1.3.2

Long Telegram & Iron Curtain Speech

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Kennan's Long Telegram, February 1946

Kennan's Long Telegram confirmed the fears of US politicians that the USSR was aggressive and hostile. This telegram inspired Truman to launch the policy of containment.

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Division amongst policymakers

  • In America in 1946 policymakers were very divided on how to deal with the USSR.
    • Some believed that it was right to negotiate and compromise with Stalin to maintain world peace.
    • This contrasted with a real fear of communism and the idea that all communists should be treated with a firm hand.
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The Kennan Telegram

  • In February 1946, the State Department received advice from George Kennan (US Diplomatic expert in Soviet affairs) from the US embassy in Moscow.
  • This advice letter became known as Kennan’s ‘Long Telegram’.
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Kennan's 6 key points

  • In the Long Telegram, Kennan made 6 key points. These were:
    • The USSR views the West as hostile and meddling
    • Peace between the USSR and West is unlikely
    • USSR foreign policy is aggressive and politically/ideologically motivated
    • The USA should prepare to threaten force on the USSR should they continue to expand their land (a necessary war)
    • Prosperity in the West will undermine the policies in the East
    • The USA should become more proactive in helping Europe
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Containment

  • This telegram was hugely significant. It confirmed that Truman needed to have a stronger grip on the situation, so he launched the policy of containment.
  • Containment aimed at strengthening non-communist governments in Europe by providing economic assistance to them.
  • Containment also suggested that the US should stop any negotiations with the USSR and that the US should be determined to stop any further expansion that the USSR should attempt.
  • Stalin thought containment was a direct show of economic power over the USSR and a threat.

Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech, March 1946

Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech called for firm action on the USSR.

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The Iron Curtain Speech

  • Britain’s ex-Prime Minister, Churchill, delivered a speech at Fulton, Missouri (USA) in March 1946.
  • Churchill declared ‘from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent'.
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The figurative 'iron curtain'

  • The 'iron curtain' was the name given to the figurative line that divided the communist east from the capitalist west.
  • The term was made popular by Churchill from his 1946 speech and was then widely used during the Cold War.
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Churchill's proposals

  • To combat the ‘iron curtain’, Churchill wanted a strong alliance between the USA and Britain.
  • Churchill also wanted to make Europe economically strong. If Europe remained poor, it would cause issues for America.
    • Firstly, a poor Europe wouldn’t be able to trade with America.
    • Secondly, poverty was the breeding ground for communism.
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Reaction to the iron curtain speech

  • This speech helped to push the US towards a policy of containment.
  • Stalin did not receive the speech well. He saw it as an attack on the USSR.
  • In an interview with the Soviet newspaper Pravda following Churchill’s speech, Stalin stated that the USA and Britain were meddling and trying to prevent peaceful alliances between all the communist states.
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Primary evidence

  • Historians David Evans and Jane Jenkins, Years of Russia and the USSR 1851-1991 (2001) say that Churchill wrote to Truman in May 1945: “What is to happen about Russia? An iron curtain is drawn down upon their front. We do not know what is happening behind…”
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Primary evidence

  • An extract from the Iron Curtain speech: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the states of central and Eastern Europe-all are subject in one form or another not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and increasing measure of control from Moscow”.
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Primary evidence

  • An extract from Stalin's Pravda interview: 'The influence of communism grew because of the hard years of the mastery of fascism in Europe, communists showed themselves to be reliable, daring and self-sacrificing fighters against the fascist regimes for the liberty of the peoples.'

Jump to other topics

1Origins of the Cold War, 1945-9

2Widening of the Cold War

3The Global War

4Confrontation & Cooperation

5Brezhnev Era

6Ending of the Cold War

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