COLD WAR 1947-64 Flashcards
What was historian Cook’s definition of a ‘Cold War’?
The ‘protracted state of tension between countries falling short of actual warfare’.
What was one of the main long-term causes of the Cold War?
The conflicting ideologies held by the main players.
What did the USA ideologically stand for?
Liberal democracy and free-market capitalism.
What did the USA’s ideology look like to the Soviets?
A bourgeois system similar to that which had emerged in tsarist Russia.
What did Stalin blame WW2 on in a speech in February 1946?
The ‘monopoly capitalism’ of the West.
What did Soviet victory in WW2 become a justification for?
The Soviet ‘way’ to be consolidated and promoted.
What was the importance of the Soviet ‘sphere of interest’ in Eastern Europe?
Russia valued it highly as much for economic growth as for political stability.
What were the four main reasons for the US’ mistrust of the Soviet Union?
- the association of Russia with a newly established communist regime in North Korea.
- the discovery of a communist spy network in Canada.
- the Kennan ‘long telegram’.
- Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech.
When was Kennan’s ‘Long Telegram’ speech?
22nd February 1946
What was Kennan’s ‘Long Telegram’?
Message to the European Division of the US State Department expressing his concerns about Soviet foreign policy.
What did Kennan believe was the only solution? What impact did this telegram have?
Actively contain Communism. Because of Kennan’s expertise, his telegram had a significant impact on the thinking of senior US politicians.
When did Churchill make his ‘Iron Curtain’ speech?
5th March 1946
What did Churchill state?
“… an iron curtain has descended across the continent”.
What was announced in March 1947 that was another expression of fear of communism?
The Truman Doctrine.
What did the Truman Doctrine refer to?
The prospect of communist governments being installed in Greece and Turkey.
Who rejected Marshall Aid in the SU?
Soviet Foreign Minister, Molotov.
What did the Russians believe the Marshall Plan was?
A scam to spread capitalism.
What did the Communists set up in September 1947?
The Communist Information Bureau (Cominform).
What was the aim of Cominform?
Reject the West’s offer of financial help and to coordinate economic recovery for Eastern Europe through a programme of cooperation.
What was de-Stalinisation an attempt by Khrushchev to do?
Present Russia in a more positive light to the rest of the world.
What was expensive for Russia?
The nuclear arms race and the space race.
When was NATO founded?
April 1949
When was the Warsaw Pact formed?
May 1955
When was Cominform disbanded?
April 1956
What did Khrushchev do in September 1959?
Flew to the USA for the first time and held negotiations with President Eisenhower, demands over Berlin were withdrawn.
When did the construction of the Berlin Wall begin?
August 1961
When was the Cuban Missile Crisis?
September 1962 to January 1963
What did Kennedy impose in October 1962?
A naval blockade on Cuba and said that any missile launched from Cuba would be met with full-scale retaliatory attack by the USA against the USSR.
What was the significance of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Brink of a major military conflict with the USA.
