Cold-war Flashcards
When it happened
1947-64
Long-term causes
Conflicting political ideologies:
-Stalin blamed WW2 on Western capitalism
-Said success in WW2 due to strength of Soviet economy/communist system of government
Short-term causes
US mistrust of USSR
Caused by:
-Communist regime in North Korea
-discovery of Communist spy network in Canada
-Kennan “long telegram”
-Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech
“Kennan long telegram” (short-term causes)
22nd Feb 1946 US diplomat Kennan sent telegram expressing concerns about Soviet foreign policy
-Said concessions to Russia would not work/only solution was to contain communism
=Significant impact on thinking of senior US politicians
Churchill’s iron Curtain speech (short-term causes)
5th March 1946 in Missouri:
-Views echoed Kennan’s
-Said iron curtain had descended/communism= loss of freedom for a country’s people (took advantage of public fears)
Truman Doctrine (short-term causes)
March 1947 President Truman said US would support freedom of Greek/Turkish ppl if ever taken over by communists
=Soviets felt antagonised/threatened
Marshall plan (short-term causes)
June 1947 plan for European economic recovery
-Rejected by soviets as saw as scam to spread capitalism- responded with cominform
=More mistrust of Soviets from West
Cominform (short-term causes)
Communist Information Bureau (September 1947):
-Aimed to coordinate own economic recovery
Not successful:
-Created more problems for Eastern countries
-Heightened tensions- (along with Truman Doctrine/Marshall plan) marked start of cold war
Effects on development of Russian government
Little direct impact HOWEVER
-Destalinisation by Krushchev attempt to present Russia in more positive light while US containment policy (Shows K political ideology partly determined by war)
-Nuclear arms/space race expensive= lower living standards
-Cuban Missile crisis showed R would back down as not financially strong enough for war
March 1947
Truman Doctrine
Summer= Marshall plan
September 1947
Cominform set up
June 1948
Start of Berlin Blockade
April 1949
NATO founded- members agreed to support eachother if one attacked
-Anti-communist
May 1949
End of Berlin Blockade
June 1950
Korean war
November 1952
First tested US hydrogen bomb
August 1953
First tested Soviet hydrogen bomb
May 1955
Eastern block countries sign Warsaw pact (peace and security treaty)
April 1956
Cominform disbanded
October 1956
Hungarian revolution:
-Following Krushchev’s destalinisation speech
-Rebels won 1st phase= Imre Nagy as PM- declared Hungarian neutrality/appealed to UN for support but West no respond
-Invaded by Soviet Union 3 days later (4th Nov)
November 1956
-SU cut off diplomatic ties with Israel
-Warned B/F about the consequences of their behaviour during the Suez crisis
-Hinted at possible missile attack
space race
October 1957 Sputnik 1 launched by Russia
Led to new political/military/technological/scientific developments
September 1959
Krushchev negotiations with President Eisenhower
-Demands over Berlin withdrawn
May 1962
US spy plane shot down while flying over Russia
-Krushchev demanded apology
June 1961
Krushchev demanded demilitarisation of Berlin
August 1961
Berlin war
Cuban missile crisis
September 1962-January 1963
-Kruschev secretly installs missiles in Cuba, US finds out= naval blockade on Cuba/said would be war if missiles fired
-Krushchev agreed to dismantle (28 October)= US ended blockade/promised not to go ahead with planned invasion of Cuba
June-July 1963
Rapid deterioration of Chinese-Soviet relations as Chinese accused Soviet leaders of restoring capitalism
“The wars Russia fought in the years from 1855-1964 always hindered economic development. How far do you agree?”
Economy:
-Heavy industry
WWI hindered
-Military failures blamed on “shells crisis” so workers had to put + effort into munitions production BUT industry already working at full capacity
-Communication/transport problems= stockpiling of supplies (e.g in Archangel mountains of hardware sunk into ground)
-Lead up to WW2= Third 5-year plans focussed on preparing economy for war
Helped
-Expansion of railway system:
-2 billion roubles from foreign loans= 20km of track (1861-78)
Helped with logistical problems of expanding/protecting/maintaining empire
Light industry
-K focussed on consumer goods as fear of cold war but not completely successful
=Bottlenecks in production/shortages of shoes
-Nicholas II WW1 consumer goods famine e.g food and fuel shortages
-Agriculture
Crimean war led to emancipation of the serfs= more urban workers/industrialisation
-Lenin and Civil war led to replacement of war communism with NEP. War communism failed due to unpopularity of requisitioning. NEP replaced with tax in kind. NEP= scissors crisis
Conclusion
-Mostly negative impact but most positive impact in industry as led to understanding that they were backwards so made improvements
