The Cold War as a form of international confrontation briefly. Causes, stages and consequences of the Cold War

COLD WAR– a world confrontation between two military-political blocs led by the USSR and the USA, which did not reach the point of an open military clash between them. The concept of "cold war" appeared in journalism in 1945-1947 and gradually became fixed in the political vocabulary.

After World War II the world was effectively divided into spheres of influence between two blocs with different social systems. The USSR sought to expand the "socialist camp", led from a single center on the model of the Soviet command and administrative system. In its sphere of influence, the USSR sought the introduction of state ownership of the main means of production and the political dominance of the communists. This system was supposed to control resources that were previously in the hands of private capital and capitalist states. The United States, in turn, sought to reorganize the world in such a way that favorable conditions would be created for the activities of private corporations and the strengthening of influence in the world. Despite this difference between the two systems, there were common features at the heart of their conflict. Both systems were based on the principles of an industrial society, which required industrial growth, and hence an increase in the consumption of resources. Planetary struggle for resources of two systems with different

principles of regulation of industrial relations could not but lead to clashes. But the approximate equality of forces between the blocs, and then the threat of nuclear missile destruction of the world in the event of a war between the USSR and the USA, kept the rulers of the superpowers from a direct confrontation. Thus, the phenomenon of the “cold war” arose, which never turned into a world war, although it constantly led to wars in individual countries and regions (local wars).

The immediate beginning of the Cold War was associated with conflicts in Europe and Asia. The Europeans, devastated by the war, were very interested in the experience of accelerated industrial development in the USSR. Information about the Soviet Union was idealized, and millions of people hoped that replacing the capitalist system, which was going through hard times, with a socialist one, could quickly restore the economy and normal life. The peoples of Asia and Africa were even more interested in the communist experience and assistance from the USSR. who fought for independence and hoped to catch up with the West just as the USSR did. As a result, the Soviet sphere of influence began to expand rapidly, which caused fears of the leaders of the Western countries - the former allies of the USSR in the Anti-Hitler coalition.

On March 5, 1946, speaking in the presence of US President Truman in Fulton, W. Churchill accused the USSR of launching world expansion, of attacking the territory of the "free world". Churchill called on the "Anglo-Saxon world", that is, the United States, Great Britain and their allies to repulse the USSR. The Fulton speech became a kind of declaration of the Cold War.

In 1946–1947, the USSR increased pressure on Greece and Turkey. There was a civil war in Greece, and the USSR demanded from Turkey the provision of territory for a military base in the Mediterranean, which could be a prelude to the seizure of the country. Under these conditions, Truman announced his readiness to "contain" the USSR throughout the world. This position was called the "Truman Doctrine" and meant the end of cooperation between the victors of fascism. The Cold War has begun.

But the Cold War front ran not between countries, but within them. About a third of the population of France and Italy supported the Communist Party. The poverty of war-torn Europeans was the breeding ground for communist success. In 1947, US Secretary of State George Marshall announced that the United States was ready to provide European countries with material assistance to restore the economy. Initially, even the USSR entered into negotiations for aid, but it soon became clear that American aid would not be provided to countries ruled by the Communists. The US demanded political concessions: the Europeans were to maintain capitalist relations and withdraw the communists from their governments. Under US pressure, the Communists were expelled from the governments of France and Italy, and in April 1948, 16 countries signed the Marshall Plan.

about providing them with assistance of 17 billion dollars in 1948-1952. The pro-communist governments of Eastern European countries did not participate in the plan. In the context of the intensification of the struggle for Europe, the multi-party governments of "people's democracy" in these countries were replaced by totalitarian regimes clearly subordinate to Moscow (only the Yugoslav communist regime of I. Tito left Stalin in 1948 and occupied an independent position). In January 1949, most of the countries of Eastern Europe united in an economic union - the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.

These events consolidated the split of Europe. In April 1949, the United States, Canada and most of the countries of Western Europe created a military alliance - North Atlantic bloc (NATO). The USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe responded to this only in 1955 by creating their own military alliance - the Warsaw Pact Organization.

Particularly hard the division of Europe affected the fate of Germany - the split line passed through the country. The east of Germany was occupied by the USSR, the west - by the USA, Great Britain and France. The western part of Berlin was also in their hands. In 1948, western Germany was included in the Marshall Plan, but eastern Germany was not. Different economic systems formed in different parts of the country, which made it difficult to unify the country. In June

In 1948, the Western allies carried out a unilateral monetary reform, abolishing the old-fashioned money. The entire money supply of the old Reichsmarks poured into East Germany, which was partly the reason that the Soviet occupation authorities were forced to close the borders. West Berlin was completely surrounded. Stalin decided to use the situation to blockade him, hoping to capture the entire German capital and win concessions from the US. But the Americans organized an "air bridge" to Berlin and broke the blockade of the city, which was lifted in 1949. In May 1949, the lands that were in the western zone of occupation united into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). West Berlin became an autonomous self-governing city associated with the FRG. In October 1949 in the Sovietzone of occupation was created by the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

The rivalry between the USSR and the USA inevitably led to the buildup of armaments by both blocs. Opponents sought to achieve superiority precisely in the field of atomic and then nuclear weapons, as well as in their means of delivery. Soon, rockets became such means in addition to bombers. A "race" of nuclear missile weapons began, which led to extreme strain on the economies of both blocs. To meet the needs of defense, powerful associations of state, industrial and military structures were created - military-industrial complexes (MIC). Giant material resources and the best scientific forces were spent on their needs. The military-industrial complex created the most modern equipment, which was primarily for the needs of the arms race. Initially, the leader in the "race" was the United States, which had atomic weapons. The USSR made every effort to create its own atomic bomb. Soviet scientists and intelligence officers worked on this task. Some engineering solutions were obtained through intelligence channels from secret American institutions, but these data could not have been used if Soviet scientists had not come close to creating atomic weapons on their own. The creation of atomic weapons in the USSR was a matter of time, but there was no such time, so intelligence data were of great importance. In 1949, the USSR tested its own atomic bomb. The presence of the bomb in the USSR kept the US from using nuclear weapons in Korea, although such a possibility was discussed by high-ranking US military officials.

In 1952, the United States tested a thermonuclear device in which an atomic bomb played the role of a fuse, and the explosion power was many times greater than the atomic one. In 1953 the USSR tested a thermonuclear bomb. From that time on, until the 60s, the USA overtook the USSR only in the number of bombs and bombers, that is, quantitatively, but not qualitatively - the USSR had any weapon that the USA had.

The danger of a war between the USSR and the USA forced them to act "bypass", fighting for the resources of the world away from Europe. Immediately after the start of the Cold War, the countries of the Far East turned into an arena for a fierce struggle between supporters of communist ideas and the pro-Western path of development. The significance of this struggle was very great, since the Pacific region had huge human and raw material resources. The stability of the capitalist system largely depended on control over this region.

The first clash of the two systems took place in China, the world's largest country in terms of population. After World War II, the northeast of China, occupied by the Soviet army, was transferred to the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA), subordinate to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA received Japanese weapons captured by Soviet troops. The rest of the country was subject to the internationally recognized government of the Kuomintang party headed by Chiang Kai-shek. Initially, it was planned to hold national elections in China, which were supposed to decide who would rule the country. But both sides were not sure of victory, and instead of elections in China, the civil war of 1946–1949 broke out. It was won by the CPC led by Mao Zedong.

The second major clash of the two systems in Asia took place in Korea. After World War II, this country was split into two zones of occupation - Soviet and American. In 1948, they withdrew their troops from the country, leaving the regimes of their proteges to rule - the pro-Soviet Kim Il Sung in the north and the pro-American Lee Syngman in the south. Each of them sought to capture the entire country. In June 1950, the Korean War began, in which the United States, China, and small units of other countries were involved. Soviet pilots "crossed swords" with the American in the sky over China. Despite heavy casualties on both sides, the war ended almost in the same positions in which it began ( see also KOREAN WAR).

On the other hand, the Western countries suffered important defeats in the colonial wars - France lost the war in Vietnam 1946-1954, and the Netherlands - in Indonesia in 1947-1949.

The Cold War led to the fact that in both "camps" repressions unfolded against dissidents and people who advocated cooperation and rapprochement between the two systems. In the USSR and Eastern European countries, people were arrested and often shot on charges of “cosmopolitanism” (lack of patriotism, cooperation with the West), “low worship of the West” and “Titoism” (connections with Tito). In the United States, a “witch hunt” began, during which secret communists and “agents” of the USSR were “exposed”. The American "witch hunt", unlike the Stalinist repressions, did not lead to mass terror. But she also had her victims caused by spy mania. Soviet intelligence was indeed working in the US, and the US intelligence agencies decided to show that they were able to expose Soviet spies. The employee Julius Rosenberg was chosen for the role of "chief spy". He did indeed render minor services to Soviet intelligence. It was announced that Rosenberg and his wife Ethel "stole America's atomic secrets". Subsequently, it turned out that Ethel did not know about her husband's cooperation with intelligence. Despite this, both spouses were sentenced to death and, despite the solidarity campaign

with them in America and Europe, executed in June 1953.

The execution of the Rosenbergs was the last serious act of the first stage of the Cold War. Stalin died in March 1953, and the new Soviet leadership, headed by Nikita Khrushchev began to look for ways to improve relations with the West.

In 1953-1954 the wars in Korea and Vietnam were stopped. In 1955 the USSR established equal relations with Yugoslavia and the FRG. The great powers also agreed to grant a neutral status to Austria occupied by them and to withdraw their troops from the country.

In 1956, the situation in the world worsened again due to unrest in the socialist countries and attempts by Great Britain, France and Israel to seize the Suez Canal in Egypt. But this time both "superpowers" - the USSR and the USA - made efforts to ensure that the conflicts did not grow. Khrushchev during this period was not interested in intensifying the confrontation. In 1959 he came to the USA. It was the first ever visit of the leader of our country to America. American society made a big impression on Khrushchev. He was especially struck

the successes of agriculture - much more efficient than in the USSR.

However, by this time, the USSR could also impress the United States with its successes in the field of high technologies, and above all in space exploration. The system of state socialism made it possible to concentrate large resources for solving one problem at the expense of others. On October 4, 1957, the first artificial earth satellite was launched in the Soviet Union. From now on, the Soviet rocket could deliver cargo to any point on the planet. Including

and a nuclear device. In 1958, the Americans launched their satellite and began mass production of rockets. The USSR did not lag behind, although the achievement and preservation of nuclear-missile parity in the 60s required the exertion of all the forces of the country. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a wave of labor uprisings swept through the USSR, which were brutally suppressed. see also NUCLEAR WEAPON.

Rockets were built in a hurry, often neglecting safety precautions. In 1960, during the preparation of the rocket for launch, an explosion occurred. Dozens of people died, including Marshal Nedelin, Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Missile Forces. But the race continued at the same pace.

Successes in space exploration were also of great propaganda importance - they showed what kind of social system is capable of achieving great scientific and technical successes. On April 12, 1961, the USSR launched a spacecraft with a man on board. Yuri Gagarin became the first cosmonaut. The Americans followed on their heels - their first astronaut Alan Shepard was in space on May 5, 1961.

In 1960, relations between the USSR and the USA worsened again. The Americans sent a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft flying over the territory of the USSR. He flew at heights inaccessible to fighters, but was shot down by a missile. A scandal erupted. Khrushchev expected an apology from Eisenhower at the upcoming summit. Not having received them, Khrushchev abruptly interrupted the meeting with the president. In general, Khrushchev behaved in the presence of Western leaders more and more irritably and willfully. He banged his shoes on the table at a meeting of the UN General Assembly, uttered frightening phrases, for example: "We will bury you." All this created the impression of the unpredictability of Soviet policy.

New US President John F. Kennedy attempted to overthrow the pro-communist regime of Fidel Castro in Cuba. This operation was prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - the main intelligence service of the United States - even under Eisenhower. The Americans hoped to overthrow Castro by the hands of the Cubans themselves, but the landing of counter-revolutionaries in Cuba failed.

No sooner had Kennedy recovered from this defeat than a new crisis overtook him. At his first meeting with the new American president in April 1961, Khrushchev demanded that the status of West Berlin be changed. Berlin was used for the work of Western intelligence, through its territory there was a cultural exchange uncontrolled by the communists. People could almost freely cross the border between the "two worlds". This led to a "brain drain" - specialists who received a cheap education in the GDR then fled to West Berlin, where their work was better paid.

Kennedy refused to make concessions to the USSR and the GDR, which led to the Berlin Crisis. Khrushchev did not dare to start a military clash. The authorities of the GDR in August 1961 simply surrounded West Berlin with a wall. This wall became a symbol of the division of Europe and Germany into two hostile parts, a symbol of the Cold War.

In the Berlin Crisis, neither side gained obvious advantages, but the conflict did not lead to significant losses either. Both sides were preparing for a new test of strength.

The Soviet Union was surrounded on all sides by American military bases that had nuclear weapons. While vacationing in the Crimea, Khrushchev drew attention to the fact that even his beach was within direct reach of American missiles in Turkey. The Soviet leader decided to put America in the same position. Taking advantage of the fact that the Cuban leaders have repeatedly asked

The USSR to protect them from a possible US attack, the Soviet leadership decided to install medium-range nuclear missiles in Cuba. Now any US city could be wiped off the face of the earth in a matter of minutes. In October 1962 this led to the Caribbeancrisis ( see also CUBA CRISIS).

As a result of the crisis, which brought the world closest to the brink of a nuclear missile catastrophe, a compromise was reached: the USSR removes missiles from Cuba, while the United States guarantees Cuba against military intervention and withdraws its missiles from Turkey.

The Caribbean crisis taught both the Soviet and American leadership a lot. The leaders of the superpowers realized that they could bring humanity to ruin. Having approached a dangerous line, the Cold War began to decline. The USSR and the USA for the first time agreed to limit the arms race.

1 On August 5, 1963, an agreement was signed banning nuclear weapons tests in three environments: in the atmosphere, space and in water.

The conclusion of the 1963 treaty did not mean the end of the Cold War. The very next year, after the death of President Kennedy, the rivalry between the two blocs intensified. But now it has been pushed away from the borders of the USSR and the USA - to Southeast Asia, where in the 60s and the first half of the 70s. war broke out in Indochina.

In the 1960s, the international situation changed radically. Both superpowers faced great difficulties: the United States was bogged down in Indochina, and the USSR was drawn into conflict with China. As a result, both superpowers preferred to move from the "cold war" to a policy of gradual détente ("détente").

During the period of détente, important agreements were signed to limit the arms race, including treaties to limit anti-missile defense (ABM) and strategic nuclear weapons (SALT-1 and SALT-2). However, the SALT treaties had a significant drawback. While limiting the total volume of nuclear weapons and missile technology, it almost did not touch upon the deployment of nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, adversaries could concentrate a large number of nuclear missiles in the most dangerous parts of the world without even violating the agreed total volumes of nuclear weapons.

In 1976, the USSR began modernizing its medium-range missiles in Europe. They could quickly reach the goal in Western Europe. As a result of this modernization, the balance of nuclear forces in Europe was temporarily disturbed. This worried the leaders of Western Europe, who feared that America would not be able to help them against the growing nuclear power of the USSR. In December 1979, the NATO bloc decided to deploy the latest American Pershing-2 and Tomahawk missiles in Western Europe. In the event of a war, these missiles could destroy the largest cities of the USSR in a matter of minutes, while the territory of the United States would remain invulnerable for a while. The security of the Soviet Union was threatened, and he launched a campaign against the deployment of new American missiles and was even ready to make concessions, dismantling part of his nuclear weapons in Europe. A wave of rallies against the deployment of missiles began in the countries of Western Europe, since in the event of a first strike by the Americans, Europe, and not America, would become the target of a Soviet retaliatory strike. New US President Ronald Reagan proposed in 1981 the so-called "zero option" - the withdrawal of all Soviet and American medium-range nuclear missiles from Europe. But in this case, British and French missiles aimed at the USSR would remain here. Brezhnev refused the "zero option".

Detente was finally buried by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The Cold War resumed. In 1980–1982, the United States imposed a series of economic sanctions against the USSR. In 1983, US President Reagan called the USSR an "evil empire." The installation of new American missiles in Europe has begun. In response, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Yuri Andropov, stopped all negotiations with the United States.

By the mid-1980s, the countries of "real socialism" entered a period of crisis. The bureaucratic economy could no longer meet the growing needs of the population, wasteful spending of resources led to their significant reduction, the level of social consciousness of people grew so much that they began to understand their lack of rights, the need to

change. It was becoming increasingly difficult for the country to bear the burden of the Cold War, support allied regimes around the world, and wage war in Afghanistan. The technical backwardness of the USSR from the capitalist countries was more and more noticeable and dangerous.

Under these conditions, the US President decided to "push" the USSR to weaken. According to Western financial circles, the USSR's foreign exchange reserves amounted to 25-30 billion dollars. In order to undermine the economy of the USSR, the Americans had to inflict "unscheduled" damage to the Soviet economy on such a scale - otherwise, the "temporary difficulties" associated with the economic war would be smoothed out by a fairly thick currency "cushion". It was necessary to act quickly - in the second half of the 80s. The USSR was supposed to receive additional financial injections from the Urengoy gas pipeline - Western Europe. In December 1981, in response to the suppression of the labor movement in Poland, Reagan announced a series of sanctions against Poland and its ally, the USSR. The events in Poland were used as an excuse, because this time, unlike the situation in Afghanistan, the norms of international law were not violated by the Soviet Union. The United States announced the cessation of supplies of oil and gas equipment, which should have disrupted the construction of the Urengoy gas pipeline - Western Europe. However, the European allies, interested in economic cooperation with the USSR, did not immediately support the United States. Then the Soviet industry managed to independently manufacture pipes that the USSR had planned to purchase in the West earlier. Reagan's campaign against the pipeline failed.

In 1983, US President Ronald Reagan put forward the idea of ​​the "Strategic Defense Initiative" (SDI), or "star wars" - space systems that could protect the United States from a nuclear strike. This program was carried out in circumvention of the ABM treaty. The USSR did not have the technical capabilities to

creating the same system. Although the United States was also far from successful in this area, the communist leaders feared a new round of the arms race.

Domestic factors undermined the foundations of the "real socialism" system much more significantly than US actions during the Cold War. At the same time, the crisis in which the USSR found itself put the question of "savings on foreign policy" on the agenda. Despite the fact that the possibilities of such savings were exaggerated, the reforms that began in the USSR led to the end of the Cold War in 1987-1990.

In March 1985, the new General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Mikhail Gorbachev, came to power in the USSR. In 1985-1986, he proclaimed a policy of broad reforms known as Perestroika. It was also envisaged to improve relations with the capitalist countries on the basis of equality and openness (“new thinking”).

In November 1985, Gorbachev met with Reagan in Geneva and proposed a significant reduction in nuclear weapons in Europe. It was still impossible to solve the problem, because Gorbachev demanded the abolition of SDI, and Reagan did not concede. The American president promised that when the research was successful, the US would "open its laboratories to the Soviets," but Gorbachev did not believe him. “They say, believe us, that if the Americans are the first to implement SDI, they will share it with the Soviet Union. I said then: Mr. President, I urge you, believe us, we have already stated that we will not be the first to use nuclear weapons and we will not be the first to attack the United States of America. Why are you, while maintaining all the offensive potential on Earth and under water, are still going to launch an arms race in space? You don't believe us? Turns out you don't believe me. And why should we trust you more than you trust us?” Despite the fact that no significant progress was achieved at this meeting, the two presidents got to know each other better, which helped them to agree in the future.

However, after the meeting in Geneva, relations between the USSR and the USA deteriorated again. The USSR supported Libya in its conflict with the United States. The United States refused to comply with the SALT agreements, which were carried out even during the confrontation years of 1980-1984. This was the last wave of the Cold War. The "cooling" in international relations dealt a blow to the plans of Gorbachev, who put forward a large-scale disarmament program and seriously counted on the economic effect of conversion, the transformation of military production into civilian ones. Already in the summer, both sides began to probe the possibilities for holding a "second Geneva", which took place in October 1986 in Reykjavik. Here Gorbachev tried to challenge Reagan to retaliatory concessions,

by proposing large-scale reductions in nuclear weapons, but "in a package" with the rejection of SDI. At first, Reagan was pleasantly surprised by Gorbachev's proposals and even showed hesitation on the issue of SDI. But after deliberation, the president refused to cancel SDI and even feigned indignation at the linkage of the two problems: “Already after everything, or almost everything, as it seemed to me, was decided, Gorbachev threw a feint. With a smile on his face, he said: “But it all depends, of course, on whether you give up SDI.” As a result, the meeting in Reykjavikactually came to nothing. But Reagan realized that the way to improve international relations was not through pressure on the USSR, but through mutual concessions. Gorbachev's strategy was crowned with success - the United States actually froze SDI until the end of the century. In 1986, the US administration abandoned the frontal offensive against the USSR, which ended in failure.

Despite the fact that the pressure from the United States weakened, the financial situation of the USSR began to deteriorate for reasons not directly related to the Cold War. The income of the Soviet Union depended on oil prices, which began to fall in 1986. The Chernobyl disaster further undermined the financial balance of the USSR. This made it difficult to reform the country "from above" and made it more active to stimulate the initiative from below. Gradually, authoritarian modernization was replaced by a civil revolution. Already in 1987-1988. Perestroika led to a rapid increase in social activity. By this time, the world was in full swing towards ending the Cold War.

After an unsuccessful meeting in Reykjavik in 1986, the two presidents finally reached an agreement in Washington in December 1987—American and Soviet intermediate-range missiles were withdrawn from Europe. The "new thinking" has triumphed. The most important crisis that led to the resumption of the Cold War in 1979 is a thing of the past. It was followed by other "fronts" of the XB, including the main one - the European one.

The example of Perestroika activated the reformists in Eastern Europe. In 1989, the reforms carried out by the communists in Eastern Europe escalated into revolutions. Together with the communist regime in the GDR was destroyed and Berlin Wall, which became a symbol of the end of the division of Europe. Faced with difficult problems, the USSR could no longer support the "brotherly" communist regimes. The "socialist camp" collapsed.

In December 1988, Gorbachev announced to the UN about the unilateral reduction of the army. In February 1989, Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan, where the war between the Mujahideen and the pro-Soviet government of Najibullah continued.

In December 1989, off the coast of Malta, Gorbachev and the new US President George W. Bush were able to discuss the situation of actually ending the Cold War. Bush promised to make efforts to extend the most favored nation treatment of US trade to the USSR, which would not have been possible if the Cold War had continued. Despite the persistence of disagreements over the situation in some countries, including the Baltics, the atmosphere of the Cold War is a thing of the past. Explaining the principles of the “new thinking” to Bush, Gorbachev said: “The main principle that we have adopted and follow within the framework of the new thinking is the right of each country to a free choice, including the right to revise or change the choice originally made. It is very painful, but it is a fundamental right. The right to choose without outside interference.” By this time, the methods of pressure on the USSR had already changed.

In 1990, supporters of the fastest "Westernization", that is, the restructuring of society according to Western models, came to power in most countries of Eastern Europe. Reforms began based on "neoliberal" ideas close to Western neo-conservatism and neo-globalism. The reforms were carried out very quickly, without gradual preparation, which led to a painful breakdown of society. They were called "shock therapy" because it was believed that after a short

"shock" will come relief. Western countries provided financial support for these reforms, and as a result, Eastern Europe managed to create a market economy on the Western model. Entrepreneurs, the middle strata, part of the youth have benefited from these transformations; workers, employees, the elderly - lost. Eastern European countries found themselves financially dependent on the West.

The new governments of the countries of Eastern Europe demanded the speedy withdrawal of Soviet troops from their territory. The USSR had neither the ability nor the desire to maintain its military presence. In 1990, the withdrawal of troops began, in July 1991 the Warsaw Pact and the Comecon were dissolved. NATO remains the only powerful military force in Europe. The USSR did not outlive its military bloc for long. In August 1991, as a result

unsuccessful attempt by the leaders of the USSR to establish an authoritarian regime (the so-called GKChP), real power passed from Gorbachev to the leaders of the republics of the USSR. The Baltic States withdrew from the Union. In December 1991, in order to consolidate their success in the struggle for power, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed an agreement in Belovezhskaya Pushcha on the dissolution of the USSR and the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The near-exact coincidence of the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union has sparked controversy about the connection between these phenomena. Perhaps the end of the Cold War is the result of the collapse of the USSR and, therefore, the United States won this "war". But by the time the Soviet Union collapsed, the Cold War had already ended. Considering that the missile crisis was resolved in 1987, an agreement on Afghanistan was concluded in 1988, and Soviet troops were withdrawn from this country in February 1989, authoritarian regimes disappeared in almost all countries of Eastern Europe in 1989, then we can talk about the continuation of the Cold War after 1990 is not necessary. The problems that caused the aggravation of international tension not only in 1979-1980, but also in 1946-1947 were removed. Already in 1990, the level of relations between the USSR and Western countries returned to the state before the Cold War, and it was remembered only in order to proclaim its end, as President D. Bush did when he announced victory in the Cold War after the collapse of the USSR and Presidents B. Yeltsin and D. Bush, announcing its termination in 1992. These propaganda statements do not remove the fact that in 1990-1991 the signs of the Cold War had already disappeared. The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR have a common cause - the crisis of state socialism in the USSR.

Alexander Shubin

The Cold War was a period of confrontation between the USSR and the USA. The peculiarity of this conflict lies in the fact that it took place without a direct military clash between the opponents. The causes of the Cold War were ideological and ideological differences.

She seemed to be "peaceful". There were even diplomatic relations between the parties. But there was a quiet rivalry. It affected all areas - this is the presentation of films, literature, and the creation of the latest weapons, and the economy.

It is believed that the USSR and the USA were in a state of cold war from 1946 to 1991. This means that the confrontation began immediately after the end of World War II and ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union. All these years, each country sought to defeat the other - this is how the presentation of both states to the world looked like.

Both the USSR and America sought the support of other states. States enjoyed sympathy from Western European countries. The Soviet Union was popular with Latin American and Asian states.

The Cold War divided the world into two camps. Only a few remained neutral (perhaps three countries, including Switzerland). However, some even single out three sides, referring to China.

Political map of the Cold War world
Political map of Europe during the Cold War

The most acute moments in this period were the Caribbean and Berlin crises. Since their beginning, the political processes in the world have deteriorated significantly. The world was threatened even with a nuclear war - it was hardly avoided.

One of the features of the confrontation is the desire of the superpowers to overtake each other in various areas, including military technology and weapons of mass destruction. It was called an "arms race". There was also competition in the field of propaganda in the media, in science, sports, and culture.

In addition, it is worth mentioning the total espionage of the two states against each other. In addition, many conflicts took place on the territories of other countries. For example, the United States installed missiles in Turkey and Western European countries, and the USSR in Latin American states.

The course of the conflict

The competition between the USSR and America could develop into the Third World War. Three world wars in one century is hard to imagine, but it could have happened many times. We list the main stages and milestones of the rivalry - the table below:

Stages of the Cold War

date of	Event	Results
1949	The appearance of the atomic bomb in the Soviet Union	Achieving nuclear parity between adversaries.
Formation of the military-political organization NATO (from Western countries).	Exists to this day
1950 – 1953	Korean War. It was the first "hot spot". The USSR helped the Korean communists with specialists and military equipment.	As a result, Korea was divided into two different states - the pro-Soviet North and the pro-American South.
1955	The creation of the military-political Organization of the Warsaw Pact - the Eastern European bloc of socialist countries, which was headed by the Soviet Union	Equilibrium in the military-political sphere, but today there is no such bloc
1962	Caribbean crisis. The USSR installed its own missiles in Cuba, close to the United States. The Americans demanded to dismantle the missiles - they were refused. Missiles from both sides put on alert	It was possible to avoid war thanks to a compromise, when the Soviet state removed the missiles from Cuba, and America from Turkey. In the future, the Soviet Union ideologically and materially supported the poor countries, their national liberation movements. The Americans supported pro-Western regimes under the guise of democratization.
From 1964 to 1975	The Vietnam War, unleashed by the United States, continued.	Vietnam victory
Second half of the 1970s	The tension eased. Negotiations began.	Establishment of cultural and economic cooperation between the states of the eastern and western blocs.
Late 1970s	The period was marked by a new breakthrough in the arms race. Soviet troops entered Afghanistan.	New aggravation of relations.

In the 1980s, the Soviet Union began perestroika, and in 1991 it collapsed. As a result, the entire socialist system was defeated. This is how the end of a long-term confrontation that affected all countries of the world looked like.

Reasons for rivalry

When the Second World War ended, the USSR and America felt like winners. The question arose of a new world order. At the same time, the political and economic systems and ideologies of both states were opposite.

The US doctrine was to "save" the world from the Soviet Union and communism, and the Soviet side sought to build communism throughout the globe. These were the main prerequisites for the emergence of the conflict.

Many experts consider this conflict artificial. It's just that every ideology needed an enemy - both America and the Soviet Union. Interestingly, both sides were afraid of the mythical “Russian/American enemies”, while seemingly having nothing against the population of the enemy country.

The culprits of the conflict can be called the ambitions of leaders and ideology. It took place in the form of the emergence of local wars - "hot spots". Let's take a look at some of them.

Korean War (1950-1953)

The story began with the liberation of the Red Army and the American military of the Korean Peninsula from the Japanese armed forces. Korea has already been divided into two parts - so the prerequisites for future events have arisen.

In the northern part of the country, power was in the hands of the communists, and in the south - the military. The former were pro-Soviet forces, the latter were pro-American. However, in fact, there were three interested parties - China gradually intervened in the situation.

Destroyed tank
Soldiers in the trenches
Detachment evacuation

shooting training
Korean boy on the road of death
City defense

Two republics were formed. The state of the communists became known as the DPRK (in full - the Democratic People's Republic of Korea), and the military founded the Republic of Korea. At the same time, there were thoughts about the unification of the country.

The year 1950 was marked by the arrival of Kim Il Sung (the leader of the DPRK) in Moscow, where he was promised the support of the Soviet government. Chinese leader Mao Zedong also believed that South Korea should be annexed by military means.

Kim Il Sung - Leader of North Korea

As a result, on June 25 of the same year, the DPRK army went to South Korea. Within three days, she managed to take Seoul, the South Korean capital. After that, the offensive operation was slower, although in September the North Koreans already almost completely controlled the peninsula.

However, the final victory did not take place. The United Nations Security Council voted to send an international military contingent to South Korea. The solution was implemented in September when the Americans came to the Korean Peninsula.

It was they who launched the strongest offensive from the territories that were still controlled by the army of Lee Syngman, the leader of South Korea. At the same time, troops landed on the West Coast. The US military took Seoul and even crossed the 38th parallel, advancing on the DPRK.

Lee Seung-man - leader of South Korea

North Korea was threatened with defeat, but China helped it. His government sent "People's Volunteers", that is, soldiers, to help the DPRK. A million Chinese soldiers began to fight the Americans - this led to the alignment of the front along the original borders (38th parallel).

The war lasted three years. In 1950, several Soviet aviation divisions came to the aid of the DPRK. It is worth saying that American technology was more powerful than Chinese - the Chinese had heavy losses.

The truce came after three years of war - 07/27/1953. As a result, North Korea continued to be led by Kim Il Sung - the “great leader”. The plan for the division of the country after the Second World War is still in force, and Korea is led by the grandson of the then leader, Kim Jong-un.

Berlin Wall (August 13, 1961 - November 9, 1989)

A decade after the end of World War II, Europe was finally divided between West and East. But there was no clear line of conflict dividing Europe. Berlin was something like an open “window”.

The city was divided into two halves. East Berlin was part of the GDR, and West Berlin was part of the FRG. Capitalism and socialism coexisted in the city.

Schematic of the division of Berlin by the Berlin Wall

To change the formation, it was enough to go to the next street. Up to half a million people walked between West and East Berlin every day. It happened that East Germans preferred to move to the western part.

The East German authorities were worried about the situation, besides, the “Iron Curtain” should have been closed due to the spirit of the era. The decision to close the borders was made in the summer of 1961 - the plan was drawn up by the Soviet Union and the GDR. Western states spoke out against such a measure.

The situation escalated especially in October. Tanks of the US Armed Forces appeared near the Brandenburg Gate, and Soviet military equipment drove up from the opposite side. The tankers were ready to attack each other - the combat readiness lasted more than a day.

However, then both sides took the equipment to distant parts of Berlin. Western countries had to recognize the division of the city - this happened a decade later. The appearance of the Berlin Wall became a symbol of the post-war division of the world and Europe.

Caribbean Crisis (1962)

• Start: October 14, 1962
• Ending: October 28, 1962

In January 1959, a revolution took place on the island, led by 32-year-old Fidel Castro, the leader of the partisans. His government decided to fight American influence in Cuba. Naturally, the Cuban government received support from the Soviet Union.

Young Fidel Castro

But in Havana, there were fears about the invasion of American troops. And in the spring of 1962, N. S. Khrushchev came up with a plan to put nuclear missiles of the USSR in Cuba. He believed that this would frighten the imperialists.

Cuba agreed with Khrushchev's idea. This led to the sending of forty-two missiles equipped with nuclear warheads, as well as bombers for nuclear bombs, to the territory of the island. The equipment was transferred secretly, although the Americans found out about it. As a result, US President John F. Kennedy protested, to which he received assurances from the Soviet side that there were no Soviet missiles in Cuba.

However, in October, a US spy plane took photographs of the missile launch sites, and the US government thought about a response. On October 22, Kennedy made a televised address to the US population, where he spoke about Soviet missiles on Cuban territory and demanded that they be removed.

Then came the announcement of a naval blockade of the island. On October 24, a meeting of the UN Security Council was held at the initiative of the Soviet Union. The situation in the Caribbean became tense.

About twenty ships of the Soviet Union sailed towards Cuba. The Americans were ordered to stop them even with fire. However, the battle did not take place: Khrushchev ordered the Soviet flotilla to stop.

From 23.10 Washington exchanged official messages with Moscow. In the first of these, Khrushchev said that the behavior of the United States was "the madness of degenerate imperialism" and also "the purest banditry."

After a few days, it became clear: the Americans want to get rid of the enemy's missiles by any means. On October 26, N. S. Khrushchev wrote a conciliatory letter to the American president, where he acknowledged the presence of Soviet powerful weapons in Cuba. However, he assured Kennedy that he would not attack the United States.

Nikita Sergeevich said that this is the way to the destruction of the world. Therefore, he demanded from Kennedy a promise not to commit aggression against Cuba in exchange for the removal of Soviet weapons from the island. The President of the United States agreed to this proposal, so a plan for a peaceful settlement of the situation was already being created.

October 27 was the “Black Saturday” of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Then the Third World War could begin. Aircraft of the US Armed Forces flew in squadrons twice a day in the air of Cuba, trying to intimidate the Cubans and the USSR. On October 27, the Soviet military shot down an American reconnaissance aircraft using an anti-aircraft missile.

Pilot Anderson, who flew it, died. Kennedy decided to start bombing the Soviet missile bases and attack the island within two days.

But the next day, the authorities of the Soviet Union decided to agree to the conditions of the United States, that is, to remove the missiles. But this was not agreed with the leadership of Cuba, and Fidel Castro did not welcome such a measure. However, after that, the tension decreased and on November 20, the Americans ended the naval blockade of Cuba.

Vietnam War (1964-1975)

The conflict began in 1965 with an incident in the Gulf of Tonkin. Vietnamese coast guard ships fired on American destroyers that supported the anti-guerrilla struggle of the South Vietnamese troops. Thus happened the open entry into the conflict of one of the superpowers.

At the same time, the other, that is, the Soviet Union, indirectly supported the Vietnamese. The war proved difficult for the Americans and provoked massive anti-war demonstrations led by young people. In 1975, the Americans withdrew their contingent from Vietnam.

After that, America embarked on domestic reforms. The crisis continued in the country 10 years after this conflict.

Afghan conflict (1979-1989)

• Start: December 25, 1979
• Ending: February 15, 1989

In the spring of 1978, revolutionary events took place in Afghanistan that brought the communist movement, the People's Democratic Party, to power. Nur Mukhamed Taraki, a writer, became the head of the government.

The party soon became mired in internal conflicts, which in the summer of 1979 resulted in a confrontation between Taraki and another leader named Amin. In September, Taraki was removed from power, expelled from the party, after which he was arrested.

Afghan leaders of the 20th century

"Purges" began in the party, which caused indignation in Moscow. The situation was reminiscent of the "cultural revolution" in China. The authorities of the Soviet Union began to fear a change in the course of Afghanistan to a pro-Chinese one.

Amin voiced requests to bring Soviet troops into Afghan territory. The USSR implemented this plan, at the same time deciding to eliminate Amin.

The West condemned these actions - this is how the aggravation of the Cold War happened. In the winter of 1980, the UN General Assembly voted for the withdrawal of the Soviet army from Afghanistan by 104 votes.

At the same time, Afghan opponents of the communist revolutionary authorities began to fight against the Soviet troops. The armed Afghans were supported by the United States. They were "mujahideen" - supporters of "jihad", radical Islamists.

The war lasted 9 years and claimed the lives of 14 thousand Soviet soldiers and more than 1 million Afghans. In the spring of 1988, in Switzerland, the Soviet Union signed an agreement to withdraw troops. Gradually, this plan began to be put into action. The process of withdrawing the military lasted from February 15 to May 15, 1989, when the last soldier of the Soviet army left Afghanistan.

Consequences

The last event in the confrontation is the elimination of the Berlin Wall. And if the causes and nature of the war are clear, then it is difficult to describe the results.

The Soviet Union had to reorient its economy towards financing the military sphere due to rivalry with America. Perhaps this was the reason for the shortage of goods and the weakening of the economy and the subsequent collapse of the state.

Today's Russia lives in conditions when it is necessary to find the right approaches to other countries. Unfortunately, there is no sufficient counterbalance to the NATO bloc in the world. Although 3 countries are still influential in the world - the USA, Russia and China.

The United States, by its actions in Afghanistan - by helping the Mujahideen - gave rise to international terrorists.

In addition, modern wars in the world are also waged locally (Libya, Yugoslavia, Syria, Iraq).

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COLD WAR COLD WAR

"COLD WAR", a term denoting a state of military-political confrontation between states and groups of states, in which an arms race is being waged, economic pressure measures are applied (embargo, economic blockade, etc.), and military-strategic bridgeheads and bases are being organized. The Cold War emerged shortly after World War II (cm. THE SECOND WORLD WAR). Mostly ended in the second half of the 1980s - early 1990s. mainly in connection with the democratic transformations in many countries of the former socialist system.
The beginning of the confrontation
After World War II, the unity of the victorious countries could not be maintained for long. The USSR, on the one hand, and the USA, Great Britain and France, on the other, represented different social systems. Both sides sought to expand the territory in which their social orders were prevalent. The USSR sought to gain access to resources that were previously controlled by the capitalist countries. Pro-communist and pro-Soviet partisan movements unfolded in Greece, Iran, China, Vietnam and other countries. The US and its allies sought to maintain their dominance in Western Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The war-torn inhabitants of Europe and Asia were very interested in the experience of rapid industrial construction in the USSR. Information about the Soviet Union was often idealized, and millions of people hoped that replacing the capitalist system, which was going through hard times, with a socialist one, could quickly overcome the devastation.
The Cold War caused the world to split into two camps, gravitating towards the USSR and the USA. The conflict between the USSR and the former allies took place gradually. March 5, 1946, speaking in the presence of US President Truman (cm. TRUMAN Harry) in Fulton, W. Churchill (cm. CHURCHILL Winston Leonard Spencer) accused the USSR of deploying world expansion, of attacking the territory of the "free world", that is, that part of the planet that was controlled by the capitalist countries. Churchill called on the "Anglo-Saxon world", that is, the United States, Great Britain and their allies to repulse the USSR. His words about the division of Europe by the "Iron Curtain" became winged. The Fulton speech became a kind of declaration of the Cold War. However, there were many opponents of confrontation with the USSR in the USA.
But in 1946-1947. The USSR stepped up pressure on Greece and Turkey. There was a civil war in Greece, and the USSR demanded from Turkey the provision of territory for a military base in the Mediterranean, which could be a prelude to the seizure of the country. Under these conditions, Truman announced his readiness to "contain" the USSR throughout the world. This position was called the "Truman Doctrine" and meant the end of cooperation between the victors of fascism.
However, the Cold War front ran not between countries, but within them. About a third of the population of France and Italy supported the Communist Party. The poverty of war-torn Europeans was the breeding ground for communist success. In 1947, the US launched the Marshall Plan. (cm. MARSHALL PLAN) to provide European countries with material assistance for economic recovery. For this, the United States demanded political concessions: the Europeans were to maintain private property relations and withdraw the communists from their governments. This consolidated the split of Europe into regimes that accepted American conditions and submitted to the USSR, which opposed such a plan. Under pressure from the USSR, by the end of the war in Eastern Europe, the positions of the communists and their allies sharply strengthened. In these countries, regimes of "people's democracy" emerged. The political split of Europe was supplemented by a socio-economic one. The split line passed through the territory of Germany, from which the Federal Republic of Germany emerged in 1949. (cm. FEDERAL DISTRICT) and the German Democratic Republic (cm. GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC). But the blockade of West Berlin (cm. GERMANY) undertaken by the USSR in 1948-1949 failed.
The Cold War required the strengthening of the communist movement, which during the war brought new people, often democratically minded. In 1947, the Cominform was created by the largest European Communist Parties instead of the Comintern. (cm. COMINFORM), which was supposed to coordinate the activities of the communists in different countries. However, the Cominform was used to denounce the attempts of the Eastern European communists to seek their own options for moving towards socialism. This policy led to the Soviet-Yugoslav conflict and the deployment of mass repressions in Eastern Europe. In 1948 repressive campaigns were also launched in the USSR against anyone who could have cultural contacts with the outside world. Repressions directed against dissidents also began in Western countries, primarily in the United States. These events became known as the "witch hunt". (cm. WITCH-HUNT)
In April 1949, the United States, Canada and most of the countries of Western Europe created a military alliance - the North Atlantic bloc. (cm. ORGANIZATION OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY)(NATO). The USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe in 1955 responded to this by creating their own military alliance - the Warsaw Pact Organization. (cm. WARSAW AGREEMENT 1955).
Immediately after the start of the Cold War, the countries of the Far East turned into an arena for a fierce struggle between supporters of communist ideas and the pro-Western path of development. The significance of this struggle was very great, since the Pacific region had huge human and raw material resources. The stability of the capitalist system largely depended on control over this region. After the victory of the Communists in the Chinese Civil War of 1946-1949. Communist expansion in the Far East intensified. The United States and other Western countries chose a tough military response to the communist challenge, which led to the national liberation war in Vietnam 1946-1954. and the Korean War (cm. KOREA (South Korea)). The involvement of Western countries in wars in Asia significantly weakened their strategic positions. At the same time, the colonial system collapsed.
The rivalry between the USSR and the USA inevitably led to the buildup of armaments by both blocs - socialist and capitalist. The goal of the adversaries was to achieve superiority precisely in the field of atomic and then nuclear weapons, as well as in their means of delivery. Soon, rockets became such means in addition to bombers. A nuclear arms race has begun. Initially, the United States was the leader in the race. They had atomic weapons, first tested back in August 1945. The plans of the American General Staff provided for the use of atomic weapons against the USSR and its allies in the event of a military conflict. The Soviet military-industrial complex made every effort to create its own atomic bomb. Soviet scientists and intelligence officers worked on this task. Some engineering solutions were obtained through intelligence channels from secret American institutions, but these data could not have been used if Soviet scientists had not come close to creating atomic weapons on their own. The creation of atomic weapons in the USSR was a matter of time, but there was no such time, so intelligence data were of great importance. In 1949 the USSR tested its own atomic bomb. This news shocked the American leadership. The presence of the bomb in the USSR kept the US from using nuclear weapons in Korea, although such a possibility was discussed by high-ranking US military officials.
In 1952, the United States tested a thermonuclear device. (cm. THERMONUCLEAR WEAPONS). In 1953 the USSR tested a thermonuclear bomb. From this time the United States until the 1960s. they overtook the USSR only in the number of bombs and bombers, that is, quantitatively, but not qualitatively - the USSR had any weapon that the United States had. These two states were the most powerful in the world - superpowers.
In 1953 after the death of Stalin (cm. STALIN Joseph Vissarionovich) the new Soviet leadership began to look for ways to improve relations with the West.
From confrontation to "détente"
In 1953-1954. The wars in Korea and Vietnam ended. In 1955 the USSR established equal relations with Yugoslavia and the FRG. The great powers also agreed to grant a neutral status to Austria occupied by them and to withdraw their troops from the country.
In 1956, the situation in the world escalated again due to the Suez Crisis. (cm. SUET CRISIS) and the Hungarian events of 1956 (cm. HUNGARIAN EVENTS 1956). But this time, the superpowers avoided confrontation. In 1958, the United States came up with the so-called "Eisenhower Doctrine", (cm. Eisenhower Dwight) which provided for the possibility of US military intervention in all cases when revolutionary movements threaten the stability of legitimate regimes. The United States thus assumed the functions of the world's policeman. This soon led them into a long war in Indochina.
Leader of the USSR, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU N. S. Khrushchev (cm. Khrushchev Nikita Sergeevich) during this period was not interested in intensifying the confrontation. The positions of the USSR in the world were strong, the USSR was ahead of the USA in space exploration, which was a symbol of the success of the scientific and technological revolution in the Soviet Union. In 1959 Khrushchev visited the USA. It was the first ever visit of a Soviet leader to America. But in 1960, relations between the USSR and the USA worsened again due to an incident with an American U-2 aircraft that invaded the airspace of the USSR.
In 1960, J. Kennedy won the US presidential election (cm. KENNEDY John). He built his election campaign on the idea of ​​America's falling behind the Soviet Union. Kennedy put forward the slogan "new frontiers". America and its allies had to reach new frontiers both technically and militarily-politically. The doctrine of containment of communism was deemed insufficient, and a counteroffensive against communist expansion was needed.
Immediately after coming to power, Kennedy attempted to overthrow the pro-communist regime of F. Castro (cm. CASTRO Fidel) in Cuba, operation on Playa Giron (cm. CARIBBEAN CRISIS) failed. No sooner had Kennedy recovered from this defeat than a new crisis overtook him. At the very first meeting with the new American president in April 1961, Khrushchev demanded that the status of West Berlin be changed - the center of Western civilization, surrounded on all sides by the territory of the socialist GDR. Kennedy opposed, and the Berlin Crisis of 1961 unfolded. (cm. BERLIN (city)).
In 1962, the nuclear-missile rivalry reached its peak in the Cuban Missile Crisis. (cm. CARIBBEAN CRISIS). This crisis taught both the Soviet and American leadership a lot. The leaders of the superpowers realized that they could bring humanity to ruin. Having approached a dangerous line, the Cold War began to decline. During the crisis, the USSR and the USA for the first time agreed to limit the arms race. Kennedy called for a more realistic course towards the USSR, for resolving controversial issues through negotiations. In case of emergency, a direct telephone connection (“hot line”) was established between the President of the United States and the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU.
Scientists all over the world pointed to such a dangerous consequence of the arms race as the testing of nuclear weapons. On August 15, 1963, the Treaty Banning Nuclear Tests in Three Environments was signed.
The conclusion of the 1963 treaty did not mean the end of the Cold War. The very next year, after the death of President Kennedy in November 1963, the rivalry between the two blocs intensified. But now it has been pushed away from the borders of the USSR and the USA - to Southeast Asia, where the Vietnam War unfolded. (cm. WAR IN VIETNAM).
In the mid 1960s. the superpowers faced great difficulties (the Sino-Soviet conflict, the war in Indochina), which forced them to move from the Cold War to establishing more peaceful relations, to politics "detente" international tension.
The aggravation of the "cold war" in 1979-1985.
During detente, important documents on the limitation of strategic arms were adopted. However, while limiting the total volume of nuclear weapons and missile technology, these agreements hardly touched upon the deployment of nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, the superpowers could concentrate a large number of nuclear missiles in the most dangerous parts of the world without even violating the agreed total volumes of nuclear weapons. This led to the missile crisis of 1979-1987.
Detente was finally buried by the invasion of Soviet troops in Afghanistan during the Afghan war (cm. AFGHAN WAR) in December 1979. Relations between the blocs worsened even more after the suppression of the Solidarity trade union (cm. SOLIDARITY) in Poland. In 1980-1982 The United States imposed a series of economic sanctions against the USSR. In 1983 US President R. Reagan (cm. REAGAN Ronald) called the USSR an "evil empire" and called for its elimination. The installation of new American missiles in Europe has begun. In response to this, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Yu. V. Andropov (cm. ANDROPOV Yury Vladimirovich) stopped all negotiations with the United States. The world has come to the brink of a third world war almost as close as during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In 1983, Reagan proposed the idea of ​​the Strategic Defense Initiative. (cm. STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE)(SDI), the ideas of "star wars" - space systems that could protect the United States from a nuclear strike. This program was carried out in circumvention of the ABM treaty (cm. MISSILE DEFENSE). The USSR did not have the technical capabilities to create the same system. Although the US was also far from successful in this area, the communist leaders realized that they could lose the Cold War.
Perestroika and "new thinking"
By the mid 1980s. the countries of "real socialism" entered a period of crisis. Bureaucratic economy (administrative-command system (cm. ADMINISTRATIVE-COMMAND SYSTEM)) could no longer meet the growing needs of the population and could hardly withstand the arms race. It was becoming increasingly difficult for the USSR to bear the burden of the Cold War, support allied regimes around the world, and wage war in Afghanistan. The technical backwardness of the USSR from the capitalist countries was more and more noticeable and dangerous.
In March 1985, the new General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU M. S. Gorbachev came to power in the USSR (cm. GORBACHEV Mikhail Sergeevich). In 1985-1986 he proclaimed a policy of sweeping reforms known as perestroika (cm. RESTRUCTURING). These transformations implied the improvement of relations with the capitalist countries on the basis of equality and openness ("new thinking"). Gorbachev tried to improve relations with Western countries. In November 1985, he met with Reagan in Geneva and proposed a significant reduction in nuclear weapons in Europe. It was still impossible to solve the problem, because Gorbachev demanded the abolition of SDI, and Reagan did not concede. But the two presidents got to know each other better, which helped them negotiate later. After an unsuccessful meeting in Reykjavik in 1986, the two presidents finally reached an agreement in Washington in December 1987: American and Soviet intermediate-range missiles would be withdrawn from Europe. In 1989, during the Eastern European revolutions of 1989, the Iron Curtain collapsed.
In February 1989, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan began. The problems that caused the aggravation of international tension not only in 1979-1980, but also in 1946-1947 were removed. Therefore, we can state the actual cessation of the Cold War already in 1990. The level of relations between the USSR and Western countries returned to the state before the Cold War, and it was remembered only in order to proclaim its end, as President George W. Bush did (cm. BUSH George (senior), announcing victory in the Cold War after the collapse of the USSR, and Presidents B. N. Yeltsin (cm. Yeltsin Boris Nikolaevich) and Bush, announcing its end in 1992. However, the connection between the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR is indirect. They have a common cause - the crisis of the social system of the USSR.

encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .

See what "COLD WAR" is in other dictionaries:

- (Cold War) The term is usually used in relation to the period of deep confrontation between the US and the USSR after the 2nd World War. In 1945, the US and the USSR acted as superpowers. At the same time, the USSR easily occupied the countries of Eastern Europe, and the United States, as ... ... Political science. Dictionary.

A term denoting the state of military-political confrontation of states and groups of states, in which an arms race is being waged, economic pressure measures are being applied (embargo, economic blockade, etc.), organization is being carried out ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Supported by various allies from all sides. This confrontation continued for almost fifty years (from 1946 to 1991).

The Cold War was not a military battle in the truest sense. The basis for the disputes was the ideology of the two most powerful states on the planet at that time. Scientists characterize this confrontation as a very deep contradiction between the socialist and capitalist systems. It is symbolic that the Cold War began immediately after the end of World War II, as a result of which both countries remained victorious. And since devastation prevailed in the world at that time, ideal conditions were created for planting many territories by their people. But, unfortunately, the United States and the USSR at that time disagreed in their opinions, so each side wanted to get ahead of the rival and make sure that on a vast territory where people did not know what to believe in and how to live, as soon as possible to implant their ideology. As a consequence, the people of the losing states will trust the winning country and enrich it at the expense of their human and natural resources.

This confrontation is divided into stages of the Cold War, among which are the following:

Beginning (1946-1953). This stage can be characterized as attempts by the USSR and the USA to hold the first events in Europe that would be aimed at imposing their ideology. As a result, since 1948, the possibility of starting a new war has hung over the world, so both states began to rapidly prepare for new battles.

On the verge (1953-1962). During this period, relations between the opponents improved slightly and they even began to make friendly visits to each other. But at this time, the European states, one by one, start revolutions in order to independently lead their country. The USSR, in order to eliminate the indignation, actively began the bombing of the outbreak of conflicts. The United States could not allow such liberties to the enemy and began to set up their air defense system themselves. As a result, the relationship deteriorated again.

Stage of detente (1962-1979). During this period, more conservative rulers came to power in the warring countries, who were not particularly willing to conduct an active confrontation, which could well lead to war.

A new round of confrontation (1979-1987). The next stage began after the Soviet Union sent troops into Afghanistan and several times shot down foreign civilian aircraft that flew over the state. These aggressive actions provoked the United States to deploy its forces on the territory of several European countries, which naturally pissed off the USSR.

Gorbachev's coming to power and the end of the confrontation (1987-1991). The new one did not want to continue the struggle for ideology in other European countries. Moreover, his policy was aimed at eliminating the communist government, which was the ancestor of political and economic repressions towards the United States.

The end of the Cold War was marked by the fact that the Soviet Union made great concessions and did not particularly claim power in Europe, especially since the defeated countries had already moved away from devastation and began independent development. The USSR, on the other hand, began to experience a deep crisis, which led to the final one in December 1991. Thus, the Cold War did not bring a positive result to our state, but became one of the elements that led to the collapse of a great state.

We do not want a single inch of foreign land. But we will not give our land, not a single inch of our land, to anyone.

Joseph Stalin

The Cold War is a state of contradiction between the two dominant world systems: capitalism and socialism. Socialism represented the USSR, and capitalism, in a major way, the USA and Great Britain. Today it is popular to say that the Cold War is a confrontation between the USSR and the USA, but at the same time they forget to say that the speech of the British Prime Minister Churchill led to the formal declaration of war.

Causes of the war

In 1945, contradictions began to appear between the USSR and other members of the anti-Hitler coalition. It was clear that Germany had lost the war, and now the main question is the post-war structure of the world. Here, everyone tried to pull the blanket in his direction, to take a leading position relative to other countries. The main contradictions were in European countries: Stalin wanted to subordinate them to the Soviet system, and the capitalists sought to prevent the Soviet state from entering Europe.

The causes of the Cold War are as follows:

• Social. Rallying the country in the face of a new enemy.
• Economic. The struggle for markets and resources. The desire to weaken the economic power of the enemy.
• Military. An arms race in the event of a new open war.
• Ideological. The society of the enemy is presented exclusively in a negative connotation. The struggle of two ideologies.

The active stage of confrontation between the two systems begins with the US atomic bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If we consider this bombing in isolation, then it is illogical - the war is won, Japan is not a competitor. Why bomb cities, and even with such weapons? But if we consider the end of the Second World War and the beginning of the Cold War, then in the bombing appears the goal is to show the potential enemy their strength, and to show who should be the leader in the world. And the factor of nuclear weapons was very important in the future. After all, the atomic bomb appeared in the USSR only in 1949 ...

The beginning of the war

If we briefly consider the Cold War, then its beginning today is associated exclusively with Churchill's speech. Therefore, they say that the beginning of the Cold War is March 5, 1946.

Churchill's speech March 5, 1946

In fact, Truman (President of the United States) delivered a more specific speech, from which it became clear to everyone that the Cold War had begun. And Churchill's speech (it is not difficult to find and read it on the Internet today) was superficial. It talked a lot about the Iron Curtain, but not a word about the Cold War.

Stalin's interview of February 10, 1946

On February 10, 1946, the Pravda newspaper published an interview with Stalin. Today this newspaper is very hard to find, but this interview was very interesting. In it, Stalin said the following: “Capitalism always breeds crises and conflicts. This always creates the threat of war, which is a threat to the USSR. Therefore, we must restore the Soviet economy at an accelerated pace. We must prioritize heavy industry over consumer goods.”

This speech of Stalin turned over and it was on it that all Western leaders relied, talking about the desire of the USSR to start a war. But, as you can see, in this speech of Stalin there was not even a hint of the militaristic expansion of the Soviet state.

The real start of the war

To say that the beginning of the Cold War is connected with Churchill's speech is a bit illogical. The fact is that at the time of 1946 it was just the former Prime Minister of Great Britain. It turns out a kind of theater of the absurd - the war between the USSR and the USA is officially started by the former Prime Minister of England. In reality, everything was different, and Churchill's speech was just a convenient pretext, on which it was later profitable to write everything off.

The real beginning of the Cold War should be attributed to at least 1944, when it was already clear that Germany was doomed to defeat, and all the allies pulled the blanket over themselves, realizing that it was very important to gain dominance over the post-war world. If you try to draw a more accurate line for the start of the war, then the first serious disagreements on the topic of “how to live on” between the allies happened at the Tehran conference.

The specifics of the war

For a correct understanding of the processes that took place during the Cold War, you need to understand what this war was in history. Today, more and more often they say that it was actually the third world war. And this is a huge mistake. The fact is that all the wars of mankind that were before, including the Napoleonic wars and World Wars 2, these were the warriors of the capitalist world for the rights dominated in a certain region. The Cold War was the first global war where there was a confrontation between two systems: capitalist and socialist. Here it may be objected to me that in the history of mankind there were wars, where at the forefront was not capital, but religion: Christianity against Islam and Islam against Christianity. In part, this objection is true, but only from happiness. The fact is that any religious conflicts cover only part of the population and part of the world, while the global cold war has engulfed the whole world. All countries of the world could be clearly divided into 2 main groups:

1. Socialist. They recognized the dominance of the USSR and received funding from Moscow.
2. Capitalist. Recognized US dominance and received funding from Washington.

There were also "indefinite". There were few such countries, but they were. Their main specificity was that outwardly they could not decide which camp to join, therefore they received funding from two sources: both from Moscow and from Washington.

Who started the war

One of the problems of the Cold War is the question of who started it. Indeed, there is no army here that crosses the border of another state, and thereby declares war. Today you can blame everything on the USSR and say that it was Stalin who started the war. But this hypothesis is in trouble with the evidence base. I will not help our "partners" and look for what motives the USSR could have for the war, but I will give the facts why Stalin did not need the aggravation of relations (at least not directly in 1946):

• Nuclear weapon. In the United States it appeared in 1945, and in the USSR in 1949. You can imagine that the overly prudent Stalin wanted to aggravate relations with the United States when the enemy has a trump card up his sleeve - nuclear weapons. At the same time, let me remind you, there was also a plan for the atomic bombing of the largest cities of the USSR.
• Economy. The United States and Great Britain, by and large, made money on the Second World War, so they had no economic problems. The USSR is another matter. The country needed to restore the economy. By the way, the USA had 50% of the world GDP in 1945.

The facts show that in 1944-1946 the USSR was not ready to start a war. And Churchill's speech, which formally started the Cold War, was not delivered in Moscow, and not at its suggestion. But on the other hand, both opposing camps were extremely interested in such a war.

As early as September 4, 1945, the United States adopted Memorandum 329, which developed a plan for the atomic bombing of Moscow and Leningrad. In my opinion, this is the best proof of who wanted war and aggravation of relations.

Goals

Any war has goals, and it is surprising that our historians for the most part do not even try to define the goals of the Cold War. On the one hand, this is justified by the fact that the USSR had only one goal - the expansion and strengthening of socialism by any means. But Western countries were more resourceful. They sought not only to spread their world influence, but also to inflict spiritual blows on the USSR. And it continues to this day. The following goals of the United States in the war in terms of historical and psychological impact can be distinguished:

1. Make a substitution of concepts at the historical level. Note that under the influence of these ideas, today all the historical figures of Russia who bowed to Western countries are presented as ideal rulers. At the same time, everyone who advocated the rise of Russia is presented by tyrants, despots and fanatics.
2. The development of an inferiority complex among Soviet people. They tried to prove to us all the time that we are somehow not like that, that we are guilty of all the problems of mankind, and so on. Largely because of this, people so easily perceived the collapse of the USSR and the problems of the 90s - it was a "retribution" for our inferiority, but in fact the enemy simply achieved the goal in the war.
3. Blackening of history. This stage continues to this day. If you study Western materials, then there our whole history (literally all) is presented as one continuous violence.

There are, of course, pages of history with which our country can be reproached, but most of the stories are sucked out of thin air. Moreover, liberals and Western historians for some reason forget that it was not Russia that colonized the whole world, it was not Russia that destroyed the indigenous population of America, it was not Russia that shot Indians with cannons, tying 20 people in a row to save cannonballs, it was not Russia that exploited Africa. There are thousands of such examples, because every country in history has hard-hitting stories. Therefore, if you really want to poke around in the bad events of our history, be kind enough not to forget that Western countries have no less such stories.

Stages of war

The stages of the Cold War is one of the most controversial issues, since it is very difficult to graduate them. However, I can suggest dividing this war into 8 key phases:

• Preparatory (193-1945). The world war was still going on and formally the “allies” acted as a united front, but there were already disagreements and everyone began to fight for post-war world domination.
• Beginning (1945-1949). The time of complete US hegemony, when the Americans manage to make the dollar a single world currency and strengthen the country's position in almost all regions except those in which the USSR army was located.
• Razgar (1949-1953). The key factors of 1949, which make it possible to single out this year as a key one: 1 - the creation of atomic weapons in the USSR, 2 - the economy of the USSR is reaching the indicators of 1940. After that, an active confrontation began, when the United States could no longer speak with the USSR from a position of strength.
• First détente (1953-1956). The key event was the death of Stalin, after which the beginning of a new course was announced - the policy of peaceful coexistence.
• A new round of crisis (1956-1970). Events in Hungary led to a new round of tension, which lasted almost 15 years, which also included the Caribbean crisis.
• Second détente (1971-1976). This stage of the Cold War, in short, is associated with the start of the work of the commission to relieve tensions in Europe, and with the signing of the Final Act in Helsinki.
• Third crisis (1977-1985). A new round, when the cold war between the USSR and the USA reached its climax. The main point of confrontation is Afghanistan. In terms of military development, the countries staged a "wild" arms race.
• End of the war (1985-1988). The end of the Cold War falls on 1988, when it became clear that the “new political thinking” in the USSR was ending the war and so far only de facto recognized the American victory.

These are the main stages of the Cold War. As a result, socialism and communism lost out to capitalism, since the moral and psychic influence of the United States, which was openly directed at the leadership of the CPSU, achieved its goal: the leadership of the party began to put their personal interests and benefits above socialist foundations.

Forms

The confrontation between the two ideologies began in 1945. Gradually, this confrontation embraced all spheres of public life.

Military confrontation

The main military confrontation of the Cold War era is the struggle between the two blocs. On April 4, 1949, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was created. NATO included the USA, Canada, England, France, Italy and a number of small countries. In response, on May 14, 1955, the OVD (Warsaw Pact Organization) was created. Thus, there was a clear confrontation between the two systems. But again, it should be noted that the first step was taken by the Western countries, which organized NATO 6 years earlier than the Warsaw Pact appeared.

The main confrontation, about which we have already partially spoken, is atomic weapons. In 1945, this weapon appeared in the United States. Moreover, in America they developed a plan for delivering nuclear strikes on the 20 largest cities of the USSR, using 192 bombs. This forced the USSR to do even the impossible to create its own atomic bomb, the first successful tests of which took place in August 1949. In the future, all this resulted in an arms race on a huge scale.

Economic confrontation

In 1947, the United States developed the Marshall Plan. According to this plan, the United States provided financial assistance to all countries affected during the war. But there was one limitation in this plan - only those countries that shared the political interests and goals of the United States received assistance. In response to this, the USSR begins to provide assistance in post-war reconstruction to countries that have chosen the path of socialism. Based on these approaches, 2 economic blocks were created:

• Western European Union (ZEV) in 1948.
• Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) in January 1949. In addition to the USSR, the organization included: Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria.

Despite the formation of alliances, the essence has not changed: ZEV helped with US money, and CMEA helped with USSR money. The rest of the countries only consumed.

In the economic confrontation with the United States, Stalin took two steps that had an extremely negative impact on the American economy: on March 1, 1950, the USSR moved from calculating the ruble in dollars (as it was around the world) to gold backing, and in April 1952, the USSR, China and Eastern European countries are creating an alternative trade zone to the dollar. This trading zone did not use the dollar at all, which means that the capitalist world, which previously owned 100% of the world market, lost at least 1/3 of this market. All this happened against the backdrop of the "economic miracle of the USSR." Western experts said that the USSR would be able to reach the level of 1940 after the war only by 1971, but in reality this happened as early as 1949.

Crises

Crises of the Cold War

Event	date of
	1948
Vietnam War	1946-1954
	1950-1953
	1946-1949
	1948-1949
	1956
	Mid 50s - mid 60s
	Mid 60s
War in Afghanistan

These are the main crises of the Cold War, but there were others, less significant. Next, we will briefly consider what the essence of these crises was, and what consequences they led to in the world.

Military conflicts

Many people in our country do not take the Cold War seriously. We have an understanding in our minds that war is “drawn swords”, weapons in hand and in the trenches. But the Cold War was different, although even it was not without regional conflicts, some of which were extremely difficult. The main conflicts of those times:

• The split of Germany. Formation of Germany and the GDR.
• Vietnam War (1946-1954). It led to the division of the country.
• War in Korea (1950-1953). It led to the division of the country.

Berlin Crisis of 1948

For a correct understanding of the essence of the Berlin crisis of 1948, one should study the map.

Germany was divided into 2 parts: western and eastern. Berlin was also in the zone of influence, but the city itself was located deep in the eastern lands, that is, on the territory controlled by the USSR. In an effort to put pressure on West Berlin, the Soviet leadership organized its blockade. It was a response to the recognition of Taiwan and its admission to the UN.

England and France organized an air corridor, supplying the inhabitants of West Berlin with everything they needed. Therefore, the blockade failed and the crisis itself began to slow down. Realizing that the blockade leads to nothing, the Soviet leadership removes it, normalizing life in Berlin.

The continuation of the crisis was the creation of two states in Germany. In 1949, the western states were transformed into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). In response, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was created in the eastern lands. It is these events that should be considered the final split of Europe into 2 opposing camps - West and East.

Revolution in China

In 1946, a civil war broke out in China. The Communist bloc staged an armed coup seeking to overthrow the government of Chiang Kai-shek from the Kuomintang party. The civil war and revolution became possible thanks to the events of 1945. After the victory over Japan, a base was created here for the rise of communism. Starting in 1946, the USSR began supplying weapons, food and everything necessary to support the Chinese communists who were fighting for the country.

The revolution ended in 1949 with the formation of the People's Republic of China (PRC), where all power was in the hands of the Communist Party. As for the Chiang Kai-shek, they fled to Taiwan and formed their own state, which was very quickly recognized in the West, and even admitted to the UN. In response, the USSR leaves the UN. This is an important point as it had a major impact on another Asian conflict, the Korean War.

Formation of the State of Israel

From the first meetings of the UN, one of the main issues was the fate of the state of Palestine. At that time, Palestine was actually a British colony. The division of Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state was an attempt by the US and the USSR to strike at Great Britain and its positions in Asia. Stalin approved of the idea of ​​creating the state of Israel, because he believed in the power of the "leftist" Jews, and expected to gain control over this country, gaining a foothold in the Middle East.

The Palestinian problem was resolved in November 1947 at the UN Assembly, where the position of the USSR played a key role. Therefore, we can say that Stalin played a key role in the creation of the state of Israel.

The UN Assembly decided to create 2 states: Jewish (Israel" Arab (Palestine). In May 1948, Israel's independence was declared and immediately the Arab countries declared war on this state. The Middle East crisis began. Great Britain supported Palestine, the USSR and the USA supported Israel. In In 1949, Israel won the war and immediately a conflict arose between the Jewish state and the USSR, as a result of which Stalin severed diplomatic relations with Israel.The US won the battle in the Middle East.

Korean War

The Korean War is an undeservedly forgotten event that is little studied today, which is a mistake. After all, the Korean War is the third in history in terms of human casualties. During the war years, 14 million people died! More casualties in only two world wars. The large number of casualties is due to the fact that this was the first major armed conflict in the Cold War.

After the victory over Japan in 1945, the USSR and the USA divided Korea (a former colony of Japan) into zones of influence: reconciled Korea - under the influence of the USSR, South Korea - under the influence of the USA. In 1948, 2 states were officially formed:

• Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Zone of influence of the USSR. The leader is Kim Il Sung.
• The Republic of Korea. US zone of influence. The leader is Lee Seung Mann.

With the support of the USSR and China, on June 25, 1950, Kim Il Sung starts a war. In fact, it was a war for the unification of Korea, which the DPRK planned to end quickly. The factor of a quick victory was important, since this was the only way to prevent the US from intervening in the conflict. The beginning was promising, the UN troops, which were 90% American, came to the aid of the Republic of Korea. After that, the DPRK army retreated and was close to collapse. The situation was saved by Chinese volunteers who intervened in the war and restored the balance of power. After that, local battles began and the border between North and South Korea was established along the 38th parallel.

First détente of the war

The first détente in the Cold War occurred in 1953 after the death of Stalin. An active dialogue began between the opposing countries. Already on July 15, 1953, the new government of the USSR, headed by Khrushchev, announced its desire to build new relations with Western countries, based on a policy of peaceful coexistence. Similar statements were made from the opposite side.

A major factor in stabilizing the situation was the end of the Korean War and the establishment of diplomatic relations between the USSR and Israel. Wanting to demonstrate to the Western countries the desire for peaceful coexistence, Khrushchev withdrew Soviet troops from Austria, having obtained a promise from the Austrian side to maintain neutrality. Naturally, there was no neutrality, just as there were no concessions and gestures from the United States.

Detente lasted from 1953 to 1956. At that time, the USSR established relations with Yugoslavia, India, began to develop relations with African and Asian countries, which had only recently freed themselves from colonial dependence.

A new round of tension

Hungary

At the end of 1956, an uprising began in Hungary. Local residents, realizing that the position of the USSR after the death of Stalin, became noticeably worse, raised an uprising against the current regime in the country. As a result, the cold war came to its critical point. For the USSR there were 2 ways:

1. Recognize the revolution's right to self-determination. This step would give all the other countries dependent on the USSR the understanding that at any moment they could leave socialism.
2. Suppress the rebellion. This approach was contrary to the principles of socialism, but only in this way it was possible to maintain a leading position in the world.

The 2nd option was chosen. The army crushed the rebellion. For suppression in places it was necessary to use weapons. As a result, the revolution was won, it became clear that the "detente" was over.

Caribbean crisis

Cuba is a small state near the US, but it almost led the world to a nuclear war. At the end of the 50s, a revolution took place in Cuba and Fidel Castro seized power, who declared his desire to build socialism on the island. For America, this was a challenge - a state appeared near their border, which acts as a geopolitical enemy. As a result, the United States planned to resolve the situation by military means, but were defeated.

The Krabi Crisis began in 1961, after the USSR secretly delivered missiles to Cuba. This soon became known, and the US President demanded to withdraw the missiles. The parties escalated the conflict until it became clear that the world was on the verge of a nuclear war. As a result, the USSR agreed to withdraw its missiles from Cuba, and the United States agreed to withdraw its missiles from Turkey.

"Prague Vienna"

In the mid-1960s, new tensions arose, this time in Czechoslovakia. The situation here strongly resembled the one that was earlier in Hungary: democratic tendencies began in the country. Basically, young people opposed the current government, and the movement was headed by A. Dubcek.

A situation arose, as in Hungary - to allow for a democratic revolution, meant to give an example to other countries that the socialist system could be overthrown at any moment. Therefore, the Warsaw Pact countries sent their troops to Czechoslovakia. The rebellion was suppressed, but the suppression caused outrage throughout the world. But it was a cold war, and, of course, any active actions of one side were actively criticized by the other side.

Detente in the war

The peak of the Cold War came in the 1950s and 1960s, when the aggravation of relations between the Soviet Socialist Republic and the United States was so great that a war could break out at any moment. Beginning in the 1970s, the war was detente and the subsequent defeat of the USSR. But in this case, I want to focus briefly on the United States. What happened in this country before "détente"? In fact, the country ceased to be popular and came under the control of the capitalists, under which it is to this day. One can say even more - the USSR won the Cold War from the USA in the late 60s, and the USA, as the state of the American people, ceased to exist. Capitalists seized power. The apogee of these events is the assassination of President Kennedy. But after the United States became a country representing the capitalists and oligarchs, they already won the USSR in the Cold War.

But let us return to the Cold War and détente in it. These signs were indicated in 1971 when the USSR, the USA, Britain and France signed agreements on the start of the work of a commission to solve the Berlin problem, as a point of constant tension in Europe.

final act

In 1975, the most significant event of the détente era of the Cold War took place. In that year, a pan-European meeting on security was held, in which all the countries of Europe took part (of course, including the Soviet Socialist Republic, as well as the USA and Canada). The meeting was held in Helsinki (Finland), so it went down in history as the Helsinki Final Act.

As a result of the congress, an Act was signed, but before that there were difficult negotiations, primarily on 2 points:

• Freedom of the media in the USSR.
• Freedom to leave "from" and "to" the USSR.

The commission from the USSR agreed to both points, but in a special formulation that did little to oblige the country itself. The final signing of the Act was the first symbol that the West and the East can agree among themselves.

New aggravation of relations

In the late 70s and early 80s, a new round of the Cold War began, when relations between the USSR and the USA heated up. There were 2 reasons for this:

The United States in the countries of Western Europe placed medium-range missiles that were capable of reaching the territory of the USSR.

The beginning of the war in Afghanistan.

As a result, the Cold War reached a new level and the enemy engaged in their usual business - an arms race. It hit the budgets of both countries very painfully and ultimately led the United States to a terrible economic crisis in 1987, and the USSR to defeat in the war and subsequent collapse.

Historical meaning

Surprisingly, in our country the Cold War is not taken seriously. The best fact demonstrating the attitude to this historical event in our country and in the West is the spelling of the name. In our country, the Cold War is written in quotation marks and with a capital letter in all textbooks, in the West - without quotation marks and with a small letter. This is the difference in attitude.

It really was a war. Just in the understanding of people who have just defeated Germany, war is weapons, shots, attack, defense, and so on. But the world has changed, and in the Cold War contradictions and ways to resolve them have come to the fore. Of course, this resulted in real armed clashes.

In any case, the outcome of the Cold War is important, because the USSR ceased to exist as a result of it. This ended the war itself, and Gorbachev received a medal in the United States "for victory in the cold war."