1.1.5
Early US-Soviet Relations
Early US-Soviet Relations
Early US-Soviet Relations
The development of the atomic bomb, the Long and Novikov telegrams and the creation of Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe were all important events in early US-Soviet relations.
The impact of the atomic bomb (1949)
The impact of the atomic bomb (1949)
- The USA had a usable atomic bomb by the end of the war. It dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on the 6th of August 1945.
- This gave it an advantage until the Soviet Union developed its own in 1949.
- This arms race increased the suspicion between the former allies (USA and Soviet Union).
The impact of the Long telegram (1946)
The impact of the Long telegram (1946)
- The Long telegram was a top-secret memo sent by US Ambassador to the Soviet Union, George Kennan, to Washington.
- It argued to President Truman that the Soviet Union was a threat to capitalism (free markets and free trade between people and nations) and that the Soviet Union had to be destroyed.
- It suggested that the Soviets were building up their naval, military and nuclear power. He was partly right. The Soviets developed the atomic bomb in 1949.
- Most importantly, it said that peace between the USA and the USSR was impossible.
The impact of Novikov’s telegram (1946)
The impact of Novikov’s telegram (1946)
- Nikolai Novikov was the Soviet Union's Ambassador to the USA. He wrote a telegram to Joseph Stalin saying that the USA aimed to be the greatest power in the world, that it was preparing to go to war and that the Soviets were the only nation that could stop the USA from becoming the dominant military and economic power in the world.
The impact of the Soviet satellite states
The impact of the Soviet satellite states
- The allies had agreed at Yalta that Poland would be run under a democratic model. However, Stalin broke this promise, turning it into a satellite state (a country effectively controlled by the Soviet Union). The Polish communists, Gomułka and Bierut, led a movement driven by the Soviets.
- As the Soviet Union had been invaded twice by Germany (in 1914 when it was Tsarist Russia and 1941), resulting in huge territorial, industrial and human loss, Stalin viewed the satellite states as a necessary buffer against invasion.
- However, Britain and the USA saw this extension of authority as an example of how the Soviet Union wanted to spread communism. They viewed this as a threat to the West.
'Salami tactics'
'Salami tactics'
- While the Soviet Union had agreed to hold democratic and fair elections at the wartime conferences, they broke their promise between 1945 and 1950.
- They used something called 'salami tactics' to fix elections. In some Eastern European nations, the Soviet candidates won the elections. In others, like Hungary, even if they lost, the Soviet candidates would imprison or kill the winning candidates and take control.
- By 1950, the Soviets had satellite states in East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland.
The Soviet justification for satellite states
The Soviet justification for satellite states
- The Soviet Union’s actions were seen by many as an attempt at expansion.
- But Stalin saw them as merely consolidating their position, creating a buffer zone in Eastern Europe to protect it from attack.
1The Cold War
1.1Early Tension
1.2The Development of the Cold War
1.3The Cold War Intensifies
1.4Cold War Crises, 1958–70
1.5Attempts to Reduce Tension Between East & West
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1The Cold War
1.1Early Tension
1.2The Development of the Cold War
1.3The Cold War Intensifies
1.4Cold War Crises, 1958–70
1.5Attempts to Reduce Tension Between East & West
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