killed or wounded, of which 84% were civilians. China lost about 1 million killed and wounded. The United States lost about 390 thousand military personnel killed and wounded (of which, according to American data, 54 thousand were killed). The USSR's participation was limited mainly to providing air support. Death toll Soviet pilots, advisers, technicians amounted to 299 people.
The new balance of power in the world objectively contributed to the strengthening national liberation movement in the colonies. In the fall of 1945, the peoples of Indochina began to fight against the French colonialists and in 1954 forced France to recognize the independence of Laos, Cambodia and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In 1945, the people of Indonesia proclaimed and defended their independence in a war against the Dutch colonialists. Great Britain in 1947 was forced to recognize the independence of India, and then Ceylon and Burma. In the Middle East, in the first post-war decade, the peoples of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia and Morocco achieved independence. Most of the new states became members of the “non-aligned movement” in the military blocs of the great powers, created on the initiative of India, Egypt and Yugoslavia.
Thus, post-war changes in the world were contradictory. On the one hand, the process of weakening the forces of imperialism and colonialism was growing: the collapse of the colonial system, which the West had created and exploited for several centuries, began. On the other hand, two military-political blocs have emerged in the world and entered into fierce confrontation. It had a negative impact on the economic and political development many countries of the world.
Ideological war. The Cold War was accompanied by active propaganda that reached proportions ideological war. The West presented itself as a defender of freedom and democracy and accused the USSR of seeking to impose a communist dictatorship. Moscow spoke of its readiness to help the peoples of the world build a true democracy: a socially just society in which the principle of distribution according to labor, and not capital, would prevail. In practice, both sides were not shy in choosing methods to achieve their goals. However, the United States had one clear advantage: it could back up any of its foreign policy actions with a powerful economic resource. The USSR was deprived of such an opportunity, which forced it to often rely on brute force.
Related information.
Signs of the Cold War:
1. The existence of a relatively stable bipolar world - the presence in the world of two superpowers balancing each other’s influence, to which other states gravitated to one degree or another.
2. “Block politics” – the creation of opposing military-political blocs by superpowers. 1949 - creation of NATO, 1955 - Warsaw Pact Organization.
3. “Arms race” - the increase in the number of weapons by the USSR and the USA in order to achieve qualitative superiority. The “arms race” ended by the beginning of the 1970s. in connection with the achievement of parity (balance, equality) in the number of weapons. From this moment on, the “policy of detente” begins - a policy aimed at eliminating the threat of nuclear war and reducing the level of international tension. “Détente” ended after the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan (1979)
4. Formation of an “enemy image” among one’s own population in relation to the ideological enemy. In the USSR, this policy was manifested in the creation of the “Iron Curtain” - a system of international self-isolation. In the USA, “McCarthyism” is being carried out - the persecution of supporters of “left” ideas.
5. Periodically emerging armed conflicts that threaten to escalate the Cold War into a full-scale war.
Causes of the Cold War:
1. Victory in World War II led to a sharp strengthening of the USSR and the USA.
2. The imperial ambitions of Stalin, who sought to expand the zone of influence of the USSR into the territories of Turkey, Tripolitania (Libya) and Iran.
3.US nuclear monopoly, attempts at dictatorship in relations with other countries.
4. Ineradicable ideological contradictions between the two superpowers.
5. Formation of a socialist camp controlled by the USSR in Eastern Europe.
The date of the beginning of the Cold War is considered to be March 1946, when W. Churchill made a speech in Fulton (USA) in the presence of President G. Truman, in which he accused the USSR of “the limitless spread of its power and its doctrines” in the world. Soon, President Truman announced a program of measures to “save” Europe from Soviet expansion ("Truman Doctrine"). He proposed providing large-scale economic assistance to European countries ( "Marshall Plan"); create a military-political alliance of Western countries under the auspices of the United States (NATO); place a network of US military bases along the borders of the USSR; support internal opposition in Eastern European countries. All this was supposed not only to prevent further expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR ( socialism containment doctrine), but also to force the Soviet Union to return to its former borders (doctrine of rejecting socialism).
By this time, communist governments existed only in Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria. However, from 1947 to 1949. socialist systems are also developing in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, North Korea, and China. The USSR provides them with enormous financial assistance.
In 1949. the economic foundations of the Soviet bloc were formed. For this purpose it was created Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. For military-political cooperation in 1955 the Warsaw Treaty Organization was formed. Within the framework of the commonwealth, no “independence” was allowed. Relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia (Joseph Broz Tito), which was seeking its path to socialism, were severed. At the end of the 1940s. Relations with China (Mao Zedong) deteriorated sharply.
The first serious clash between the USSR and the USA was Korean War (1950-53). The Soviet state supports the communist regime of North Korea (DPRK, Kim Il Sung), the USA supports the bourgeois government of South Korea. The Soviet Union supplied the DPRK with modern types of military equipment (including MiG-15 jet aircraft) and military specialists. As a result of the conflict, the Korean Peninsula was officially divided into two parts.
Thus, the international position of the USSR in the first post-war years was determined by the status of one of the two world superpowers won during the war. The confrontation between the USSR and the USA and the outbreak of the Cold War marked the beginning of the division of the world into two warring military-political camps.