The Soviet Union During The Cold War

Emerging victoriously from World War II, America became the leader of the free-market capitalist world, and proved to be a military, economic, and political powerhouse. However, as one major war came to a close, another battle was brewing between the democratic United States and the communist Soviet Union. As the Soviet Union expanded farther West into Europe, America as well as its NATO allies worked together in an effort to contain the USSR’s expanding communist party. The Cold War went far beyond a battle between different ideologies. Rather, it developed into a global conflict where espionage, treason, and massive propaganda campaigns were inflicted on all aspects of individuals’ lives internationally. The plausibility of communism seeping into the confinements of the United States caused nation-wide fear to erupt. American businesses feared the idea of a communistic revolution on the basis that it would disturb the very groundwork that holds capitalism together. As a result, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was formed to investigate communist and fascist organizations within America. Unfortunately, the controversial tactics used during the HUAC hearings contributed to the fear, blacklisting, and repression that existed from 1940 through the 1950s. In the midst of the Cold War, several American opinions materialized concerning the role of the HUAC, in which Americans either praised the committee for its patriotic ideals, applauded but recognized the

The Cold War was a state of economic, diplomatic, and ideological discord among nations without armed conflict. The Cold War was between the United States and the USSR because these were the two major powers after WWII. Basically, the Cold War was a series of proxy wars that had taken place back in time involving surrounding countries. One of the main causes for Cold War was that the Soviet Union was spreading communism and the United States didn’t like that so they were trying to contain communism. However, in the end they failed. Many events took place in other countries. In Korea, Vietnam, Latin America, and China, communism took over; however, before it did, major wars had taken place. The cold war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union worsened the condition of countries involved. The Cold War broke countries into two parts that turned against each other, the United States and the Soviet Union used these countries to fight their war and caused a big disturbance to daily life, and the Communist States fought the Non-Communist States; however, the end results of these wars only caused more damage in these countries.

Post World War II, both the United States and the Soviet Union were fearful of fighting each other directly from fear of nuclear weapons and mass destruction (D. Johnson, P. Murray). Instead, they fought each other by participating in wars on separate parts of the world. Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union constantly fluctuated due to both sides trying to influence political and economic developments around the world (D. Johnson, P. Murray).

“We promised the Europeans freedom. It would be worse than dishonorable not to see they have it.” General George S. Patton believed this and was right to a certain degree. America didn’t declare war on the Soviets but they did play a major role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Americans didn’t fire a shot on Russian soil but they pressured them into doing acts that the Russian economy wasn’t capable of doing. Although the Soviet Union was a super power after World War 2, their power was cut short because of the involvement in the space race and arms race.

During World War II women in the Soviet Union played a major role in helping the

The U.S. needed Soviet information so they decided that the best way on gaining information was using a Utility Plane from great heights. On May 1, 1960 Soviets shot down an American U-2 spy plane that ended the rumors of the U.S. and Soviet Union allying to conquer the space race. This attack caused many disagreements and fights which led up to the Cold War. The U-2 spy plane incident which sparked great anger was the climax of the Cold War.

For decades, the United States and Russia, formerly The Soviet Union, have held tensions with each other over different political stances and military actions and intelligence. Starting from the late years of World War II - when the Soviet Union had aggressively spread communism throughout Eastern Europe - up to a couple years ago when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine out of nowhere; their relationship has been a rollercoaster of a ride for these two countries. Even though the United States and Russia are no longer in a Cold War, there has been and continues to be tension between the two countries as exemplified by many events of conflict including the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Russian military’s current presence in Syria.

After a long period of fighting on land, where else can nations fight? The early twentieth century saw many battles, the biggest being the two world wars. As World War II ended in 1945, the two superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States were locked in a cold war.

The United States did not have a favorable relationship with the Soviet Union during the Cold War due to the Soviet’s desire to spread communism. In the midst of the ideological battle between the United States and the Soviets, U.S. sought attention to whole Southeast Asia due to the radical dispersion of Communism. North Vietnam formed an alliance with the Soviet Union, and China to unite the country into a communist regime. As an international peace keeper, the United States decided to fund the French and eventually send military troops to Vietnam to help in combat he North Vietnamese guerillas, and contain the spread of communism before it escalates in full-scale across all of Southeast Asia. The Marshall Plan urged the United States to

What would the History of the world have be if the United States never landed on the moon, but instead the Soviet Union was successful at sending cosmonauts to the moon and were the first humans to ever step foot on a celestial body? This is what I wanted to explore in my research, this is all subjective we cannot go back in time to see what the outcome would have been if it never happened the way it did. The idea has been talked about even with the sceptics who think the whole moon landing in 1969 was a hoax to give the United States the title and make the Soviets stop pursuing the moon landing. In this paper I want to give a little history of actual events and then examine ideas of alternative events.

In 1989, history in the West abruptly shifted course. The communist regimes in Eastern Europe fell, severing these nations’ ties to the Soviet Union and sparking unprecedented political and economic reforms. Two years later, the Soviet Union itself disintegrated. The Cold War ended along with it, a sharply defined historical era stretching back to 1914. The end of the Cold War renewed the commitment to democracy and capitalism in the West, accelerated the existing movement toward unification in Europe, and left the United States standing as the sole military superpower in the world. But the collapse of communism did not end all the anxieties present during the Cold War era. The transition in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union proved

“Every war is fought three times. First comes the political discussion over whether to start or enter it. Then comes the question of how to fight it. And, finally, there is consideration of what lessons should be learned from it.” -Richard N. Haass. The Cold War was the third major conflict of the 20th century, 1947-1991, and followed just these rules. All three phases can be identified, and all three triggered intense debate. The Cold War was located in the countries of the US, the Soviet Union, Vietnam, Cuba, Greece, and Korea. Throughout this period, the rivalry between the two superpowers, the US and the Soviet Union, unfolded in multiple arenas: military coalitions; ideology, psychology, and espionage; sports; military, industrial, and technological developments, including the space race; costly defense spending; a massive conventional and nuclear Arms race; and many proxy wars. The clash of Capitalist and Communist ideologies between the United States and the Soviet Union was the main cause of the Cold War. Two main lessons that can be learned from the Cold War include: to respect other countries ' ideologies (agree to disagree) and don 't bring nuclear weapons into war conflicts. These lessons can support the claim/thesis in many ways.

From the beginning of the Cold War, the U.S. reinforced geostrategic connections with South Korea. It rooted its influence through its occupation of the nation until Syngman Rhee was tactically appointed in 1948.

With the creation of a popular democratic front, KIM IL SUNG will be a suitable candidate to head it” (Report on Communists in Korea). If it weren’t for the Soviets, there would be less separation and the North and South Korean governments would be completely different. The author refers to the mass separation between the two parties but doesn’t really pay any attention to it, “In South Korea, besides the Communist Party, the strongest party is the Democratic Party, which represents the interests of the big landowners and capitalists. The party numbers about 10,000 and is headed by Song Jin-u. The party openly engages in pro-imperialist and anti-Communist propaganda”(Report on Communists in Korea). The Cold War affected North Korea in ways other than politically, also.

The Cold War was the catalyst for global transformation. The war of words between the United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), and the Western powers became much more when an outbreak of war struck, engaging both North and South Korea on opposing sides. The USSR and the USA were both responsible for the Korean War as their belligerent opinions on the spread of communism throughout the Cold War surfaced on Korean soil in the form of tanks and armed men. From the beginning of the war both the USA and the USSR took advantage of the tension that they caused within Korea and used the conflict as an outlet for their abhorrence of one another’s beliefs. Both countries influence over the North and the South lead to the adoption of their own ideologies (communism and capitalism) and in a domino effect began the Korean War. The result of the war did nothing to quell or endorse the USSR’s and the USA’s opposing ideologies and has had lasting effects that are still in existence today. Only five years after the end of World War II, the invasion of South Korea by North Korea brought forth yet another corporal confrontation in the wake of a war-torn world.