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Why Did Stalin Was Responsible For The Cold War

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Between 1945 and 1991 there was a lengthy struggle of ideologies between the United States and the Soviet Union, which was fuelled in the aftermath of the surrender of Hitler’s Germany. America followed a political system of democracy, hence were capitalist, and in contrast the USSR was a communist state meaning they were anti-liberal. Both countries tried to strengthen themselves and weaken the other side, without becoming involved in a ‘hot’ war. They competed for influence in the world and wanted to advance their economic interests. Both countries aided to the start of the Cold War however, Joseph Stalin’s actions lead him to be mainly responsible, rather than Harry S. Truman.
Stalin’s unwillingness to withdraw his forces from most parts of Eastern Europe increased hostilities between the USSR and the United States. Unlike Roosevelt, Truman had a deep distrust of Stalin and was pessimistic about the success of any negotiations with the Soviet Union at the Potsdam Conference. Therefore when Stalin refused to withdraw his forces Truman knew he could do very little to prevent Soviet troops from occupying most of the land, such as Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, much of Germany including Berlin, and parts of Austria including Vienna. This increased the tension between both countries, resulting in the USSR to be blamed for the start of …show more content…

Communists took over the running of Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania, which were recognised as satellite states as they were under direct influence of Stalin. Stalin also believed that Capitalism posed a threat to the peace of the world and because of this he would defend the USSR by developing modern weaponry. America felt endangered by this, which consequently showed Stalin to be the driving force behind the Cold

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