The Soviet Union During World War II

Over the past several decades, there have been great tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union which continue into what is known today as Russia. Suspicions and tensions between these two countries increased greatly during and directly after World War II, particularly between 1941 and 1949.

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.

As World War II came to an end, tensions between the United States and The Soviet union began due to the rise and spread of Communism all around the world. In 1952, A senator by the name of Joseph McCarthy had been gaining power in the realm of politics because he acted as a demagogue using the fears and paranoia that most people in the United States held due to the Red Scare. McCarthy began a ruthless campaign to try and root out any communists that he felt were in the country. Over the years, McCarthy initiated a witch hunt where he accused many people of being communists including prominent political figures and even actors. With the help of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, McCarthy continued his campaign by trying to expose as many people as people as he could even if it meant falsely accusing individuals in order to promote his cause and try to gain power. What McCarthy was able to do was created an environment that of mistrust and fear in order for him to move up in his political career and remove any competition for him.

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).

As World War II came to its end, agreements among the winning powers began to dissolve. The U.S., Great Britain, and the Soviet Union…had very different views politically, socially, and economically. World War II, which was considered a “hot” war, was followed by the cold war. This war was a conflict primarily between the U.S. and the Soviet Union that persevered throughout much of the postwar period. The ideological differences were mutual distrust. As US was a capitalist country, Americans feared communism and the nuclear arms race were the major

World War 2 was both tragic but also a growing period for Canadians. Germany and The Soviet Union were in a non-aggression pact and were trying to take over Europe. Along with their greed for power, Hitler the leader of Germany did not like the Jewish, and sent almost all of them to concentration camps where they were put to work. Those who were too weak to work were put in gas chambers and put to death. Hitler soon broke his pact with Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union. Hitler was then faced with a two front war against the Soviet Union and the Canadian, British and later the United States. At home in Canada many things were happening within society. Women became more involved and became more independent and respected. The government

The Cold War, in fact didn’t take place in the winter season, but was just as dangerously cold and unwelcoming, as it focused on two contrasting powers: the U.S. and the Soviet Union. After World War 2, the Cold War influenced capitalist U.S. and communist Soviet Union to engage in disagreements causing many disputes having to use military, economic and humanitarian aid. With different goals, the contrasting powers prove through the Marshall Plan, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and SALT that communism really can’t coexist with capitalism.

In addition to an economic crisis, President Obama inherited the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. An ardent opponent of Bush 's decision to invade Iraq in 2003, Obama pledged to withdraw American troops as soon as possible. Reagan argued that U.S. leadership was crucial to stop the Soviet Union from expanding. Contrastingly, Obama was eager to end the campaign in Afghanistan by slowly withdrawing troops, declaring that it was time for the U.S. to focus on nation-building at home. Reagan’s strategy was based in large part on his fundamental belief that a free and capitalist economy could outperform a Communist one and force both into an arms race that they could not afford. Obama’s doctrine instead emphasized how the state needed to tax

Shortly after World War II, the world’s two most powerful nations, the United States and the Soviet Union, emerged as arch-adversaries and in doing so, they created a rivalry that casted a shadow over international affairs for decades known as the Cold War. The Soviet Union saw the United States as a ruthless, imperialist power whose goal was to destroy communism and encourage the growth of a capitalist world. In contrast, America saw the Soviets as a ruthless, imperialist, and totalitarian power whose goal was to destroy democracy and encourage a Communist revolution through expansion. Therefore, the United States’ actions toward the Soviet Union was justifiable after World War II. American diplomat George Kennan said how the Soviets were

When WWII ended, the US and the Soviet Union emerged not as friends, but as enemies. This occurred for a multitude of reasons including: direct opposite experiences in WWII, the US 's desire to contain communism, and economic incentives. These factors caused the cold war to materialize and then further escalate into an arms race.

Along the course of American history, this nation has seen many conflicts in its brief timeline. However, as the alliance between America and the USSR dissolved after the second World War, the relationship between both superpowers began to fluctuate as they competed to spread their varying ideologies. This unique time period became known as the Cold War, a conflict unique as it was not fought with normal methods of warfare. In fact, it was not fought with weapons at all. To fully understand this unconventional war, it is important to understand the background to the hostile relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. It is also important to study its methods of warfare and the conflicts that arose. The Cold War began as a

World War II ended on September 2nd, 1945. The war concluded when the German’s surrender to the Soviet Union. Although the war was over and the soldiers came home, back in America, we were still battling a war of our own. Colored and non-colored people were being racial segregated. There were separate facilities, communities, and schools for ‘black and white’ people. There were also unspoken rules that colored people had to follow, because white people were superior to black people. Because Devil in a Blue Dress was set in 1958, race plays a significant role in how the characters are perceived and the actions that characters take.

Russia and the United States maintain diplomatic and trade relations. The relationship was generally warm under Russia's President Boris Yeltsin until the NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the spring of 1999, and has since deteriorated significantly under Vladimir Putin. We can only hope that Moscow can be fully defeated or that it can become a friend and fellow democracy. But Russia is not a democracy, nor is it democratizing, and although Russia may be in secular decline, it is a major power on the world stage which is not a good thing for the United

2. BACKGROUND / NATIONAL INTERESTS. With the end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union, U.S. changed its relations with Russia, formulating new policy away from containment. More than 25 years later, Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, intervention in Syria, unchecked cyber-attacks, and human rights violations are undermining the U.S. security,

The record of diplomatic relations between our two nations contains a storied past including notably during the years of the Cold War, recent actions and statements by the United States demonstrate the intent of U.S. leadership to use U.S.-Russian relations as a point of deflection for the political turmoil exposed in and through the recent presidential election. President Putin's ultimatum for U.S. diplomatic staff reduction in Russia provides a measured response to recent provocations by the United States toward Russia, rising chiefly from illegal acts of aggression conducted by the Obama administration and the subsequent escalation of tensions formalized in new Congressional