Becoming the largest and most brutal conflict in the entire history of mankind, a confrontation arose between the countries of the communist camp on the one hand and Western capitalist countries on the other, between the two superpowers of that time - the USSR and the USA. The Cold War can be briefly described as a competition for dominance in the new post-war world.
The main reason for the Cold War was the insoluble ideological contradictions between two models of society - socialist and capitalist. The West feared the strengthening of the USSR. The absence of a common enemy among the victorious countries, as well as ambitions, also played a role. political leaders.
Historians identify the following stages of the Cold War:
1953-1962: During this period of the Cold War, the world was on the brink of nuclear conflict. Despite some improvement in relations between the Soviet Union and the United States during Khrushchev's Thaw, it was at this stage that events took place in the GDR and Poland, the anti-communist uprising in Hungary, as well as the Suez Crisis. International tensions increased following the Soviet development and successful testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile in 1957.
However, the threat of nuclear war receded as the Soviet Union was now able to retaliate against US cities. This period of relations between the superpowers ended with the Berlin and Caribbean crises of 1961 and 1962. respectively. Allow Caribbean crisis succeeded only during personal negotiations between the heads of state - Khrushchev and Kennedy. As a result of the negotiations, agreements on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons were signed.
The end of the Cold War was caused by the weakness of the Soviet economy, its inability to no longer support the arms race, as well as pro-Soviet communist regimes. Anti-war protests in different parts of the world also played a certain role. The results of the Cold War were dismal for the USSR. The symbol of the victory of the West was the reunification of Germany in 1990.
After the USSR was defeated in the Cold War, a unipolar world model emerged with the United States as the dominant superpower. However, these are not the only consequences of the Cold War. The rapid development of science and technology, primarily military, began. Thus, the Internet was originally created as a communications system for the American army.
Many documentaries and feature films have been made about the Cold War period. One of them, telling in detail about the events of those years, is “Heroes and Victims of the Cold War.”
Cold War
Cold War is a military, political, ideological and economic confrontation between the USSR and the USA and their supporters. It was a consequence of the contradictions between two state systems: capitalist and socialist.
The Cold War was accompanied by an intensification of the arms race and the presence of nuclear weapons, which could lead to a third world war.
The term was first used by the writer George Orwell October 19, 1945, in the article “You and the Atomic Bomb.”
Period:
1946-1989
Causes of the Cold War
Political
An insoluble ideological contradiction between two systems and models of society.
The West and the United States are afraid of the strengthening role of the USSR.
Economic
The struggle for resources and markets for products
Weakening the economic and military power of the enemy
Ideological
Total, irreconcilable struggle of two ideologies
The desire to shield the population of their countries from the way of life in enemy countries
Goals of the parties
Consolidate the spheres of influence achieved during World War II.
Put the enemy in unfavorable political, economic and ideological conditions
USSR goal: complete and final victory of socialism on a global scale
US goal: containment of socialism, opposition to the revolutionary movement, in the future - “throw socialism into the dustbin of history.” The USSR was seen as "evil empire"
Conclusion: Neither side was right, each sought world domination.
The forces of the parties were not equal. The USSR bore all the hardships of the war, and the United States received huge profits from it. Only by the mid-1970s was it achieved parity.
Cold War weapons:
Arms race
Bloc confrontation
Destabilization of the enemy's military and economic situation
Psychological warfare
Ideological confrontation
Interference in domestic politics
Active intelligence activity
Collection of incriminating evidence on political leaders, etc.
Main periods and events
March 5, 1946- W. Churchill's speech in Fulton(USA) - the beginning of the Cold War, in which the idea of creating an alliance to fight communism was proclaimed. Speech by the British Prime Minister in the presence of the new American President Truman G. two goals:
Prepare the Western public for the subsequent gap between the winning countries.
Literally erase from people’s consciousness the feeling of gratitude to the USSR that appeared after the victory over fascism.
The United States has set a goal: to achieve economic and military superiority over the USSR
1947 – "Truman Doctrine"" Its essence: containing the spread of the expansion of the USSR by creating regional military blocs dependent on the United States.
1947 - Marshall Plan - aid program for Europe after World War II
1948-1953 - Soviet-Yugoslav conflict over the question of ways to build socialism in Yugoslavia.
The world is split into two camps: supporters of the USSR and supporters of the USA.
1949 - the split of Germany into the capitalist Federal Republic of Germany, the capital is Bonn, and the Soviet GDR, the capital is Berlin. (Before this, the two zones were called Bisonia)
1949 – creation NATO(North Atlantic Military-Political Alliance)
1949 – creation Comecon(Council for Mutual Economic Assistance)
1949 - successful trial atomic bomb in USSR.
1950 -1953 – Korean War. The USA participated in it directly, and the USSR participated in a veiled manner, sending military specialists to Korea.
US target: prevent Soviet influence on Far East. Bottom line: division of the country into the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea (capital Pyongyang), established close contacts with the USSR, + into the South Korean state (Seoul) - a zone of American influence.
2nd period: 1955-1962 (cooling in relations between countries , growing contradictions in the world socialist system)
At this time, the world was on the verge of a nuclear disaster.
Anti-communist protests in Hungary, Poland, events in the GDR, Suez crisis
1955 - creation OVD- Warsaw Pact organizations.
1955 - Geneva Conference of Heads of Government of the Victorious Countries.
1957 - development and successful testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile in the USSR, which increased tension in the world.
October 4, 1957 - opened space age. Launch of the first artificial earth satellite in the USSR.
1959 - victory of the revolution in Cuba (Fidel Castro). Cuba became one of the most reliable partners of the USSR.
1961 - worsening relations with China.
1962 – Caribbean crisis. Settled by N.S. Khrushchev And D. Kennedy
Signing of a number of agreements on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
An arms race that significantly weakened the economies of countries.
1962 - complication of relations with Albania
1963-USSR, UK and USA signed first nuclear test ban treaty in three spheres: atmosphere, space and underwater.
1968 - complications in relations with Czechoslovakia (“Prague Spring”).
Dissatisfaction with Soviet policy in Hungary, Poland, and the GDR.
1964-1973- US war in Vietnam. The USSR provided military and material assistance to Vietnam.
3rd period: 1970-1984- tension strip
1970s - the USSR made a number of attempts to strengthen “ détente" international tension, arms reduction.
A number of agreements on the limitation of strategic weapons have been signed. So in 1970 there was an agreement between Germany (W. Brand) and the USSR (Brezhnev L.I.), according to which the parties pledged to resolve all their disputes exclusively peacefully.
May 1972 - American President R. Nixon arrived in Moscow. Treaty limiting missile defense systems signed (PRO) And OSV-1- Interim Agreement on Certain Measures in the Field of Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms.
Convention on the prohibition of development, production and accumulation of reserves bacteriological(biological) and toxic weapons and their destruction.
1975- the highest point of détente, signed in August in Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe And Declaration of Principles on Relationships Between states. 33 states signed it, including the USSR, USA, and Canada.
Sovereign equality, respect
Non-use of force and threats of force
Inviolability of borders
Territorial integrity
Non-interference in internal affairs
Peaceful settlement of disputes
Respect for human rights and freedoms
Equality, the right of peoples to control their own destinies
Cooperation between states
Conscientious fulfillment of obligations under international law
1975 - joint space program"Soyuz-Apollo".
1979- Treaty on the Limitation of Offensive Arms – OSV-2(Brezhnev L.I. and Carter D.)
What are these principles?
4th period: 1979-1987 - complication of the international situation
The USSR became a truly great power that had to be reckoned with. The detente of tension was mutually beneficial.
The aggravation of relations with the United States in connection with the entry of USSR troops into Afghanistan in 1979 (the war lasted from December 1979 to February 1989). USSR goal- protect borders in Central Asia against the penetration of Islamic fundamentalism. Eventually- The United States did not ratify SALT II.
Since 1981, the new President Reagan R. launched programs SOI– Strategic defense initiatives.
1983- US hosts ballistic missiles in Italy, England, Germany, Belgium, Denmark.
Anti-space defense systems are being developed.
The USSR withdraws from the Geneva negotiations.
5 period: 1985-1991 - the final stage, mitigation of tension.
Having come to power in 1985, Gorbachev M.S. pursues a policy "new political thinking".
Negotiations: 1985 - in Geneva, 1986 - in Reykjavik, 1987 - in Washington. Recognition of the existing world order, expansion of economic ties between countries, despite different ideologies.
December 1989- Gorbachev M.S. and Bush at the summit on the island of Malta announced about the end of the Cold War. Its end was caused by the economic weakness of the USSR and its inability to further support the arms race. In addition, pro-Soviet regimes were established in Eastern European countries, and the USSR lost support from them as well.
1990 - German reunification. It became a kind of victory for the West in the Cold War. A fall Berlin Wall(existed from August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989)
December 25, 1991 - President D. Bush announced the end of the Cold War and congratulated his compatriots on their victory.
Results
The formation of a unipolar world, in which the United States, a superpower, began to occupy a leading position.
The United States and its allies defeated the socialist camp.
The beginning of the Westernization of Russia
The collapse of the Soviet economy, the decline of its authority in the international market
The emigration of Russian citizens to the West, his lifestyle seemed too attractive to them.
The collapse of the USSR and the beginning of the formation of a new Russia.
Terms
Parity- the primacy of a party in something.
Confrontation– confrontation, collision of two social systems (people, groups, etc.).
Ratification– giving the document legal force, its acceptance.
Westernization– borrowing a Western European or American way of life.
Material prepared by: Melnikova Vera Aleksandrovna
Ufa State Aviation Technical University
Department of History of the Fatherland and Cultural Studies
in history
"Cold War": causes, essence, consequences
Completed:
Gaisin A.N.
FIRT student
Group PIE-210z
Introduction
1.The beginning of the Cold War
Causes of the Cold War
2 Construction of the Berlin Wall
3 Cuban Missile Crisis
4 Vietnam War
5 Afghan War
4. Consequences
Conclusion
Bibliography
INTRODUCTION
The unity of the victorious countries could not be strong. The USSR, on the one hand, and the USA, Great Britain and France, on the other, represented different social systems. Stalin sought to expand the territory led by the communist parties. The Soviet Union sought to gain access to resources that were previously controlled by capitalist countries. The United States and its allies sought to maintain their dominance in Asia, Africa and Latin America. All this brought humanity to the brink of the third world war. The confrontation between the USSR and the USA, which unfolded in the mid-40s-80s of the twentieth century and was called the “Cold War,” never resulted in a “hot” war, although it constantly led to conflicts in certain regions. The Cold War caused a split in the world into two camps, gravitating towards the USSR and the USA. The term "Cold War" was coined by Churchill during his speech in Fulton (USA) on March 5, 1946. No longer the leader of his country, Churchill remained one of the most influential politicians in the world. In his speech, he stated that Europe was divided by the “Iron Curtain” and called on Western civilization to declare war on “communism.” In fact, the war between two systems, two ideologies has not stopped since 1917, however, it took shape as a completely conscious confrontation precisely after the Second World War.
Why did it start only after the Second World War? Obviously, this was dictated by the time itself, the era itself. The allies came out of this war so strong, and the means of warfare became so destructive that it became clear: sorting things out using the old methods was too much of a luxury. However, the desire to harass the other side among the coalition partners has not diminished. To a certain extent, the initiative to start the Cold War belonged to Western countries, for which the power of the USSR, which became obvious during the Second World War, turned out to be a very unpleasant surprise.
So, the Cold War arose shortly after the end of World War II, when the Allies began to take stock of its results. What did they see? Firstly, half of Europe found itself in the Soviet zone of influence, and pro-Soviet regimes were feverishly emerging there. Secondly, a powerful wave of liberation movements arose in the colonies against the mother countries. Thirdly, the world quickly polarized and turned into a bipolar one. Fourthly, two superpowers emerged on the world stage, whose military and economic power gave them significant superiority over others. Plus, the interests of Western countries in various parts of the globe are beginning to collide with the interests of the USSR. It was this new state of the world that emerged after the Second World War that Churchill realized faster than others when he proclaimed the “Cold War.”
1.THE BEGINNING OF THE COLD WAR
In 1945, there was a deep disparity in power and strength between the two main victor countries. Even before the war, imbalances were shifting in America's favor, especially in the economy. But hostilities drove these two countries even further apart. opposite direction. The war did not touch American soil: the fighting took place far from the shores of America. The US economy, which was the main supplier and financier of the entire victorious coalition, experienced an unprecedented leap between 1939 and 1945. The potential of US industrial capacity increased by 50%, production increased by 2.5 times. They produced 4 times more equipment and 7 times more vehicles. Agricultural production increased by 36%. Wages grew, as did all incomes of the population.
Inequality also manifested itself in relation to the possession of nuclear weapons. As you know, until 1949, the only power with an atomic bomb was the United States. The Americans did not hide the fact that they perceived nuclear weapons as an attribute of the power of a great power, as a means of intimidating a potential enemy - the USSR and its allies, as a means of pressure.
I.V. Stalin considered it necessary to create a military counterweight to the United States. Since 1949, he became convinced of the possibility of destabilizing the capitalist system and the approach of the proletarian revolution in the West.
For its part, the US leadership sought to implement a policy “from a position of strength” and tried to use all its economic and military-political power to put pressure on the USSR. In 1946, US President Henry Truman's doctrine of "limiting communist expansion" was proclaimed, supported in 1947 by the doctrine of economic assistance to "free peoples" (the "Marshall Plan", which was abandoned by the USSR). This meant a turn to the Cold War, which predetermined the deterioration of the international climate and created the threat of military-political crises. Stalin faced a difficult dilemma: whether to resist the pressure that his former allies, now armed with the atomic bomb, were putting on the USSR in conditions when the country was exhausted. Stalin was convinced that the United States and England would not dare to start a war. The Soviet government decided to speed up work on producing its own atomic bomb. The work, carried out in strict secrecy, began in full from August-September 1945. After Potsdam and Hiroshima, Stalin formed, under the supreme control of Beria, a special committee headed by People's Commissar Vannikov, designed to supervise all activities to create new weapons.
The deterioration of relations with the Western world, as well as the revival of imperial ambitions, pushed the Soviet leadership to consolidate control over the Central and Southeast Europe. In response to the US attempt to link the Western occupation zones with Western European states through economic and political agreements, the USSR and under its pressure, the Eastern European countries refused to participate in the American assistance program, and subsequently in the activities of international economic organizations. This is what the world was like after the war. The role of the communists has grown greatly, the authority of the USSR in the world has risen high. This was clearly not beneficial for the USA, Great Britain and other major capitalist powers. The confrontation between the West and the Soviet Union began to become acute. Moreover, Stalin was irritated by the economic power of the United States after the war, in which the states suffered almost no losses. They began to talk more and more often about the bipolar structure of the world; the USSR, which was in ruins, was gradually rising to its feet. Two superpowers rose above all others - the USSR and the USA. Gradually, unnoticed by both opposing camps, an arms race began between them - the Cold War.
Its beginning was associated with atomic weapons. The American military, thinking in the usual categories of naked force, began to look for the appropriate means to strike the “enemy,” that is, the Soviet Union. The philosophical stone in solving a problem that seemed insoluble in the recommendations dating back to 1943-1944 was atomic weapons. Support for the position of the United States by the majority of countries in the world was combined with their exceptional position as holders of a monopoly on the atomic bomb: the Americans again demonstrated their power by conducting test explosions on Bikini Atoll in the summer of 1946. Stalin made a number of statements during this period in order to downplay the importance of the new weapon. These statements set the tone for all Soviet propaganda. But the behavior of the representatives of the Soviet Union in private showed their great concern in reality.
But the American monopoly on nuclear weapons lasted only four years. In 1949, the USSR tested its first atomic bomb. This event was a real shock for the Western world and an important milestone in the Cold War. In the course of further accelerated development in the USSR, nuclear and then thermonuclear weapons were soon created. Fighting has become very dangerous for everyone, and is fraught with very bad consequences. The nuclear potential accumulated over the years of the Cold War was enormous, but the gigantic stockpiles of destructive weapons were of no use, and the costs of their production and storage were growing. If earlier they said “we can destroy you, but you cannot destroy us,” now the wording has changed. They began to say “you can destroy us 38 times, and we can destroy you 64 times!” The debate is fruitless, especially considering that if a war broke out and one of the opponents used nuclear weapons, very soon there would be nothing left not only of him, but of the entire planet.
The arms race was growing at a rapid pace. As soon as one of the sides created some fundamentally new weapon, its opponent threw all its forces and resources into achieving the same thing. Crazy competition affected all areas of the military industry. They competed everywhere: in creating the latest systems small arms (the US responded to the Soviet AKM with the M-16), in new designs of tanks, aircraft, ships and submarines, but perhaps the most dramatic competition was in the creation of missile technology. The entire so-called peaceful space in those days was not even visible part iceberg, but a snow cap on the visible part. The USA has overtaken the USSR in the number of nuclear weapons. The USSR overtook the USA in rocket science. The USSR was the first in the world to launch a satellite, and in 1961 it was the first to send a man into space. The Americans could not bear such obvious superiority. The result is their landing on the moon. At this point, the parties reached strategic parity. However, this did not stop the arms race. On the contrary, it has spread to all sectors that have at least some connection with weapons. This could, for example, include the race to create supercomputers. Here the West took unconditional revenge for lagging behind in the field of rocket science, since for purely ideological reasons the USSR missed a breakthrough in this area.
The arms race has even affected education. After Gagarin's flight, the United States was forced to reconsider the foundations of the education system and introduce fundamentally new teaching methods.
The arms race was subsequently voluntarily suspended by both sides. A number of treaties were concluded limiting the accumulation of weapons.
3.CAUSES OF THE COLD WAR
The Cold War was characterized by the frequent appearance of “hot” spots. Each local conflict was brought to the world stage, thanks to the fact that Cold War opponents supported the opposing sides. Let's take a look at some of the "hot spots".
3.1 Korean War
In 1945, Soviet and American troops liberated Korea from Japanese army. US troops are located south of the 38th parallel, and the Red Army to the north. Thus, the Korean Peninsula was divided into two parts. In the North, the communists came to power, in the South - the military, relying on the help of the United States. Two states were formed on the peninsula - the northern Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the southern Republic of Korea. The North Korean leadership dreamed of uniting the country, even if only by force of arms.
In 1950, North Korean leader Kim Il Sung visited Moscow and enlisted the support of the Soviet Union. Plans for the "military liberation" of South Korea were also approved by Chinese leader Mao Zedong. At dawn on June 25, 1950, the North Korean army moved to the south of the country. Her offensive was so powerful that within three days she occupied the capital of the South, Seoul. Then the advance of the northerners slowed down, but by mid-September almost the entire peninsula was in their hands. It seemed that only one decisive effort separated the army of the north from final victory. However, on July 7, the UN Security Council voted to send international troops to help South Korea.
And in September, UN troops (mostly American) came to the aid of the southerners. They launched a powerful attack on the North from the area that was still held by the South Korean army. At the same time, troops were landed on the west coast, cutting the peninsula in half. Events began to develop with the same speed in reverse side. The Americans occupied Seoul, crossed the 38th parallel and continued their offensive against the DPRK. North Korea was on the brink of complete disaster when China suddenly intervened. The Chinese leadership proposed, without declaring war on the United States, to send troops to help North Korea. In China they were officially called "people's volunteers." In October, about a million Chinese soldiers crossed the border Yalu River and engaged the Americans in battle. Soon the front lined up along the 38th parallel.
The war continued for another three years. During the American offensive in 1950, the Soviet Union sent several air divisions to help North Korea. The Americans were significantly superior to the Chinese in technology. China suffered heavy losses. On July 27, 1953, the war ended with a truce. In North Korea, the government of Kim Il Sung, friendly to the USSR and China, remained in power, accepting honorary title"great leader"
3.2 Construction of the Berlin Wall
In 1955, the division of Europe between East and West finally took shape. However, a clear line of confrontation has not yet completely divided Europe. There was only one open “window” left in it - Berlin. The city was divided in half, with East Berlin being the capital of the GDR, and West Berlin being considered part of the Federal Republic of Germany. Two opposing social systems coexisted within the same city, while every Berliner could easily get “from socialism to capitalism” and back, moving from one street to another. Every day up to 500 thousand people crossed this invisible border in both directions. Many East Germans, taking advantage of the open border, left for the West permanently. Thousands of people were resettled in this way every year, which greatly worried the East German authorities. And in general, the wide-open window in the “Iron Curtain” did not at all correspond to the general spirit of the era.
In August 1961, Soviet and East German authorities decided to close the border between the two parts of Berlin. Tension in the city grew. Western countries protested the division of the city. Finally, in October, the confrontation reached its climax. American tanks lined up at the Brandenburg Gate and on Friedrichstrasse, near the main checkpoints. Soviet combat vehicles came out to meet them. For more than a day, the tanks of the USSR and the USA stood with their guns aimed at each other. Periodically, the tankers turned on their engines, as if preparing for an attack. The tension was somewhat relieved only after the Soviet, and after them, American tanks retreated to other streets. However, Western countries finally recognized the division of the city only ten years later. It was formalized by an agreement between four powers (USSR, USA, England and France), signed in 1971. Throughout the world, the construction of the Berlin Wall was perceived as a symbolic completion of the post-war division of Europe.
cold war revolution crisis
3.3 Cuban Missile Crisis
On January 1959, a revolution led by 32-year-old guerrilla leader Fidel Castro won in Cuba. The new government began a decisive struggle against American influence on the island. Needless to say, the Soviet Union fully supported the Cuban Revolution. However, the Havana authorities seriously feared a US military invasion. In May 1962, Nikita Khrushchev put forward an unexpected idea - to place Soviet nuclear missiles on the island. He jokingly explained this step by saying that the imperialists “need to put a hedgehog in their pants.” After some deliberation, Cuba agreed to the Soviet proposal, and in the summer of 1962, 42 nuclear-tipped missiles and bombers capable of carrying nuclear bombs were sent to the island. The transfer of missiles was carried out in the strictest secrecy, but already in September the US leadership suspected something was wrong. On September 4, President John Kennedy said that the United States would under no circumstances tolerate Soviet nuclear missiles 150 km from its coast. In response, Khrushchev assured Kennedy that there were and would not be any Soviet missiles or nuclear weapons in Cuba.
October, an American reconnaissance plane photographed missile launch sites from the air. In an atmosphere of strict secrecy, the US leadership began to discuss retaliatory measures. On October 22, President Kennedy addressed the American people on radio and television. He reported that Soviet missiles had been discovered in Cuba and demanded that the USSR immediately remove them. Kennedy announced that the United States was beginning a naval blockade of Cuba. On October 24, at the request of the USSR, the UN Security Council urgently met. The Soviet Union continued to stubbornly deny the presence of nuclear missiles in Cuba. The situation in the Caribbean Sea became increasingly tense. Two dozen Soviet ships were heading towards Cuba. The American ships were ordered to stop them, if necessary by fire. True, it didn’t come to sea battles. Khrushchev ordered several Soviet ships to stop at the blockade line.
On October 23, an exchange of official letters began between Moscow and Washington. In his first messages, N. Khrushchev indignantly called the actions of the United States “pure banditry” and “the madness of degenerate imperialism.”
Within days, it became clear that the United States was determined to remove the missiles at any cost. On October 26, Khrushchev sent a more conciliatory message to Kennedy. He recognized that Cuba had powerful Soviet weapons. At the same time, Nikita Sergeevich convinced the president that the USSR was not going to attack America. As he put it, “Only crazy people can do this or suicides who want to die themselves and destroy the whole world before that.” Khrushchev offered John Kennedy a commitment not to attack Cuba; then the Soviet Union will be able to remove its weapons from the island. The President of the United States responded that the United States was willing to make a gentleman's commitment not to invade Cuba if the USSR withdrew its offensive weapons. Thus the first steps towards peace were taken.
But on October 27, the “Black Saturday” of the Cuban crisis came, when only a miracle did not break out a new World War. In those days, squadrons of American aircraft flew over Cuba twice a day for the purpose of intimidation. And here is October 27 Soviet troops In Cuba, one of the US reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile. Its pilot, Anderson, was killed. The situation escalated to the limit, the US President decided two days later to begin bombing Soviet missile bases and a military attack on the island.
However, on Sunday, October 28, the Soviet leadership decided to accept the American conditions. The decision to remove the missiles from Cuba was made without the consent of the Cuban leadership. Perhaps this was done deliberately, since Fidel Castro categorically objected to the removal of the missiles. International tensions began to subside quickly after October 28. The Soviet Union removed its missiles and bombers from Cuba. On November 20, the United States lifted the naval blockade of the island. The Cuban (or Caribbean) crisis ended peacefully.
3.4 Vietnam War
The Vietnam War began with an incident in the Gulf of Tonkin, during which DRV coast guard ships fired on American destroyers providing fire support to South Vietnamese government forces in their fight against guerrillas. After this, everything secret became clear and the conflict developed according to the already familiar pattern. One of the superpowers entered the war openly, and the second did everything in its power to make the war “not boring.” The war that the United States thought would be a cakewalk turned out to be America's nightmare. Anti-war demonstrations rocked the country. Young people rebelled against the senseless slaughter. In 1975, the United States thought it best to announce that it had “completed its mission” and begin evacuating its military contingent. This war greatly shocked the entire American society and led to major reforms. The post-war crisis lasted more than 10 years. It’s hard to say how it would have ended if the Afghan crisis had not come along.
3.5 Afghan War
In April 1978, a coup took place in Afghanistan, later called the April Revolution. Afghan communists came to power - the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). The government was headed by writer Noor Mohammed Taraki. However, within a few months, a sharp struggle broke out within the ruling party. In August 1979, a confrontation broke out between the two leaders of the party - Taraki and Amin. On September 16, Taraki was removed from his post, expelled from the party and taken into custody. He died soon after. These events caused discontent in Moscow, although outwardly everything remained as before. The mass “cleansings” and executions that began in Afghanistan among the party were condemned. And since they reminded the Soviet leaders of the Chinese “cultural revolution,” fears arose that Amin might break with the USSR and move closer to China. Amin repeatedly asked for the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan to strengthen revolutionary power. Finally, on December 12, 1979, the Soviet leadership decided to fulfill his request, but at the same time remove Amin himself. Soviet troops were sent into Afghanistan, Amin was killed by a grenade explosion during the storming of the presidential palace. Now Soviet newspapers called him a “CIA agent” and wrote about the “bloody clique of Amin and his minions.”
In the West, the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan caused violent protests. WITH new strength The Cold War broke out. On January 14, 1980, the UN General Assembly demanded the withdrawal of “foreign troops” from Afghanistan. 104 states voted for this decision.
Meanwhile, in Afghanistan itself, armed resistance to Soviet troops began to intensify. It was, of course, not Amin’s supporters who fought against them, but opponents of the revolutionary government in general. At first, the Soviet press claimed that there were no battles in Afghanistan, that peace and tranquility reigned there. However, the war did not subside, and when this became clear, the USSR admitted that “bandits were rampaging” in the republic. They were called "dushmans", that is, enemies. Secretly, through Pakistan, they were supported by the United States, helping with weapons and money. The United States knew well what war against an armed people was. The experience of the Vietnam War was used 100%, with only one small difference, the roles changed. Now the USSR was at war with an underdeveloped country, and the United States helped it feel what a difficult thing it was. The rebels controlled large parts of Afghanistan. All of them were united by the slogan of jihad - the holy Islamic war. They called themselves "Mujahideen" - fighters for the faith. Otherwise, the rebel groups' programs varied widely.
The war in Afghanistan has not stopped for more than nine years... More than a million Afghans died during the fighting. Soviet troops, according to official data, lost 14,453 people killed.
In June 1987, the first, so far symbolic, steps towards establishing peace were taken. The new Kabul government offered "national reconciliation" to the rebels. In April 1988, the Soviet Union signed an agreement in Geneva on the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. On May 15, the troops began to leave. Nine months later, on February 15, 1989, the last Soviet soldier left Afghanistan. For the Soviet Union, the Afghan war ended on this day.
4. CONSEQUENCES
The dismantling of the Berlin Wall is considered the last milestone of the Cold War. That is, we can talk about its results. But this is perhaps the most difficult thing. Because for everyone the consequences are twofold.
What are they like for the USSR and present-day Russia? After the Second World War, the USSR restructured its economy in such a way that the overwhelming majority of funds went to the military-industrial complex, since the USSR could not afford to be weaker than the United States. This turned the USSR into a country of general shortages and a weak economy, and destroyed the once mighty power. However, on the other hand, thanks to this political map Another state has appeared - the Russian Federation, the state in which we now live, which is developing and building exclusively friendly and partnership relations with other countries.
What about the USA? First of all, they lost a dangerous rival in the person of the USSR, and lost a partner in the person of the Russian Federation. And secondly, by helping the “dushmans” in Afghanistan, they gave birth to a worldwide evil - international terrorism.
And finally, the Cold War emphasized that the main component that determined the victory of one of the sides was universal human values, which neither the fantastic development of technology nor sophisticated ideological influence could outweigh.
CONCLUSION
A slight detente in the confrontation occurred in the 70s. Its crowning achievement was the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. The participating countries deliberated for two years, and in 1975 in Helsinki, these countries signed the Final Act of the meeting. On the USSR side, it was sealed by Leonid Brezhnev. This document legitimized the post-war division of Europe, which is what the USSR sought. In exchange for this Western concession, the Soviet Union pledged to respect human rights.
Shortly before this, in July 1975, the famous Soviet-American joint flight to spaceships"Soyuz" and "Apollo". The USSR stopped jamming Western radio broadcasts. It seemed that the Cold War era was forever a thing of the past. However, in December 1979, Soviet troops entered Afghanistan - another period of the Cold War began. Relations between the West and the East reached a freezing point when, by decision of the Soviet leadership, a South Korean plane with civilian passengers on board was shot down, which ended up in Soviet airspace. After this event, US President Ronald Reagan called the USSR “an evil empire and the center of evil.” It was only by 1987 that relations between East and West began to gradually improve again. In 1988-89, with the beginning of perestroika, dramatic changes occurred in Soviet politics. In November 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. On July 1, 1991, the Warsaw Pact was dissolved. The socialist camp collapsed. In a number of countries - its former members - democratic revolutions took place, which were not only not condemned, but were supported by the USSR. The Soviet Union also refused to expand its influence in third world countries. Such a sharp turn in Soviet foreign policy in the West is associated with the name of USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Encyclopedia for children. T.5, part 3. Moscow "Avanta+". 1998.
History of Russia: Educational minimum for applicants. "Graduate School". Moscow. 2001.
N.N.Yakovlev. "CIA against the USSR." "Young guard". Moscow.1983.
Stephen Ambrose. "Eisenhower - soldier and president." "LTD Book." 1993.
Winston Churchill. "The Second World War".T3. "Military Publishing House". 1991.
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Ephraim Katzir |
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Yitzhak Navon |
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Chaim Herzog |
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Mohammad Reza Pahlavi |
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Mobutu Sese Seko |
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The global geopolitical, economic and ideological confrontation between the Soviet Union and its allies, on the one hand, and the United States and its allies, on the other, lasted from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s.
One of the main components of the confrontation was ideology. The deep contradiction between the capitalist and socialist models is the main cause of the Cold War. The two superpowers - winners of World War II - tried to rebuild the world according to their ideological principles. Over time, confrontation became an element of the ideology of the two sides and helped the leaders of military-political blocs consolidate allies around them “in the face of an external enemy.” The new confrontation required the unity of all members of the opposing blocs.
The expression “Cold War” was first used on April 16, 1947 by Bernard Baruch, an adviser to US President Harry Truman, in a speech before the South Carolina House of Representatives.
The internal logic of the confrontation required the parties to participate in conflicts and interfere in the development of events in any part of the world. The efforts of the USA and the USSR were aimed primarily at dominance in the military sphere. From the very beginning of the confrontation, the process of militarization of the two superpowers unfolded.
The USA and the USSR created their spheres of influence, securing them with military-political blocs - NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Although the United States and the USSR never entered into direct military confrontation, their competition for influence often led to the outbreak of local armed conflicts around the world.
The Cold War was accompanied by a conventional and nuclear arms race that continually threatened to lead to a third world war. The most famous of such cases when the world found itself on the brink of disaster was the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. In this regard, in the 1970s, both sides made efforts to “détente” international tensions and limit arms.
The growing technological backwardness of the USSR, along with the stagnation of the Soviet economy and exorbitant military spending in the late 1970s and early 1980s, forced the Soviet leadership to take political and economic reforms. The policy of perestroika and glasnost announced by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985 led to the loss of the leading role of the CPSU and also contributed to the economic collapse in the USSR. Ultimately, the USSR, burdened by an economic crisis, as well as social and interethnic problems, collapsed in 1991.
In Eastern Europe, communist governments, having lost Soviet support, were removed even earlier, in 1989-1990. The Warsaw Pact officially ended on July 1, 1991, which can be considered the end of the Cold War.
The establishment of Soviet control over the countries of Eastern Europe at the end of World War II, in particular the creation of a pro-Soviet government in Poland as opposed to the Polish émigré government in London, led to the fact that the ruling circles of Great Britain and the United States began to perceive the USSR as a threat.
In April 1945, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the preparation of a plan for war against the USSR. The task was preceded by the conclusions that Churchill presented in his memoirs:
The operation plan was prepared by the joint planning staff of the British War Cabinet. The plan provides an assessment of the situation, formulates the objectives of the operation, defines the forces involved, the direction of attacks by the Western allies and their likely results.
The planners came to two main conclusions:
It should be pointed out that Churchill indicated in comments on the draft plan presented to him that it was a “precautionary measure” for what he hoped would be a “purely hypothetical case.”
In 1945, the USSR presented territorial claims to Turkey and demanded a change in the status of the Black Sea straits, including recognition of the USSR's right to create a naval base in the Dardanelles.
In 1946, Greek rebels, led by communists and fueled by arms supplies from Albania, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, where communists were already in power, became more active. At the London meeting of foreign ministers, the USSR demanded the right to a protectorate over Tripolitania (Libya) in order to ensure its presence in the Mediterranean.
In France and Italy, the Communist parties became the largest political parties and the communists became part of the governments. After the withdrawal of the bulk of American troops from Europe, the USSR became the dominant military force in continental Europe. Everything was favorable for Stalin to establish complete control over Europe, if he so desired.
Part politicians The West began to advocate the pacification of the USSR. This position was most clearly expressed by US Secretary of Commerce Henry Wallace. He considered the USSR's claims to be justified and proposed to agree to a kind of division of the world, recognizing the USSR's right to dominance in a number of areas of Europe and Asia. Churchill had a different point of view.
The formal beginning of the Cold War is often considered to be March 5, 1946, when Winston Churchill (at that time no longer serving as Prime Minister of Great Britain) made his famous speech in Fulton (USA, Missouri), in which he put forward the idea of creating a military alliance of Anglo-Saxon countries with goal of the fight against world communism. In fact, the aggravation of relations between the allies began earlier, but by March 1946 it intensified due to the USSR’s refusal to withdraw occupation troops from Iran (the troops were withdrawn only in May 1946 under pressure from Great Britain and the USA). Churchill's speech outlined a new reality, which the retired British leader, after protesting his deep respect and admiration for “the valiant Russian people and my wartime comrade Marshal Stalin,” defined as follows:
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...From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, the Iron Curtain stretched across the continent. On the other side of the imaginary line are all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. (...)Communist parties, which were very small in all eastern states Europe, seized power everywhere and received unlimited totalitarian control. Police governments prevail almost everywhere, and so far, except in Czechoslovakia, there is no real democracy anywhere. Turkey and Persia are also deeply alarmed and concerned about the demands that the Moscow government is making on them. The Russians made an attempt in Berlin to create a quasi-communist party in their zone of occupation of Germany (...) If the Soviet government now tries to separately create a pro-communist Germany in its zone, it will cause new serious difficulties in the British and American zones and divide the defeated Germans between the Soviets and the Western democracies. (...) The facts are: this, of course, is not the liberated Europe for which we fought. This is not what is needed for permanent peace. |
Churchill called not to repeat the mistakes of the 30s and to consistently defend the values of freedom, democracy and “Christian civilization” against totalitarianism, for which it is necessary to ensure close unity and cohesion of the Anglo-Saxon nations.
A week later, J.V. Stalin, in an interview with Pravda, put Churchill on a par with Hitler and stated that in his speech he called on the West to go to war with the USSR.
On March 12, 1947, US President Harry Truman announced his intention to provide military and economic assistance in the amount of $400 million to Greece and Turkey. At the same time, he formulated the objectives of US policy aimed at helping “free peoples resisting attempts at enslavement by an armed minority and external pressure.” In this statement, Truman, in addition, defined the content of the emerging rivalry between the USA and the USSR as a conflict between democracy and totalitarianism. This is how the Truman Doctrine was born, which became the beginning of the transition from post-war cooperation between the USSR and the USA to rivalry.
In 1947, at the insistence of the USSR, the socialist countries refused to participate in the Marshall Plan, under which the United States provided economic assistance to countries affected by the war in exchange for the exclusion of communists from the government.
The efforts of the USSR, in particular Soviet intelligence, were aimed at eliminating the US monopoly on the possession of nuclear weapons (see the article Creation of the Soviet atomic bomb). On August 29, 1949, the first tests were carried out in the Soviet Union nuclear bomb at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. American scientists from the Manhattan Project had previously warned that the USSR would eventually develop its own nuclear capability - nevertheless, this nuclear explosion had a stunning impact on US military strategic planning - mainly because US military strategists did not expect that they would will have to lose its monopoly so soon. At that time, it was not yet known about the successes of Soviet intelligence, which managed to penetrate Los Alamos.
In 1948, the United States adopted the “Vandenberg Resolution” - the official US renunciation of the practice of non-alignment with military-political blocs outside the Western Hemisphere in peacetime.
Already on April 4, 1949, NATO was created, and in October 1954, Germany was admitted to the Western European Union and NATO. This step caused a negative reaction from the USSR. In response, the USSR began to create a military bloc that would unite the Eastern European countries.
At the end of the 1940s, repressions against dissidents intensified in the USSR, who, in particular, began to be accused of “worshipping the West” (see also the article Fighting Cosmopolitanism), and a campaign was launched in the United States to identify communist sympathizers.
Although the USSR now also had nuclear capabilities, the United States was far ahead in both the number of warheads and the number of bombers. In any conflict, the United States could easily bomb the USSR, while the USSR would have difficulty responding.
The transition to large-scale use of jet fighter-interceptors somewhat changed this situation in favor of the USSR, reducing the potential effectiveness of American bomber aircraft. In 1949, Curtis LeMay, the new commander of the US Strategic Air Command, signed a program for the complete transition of bomber aircraft to jet propulsion. In the early 1950s, the B-47 and B-52 bombers began to enter service.
The most acute period of confrontation between the two blocs (USSR and the USA with their allies) occurred during the Korean War.
With the onset of Khrushchev’s “thaw,” the threat of world war receded - this was especially true in the late 1950s, which culminated in Khrushchev’s visit to the United States. However, these same years included the Events of June 17, 1953 in the GDR, the events of 1956 in Poland, the anti-communist uprising in Hungary, and the Suez Crisis.
In response to the numerical increase in Soviet bomber aircraft in the 1950s, the United States created a fairly strong layered air defense system around large cities, involving the use of interceptor aircraft, anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles. But at the forefront was still the construction of a huge armada of nuclear bombers, which were destined to crush the defensive lines of the USSR - since it was considered impossible to ensure effective and reliable protection such a vast territory.
This approach was firmly rooted in US strategic plans - it was believed that there was no reason for special concern as long as US strategic forces exceeded the overall potential of the Soviet Armed Forces in their power. Moreover, according to American strategists, the Soviet economy, destroyed during the war, was unlikely to be capable of creating an adequate counterforce potential.
However, the USSR quickly created its own strategic aviation and tested in 1957 the R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), capable of reaching US territory. Since 1959, serial production of ICBMs began in the Soviet Union. (In 1958, the United States also tested its first Atlas ICBM). Since the mid-1950s, the United States has begun to realize that in the event of a nuclear war, the USSR will be able to deliver a counter-value strike against American cities. Therefore, since the late 1950s, military experts have recognized that an all-out nuclear war between the United States and the USSR has become impossible.
The scandal with the American U-2 spy plane (1960) led to a new aggravation of relations between the USSR and the USA, the peak of which was the Berlin crisis of 1961 and the Cuban missile crisis (1962).
The ongoing nuclear arms race, the concentration of control of Western nuclear forces in the hands of the United States, and a number of incidents with nuclear weapons carriers caused increasing criticism of US nuclear policy. Contradictions in the principles of nuclear weapons management in the NATO command led to France's withdrawal in 1966 from participation in the formation of the armed forces of this organization. On January 17, 1966, one of the largest incidents involving nuclear weapons occurred: after a collision with a tanker aircraft, a US Air Force B-52 bomber crash-dropped four thermonuclear bombs over the Spanish village of Palomares. After this incident, Spain refused to condemn France's withdrawal from NATO and limited military activities of the US Air Force in the country, suspending the 1953 Spanish-American Treaty on Military Cooperation; Negotiations to renew this treaty in 1968 ended in failure.
Regarding the competition between two systems in space, Vladimir Bugrov noted that in 1964, Korolev’s main opponents managed to create the illusion with Khrushchev that it was possible to land on the Moon before the Americans; according to the scientist, if there was a race, it was between the chief designers.
In Germany, the coming to power of the Social Democrats led by Willy Brandt was marked by a new “Eastern policy”, which resulted in the Moscow Treaty between the USSR and the Federal Republic of Germany in 1970, which established the inviolability of borders, the renunciation of territorial claims and declared the possibility of uniting the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic.
In 1968, attempts at democratic reform in Czechoslovakia (Prague Spring) prompted military intervention by the USSR and its allies.
However, Brezhnev, unlike Khrushchev, had no inclination either for risky adventures outside the clearly defined Soviet sphere of influence, or for extravagant “peaceful” actions; The 1970s passed under the sign of the so-called “détente of international tension”, manifestations of which were the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki) and the joint Soviet-American space flight (the Soyuz-Apollo program); At the same time, treaties on the limitation of strategic arms were signed. This was largely determined by economic reasons, since the USSR already then began to experience an increasingly acute dependence on the purchase of consumer goods and food (for which foreign currency loans were required), while the West, during the years of the oil crisis caused by the Arab-Israeli confrontation, was extremely interested in the Soviet oil. In military terms, the basis for “detente” was the nuclear-missile parity of blocs that had developed by that time.
On August 17, 1973, US Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger put forward the doctrine of a “blinding” or “decapitation” strike: defeating enemy command posts and communications centers using medium- and shorter-range missiles, cruise missiles with laser, television and infrared targeting systems. This approach assumed a gain in “flight time” - the defeat of command posts before the enemy had time to make a decision on a retaliatory strike. The emphasis in deterrence has shifted from the strategic triad to medium- and shorter-range weapons. In 1974, this approach was enshrined in key documents on US nuclear strategy. On this basis, the United States and other NATO countries began modernizing Forward Base Systems - American tactical nuclear weapons located in Western Europe or off its coast. At the same time, the United States began creating a new generation of cruise missiles capable of hitting specified targets as accurately as possible.
These steps raised concerns in the USSR, since US forward-deployed assets, as well as the “independent” nuclear capabilities of Great Britain and France, were capable of hitting targets in the European part of the Soviet Union. In 1976, Dmitry Ustinov became the USSR Minister of Defense, who was inclined to take a tough response to US actions. Ustinov advocated not so much for building up the ground group of conventional armed forces, but for improving the technical park Soviet army. The Soviet Union began modernizing the delivery systems for medium- and shorter-range nuclear weapons in the European theater of operations.
Under the pretext of modernizing the outdated RSD-4 and RSD-5 (SS-4 and SS-5) systems, the USSR began deploying RSD-10 Pioneer (SS-20) medium-range missiles on its western borders. In December 1976, the missile systems were deployed, and in February 1977, they were put on combat duty in the European part of the USSR. In total, about 300 missiles of this class were deployed, each of which was equipped with three independently targetable multiple warheads. This allowed the USSR to destroy NATO's military infrastructure in Western Europe in a matter of minutes - control centers, command posts and, especially, ports, which in the event of war made it impossible for American troops to land in Western Europe. At the same time, the USSR modernized the general-purpose forces stationed in Central Europe - in particular, it modernized the Tu-22M long-range bomber to a strategic level.
The actions of the USSR caused a negative reaction from NATO countries. On December 12, 1979, NATO made a double decision - the deployment American missiles medium and shorter range on the territory of Western European countries and at the same time the beginning of negotiations with the USSR on the problem of Euro-missiles. However, the negotiations reached a dead end.
A new aggravation occurred in 1979 in connection with the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, which was perceived in the West as a violation of the geopolitical balance and the USSR’s transition to a policy of expansion. The aggravation reached its peak in the fall of 1983, when Soviet air defense forces shot down a South Korean civilian airliner, which, according to media reports, had about 300 people on board. It was then that US President Ronald Reagan called the USSR an “evil empire.”
In 1983, the United States deployed Pershing-2 medium-range ballistic missiles on the territory of Germany, Great Britain, Denmark, Belgium and Italy within 5-7 minutes of approach from targets on the European territory of the USSR and air-launched cruise missiles. In parallel, in 1981, the United States began production of neutron weapons - artillery shells and warheads for the Lance short-range missile. Analysts suggested that these weapons could be used to repel the advance of Warsaw Pact troops in Central Europe. The United States also began developing a space missile defense program (the so-called “Star Wars” program); Both of these large-scale programs extremely worried the Soviet leadership, especially since the USSR, which maintained nuclear missile parity with great difficulty and strain on the economy, did not have the means to adequately fight back in space.
In response, in November 1983, the USSR withdrew from the Euromissile negotiations held in Geneva. Secretary General The CPSU Central Committee Yuri Andropov stated that the USSR would take a number of countermeasures: it would deploy operational-tactical nuclear weapons launch vehicles on the territory of the GDR and Czechoslovakia and would advance Soviet nuclear submarines closer to the US coast. In 1983-1986. Soviet nuclear forces and missile warning systems were on high alert.
According to available data, in 1981, Soviet intelligence services (KGB and GRU) launched Operation Nuclear Missile Attack (Operation RYAN) - monitoring the possible preparation of NATO countries for the start of a limited nuclear war in Europe. The concerns of the Soviet leadership were caused by the NATO exercises “Able archer 83” - in the USSR they feared that, under their cover, NATO was preparing to launch “Euromissiles” at targets in the Warsaw Pact countries. Similarly in 1983-1986. NATO military analysts feared that the USSR would launch a pre-emptive “disarming” strike on the Euromissile bases.
With the coming to power of Mikhail Gorbachev, who proclaimed “socialist pluralism” and “the priority of universal human values over class values,” the ideological confrontation quickly lost its severity. In a military-political sense, Gorbachev initially tried to pursue a policy in the spirit of “detente” of the 1970s, proposing arms limitation programs, but negotiating rather harshly over the terms of the treaty (meeting in Reykjavik).
However, the development of the political process in the USSR towards the rejection of communist ideology, as well as the dependence of the USSR economy on Western technologies and loans due to the sharp drop in oil prices, led to the fact that the USSR made broad concessions in the foreign policy sphere. It is widely believed that this was also due to the fact that increased military spending as a result of the arms race became unsustainable for the Soviet economy, but a number of researchers argue that the relative level of military spending in the USSR was not excessively high.
In 1988, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan begins. The fall of the communist system in Eastern Europe in 1989-1990. led to the liquidation of the Soviet bloc, and with it the virtual end of the Cold War.
Meanwhile, the Soviet Union itself was experiencing a deep crisis. The central authorities began to lose control over the union republics. Interethnic conflicts broke out on the outskirts of the country. In December 1991, the final collapse of the USSR occurred.
Joseph Nye, a professor at Harvard University (USA), speaking at the conference “From Fulton to Malta: How the Cold War Began and How It Ended” (Gorbachev Foundation, March 2005), pointed out the lessons that should be learned from the Cold War:
In early April 2007, a bill was introduced into both houses of the US Congress to establish a new military award for participation in the Cold War ( Cold War Service Medal), supported by a group of senators and congressmen from the Democratic Party led by the current US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The medal is proposed to be awarded to all those who served in the armed forces or worked in US government departments during the period from September 2, 1945 to December 26, 1991.
As Hillary Clinton stated, “Our victory in the Cold War was made possible only by the willingness of millions of Americans in uniform to repel the threat that came from behind the Iron Curtain. Our victory in the Cold War was a tremendous achievement, and the men and women who served during that time deserve to be rewarded."
Congressman Robert Andrews, who introduced the bill in the House, said: “The Cold War was a global military operation that was extremely dangerous and at times deadly for the brave soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who fought in the campaign. The millions of American veterans who served around the world to help us win this conflict deserve to receive a unique medal to recognize and honor their service.”
In the United States, there is an Association of Cold War Veterans, which also demanded that the authorities recognize their services in the victory over the USSR, but only managed to achieve the issuance of certificates from the Ministry of Defense confirming their participation in the Cold War. The Veterans Association issued its own unofficial medal, the design of which was developed by a leading specialist at the US Army Institute of Heraldry, Nadin Russell.
COLD WAR- a global confrontation between two military-political blocs led by the USSR and the USA, which did not lead to an open military clash. The concept of the “Cold War” appeared in journalism in 1945–1947 and gradually became entrenched in the political vocabulary.
But Western countries suffered important defeats in colonial wars - France lost the war in Vietnam 1946–1954, and the Netherlands in Indonesia in 1947–1949.
The Cold War led to repression in both “camps” against dissidents and people who advocated cooperation and rapprochement between the two systems. In the USSR and Eastern European countries, people were arrested on charges of “cosmopolitanism” (lack of patriotism, cooperation with the West), “adulation of the West” and “Titoism” (ties with Tito). A “witch hunt” began in the United States, during which secret communists and “agents” of the USSR were “exposed.” The American “witch hunt,” unlike Stalin’s repressions, did not lead to mass repressions, but it also had its victims caused by spy mania. Soviet intelligence was active in the United States, just as American intelligence was in the USSR, but American intelligence agencies decided to publicly show that they were able to expose Soviet spies. Civil servant Julius Rosenberg was chosen to play the role of “chief spy”. He really provided minor services to Soviet intelligence. It was announced that Rosenberg and his wife Ethel had "stolen America's atomic secrets." It subsequently turned out that Ethel did not even know about her husband’s collaboration with Soviet intelligence, but despite this, both spouses were sentenced to death and executed in June 1953.
The execution of the Rosenbergs was the last serious act of the first stage of the Cold War. In March 1953, Stalin died, and the new Soviet leadership, led by Nikita Khrushchev, began to look for ways to normalize relations with the West.
The wars in Korea and Vietnam ended in 1953–1954. In 1955, the USSR established equal relations with Yugoslavia and Germany. The Great Powers also agreed to grant neutral status to Austria, which they occupied, and to withdraw their troops from the country.
In 1956, the world situation deteriorated again due to unrest in socialist countries and attempts by Great Britain, France and Israel to seize the Suez Canal in Egypt. But this time, both “superpowers” - the USSR and the USA - made efforts to ensure that conflicts did not escalate. In 1959, Khrushchev was not interested in intensifying confrontation during this period. In 1959, Khrushchev came to the United States, this was the first visit of a Soviet leader to America in history. American society made a great impression on him, and he was especially struck by the successes of agriculture, which was much more efficient than in the USSR.
However, by this time, the USSR could impress the USA and the whole world with its successes in the field of high technology, and above all, in space exploration. The system of state socialism made it possible to concentrate large resources on solving one problem at the expense of others. On October 4, 1957, the first artificial earth satellite was launched in the Soviet Union. From now on, the Soviet rocket could deliver cargo to any point on the planet, including a nuclear device. In 1958, the Americans launched their satellite and began mass production of rockets. The USSR continued to lead, although achieving and maintaining nuclear missile parity in the 60s required the exertion of all the country's forces.
Successes in space exploration also had enormous propaganda significance - they showed what social order capable of achieving great scientific and technical success. On April 12, 1961, the USSR launched a ship into space with a person on board. The first cosmonaut was Yuri Gagarin. The Americans were hot on their heels - the rocket with their first astronaut Alanon Shepard launched on May 5, 1961, but the device did not go into space, making only a suborbital flight.
In 1960, relations between the USSR and the USA deteriorated again. On May 1, shortly before the Soviet-American summit, the United States sent a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft to fly over the territory of the USSR. He flew at altitudes inaccessible to Soviet fighters, but was shot down by a missile right during the May Day demonstration in Moscow. A scandal broke out. At the summit, Khrushchev expected an apology from Eisenhower. Not receiving them, he interrupted the meeting with the president.
As a result of the crisis, which brought the world to the brink of a nuclear missile disaster, a compromise was reached: the USSR removed its missiles from Cuba, and the United States withdrew its missiles from Turkey and guaranteed military non-intervention to Cuba.
The Cuban missile crisis taught both the Soviet and American leadership a lot. The leaders of the superpowers realized that they could lead humanity to destruction. Having reached a dangerous point, the Cold War began to decline. The USSR and the USA spoke for the first time about limiting the arms race. On August 15, 1963, a treaty was concluded banning nuclear weapons tests in three environments: the atmosphere, space and water.
The conclusion of the 1963 treaty did not mean the end of the Cold War. The very next year, after the death of President Kennedy, the rivalry between the two blocs intensified. But now it has been pushed away from the borders of the USSR and the USA - to southeast Asia, where the war in Indochina broke out in the 60s and first half of the 70s.
In the 1960s, the international situation changed radically. Both superpowers faced great difficulties: the United States was bogged down in Indochina, and the USSR was drawn into conflict with China. As a result, both superpowers chose to move from the Cold War to a policy of gradual détente (détente).
During the period of “détente,” important agreements were concluded to limit the arms race, including treaties to limit missile defense (ABM) and strategic nuclear weapons (SALT-1 and SALT-2). However, the SALT treaties had a significant drawback. While limiting the overall volumes of nuclear weapons and missile technology, he barely touched upon the deployment of nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, opponents could concentrate a large number of nuclear missiles in the most dangerous places in the world, without even violating the agreed total volumes of nuclear weapons.
In 1976, the USSR began modernizing its medium-range missiles in Europe. They could quickly reach their target in Western Europe. As a result of this modernization, the balance of nuclear forces on the continent was disrupted. In December 1979, NATO decided to deploy the latest American Pershing-2 and Tomahawk missiles in Western Europe. In the event of a war, these missiles could destroy in a matter of minutes Largest cities USSR, while US territory would remain invulnerable for a time. The Soviet Union's security was threatened and it launched a campaign against the deployment of new American missiles. A wave of rallies against the deployment of missiles began in Western European countries, since in the event of a first strike by the Americans, Europe, and not America, would become the target of a retaliatory strike by the USSR. The new US President Ronald Reagan proposed in 1981 the so-called “zero option” - the withdrawal of all Soviet and American medium-range nuclear missiles from Europe. But in this case, British and French missiles aimed at the USSR would remain here. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev rejected this “zero option.”
The detente was finally buried by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The Cold War resumed. In 1980–1982, the United States introduced a series of economic sanctions against the USSR. In 1983, US President Reagan called the USSR an “evil empire.” The installation of new American missiles in Europe has begun. In response to this, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Yuri Andropov stopped all negotiations with the United States.
By the mid-80s, the countries of “socialism” entered a period of crisis. The bureaucratic economy could no longer meet the growing needs of the population; wasteful use of resources led to their significant reduction, the level social consciousness people grew so much that they began to understand the need for change. It was becoming increasingly difficult for the country to bear the burden of the Cold War, support allied regimes around the world, and fight the war in Afghanistan. The USSR's technical lag behind the capitalist countries was becoming increasingly noticeable and dangerous.
Under these conditions, the US President decided to “push” the USSR to weaken. According to Western financial circles, the USSR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to 25–30 billion dollars. In order to undermine the economy of the USSR, the Americans needed to inflict “unplanned” damage to the Soviet economy in the same amount - otherwise the difficulties associated with the economic war would be smoothed out by a currency “cushion” of considerable thickness. It was necessary to act quickly - in the second half of the 80s, the USSR was supposed to receive additional financial injections from the Urengoy - Western Europe gas pipeline. In December 1981, in response to the suppression of the labor movement in Poland, Reagan announced a series of sanctions against Poland and its ally, the USSR. The events in Poland were used as a pretext, because this time, unlike the situation in Afghanistan, the norms of international law were not violated by the Soviet Union. The United States announced a cessation of supplies of oil and gas equipment, which was supposed to disrupt the construction of the Urengoy-Western Europe gas pipeline. However, the European allies, interested in economic cooperation with the USSR, did not immediately support the United States, and Soviet industry managed to independently produce pipes that the USSR had previously planned to purchase from the West. Reagan's campaign against the pipeline failed.
In 1983, US President Ronald Reagan put forward the idea of the “Strategic Defense Initiative” (SDI), or “star wars” - space systems that could protect the United States from a nuclear attack. This program was carried out in circumvention of the ABM Treaty. The USSR did not have the technical capabilities to create the same system. Despite the fact that the United States was also far from successful in this area and the idea of SDI was intended to force the USSR to waste resources, Soviet leaders took it seriously. At the cost of great effort it was created space system"Buran", capable of neutralizing SDI elements.
Together with external, internal factors significantly undermined the system of socialism. The economic crisis in which the USSR found itself put on the agenda the issue of “savings on foreign policy.” Despite the fact that the possibilities of such savings were exaggerated, the reforms that began in the USSR led to the end of the Cold War in 1987–1990.
In March 1985, the new General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Mikhail Gorbachev, came to power in the USSR. In 1985–1986 he announced a policy of sweeping changes known as “perestroika.” It was also envisaged to improve relations with capitalist countries on the basis of equality and openness (“new thinking”).
In November 1985, Gorbachev met with Reagan in Geneva and proposed a significant reduction in nuclear weapons in Europe. It was still impossible to solve the problem, because Gorbachev demanded the abolition of SDI, and Reagan did not yield. The American president promised that when the research was successful, the United States would “open its laboratories to the Soviets,” but Gorbachev did not believe him. “They say, believe us, that if the Americans are the first to implement SDI, they will share it with the Soviet Union. I said then: Mr. President, I urge you, believe us, we have already stated this, that we will not be the first to use nuclear weapons and will not be the first to attack the United States of America. Why are you, while maintaining all offensive potential on land and under water, still going to start an arms race in space? Don't you believe us? It turns out you don’t believe it. Why should we trust you more than you trust us?” Despite the fact that significant progress was not achieved at this meeting, the two presidents got to know each other better, which helped them reach agreement in the future.
However, after the meeting in Geneva, relations between the USSR and the USA deteriorated again. The USSR supported Libya in its conflict with the United States. The United States refused to comply with the SALT agreements, which were implemented even during the years of confrontation 1980–1984. This was the last surge of the Cold War. The “cooling” in international relations dealt a blow to the plans of Gorbachev, who put forward a large-scale disarmament program and seriously counted on the economic effect of conversion, which, as it later became clear, dealt a huge lesson to the country’s defense capability. Already in the summer, both sides began to probe the possibilities for holding a “second Geneva,” which took place in October 1986 in Reykjavik. Here Gorbachev tried to force Reagan to make reciprocal concessions by proposing large-scale reductions in nuclear weapons, but “in a package” with the abandonment of SDI, but the American president refused to cancel SDI and even feigned indignation at the linkage of the two problems: “After everything, or almost everything, As it seemed to me, it was decided that Gorbachev pulled out a feint. With a smile on his face, he said: “But all this, of course, depends on whether you give up SDI.” As a result, the meeting in Reykjavik actually ended in nothing. But Reagan realized that improving international relations was not possible by pressing USSR, but with the help of mutual concessions.Gorbachev's strategy was crowned with the illusion of success - the United States agreed to freeze the non-existent SDI until the end of the century.
In 1986, the US administration abandoned a frontal attack on the USSR, which ended in failure. However, financial pressure was increased on the USSR; the United States, in exchange for various concessions, persuaded the Saudi authorities to sharply increase oil production and reduce world oil prices. The Soviet Union's income depended on oil prices, which began to plummet in 1986. Chernobyl disaster further undermined the financial balance of the USSR. This made it difficult to reform the country from above and forced more active encouragement of initiative from below. Gradually, authoritarian modernization gave way to civil revolution. Already in 1987–1988, “perestroika” led to a rapid increase in public activity, and the world was moving at full speed towards ending the Cold War.
After an unsuccessful meeting in Reykjavik in 1986, the two presidents finally reached an agreement in Washington in December 1987 that removed American and Soviet medium-range missiles from Europe. “New thinking” triumphed. The major crisis that led to the resumption of the Cold War in 1979 is a thing of the past. It was followed by other “fronts” of the Cold War, including the main one – the European one.
The example of Soviet “perestroika” intensified anti-socialist movements in Eastern Europe. In 1989, the transformations carried out by the communists in Eastern Europe developed into revolutions. Along with the communist regime in the GDR, the Berlin Wall was also destroyed, which became a symbol of the end of the division of Europe. By that time, faced with severe economic problems, the USSR could no longer support communist regimes, and the socialist camp collapsed.
In December 1988, Gorbachev announced at the UN a unilateral reduction of the army. In February 1989, Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan, where the war continued between the Mujahideen and the government of Najibullah.
In December 1989, off the coast of Malta, Gorbachev and the new US President George W. Bush were able to discuss the situation of the actual end of the Cold War. Bush promised to make efforts to extend most favored nation treatment to the USSR in US trade, which would not have been possible if the Cold War continued. Despite the persistence of disagreements over the situation in some countries, including the Baltics, the atmosphere of the Cold War has become a thing of the past. Explaining the principles of the “new thinking” to Bush, Gorbachev said: “The main principle that we have accepted and which we follow within the framework of the new thinking is the right of each country to free choice, including the right to review or change the initially made choice. This is very painful, but it is a fundamental right. The right to choose without outside interference.”
But by this time the methods of pressure on the USSR had already changed. In 1990, supporters of speedy “Westernization,” that is, the restructuring of society according to Western models, came to power in most countries of Eastern Europe. Reforms began based on “neoliberal” ideas close to Western neoconservatism and neoglobalism. Reforms were carried out hastily, without a plan or preparation, which led to a painful breakdown of society. They were called “shock therapy” because it was believed that after a short “shock” relief would come. Western countries provided some financial support for these reforms, and as a result, Eastern Europe managed to create a market economy based on the Western model. Entrepreneurs, the middle class, and some young people benefited from these transformations, but a significant part of society - workers, employees, pensioners - lost, and Eastern European countries found themselves financially dependent on the West.
The new governments of Eastern European countries demanded the speedy withdrawal of Soviet troops from their territory. By that time, the USSR had neither the ability nor the desire to maintain its military presence there. In 1990, the withdrawal of troops began, and in July 1991 the Warsaw Pact and CMEA were dissolved. NATO remains the only powerful military force in Europe. The USSR did not survive the military bloc it created for long. In August 1991, as a result of an unsuccessful attempt by the leaders of the USSR to establish an authoritarian regime (the so-called State Emergency Committee), real power passed from Gorbachev to the President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin and the leaders of the republics of the USSR. The Baltic states left the Union. In December 1991, in order to consolidate their success in the struggle for power, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed an agreement on the dissolution of the USSR in Belovezhskaya Pushcha.
The almost exact coincidence of the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR sparked debate in the world about the connection between these phenomena. Maybe the end of the Cold War is a result of the collapse of the USSR and therefore the US won this “war”. However, by the time the USSR collapsed, the Cold War had already ended - several years before this event. If we take into account that in 1987 the missile crisis was resolved, in 1988 an agreement was concluded on Afghanistan, and in February 1989 Soviet troops were withdrawn from this country, in 1989 the socialist governments disappeared in almost all countries of Eastern Europe, then we can talk about the continuation of the “Cold War” after 1990 it is not necessary. The problems that caused an aggravation of international tension not only in 1979–1980, but also in 1946–1947 were resolved. Already in 1990, the level of relations between the USSR and Western countries returned to the pre-Cold War state, and it was remembered only to proclaim its end, as President George W. Bush did when he declared victory in the Cold War after the collapse of the USSR and Presidents B. Yeltsin and D. Bush, declaring its end in 1992. These propaganda statements do not remove the fact that in 1990–1991 the signs of the “Cold War” had already disappeared. The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR have a common cause - the crisis of state socialism in the USSR.
Alexander Shubin
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