Compare And Contrast The Wartime Alliance Between The Us And The Soviet Union

The Cold War, a period of sustained political and military tension between the USA and the USSR, resulted in various viewpoints concerning the cause of the tension emerging. Until today the question remains unresolved, even after the 1991 release of Soviet archives. The main point of disagreement relates to the roles that ideology played in the events between 1945 and 1949. Was it the strongly opposing ideologies, capitalism and communism, or power and material interest that drove both superpowers to the decades of struggle for global supremacy.

On February 22, 1946, there was a telegram given to the US State Department of officials from an American Foreign Service officer stationed in Moscow, George Kennan, depicting information of the beliefs of the Russians against capitalism. In summary, it stated “Stalin and the Soviets believe that communism is better than capitalism,” and that “ Stalin and the Soviets believe they will win.” The telegram also had stated, “The United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.” [Doc A]. This demonstrates that the intentions of the USSR are that of destroying capitalism by the warning given by George Kennan to try to stop the spread of communism from gaining too much power and the belief that they themselves would win. This demonstration was heard and the following year in July, the actions to stop communism began. The Truman Doctrine declared the support for developing countries against the communist threat. And again in the following year, there was another policy against the communist threat; the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan “gave over twelve billion dollars [over 140 billion today] in aid to help rebuild European democracies like France and West Germany.” [Background Essay]. This was an opposition against the persuasion of becoming a communist country in Europe. This all shows the American plan of containment against the USSR by economic and military support for the developing countries, to limit the power of the

Relations between the United States and the Soviet Union have always been complicated. Over the entire 20th century they have been close allies to bitter rivals. The stark differences in each of their political systems prevented the USA and the USSR from maintaining a close political friendship and understanding, and even to the very edge of war.

Characterized by the ideological divergence of Communism and Capitalism as well as the intense economic rivalry when World War II came to an end, the political tension between the only two world’s superpowers, United States and Soviet Union, was inevitable. While both of these two nations were motivated by the ambition to expand their worldwide influence, Soviet Union carries more responsibility for instigating the Cold War and exacerbating its discord with United States. While critics argued that America initiated the war by carrying out the Marshall plan when there was no solid evidence about the threat of Communism posed on the United States, it is unassailable that Soviet’s aggression and expansionism prior to the Cold War led to America’s mindset about the nature and potential danger of Communism. The Telegram from Moscow clarified the

In the Second World War USA and its western allies like Britain, France and so forth needed the help of Soviet Union to combat Nazi Germany. “Indeed, the western democracies could not have defeated Germany except the unlimited support of those Soviet troops which in 1945 occupied all areas in dispute.”(Graebner, 1976) However, after the war, the Soviet-American unity collapsed following the Yalta Conference of February 1945, largely over the issue of Poland. As a result, USSR established what Churchill termed as ‘iron curtain’ from Stettin to Trieste.

In studying International Relations, I have realized that, the nature of International politics can be likened to anarchy. This is because in International relations there seems to be no supreme or overriding authority which establishes and maintains rules or laws in international affairs. All States appear to behave in their own interests.

Winston Churchill indignantly bolstered the American public with a phrase that would be remembered for many years to come: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.” This line was what Americans labeled as the start of containment, the start of a new era, especially that of the war on communism later entitled the “Cold War.” However, it was not just this flimsy line that buttressed the supporters of democracy; the true motivator of containment was rather the “Long Telegram,” an eight-thousand-word telegram sent by American ambassador to the Soviet Union, George F. Kennan, to the White House. Albeit inspirational, the “Iron Curtain” speech failed miserably to do the one thing that the “Long Telegram” did: set the policy of containment in place with a purely American ideology. With this telegram, the United States started its trek dedicated to remaining the second world power of the time by reducing the Soviet Union’s power as to not constitute a constant communist threat, changing the rules of international conduct so the Soviet Union would not dominate the globe, and eventually fostering a world environment in which an American system could survive and flourish.

In the time directly following the end of World War Two, the beginnings of an entirely new kind of war were brewing that would occur for nearly 50 years after its birth. Towards the end of World War II, the Soviet Union had been an ally of the United States, but their growing power following the war began to concern the American people, who feared the spread of communism, an order based on the idea of dissolving social classes, money, and the state through the practice of common ownership, or the dissolution of the divide between the working and capitalist classes. Once communism began to spread, the United States quickly and passionately worked to put an end to it not only within its own borders, but around the world. This battle waged on

“The key to the eventual victory of the Allied states lies here, in the remarkable revival of Soviet military and economic power” (Overy 19).

When World War II ended the United States and Russia emerged as “Superpowers”. Though they had fought as allies, each had their own agenda and post -war strategies. The United States found itself unable to enjoy the pleasures of peace after the wars completion. Having been unable to establish a true settlement in Europe, America watched, as Russia appeared to strengthen its hold of the region. The Soviets were taking a position in Europe that concerned the United States, led by President Harry S. Truman. The Soviets were refusing to vacate Austria and were maintaining a post war occupation, on the premise that they had conquered Austria when it was a hostile nation.

Shortly after the end of World War II in 1945, the Cold War began. This war was between the major powers of the United States and Russia. The Cold War was not a traditional war which involved direct use of military. Instead, this war was an indirect war between the two nations to build the largest atomic weapons. America, a free capitalistic country, main goal was to stop the spread of communism and totalitarian which defined the Soviet Union government. Tensions between America and Russia were already high because of past conflicts between the nations. The Red Scare had occurred in America in the 1920s, evoking fear in the hearts of domestic business leaders who feared an economy controlled by a political workers organization. Many of these

From when World War II ended in 1945 to Soviet Union falling in 1991, the Cold War had a major influence in international affairs. It was a continuous competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. Arne Westad argues that “the Cold War was a continuation of colonialism through slightly different means” (Westad, 396). I believe this statement is a description of World War II’s colonialism ways transitioning onto another international conflict; the Cold War. The Cold War began as a disagreement between the Soviet Union and America when it came to communism. The Soviet Union was afraid of America’s atomic weapons, as America was afraid of the Soviet Union’s growing army. Soviet Union was pro communism and America was pro capitalism. Overshadowing all was the threat of nuclear war. The U.S. is to blame for the Cold War due to threatening the “communist Soviet Union” in support of our own political systems. I can conclude this with points made from Westad regarding the Soviet Union’s actions and America’s as well.

The wartime relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States, tenuously compromised and founded upon the necessity of the immediate pragmatism instigated by Hitler’s Operation Barbarossa, was doomed to inevitably disintegrate once both parties ceased to confront a common belligerent. There are two significant factors within the breakdown of United States – Soviet relations following World War II. First is the ideological incongruence within the communist – capitalist dichotomy. Evangelical in nature, both powers aspired toward the proliferation of their political model (Class Lecture, Slide 2). Similarly, Stalin’s narrative of the bourgeoisie’s desire to undermine Soviet progress only furthered the rift between the two systems (“Comrades”,

American capitalism and Soviet Communism were incompatible systems; Washington shouldn’t have been surprised to hear this in George Kennan’s long telegram. But the tensions were not always this high between the two word powers. In the end of world war two, “Stalin 's empire was won with reservoirs of soviet blood”(cite 1). The thought to be never ending Soviet army was not limitless anymore. The estimated cost of the war was at 2.6 trillion(cite 4), with most of the population wanting to focus on reconstructing. But the inevitable behavior of the soviets to push east for bases, land with oil, and to help to instill a communistic government, led to the pause of any rebuilding in the USSR.

The political hostility between the United States of America and the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1990 not only perpetuated enemy propaganda in both countries, but was also a power battle between both nations to sell their respective ideologies to the world. Just like advertising firms use different media outlets and have to create worldwide campaigns, we will take a closer look here at