Cold War Flashcards
State the 4 reasons that the US-Soviet alliance began to break down
1
History of uneasy relations between the West (USA, Britain, Western Europe and allies (always trying to defeat communism)) and Soviet union (the USSR)
Started back in 1917 (Russia became communist)
Soviet union were dictatorships (stalin)
2
Ideological reasons
Was the break down inevitable?
Capitalism vs communism; liberal democracy vs single-party state
3
War time disagreements and suspicions
4
Attitude towards Germany and who would have influence over the post-war world.
what are the Ideological differences between the USA and the USSR.
USSR was Communist (controlled by state) as of 1917
USA
Capitalist
explain the Ideological diffrences vetween the USA and the USSR
USSR
was Communist (controlled by state) as of 1917
One party rule
No political opposition
A constitution was produced in 1936 where soviets gained a few rights
Religious beliefs were not tolerated
USA
Capitalist
a democracy with free, multi-part elections
Free to hold any religious and political belief
Freedom of speech
Written by constitution
State the agreements at Yalta
Japan
elections
war criminals
germany
united nations
eastern europe
What were the Political beliefs of USA
Some american believed that other countries should also be run capitalist
Government was chosen in free democratic elections
What were the Political beliefs of the USSR
One party dictatorship
Elections were held but all candidates were part of the Communist party
Communism taught the role of a communist state was to encourage communist revolutions world wide
Leaders made their decisions this way
USSR saw USA as a selfish country who wanted to increase their economic empire and political influence
What were the economic beliefs of the USA
Business and property were privately owned (controlled majorly by individuals and firms)
Some people were wealthy others very poor
What were the Economic beliefs of the USSR
All industry was publicly owned (run by the government)
Industries grew rapidly in 1920s and 30s
Living standards were very low compared to the USA
Unemployment = rare
extreme poverty = rare
What were the Social beliefs of the USA
Generally saw their policies as ‘doing the right thing’ rather that serving their own interests
Free of the Government was more important than equality
Idea of communism was intimidating
What were the Social beliefs of the USSR
Rights of individuals were seen as less important than the good of society as a whole
Lives were tightly controlled
Other countries should also be run communistly
Why were relations between western powers (USA, Britain and others) and the USSR were not good before the Second World War
1917 russia became communist
Fear of USA and capitalist attacks
Nazi-soviet pact for protection (august 1939)
Western political leaders were suspicious of soviet union
Fear communists had same opinions as tsars who wanter to expand into central europe and eastern mediterranean
Senior communists talked about a world wide revolution
Increased likelihood of conflict (capitalists vs communists)
Created tension and uneasy relationship during WW2
Positive relations between the western powers and the USSR during the war.
Positives
British merchant ships risked their lives to supply the USSR with essential materials
Britain agreed to extend to Lend-Lease programme to soviet union
Also sent airforce to deliver necessary resources
No more appeasement of dictators
every comunist action would meet an american reaction
Negative relations between the western powers and the USSR during the war.
Negatives
Tension and trust
Stalin was very secret and hard to gain his trust
Did not share battleplans with either Britain or USA
British and American pilots complained of Russians not trusting them
Sailors bringing supplies to USSR weren’t given much money and had little to no freedom around soviet ports
Churchill wouldn’t share knowledge of Enigma codes with USSR
state the disagreements at Yalta
poland
Why did the US-Soviet alliance begin to breakdown in 1945?
By end of 1944:
Culture
Uneasy relationship
Communist vs Capitalist
Each country feared the other
Capitalist attacking communist and vise versa.
Trust
US, Britain and USSR couldn’t trust each other
Britain didn’t share their knowledge (Enigma codes)
USSR did not share Battle plans with either countries
Difficult to make plans and decisions collectively
Was at a political level
Suspicion of the conduct of allies were voiced in Moscow, Whitehall and Washington
Describe the agreement dealing with Japan
-stalin agreed to enter the war against japan once germany had surrenderd
describe the election agreement at Yalta
agreeed that countries were liberated from occupation by the german army
would be allowed to hold free elections to choose the governmetn they wanted