Introduction
The Cold War was the defining conflict after the end of World War Two. Although it rarely resulted in traditional warfare, it had a tremendous effect on almost every part of western and eastern societies, from culture to technology. To fully understand it, research into its origins is required.
The Origins of Mistrust
One of the defining aspects of the Cold War is the feeling paranoia experienced by all sides of the conflict. These feelings were not always without merit, and have origins in events preceding the Second World War. The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 led by Vladimir Lenin and his political ideology based on the works of Karl Marx presented a strictly anti-capitalist perspective that was seen as a threat to the countries of Europe and other capitalist countries (Smith 11).
Bolsheviks were not unanimously accepted in the country either as their methods did not agree with other leftist organizations as well as the people who still supported the monarchy. These opposing forces would unite into the “White Army” which would plunge the country into a civil war (Foglesong 294). This war lasted from 1917-1922 and had taken the lives of millions. After the Revolution, Bolsheviks withdrew from the First World War leaving the allied nations worried about Germany taking over key locations that were previously protected by Russia (Foglesong 232). This has led to an Allied intervention into the Russian civil war that continued even after the First World War ended.
The Allies have supported the White Army with supplies, armaments, and troops, but due to a variety of issues, had to withdraw in 1920, with Japanese troops staying in some Russian provinces until 1925. The Red Army emerged victorious in the civil war with new knowledge that the Western leaders have no interest in cooperation.
This mindset would later fuel Stalin’s propaganda machine creating a perception of a massive international conspiracy to undermine the advances of the newly formed Soviet Union. His policies of collectivization and five-year plans would lead to millions of civilian deaths, unjust punishments without trials, and the creation of a complete police state where no one could oppose him. By creating a sense of constant opposition from the West, Stalin was able to instill a very strong “Us vs. Them” mentality among the people who made his words seem like absolute truth and the words of his critics as the words of traitors (Barghoorn 13).
Those who did not agree would disappear with the use of secret police. His authority was great enough to be able to get rid of even the members of his government and closest colleagues. Their names and actions would later be erased from documents, and their photos would be altered to discredit their previous achievements and associations (Duprat-Kushtanina 23). Paranoia and blind belief in Stalin’s authority would become the driving forces behind the next decades of the Soviet regime.
A similar paranoia grew in the United States. A fear of leftist organizations was present in the United States even before the Bolshevik Revolution, but it would reach its highest peak to date after the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia. To ensure an unopposed entry into the First World War President Woodrow Wilson with the help of the Bureau of Investigation chose to spread anti-German propaganda and organized a variety of actions against leftist groups of the United States (Goldstein 168).
A lot of these groups had a strong opposition towards the war which led to raids on their offices, arrests and legal prosecution against their members. Mass strikes were organized across America with varying results over the next several years, as well as more radical actions (Goldstein 189). Some of which include the anarchist bombings of 1919 that inspired fear of socialism in many members of the public (Goldstein 157). Books and films quickly capitalized on the newfound fear with films dramatizing the events of revolution and creating negative associations with the ideas of Bolshevism and Socialism (Goldstein 323).
This period would culminate in a false prediction of an organized overthrow of the United States government that was predicted to happen in May 1920. The event later titled “May Day Scare” involved mobilizations of thousands of policemen across the country, but did not produce any results as the opponent proved to be imaginary (Goldstein 152). This incident would end the first period of the Red Scare, but its messages would be echoed in the future.
The Uneasy Alliance
Despite the relative advances of Stalin’s push for industrialization. The Soviet Union was not ready for a new war with Hitler. Stalin negotiated with Hitler to delay military action against the Soviet Union through the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signed on August 23, 1939, in Moscow (Havers 25). Besides the neutrality, this pact divided the lands of Poland, Finland, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania between the Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. With the support of this pact, Stalin annexed the territories of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and parts of Finland and Romania (Havers 33).
The pact was terminated on June 22, 1941, when Nazi Germany started Operation Barbarossa with an attack on Soviet positions in Poland. This act of aggression was seen as a declaration of war uniting the Soviet Union with other Allied Nations (Havers 9). Despite the denouncement of the Soviet regime in previous years, the countries were forced to work together to defeat a common enemy. This war, however, would not see the return of the lands that were annexed through the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Stalin made sure to negotiate for these territories to remain with the Soviet Union. To facilitate his influence, Stalin made an effort to control the media of the annexed countries and established a strong presence of the communist party, as well as the secret police (Risch 69).
Some place the beginning of the Cold War at the Yalta Conference in Crimea. It was held from February 7 to 11 with a goal of deciding the future of Europe after World War Two. The three heads of the allied forces represented by the President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Premier Joseph Stalin, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, gathered together to outline the plan for peace in Europe, and how the people of Europe would be able to govern their countries after the Nazi regime.
Each leader had their agenda making the negotiations difficult. Roosevelt pledged for Soviet support in the Pacific War, and Soviet representation in the newly formed United Nations. Churchill was focused on the free democratic elections in Eastern and Central Europe. Lastly, Stalin pressed for a Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern and Central Europe under the guise of it being crucial for the establishment of national security of the Soviet Union (Bell and Gilbert 15).
One of the important factors which could be seen as a beginning of Cold War is the change of the Polish borders. A part of its territory would be given to the Soviet Union while being compensated with a part of Germany. The spheres of influence were established during this conference, and Stalin managed to secure the Soviet regime in the previously annexed countries of Romania and Bulgaria (Bell and Gilbert 27).
Stalin’s desire for influence over the countries on the Soviet border would represent one of the first active steps toward the Cold War. With the power and numbers of the Red Army being unmatched by other nations, Stalin had major leverage during this conference, and his promises that would later be broken served as a way to prevent hostile attitudes toward his agenda.
The Potsdam Conference would prove to be another turning point at the beginning of the Cold War. The conference was held to create further plans for the future of Germany and Poland. However, it differed from the Yalta conference due to a few crucial events. Before the conference, President Roosevelt passed away and was replaced by Harry S. Truman who was not a supporter of Stalin’s regime. In fact, this conference would mark the only instance of Truman and Stalin meeting in person. Truman had strong suspicions of the Soviet Union and would prove to be less willing to agree than Roosevelt was (Bell and Gilbert 46).
The second difference came from the British elections of the Prime Minister that were held at the time of the conference (Bell and Gilbert 27). While Churchill was not a supporter of Stalin, he saw their alliance as necessary at the time. On the other hand, his political opponent Clement Attlee was much less critical of Stalin’s regime and sought to negotiate and create a functioning relationship between the countries.
He would later change his potion and become a strong anti-Soviet politician when the Cold War became inevitable. The final but perhaps the most important event before the conference was the successful test of a nuclear bomb by the United States. While the project was still secret, Stalin knew of its existence thanks to the activity of Soviet spies. Therefore, he was not surprised when Truman informed him that the United States had developed a weapon that would be able to bring a quick end to the Pacific War (Bell and Gilbert 28). This event became the start of the Nuclear Age and would serve as an example of how dangerous the next war might be.
It also removed the advantage of the Red Army, as the massive numbers of people that were involved in attacks during World War Two would easily be destroyed by a single bomb. It forever changed the concept of war and became the main reason for tension during many of the Cold War disagreements. Some of the results of this conference that became important for the Cold War included the division of Germany and Austria into four zones of occupation which would be restructured after the Truman plan, the change of the German border, and the recognition of the Soviet-controlled government of Poland (Bell and Gilbert 51).
After the conference, many of the countries bordering the Soviet Union would become Soviet satellite states. This change was not a result of the free democratic elections promised by Stalin, but a carefully orchestrated change in government by the members of the Soviet Parties of these countries. Their members worked to give themselves the majority of the power while still appearing to be democratic. These countries included Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Albania. East Germany also became a puppet state of the Soviet Union under the name the German Democratic Republic. Together these countries became known as the Eastern Block. The western side became represented by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Bell and Gilbert 61).
The Iron Curtain
The growing concerns over the Soviet presence in Europe grew stronger, and in February 1946 one of the initial documents of the Cold War was created. George F. Kennan, an American diplomat, working in the US Embassy in Moscow sent a telegram outlining the US opposition to the actions of the Soviet Union. This document would later be known as the “Long Telegram.” It touched upon such topics as Soviet Union’s perceived war with capitalism, the disparity between the Soviet aggression and the views of the Russian people, and a variety of other issues (Goldgeier 404).
In turn, the Soviet government produced the Novikov telegram that declared that the United States is controlled by monopoly capitalists who are preparing for a war that would bring world domination. These telegrams would be followed by one of the most famous speeches of this period given by Winston Churchill. In this speech, Churchill calls for an Anglo-American alliance against the Soviets. He accuses the Soviets of creating an “Iron Curtain” around their territory.
The Iron Curtain represented the closed nature of the Soviet states that were blocked from contact with the western world (Levering 340). Stalin gave a strong response to this speech, comparing Churchill to Hitler and seeing his speech as a “call for war” against the Soviet Union (Levering 341). These speeches could be seen as the official proclamation of the Cold War, with two opposing blocks seeing each other as powers that have to be stopped at all costs.
Conclusion
The Cold War is one of the most complex periods of recent history. Its origins lie almost 30 years before its start, with a long line of events that eventually led to a possible nuclear war. Its origins are filled with subversion and paranoia effects of which are still felt today.
Works Cited
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Bell, Philip, and Mark Gilbert. The World Since 1945: An International History. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.
Duprat-Kushtanina, Veronika. “Remembering the Repression of the Stalin Era in Russia: on the Non-Transmission of Family Memory.” Nationalities Papers, vol. 41, no. 2, 2013, pp. 225-239.
Foglesong, David. America’s Secret War Against Bolshevism: U.S. Intervention In The Russian Civil War, 1917-1920. UNC Press Books, 2014.
Goldgeier, James. “The State of the Transatlantic Alliance.” European Foreign Affairs Review, vol. 21, no. 3, 2016, pp. 403-413.
Goldstein, Robert. Little ‘Red Scares’: Anti-Communism and Political Repression in the United States, 1921-1946. Routledge, 2016.
Havers, Robin. The Second World War. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.
Levering, Ralph B. “Toward Cold War Thinking: Editorial Reactions to Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech in North Carolina Newspapers.” Journal of Transatlantic Studies, vol. 14, no. 4, 2016, pp. 340-349.
Risch, William. “A Soviet West: Nationhood, Regionalism, and Empire in the Annexed Western Borderlands.” Nationalities Papers, vol. 43, no. 1, 2015, pp. 63-81.
Smith, Keith. “Lenin and the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, Part 1: The Importance of Lenin’s Ideas on Revolution.” Teaching History, vol. 48, no. 2, 2014, pp. 11-13.