US Soviet Relations 1945-46 Flashcards
When did the USA drop atom bombs on HIroshima and Nagasaki?
August 1945-the end of ww2
How did the development of the atom bombs make the USA and the West feel?(2)
More confident/secure.
Could use to persuade Stalin to hold free elections in Eastern Europe.
What did Stalin do in reaction to the bomb? (2)
He made a buffer zone with Eastern European countries and the west.
Tested their own atomic bomb.
How did the development of the atom bomb affect USA/USSR relations? (3)
Increased Cold War tensions as the bomb was so powerful.
Made both sides reluctant to go to war.
Arms race between USA and USSR.
What was the Kennan Long telegram?
George Kennan (US ambassador in Moscow) sent a telegram discussing US/Soviet relations. He said USSR wanted to destroy capitalism but would back down if threatened by US.
What was the Novikov telegram?
Nikolai Novikov, a Soviet diplomat in Washington, USA wanted to dominate the world.
How did both telegrams affect US/Soviet relations?
Increased distrust between the two nations.
This led to America’s policy of containment eg stop the USSR spreading communism.
Soviets wanted to protect themselves.
Why did Stalin ensure that every government in Easter Europe was pro Communist?
Stalin wanted a buffer zone between East and West.
The USSR had 2 invasions from Germany in the last 30 years.
Controlling Eastern Europe made future invasions less likely.
How did the USA interpret Stalin entrenching Communism in Eastern Europe?2
They thought that it was Stalin’s aim to spread Communism.
Countries in Europe under threat.
What was the Iron Curtain Speech?
March 1946 - Churchill speech in USA
He said:
Europe divided by Soviet policy
East and West separated by an Iron Curtain.
How did the Iron Curtain Speech affect American Soviet relations?
Increased tensions.
USSR stepped up campaign of Anti Western propaganda.
What were satellite states?
Countries that were freed from Nazi rule by the Red Army.- Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania.
How did Stalin set up pro Communist Governments?
He held elections but they were rigged to ensure Communists won.
Politicians were beaten, intimidated and murdered eg Jan Masaryk.
Soviet troops - 6million in place even after war.
How did Stalin ensure these states relied on the USSR?
Set up COMINFORM in 1947
An Alliance of Communist countries that restricted contact with West.
A response to the Marshall plan.
