The Origins If The Cold War, c1945-1949: US ,British And USSR relations In 1945 - Relations Between Stalin, Roosevelt And Churchill Flashcards
Why did Stalin desperately want to establish security in the USSR?
WWII he devastated the Soviet Union
- estimates suggest 26.6 million soviets died
- it brought mass destruction of towns and cities, agriculture and industry
Russia had been invaded twice in the first half of the 20th century, through Poland
How did the USSR view the grand Alliance?
- Stalin and Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, viewed the Grand Alliance allies as fundamentally anti - USSR
- But Stalin wanted to keep open an avenue of cooperation with the West
What were Stalins priorities in Europe?
- Securing Soviet security through a soviet sphere of influence
- to turn Germany into a Communist state
- Stalin didn’t want to dismember Germany, but keep in economically weak until it could be secured as a communist state
What were Roosevelt’s post - war aims?
- Roosevelt was committed to Cooperation to secure a lasting - post war settlement
- Roosevelt thought the post post war world should strongly reflect the American concept of democracy
-Secure a democratic, and therefore ‘non- communist’ future for Eastern European states - develop management of international affairs through an international peacekeeping organisation
Why was Roosevelt willing to cooperate with Stalin?
- Roosevelt was convinced Stalin shared the same values for a post - war world
- Roosevelt convinced Stalin would hold democratic elections and not expand soviet power
- Roosevelt underestimated the security needs of the Soviet Union in terms of Eastern Europe
How did Churchill view Stalin and the USSR? What was his response to this?
• Churchill was convinced that it was Stalin’s intention to expand
Soviet power in post-war Europe
• Churchill believed that the Soviet Union’s buffer zone could threaten Britain’s imperial interests
• Therefore it was essential that Britain establish a close alliance with the USA in order to counter this potential threat
What did Churchill say to the British Foreign Secretary regarding the USSR?
• In April 1944, Churchill wrote to Anthony Eden
•’I have tried in every way to put myself in sympathy with these communist leaders. I cannot feel the slightest trust or confidence in them.’
How did Churchill and Stalin try to settle matters on spheres of influence?
• In October 1944, Churchill and Stalin met in Moscow - meeting is called ‘the Percentages Agreement’
• To establish the percentage of predominance Britain and the
USSR would each have in Eastern European states
• Romania - USSR had 90%
• Greece - Britain had 90%
• Hungary - 50% each
What did the Percentages Agreement mean for Britain and the USSR?
• Meant that USSR could have buffer zone for security
• Meant that Britain could keep part of the British Empire
• Meant Britain ‘contained’ Soviet expansion at the expense of national self-determination
• Churchill quietly dropped the agreement to preserve the Anglo-
US alliance
What were Churchill’s post war aims?
• To ensure Britain remained an independent Great Power still in possession of its empire
• To remain on friendly terms with both the USA and the USSR
• Establish a democratic gov. in Warsaw, Poland
Why did Churchill fear Soviet expansion?
• Churchill feared Soviet influence spreading into Central Europe and the eastern Mediterranean
• Britain had vital strategic and economic interests there
• The Suez Canal in Egypt was its main route to India
• British industry was increasingly dependent on oil from the
Middle East
• Poland
- Britain had gone to war over Poland, so Churchill also wanted a democratic government in Warsaw
