A Comparison Of Soviet Russia And The United States

The United States and Russia both emerged from WW2 as superpowers. Both of these nations had vastly different ideologies regarding government and the economy. As these two nations struggled to gain increased power and influence globally it seemed almost inevitable that yet another war would ensew. Yet matters were complicated by what had originally been an American super weapon- the atomic bomb which first tests were conducted in 1945. This atomic bomb technology had been stolen by the soviets and each side now possessed enough of these deadly weapons to end the world. As such neither side could choose to directly confront one another as such as action would almost certainly bring about M.A.D. Simalutanly the waning influence of the French and British empires led to numerous liberation movements globally in which various groups fought for control of the former colonies. Such an environment fostered much concern and brought about the American policy of Containment. Containment was a policy originally devised by U.S. diplomat George F. Kennan. Kennan had long observed the soviet union and was aware of the desire of the Soviet Union to expand and become a global empire through the use of Marxist satellite states and allies. Kennan theodore established the basis of containment which involved effectively stopping the formation of new communist nations (with military force if necessary) in order to subvert soviet influence whilst simultaneously avoiding a potential nuclear war.

When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.

The cold war in conjunction with the nuclear arms race raised a countless number of dangers that were new to Americans. One of the most obvious risks raised by the nuclear arms race was the blast of the bomb itself. The bombs that were emerging were only getting colossal, and the effects were reaching potential world destruction. For example, the atomic bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were minuscule compared to the Hydrogen bomb, which the U.S built to stay ahead of the Soviet Union. But as history has shown itself, the Soviet Union came kept up with the competition and created a Hydrogen bomb as well. Now both countries possessed bombs that could decimate out entire countries.

During the cold war, both nations built up massive stockpiles of nuclear weapons to achieve nuclear supremacy over the other. Both the soviets and the US hoped to use nuclear weapons as leverage against each other by assuring Mutually Assured Destruction, or MAD.

By dropping the atomic bomb, America demonstrated the power they had. America’s “Secret Weapon” displayed our technological and scientific superiority to the world. This helped deter the Soviet Union and others from further expansion. For example Dwight D. Eisenhower states, “We ought not to need to put ourselves in the position of requesting or begging for Soviet aid” (Document C). America proved once again to be a group of individuals who could rise above all adversities.

“The Evil Empire” — that is what, at the height of the arms race, United States President Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union (Rudolph 1). Unsurprisingly, the Soviet Union was similarly upset at the United States. This anger is what fueled the arms race. During the Cold War, due to fears of nuclear attack, the US and Soviet Union designed and deployed thousands of nuclear warheads, each hoping to deter the other from nuclear launch with threat of counter attack (O’Neal 1). This massive arms buildup, however, had many negative effects on the US. To recognize the impact that the arms race continues to have on today, it is crucial to understand not only its causes, but also its immediate impacts on the US economy, society, foreign

Russia was a huge threat to the United States because Russia was planning on entering the war on the side of the Allies. The US did not want Russia entering the war on the Allies side because, the US would have to share intelligences with the Soviet Union. That would threaten the safety and secrecy of the United States. Dwight D. Eisenhower thought that the only way to keep the Russians out of the war was for victory to come before they had the chance to enter (Doc C). The atomic bomb would bring that end, preventing the Soviets from entering the war. Eisenhower's recollections were told after his meeting with President Harry Truman (Doc C). Winston Churchill also expresses the lack of need of the Russians to enter the war in his recollections of the Potsdam Conference (Doc E). He said that the US no longer needed Russia because they were now able to defeat the Japanese on their own. This meant that the US would no longer have to share intelligences with the Soviets. Another reason for the bombing was the fear of communism spreading throughout countries all over the world. Nuclear Physicist Leo Szilard’s recollections of a meeting with James Byrnes expressed this issue (Doc F). Szilard tells that Mr. Byrnes was concerned with communist Russia spreading influence in Europe (Doc F). If Russian

Both, the United States and the Soviet Union, developed a capability to launch a devastating attacks through submarines even after sustaining a full attack from their opponents. This policy became known as Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) both the United States and the Soviet Union knew that an attack upon the other would be catastrophic to themselves in theory restraining themselves from attacking the other. The risks brought by the use of these weapons was so horrible that they refrained from using their nuclear weapons. Both sides did not know capacity of the enemy's arsenal being an arms race in wish the country with the biggest gun or largest arsenal is the victor not knowing the exact capabilities of your adversary led to a massive production

Nuclear fear affected the Cold War because it increased conflict between the U. S and Soviet. Many feared

The Soviet leadership quickly realized their limitations. Although winning the race to the atomic bomb showed the Soviets they had won it also showed the entire world that they had the power to end people’s lives and that power changed

For a start, the use of the atomic bombs helped slow the expansion of the Soviet Union following World War II. In regards to this, the United States was able to use the threat of the atomic bombs to protect Western European countries from outside threats, which included communist takeover by the Soviet Union. This legitimate threat of nuclear defense of allies in Western Europe following the dropping of the atomic bombs was significant because it prevented the Soviet Union from attempting to take over and establish socialist governments in these countries as it had in Eastern Europe. In addition, due to the atomic bombings, the United States obtained a complete surrender by the Japanese to its troops alone rather than to both American and Soviet troops. This Japanese surrender to the U.S. alone was important because it allowed the United States to be in charge of the

After World War II, a new enemy was in the horizon: technology. In the 1940’s, the United States was the leader of the “Free World” paving a path and setting an example for the rest of the world to follow (Maland 191). Americans believed the misconception that “American society was sound, and that communism was a clear danger to the survival of the United States and its allies” (Maland 191). The U.S. maintained a policy of containment by fighting communism wherever it may be, and in a show of might in 1952, they detonated the first hydrogen bomb (Maland 192). Only a short year later, the mighty Soviet Union announced that they too had the Atom bomb (Maland 192). And, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, the United States became alarmed that they were falling behind in science and technology. Because the Soviets had the same capability to annihilate the world with the bomb as the United States, tensions between the two countries increase daily. But, this new war tactic brought into question man’s ability to make decisions of nuclear proportions with

Nuclear weapons served as a catalyst for conflict in the geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, the two remaining global superpowers after World War II. This conflict manifested itself in 44-year-long Cold War that redefined the nature of war and encompassed geopolitical, economic, and ideological conflict.

The development of nuclear weapons helped to end World War II, but in turn created their own war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The development of modified military missiles such as the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, or ICBM, by Americans and the Soviets, had an impact on the struggle of power of the Cold War. The importance of military involvement in the creation of modified missiles and engines were critical events of the Cold War. Additionally, the steps taken to get to space were a byproduct of this Arms Race and the Cold War. Because the United States and the Soviet Union feared what the other country would or could do with weapons of mass destruction and the thought of the opposing country being able to control

Consequently, after the 1950’s, the United States created nuclear alliances with Western European nations to bolster their security. “The nuclear umbrella provided to allies in Europe and Asia was meant to reassure them, to leave them less vulnerable to Soviet intimidation, and to prevent them from acquiring the bomb themselves.” They wished to have more protection from European allies to deter a Russian spread of