The beginning of the cold war. The beginning of the cold war

PLAN

I. Fundamental changes in the world after the Second World War. Great powers and problems of the post-war world order.

Issues for discussion:

1. What are the results of World War II?

Some points of view:

a) The end of the Second World War led to the dominant position of the Soviet Union in the world.

b) World War II led to US leadership in the post-war world.

c) World War II ended with the parity of the socialist and capitalist systems.

2. Was the collision of the two systems inevitable?

Some points of view:

a) The two systems have always been set up irreconcilably and uncompromisingly towards each other.

b) The creation of the anti-Hitler coalition led to a mutually beneficial coexistence of the two systems, which could be continued in the post-war world.

c) The socialist and capitalist systems could find compromises, but reinsured themselves, preparing for military action.
II. Essence, causes and beginning of the "cold war".

Issues for discussion:

1. What is the Cold War?

Some points of view:

a) "cold war" - military-political confrontation.

b) "cold war" - cultural and ideological rivalry.

c) "cold war" - economic rivalry.

2. Who started the Cold War and when did it start?

Some points of view:

a) The Cold War was unleashed by the USSR.

b) The United States is to blame for the beginning of the Cold War.

c) Both systems made the same contribution to the beginning of the Cold War.
III. Stages of the Cold War. Deterioration of Soviet-American relations in the late 1970s - first half of the 80s

Issues for discussion:

1. What is the most objective criterion for the periodization of the Cold War?

Some points of view:

a) the periodization of the "cold war" depends on the time that a particular Soviet leader was in power.

b) the periodization of the Cold War depends on the doctrines of the American administration.

c) the periodization of the "cold war" should correspond to the stages of escalation of tension and detente between the two countries.

d) the periodization of the "cold war" should be carried out in accordance with the development of the arms race.

2. What are the periods of "detente" associated with during the Cold War?

Some points of view:

a) "Detente" is a reflection of the weakness of one of the parties to the "cold war".

b) "Detente" is a manifestation of society's fatigue from the "cold war".

c) "Detente" is a consequence of the subjective factors of the "cold war".
IV. Crises and local conflicts during the Cold War: Berlin Crisis in 1948, Caribbean Crisis in 1962, Vietnam War. Soviet-American relations during other crises and local conflicts

Issues for discussion:

1. What is the role of crises during the Cold War?

Some points of view:

a) Crises and local conflicts are the hottest spots of the Cold War that can lead to a real clash.

b) Crises and local conflicts are attempts to demonstrate strength that are not aimed at unleashing a war.

c) The crises helped to overcome tensions in Soviet-American relations and led to subsequent relaxation.
V. End of the Cold War: Causes and Consequences. Discussion about the end of the Cold War in historiography.

Issues for discussion:

1. Who won the Cold War?

Some points of view:

a) The United States won the Cold War.

b) The USSR did not lose the Cold War, but did not cope with its internal problems.

c) There were no winners or losers in the Cold War.

2. Is the Cold War over?

a) The Cold War ended with the collapse of the USSR.

b) The "Cold War" between the USSR (Russia) and the United States entered a new stage.

c) The Cold War continues, but the main rivals have changed.

TOPICS FOR ORAL COMMUNICATIONS

"The image of the enemy" in the USA and the USSR.

The CIA and the KGB in the Cold War.

Creation of NATO.

"Russian question" in US foreign policy doctrines 40-50-ies.

The bipolar structure of the world and its historical limits.

Changes in the assessments of the Cold War in Russian historiography and journalism in the 80s and 90s.
SOURCES

Eastern Europe in the documents of the Russian archives. T. 2. 1949-1953. Moscow – Novosibirsk. 1998.

Dobrynin A.F. Cuban Missile Crisis: Testimony of a Participant // International Affairs, 1992. # 7.

Zlobin N.V. Unknown American archival materials about the speech of W. Churchill on March 5, 1946 // NNI. 2000. # 2.S. 156-169.

Caribbean Crisis: Remember the Military // Latin America. 1993. # 4.P. 25-45.

Kornienko G.M. New about the Caribbean crisis // NNI. 1991. # 3.P.77-84.

First Letters from the Cold War (Memorandum of J. Kennan and Analytical Review of N. Novikov) // International Affairs. 1990. # 11.P. 138-154.

Stegantsev M.V. Archival documents on the Caribbean crisis of 1962 // Domestic archives. 1995. # 1.

W. Churchill's Fulton speech // Source. 1998. # 1.S. 88-102.

Cold War. New approaches, new documents. - M., 1995.

Reader on contemporary history. Documents and materials .: In 3 volumes. M., 1960. T. 3. Part 1. P. 57–72, 408–409, 412–421, 437–439.

Reader on contemporary history. A guide for teachers. Part 2 (1945-1974). M., 1976. S. 124–125, 242–246.

LITERATURE

Alekseev A.I. The Cuban Missile Crisis, As It Was // Opening New Pages ... M., 1989.

R.B. Buds Bretton Woods Conference of the United Nations in 1944 // NNI, 1992, №2.

Vanden Berge I. Historical misunderstanding? Cold War: 1917-1990. M., 1996.

Gaddis J.L. Preliminary estimates of the post-war confrontation // NNI. 1991. # 3. S.56-62. Dementyev V., Olevskaya E. "The Marshall Plan": a view from today's Russia // Russian Economic Journal (RER), 1993, №8.

Dokuchaev A. Secrets of Operation Anadyr: the Caribbean Crisis of 1962 // Young Guard. 1994. # 10

Historiography of the history of modern and modern times of the countries of Europe and America (under the editorship of I.P. Dementyev, A.I. Patrushev. M., 2000.

Zagladin N.V. Why did the "cold war" end? // Centaur. 1992. # 1/2. S. 45-60.

Zlobin N.V. On the path of strengthening the "cold" war // VI. 2000. # 9.S. 134-145.

Kissinger G. Diplomacy. M. 1997.

Kornienko G.M. At the origins of the cold war // NNI. 1990. # 6.

Kochkin N.V. The Anglo-Soviet Treaty of 1942 and the beginning of the Cold War // VI.2000. # 1.S.92-101.

Marushkin B.I. The phenomenon of the Cold War // XX century. Diversity, inconsistency, integrity. - M., 1996.

Martynov B. Were there "winners" in the "cold war"? // Free thought. 1996. # 12.C.3-10.

Perkins B. The Cold War is over. What's next? // American Yearbook, 1994. M .: Nauka, 1995. S. 162-179. V.O. Pechatnov USA: hidden debate on the "Russian question" in 1945 // NNI. 1997. No. 1.

Rzheshevsky O. Secret military plans of W. Churchill against the USSR in May 1945 // New and Contemporary History.-1999. - N3.-С.98-123.

Richter J. Gender Ideology and the Cold War // Social Sciences and Modernity. (HE IS WITH). 1999. No. 1

Roshchupkin V.T. Two Steps Away from Nuclear Catastrophe: Unknown Pages of the Caribbean Crisis // Latin America. 1993. # 12.P.50-56.

USSR and the Cold War. M .: Mosgorarkhiv, 1995.

Filitov A.M. Cold War. Historiographic Discussions in the West. - M., 1991.

Fursov A. The Bells of History: A Word in Defense of the Cold War // Rubezhi. 1996. # 7. S. 3-32.

Khorkov A.G. Lessons from the Cold War // Free Thought. 1995. # 12.P. 67-80.

Chubaryan A.O. The origin of the "cold war" in the historiography of the East and West // Research Institute. 1991. # З.С, 63-67.

Shepova N.Ya. The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War // "Centaur. 1995. # 1.P. 3-8.

Schlesinger A. Cycles of American History. M., 1992. Ch. 1 -4.7.8.

Edelman J.R., Prelude of the Cold War: K. History of Soviet-American Relations // VI. 1991. # 6.-C. "16-25.

LITERATURE FROM THE RESOURCE CENTER LIBRARY

J.P.D.Dunbabin. The Post-Imperial Age. The Great Powers and the Wider World. Longman, L. & N.Y. 1994. J.P.D. Dunbabin The Cold War: The Great Powers and their Allies. Longman, L. & N.Y, 1994.

Michael Dockrill. The Cold war 1945 -1963. Macmillan Education ltd, L. 1993

Charles Messenger. The Century of Warfare. Worldwide Conflict from 1900 to the Present Day. Harper Collinns Publishes, "1995.
ABBREVIATIONS

VI-Questions of history

MF - International Affairs

MEIMO-World Economy and International Relations

Lesson objectives: contribute to the formation of a holistic view of the development of international relations after the Second World War and bring students to the conclusion about the causes and consequences of the ideological confrontation between the USSR and the United States, called the "cold war"; promote the development of cognitive skills to search for the necessary information in historical sources, name the characteristic features of events and phenomena, explain the meaning of the most important concepts, state judgments about the cause-and-effect relationships of historical facts, determine and explain one's attitude and assessment of the most significant events. Promote the orientation of students' personality towards democratic values ​​in interpersonal and interstate relations, revealing the negative socio-political and moral-psychological consequences of intolerance, hostility, mistrust, aggressiveness characteristic of the life of society during the Cold War.

Basic concepts: Cold war, bipolar world, confrontation, Truman doctrine, Marshall plan, arms race.

Key dates: 1946 - the beginning of the "cold war", 1949. - NATO formation, 1955 - ATS formation, March 5, 1946 - Churchill's speech in Fulton, 1947 - Truman doctrine.

Equipment: map of Europe, portraits of Stalin, Truman, Churchill, documents (excerpt from Churchill's speech in Fulton, table "NATO countries, ATS countries").

During the classes.

1. Organizational moment.
2. Learning new material.
Introductory speech of the teacher. Ended up. The Second World War is the most brutal, bloodiest in the history of mankind. Let's think about how the relations between the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition could have developed after the war?
- cooperation or rivalry?
The topic of the lesson today is "Foreign Policy: Cold War". What conclusion can be drawn?
Former allies took the path of confrontation, or confrontation.
As an epigraph for our lesson, I chose the words of the Russian poet E. Yevtushenko.
“Our honeymoon with our allies ended quickly. The war united us, and the victory divided us. " (1990)

Let's define the objectives of the lesson.
Lesson plan (named by students):

1. Causes of the Cold War.
2. Cold War concept.
3. Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan.
4. Features of the Cold War.

1) Assignment. In the course of my story, try to highlight the reasons for the Cold War.
Historians, both domestic and foreign, argued a lot about international relations before and after World War II. The works of Western historians have repeatedly said that before the war and immediately after it, the West was too patient with the aggressive Soviet Union. This patience is running out.
What was the situation before the war? The only undisputed economic and political leader was the United States of America.
An interesting historical fact. In the early 1930s, there was no Soviet Union in educational atlases on geography in the United States; in its place there was only a blank spot.
And now, after the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Union becomes a superpower; and the West was not ready for this.
The Americans and the British feared the Soviet army, the most powerful in the world. The new position of the USSR pushed it to expand its borders and strive to strengthen its position in the world.
Let's call causes of the cold war:

1. Clash of interests of the two great powers.
2. US striving for world domination.
3. "Export" of communism.

2) The starting point in the Cold War is considered to be the speech of the former British Prime Minister Churchill, which he delivered in the presence of American President Truman on March 5, 1946. in Fulton, the hometown of the president.
Exercise. Read the excerpt from Churchill's speech (see appendix) and answer the questions.
Note: Churchill's speech does not speak of the need for open confrontation.
Now let's try to give a definition:
The Cold War is a period of confrontation or confrontation between two superpowers - the USSR and the United States.

3) Truman Doctrine. The Marshall Plan.
In 1947, the Truman Doctrine was developed - a program of measures to “save Europe from Soviet expansion.” One of the manifestations of the new US course was the Marshall Plan. Exercise. After reading the text of the textbook on page 271 (285), write
1. Objectives of the Truman Doctrine, its essence.
2. The main content of the Marshall plan.
3. Determine the attitude of the Soviet Union to these programs.
The purpose of the Truman Doctrine is to prevent further expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR and communist ideology ( the doctrine of containment of socialism); make the USSR go back to its former borders (the doctrine of the rejection of socialism).
Contents of the Truman Doctrine:
- large-scale economic assistance to European countries;
- the creation of a military-political bloc;
- deployment of a network of US military bases (Greece, Turkey) near the Soviet borders;
- support for internal opposition in Eastern European countries;
- use of military force if necessary.
Marshall Plan -(named after the US Secretary of State) - assistance to European countries.
THE USSR - categorically against this US policy, the Soviet leadership announced these measures as a call for war against the USSR.

4. Summing up, let's highlight the characteristic features of the historical period called the "Cold War" (drawing up a diagram on a blackboard)
1) Arms race (message from Katya Solovieva)
2) Create an image of the enemy
3) Splitting the world (working with the map): look at document number 2 (see appendix) - mark on the map the countries that were part of the opposing blocs - the world has become bipolar. (2 world systems - capitalist and social.)
4) military conflicts (message).
Why is the Cold War dangerous?
The Cold War lasted from 1946 to 1991, almost until the collapse of the USSR. Why didn't it develop into the Hot War?

cold war dulles plan

The ideological confrontation muted on both sides during World War II did not disappear, the contradictions between the two systems - capitalist and socialist - persisted and became stronger the more countries were drawn into the orbit of Soviet influence. The open rejection of a different socio-economic system was aggravated by a completely new nuclear factor, which was gradually coming to the fore. Even during the Second World War, the United States became the owner of the secret of nuclear weapons. The US nuclear monopoly remained until 1949, which irritated the Stalinist leadership. These objective reasons created the background against which the emergence of specific pretexts that led to the start of the Cold War did not take long to appear.

The greatest controversy is the question of who started the Cold War - the Soviet Union or the United States. Supporters of opposing points of view provide more and more evidence of their innocence, but the dispute in this case, apparently, is not resolved by the number of arguments "for" and "against".

It is important to understand the main thing: both countries were aimed at strengthening their influence, sought to expand its sphere as much as possible and, right up to the Caribbean crisis, believed that this goal justifies any means, even the use of weapons of mass destruction. There are many facts both from the Soviet side and from the side of the former allies in the coalition, testifying to the strengthening of mutual disagreements.

So, in 1945, the head of the Soviet Information Bureau A. Lozovsky informed V.M. Molotov about the "campaign to discredit the Red Army" organized in the United States and Great Britain, that "every fact of indiscipline of the Red Army fighters in the occupied countries is inflated and maliciously commented in a thousand ways."

The Soviet ideological machine, initially tuned in to counter-propaganda, gradually shifted to the formation of the image of a new adversary. Stalin spoke of the "aggressive strivings of imperialism" on February 9, 1946, in a speech to the electorate. Charge d'Affaires of the United States D. Kennan caught this change of mood in the Soviet upper echelons, who sent a secret document to Washington on February 26, 1946, which went down in history as "Kennan's long telegram." The document noted that the Soviet government, "being immune to the logic of reason, is very sensitive to the logic of force." So gradually both sides "exchanged blows", "warmed up" before the decisive battle.

The key event from which historians trace the Cold War was the speech of W. Churchill. After it, the last hopes even for the appearance of allied relations collapsed and an open confrontation began. On March 5, 1946, speaking at the college of the American city of Fulton in the presence of US President G. Truman, W. Churchill declared: "I do not believe that Soviet Russia wants war. It wants the fruits of war and the unlimited spread of its power and its doctrines." ...

W. Churchill pointed out two main dangers that threaten the modern world: the danger of a monopoly on nuclear weapons by a communist or neo-fascist state and the danger of tyranny. By tyranny, W. Churchill understood a device in which "state power is exercised unrestrictedly either by dictators or narrow oligarchies acting through a privileged party and political police ..." and in which civil liberties are significantly limited.

The combination of these two factors made, in the opinion of W. Churchill, necessary the creation of a "fraternal association of peoples speaking the English language" to coordinate actions primarily in the military field. The former Prime Minister of Great Britain justified the urgency of such a union by the significant expansion of the sphere of Soviet influence, thanks to which the "iron curtain descended on the continent," the growth of the influence of the communist parties in Europe, far exceeding their numbers, the danger of creating a pro-communist Germany, the emergence of communist fifth columns around the world. acting on instructions from a single center. In conclusion, Churchill drew the conclusion that determined global world politics for many decades: "We cannot afford to rely on a slight advantage in forces, thereby creating a temptation for a test of strength."

Churchill's speech, hitting Stalin's table, caused an outburst of indignation. On March 13, the day after the publication of his speech in Izvestia, Stalin gave an interview to a Pravda correspondent, in which he noted that, in fact, Churchill was now in the position of warmongers. He and his friends, Stalin said, are strikingly reminiscent in this respect of Hitler and his friends. Thus, the return shot was fired and the Cold War began.

The ideas of the retired British prime minister were developed and detailed in February 1947 in the message of President G. Truman to the US Congress and were called the "Truman Doctrine". The Truman Doctrine contained specific measures that were supposed to at least prevent the expansion of the Soviet sphere of influence and the spread of communist ideology ("the doctrine of containing socialism"), and, with a favorable coincidence, return the USSR to its former borders ("the doctrine of rejecting socialism"). Both the immediate and long-term tasks required the concentration of military, economic and ideological efforts: European countries were offered to provide large-scale economic assistance, under the leadership of the United States to form a military-political alliance and place a network of US military bases near the Soviet borders, to support opposition movements in Eastern Europe.

The economic component of the "Truman Doctrine" was developed in detail in the plan of US Secretary of State J. Marshall in the same 1947. At the initial stage, VM Molotov was invited to take part in the discussion of the "Marshall Plan". However, the provision of economic assistance to the United States was associated with certain political concessions on the part of Moscow, which was absolutely unacceptable for the leadership of the USSR. After the West rejected the demand for the Soviet government to retain freedom in spending allocated funds and to independently determine economic policy, the USSR refused to participate in the "Marshall Plan" and put direct pressure on Poland and Czechoslovakia, where the plan aroused interest.

War-torn Europe, the United States provided colossal economic assistance - for 1948-1951. European countries received a total of $ 12.4 billion in investments. The logic of ambitious behavior exacerbated the already heavy economic burden of the Soviet Union, which was forced to invest heavily in the people's democracies in the name of its ideological interests. By the middle of 1947, two types of foreign policy orientation were finally formed in Europe: pro-Soviet and pro-American.

With the undoubted influence and authority of the communists in post-war Europe, they managed to come to power and form their own governments only in Yugoslavia and Albania. In Eastern Europe, the process of establishing communist regimes was much more complicated than it was previously presented in historiography. The establishment of the communists in power in these countries went through two main stages.

The first stage covered the period from the end of the war to mid-1947, when the main model of state structure was the so-called "people's democracy", which was based on the concept of "national paths to socialism." The term "people's democracy" was supposed to demonstrate the difference from both the "old democracy" (bourgeois) and from the Soviet form of political power. The concept of "national paths to socialism" was based on the recognition of a gradual progressive movement towards a new system through evolutionary development, not revolution. This evolutionary process was supposed to focus on civil peace and a broad interclass alliance, excluding civil war and the dictatorship of the proletariat. The economy completely denied the Soviet practice of forcible expropriation of private property, which was to be gradually transformed into public property. In general terms, this concept was formulated by the President of Czechoslovakia, E. Benes, declaring that a new era is coming "of a decisive struggle for a new social and economic structure, the transition from bourgeois democracy to people's democracy." Such a "soft" model was also beneficial to the USSR, which received a significant expansion of its sphere of influence and, at the same time, could demonstrate that it did not impose its system on anyone by force.

But the "cold war" made significant adjustments to Moscow's relations with the countries of "people's democracies." The communist movement, led by Moscow, was included in the confrontation process and became one of its leading forces. From the middle of 1947 the situation in Europe changed - the communists lost their positions in France, Italy and Finland, the communist Resistance was defeated in Greece. The Stalinist leadership began to “float away from under their feet,” and they embarked on a course of speeding up the revolutionary process.

The Cold War revived the logic of the pre-war confrontation between Stalin and Hitler, which in the communist movement meant a return to the idea of ​​a "united front" against imperialism, and in fact - the restoration of the Stalinist understanding of internationalism as loyalty to the USSR, the subordination of the countries of the socialist bloc to Soviet foreign policy. Fearing to lose its positions and striving with all its might to protect Eastern Europe from American influence, Moscow forced socio-economic and political transformations in these countries.

The second stage of relations is characterized by the establishment in Eastern Europe of such regimes when the Soviet model of development was recognized as the only acceptable one. The process of the fall of the popular front coalition governments and the establishment of communist rule began. The communist government was formed in November 1946 in Bulgaria. In January 1947 the communist B. Bierut became the president of Poland. From August 1947 to February 1948, similar regimes were established in Hungary, Romania and Czechoslovakia.

The transition to a unified Soviet model of development was supposed to be facilitated by an international closed political structure - the Information Bureau of Communist and Workers' Parties (Cominform), created in September 1947 and existed until 1956. towards socialism ". At the very first meeting of the Cominform in September 1947 in Poland, the strategy of the communists in relation to democratic blocs and political allies was revised. The slightest deviation from the Soviet model began to be viewed by Moscow as separatism and a potential threat to reduce the sphere of Soviet influence. The creation of the Cominform meant a transition to a rigid unification of communist ideology, a complete rejection of the concept of "national paths to socialism", the replacement of "people's democracy" by the state of the dictatorship of the proletariat. Recently opened documents show that at the turn of 1947-1948. The Stalinist leadership was preparing to accuse the leaders of the communist parties of Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland of ignoring the Marxist-Leninist theory, an unfriendly attitude towards the USSR, a liquidationist policy in the organizational structure of the Communist Party, and a loyal attitude towards the kulak. However, at the very beginning of this hard line, Stalin unexpectedly encountered resistance from the Yugoslav Communists.

Moscow was especially irritated by the idea of ​​the Yugoslav leader Tito to create a Balkan federation (a union of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria). Stalin suspected Tito of striving for a leading role in the Balkans, which, in his opinion, could cause the weakening of the USSR's positions there. At the Soviet-Bulgarian-Yugoslav meeting on February 10, 1948, Stalin demanded that the process of creating a federation be transferred to a channel acceptable to the USSR. Tito did not agree with the Stalinist model of a federal structure and did not want to submit to the brutal dictates of Moscow.

Stalin tried to suppress the "riot on the ship" with the hands of the Cominform, which in June 1948 issued a resolution on the situation in the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. The CPY was accused of deviating from the Marxist-Leninist ideology, of slandering the USSR and the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), and the Yugoslav Communists were asked to replace their leaders if they did not recognize and correct their "mistakes." The events of the spring and summer of 1948 led to the severance of diplomatic relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia in October 1949. Economic sanctions were applied against Yugoslavia.

The end of the drama came on November 29, 1949, when the Cominform published a resolution entitled "The Yugoslav Communist Party in the Power of Assassins and Spies." A real anti-Yugoslav propaganda was launched in the USSR. The newspapers branded the "fascist Tito-Rankovic clique". Tito himself was portrayed with an ax in his hands, from which the blood of the Yugoslav communists flows.

After the Soviet-Yugoslav conflict, the "people's democracies" were left with no options: either unquestioning obedience to the dictates of Moscow, or complete political and economic isolation. Stalin demanded an exact repetition of the Soviet model of development, without any amendments "to local conditions." The copying of the Soviet practice of socialist construction caused a wave of repressions in 1949-1952, which was organized by the special services with the direct participation of advisers from Moscow. All party functionaries who advocated the national features of building socialism were removed from the leadership, sent to prisons, and shot. This is how the countries of "people's democracies" were transformed into countries of the "socialist camp", with mandatory laws of the center and party discipline. The use of the term "camp" extremely accurately reflected the oppressive, oppressive atmosphere in relations between Moscow and the countries that were building socialism according to the Soviet recipe. It was only in the early 1960s that this concept in the political lexicon began to gradually be replaced by the "socialist community."

Naturally, Moscow's imposition of its political will had a material basis. Even in the conditions of famine, which engulfed most of the territory of Moldova and Ukraine in 1946, the USSR delivered 2.5 million tons of grain to Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, to the Soviet occupation zone of Germany. Economic aid was transferred to firm ground as a result of the provision of long-term concessional loans to the countries of the "socialist camp", which amounted to over 1945-1952. $ 3 billion

In the context of severe polarization in the international arena, the actual emergence of pro-American and pro-Soviet blocs, the struggle for influence on countries that have not yet announced a particular orientation, the countries of the so-called "third world", has acquired particular importance. It is customary to include among them the young independent states that have freed themselves from colonial or other dependence.

After World War II, the national liberation movement developed with particular force on the Asian continent. 1945-1948 Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Burma and Ceylon receive sovereignty, which is considered to be the first stage in the collapse of the colonial system.

The Soviet Union used all available means of influencing the national liberation movement and its inclusion in the orbit of its influence. Material and military-political support was actively used. The channels of such assistance were political parties that were in opposition to the pro-Western forces in the country. So, for example, in Iran, occupied during the war by Soviet and British troops, the USSR supported the People's Party of Iran (Tudeh party), the separatism of the Kurds and Azerbaijanis. Strengthening the Soviet position in Iran for Moscow was associated with the conquest of political power by the Tudeh party and the creation of a pro-Soviet regime there. In December 1945, the separatists, relying on Soviet assistance, proclaimed the Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan and the Kurdish People's Republic in the northern provinces of Iran. This caused a sharp aggravation in Soviet-British relations. The British introduced an additional military contingent into the northern provinces of Iran, suppressed the Kurdish and Azerbaijani separatists. There was no official reaction from Stalin, who did not want to get involved in a regional conflict, to the complete fiasco in Iran.

Throughout the postwar years, the national liberation movement was a channel of Soviet influence on the Third World countries, and the young independent states themselves often became "pawns" in the global geopolitical game, acted as an arena for confrontation between the Soviet and American blocs, which often resulted in an armed confrontation.

The struggle between the USSR and the United States to increase their influence became most acute in Korea and Vietnam. After the end of World War II in the Asia-Pacific region, Korea was liberated from Japanese occupation and divided into Soviet and American zones. In the northern part of the country, which ended up in the Soviet administrative zone, with the support of Moscow, a "people's democratic revolution" began: organs of the new government were created - people's committees under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea and its leader Kim Il Sung; in 1946 land reform, nationalization of industry and other transformations were carried out. In September 1948, the formation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was proclaimed. Simultaneously with these events in the southern part of Korea, from the autumn of 1945, the American military administration functioned, which was not going to surrender its positions in Korea. Here in 1948 the South Korean government was created, headed by the American protégé, Lee Seung Man. A hotbed of direct confrontation between systems emerged, which is called in modern historiography "the phenomenon of divided peoples."

China also fell into the sphere of Soviet influence. The strong Communist Party, created here in the 1920s and actively supported by the Comintern, was defeated in 1927 by the West-oriented Kuomintang national party. The Communists launched a guerrilla war against the Kuomintang and established strongholds in remote rural areas. Since 1931, Japan began a struggle to subjugate all of China, which was largely hindered by the military and material assistance of the Soviet Union. After the defeat of the Kwantung Army in 1945, Northeast China, occupied by the Japanese, was liberated. China was engulfed in a civil war between the communists led by Mao Zedong and the Kuomintang troops. With active Soviet help, the communists won. On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China (PRC) was proclaimed, and on February 14, 1950, an agreement of friendship, alliance and mutual assistance was signed between it and the USSR. Stalin viewed the victory of the revolution in China and the building of socialism there according to the Soviet model as a key condition for the victory of socialism throughout the world and therefore spared neither effort nor money to help the Chinese communists, and also made significant concessions on all controversial issues. So, the USSR provided China with a one-percent loan in the amount of $ 300 million, transferred the rights to the former Chinese Eastern Railway, 25 years ahead of the expiration date of the contract, left the port of Dalniy (Dalian) and withdrew its military forces from the joint Soviet-Chinese base Port Arthur , transferring all property and facilities to the Chinese side. For eternity, a "great friendship" was proclaimed between the USSR and China.

After the war, the world was actually redivided, two main poles of attraction were formed, and a bipolar geopolitical model was formed. At the Cominform meeting in November 1949, in the report of M.A. Suslov, it was stated that on the one hand there is an aggressive and bloody imperialism, pursuing a policy of violence against peoples, preparing for a war against the USSR, on the other - the progressive USSR and its allies.

Churchill spoke most definitely about the nature of Soviet foreign policy, calling it "Soviet imperialism" and emphasizing the close connection between the foreign policy aspirations of the Soviet Union and the communist idea. He noted that after the war, "Russian imperialism and communist doctrine did not see and did not set a limit to their advancement and desire for final domination." Perceiving Lenin's idea of ​​a "world revolution," the pragmatic politician Stalin gradually transformed it into the concept of the steady expansion of the "socialist camp", spheres of influence in the "third world" under the slogans of proletarian internationalism, rallying peace fighters, etc. Along with consistent, realistic actions to expand the Soviet bloc and the zone of influence in the Third World countries, Moscow's post-war ambitions sometimes went beyond sober calculation. Thus, the most odious example, difficult to explain from the point of view of common sense, is Stalin's demands in the summer and autumn of 1945, which were doomed to failure from the very beginning. These are demands to change the regime of the Black Sea Straits, the return of the Kara and Ardahan districts to the USSR, which became Turkish in 1921, the participation of the USSR in the management of Tangier (Morocco), as well as statements of interest in changing political regimes in Syria, Lebanon, and a number of Italian colonies in Africa. ... Forced at the request of Stalin to implement these absurd initiatives in the international arena V.M. Molotov later recalled: "It was difficult then to make such demands. But to scare - they scared hard."

One way or another, but by the beginning of 1949 the "socialist camp" was ideologically united on the basis of subordination and strict discipline. In all countries, programs for building socialism according to the Soviet version were approved, and their cooperation was consolidated within the CMEA framework. Two communist regimes emerged in the Asia-Pacific region. The revolution in China ended victoriously. The influence of the USSR in the countries of the "third world" has significantly increased. The measures taken by the United States and its allies were announced in Churchill's Fulton speech, only their international legal registration was required.

On April 4, 1949, at the initiative of the United States, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, which determined the international legal basis for the military-political alliance of the pro-American bloc. This alliance was named the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO (from the English North Atlantic Treaty Organization - NATO). NATO included the United States, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, in 1952 Turkey and Greece. Within the framework of NATO, a joint military command of the participating countries was created, which became the basis of the first military bloc of states in the post-war world. The creation of NATO makes it possible to speak of the transition of confrontation from the ideological and political field to the military, which qualitatively changed the international situation and led to a significant exacerbation of international tension.

The only area of ​​allied relations in 1945-1949. remained the joint management of Germany, therefore it was in the German question that the confrontation manifested itself most sharply. The Soviet Union adhered to the position of the territorial integrity of the German state. This position was caused by two main factors: the threat of revanchist sentiments in the western occupation zones, which had an economically rich Ruhr basin, and the desire to receive reparation payments in full from the government of a unified Germany. As V.M. Molotov, Stalin was practically sure of the victory of the German communists and did not give up the hope of extending Soviet influence to the whole of Germany.

In the radically changed international situation, the policy on the German issue has become the main means of confrontation for the West. On January 1, 1947, the process of merging the Allied occupation zones began: during 1947 the British and American zones were united, and in the summer of 1948 the French zone was annexed to them. The reform of the monetary system in June 1948 in West Germany and its inclusion in the sphere of economic aid according to the "Marshall Plan" laid the economic basis for the division of the territory of the German state. The last desperate attempt to put pressure on the former allies was the economic blockade of West Berlin (the allied occupation sectors of the German capital, which was entirely in the Soviet zone). In the spring of 1949, the USSR tried to block the delivery of food to West Berlin, but to no avail - the Americans delivered all the means of life for the population by air. Stalin's proposal to lift the blockade of West Berlin in exchange for abandoning the idea of ​​creating a West German state was ignored.

In May 1949, an agreement was signed between the high commissioners of the western occupation zones on the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany with the capital in Bonn, the Constitution was adopted and the government bodies of the FRG were formed. In retaliation, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was created in the Soviet occupation zone in October 1949.

The confrontation between the two systems made an open military confrontation quite real. The danger of this trend was compounded by the nuclear factor. Until 1949, the only power that possessed nuclear weapons was the United States, which turned them into the main means of pressure on the USSR. In the summer of 1946, the United States submitted to the UN the Baruch plan, which proposed the establishment of an international system of control over atomic energy.

All types of activities (research and production) related to nuclear energy were to be controlled by a special international organization, the real leadership of which was in the hands of the United States. If the Baruch plan was adopted, the possibility arose of consolidating the US monopoly on developments in the field of nuclear energy. The USSR came up with a counter-initiative and submitted to the UN a convention on the complete prohibition of nuclear weapons, proposing not to use them under any circumstances, to prohibit their production and storage, and to destroy all their stocks. The UN Security Council was supposed to monitor compliance with the convention. Baruch's plan was rejected by the USSR, and the Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons by the United States. The aggravation of the international legal issue of the issue of atomic energy and nuclear weapons served as the beginning of the era of "nuclear diplomacy" and the arms race in the international arena.

In preparing its military-strategic plans, the United States proceeded from its readiness to use nuclear weapons against the USSR. Among these plans, the most famous was the "Dropshot" plan (1949), where the primary goals of the nuclear bombing of the cities of the Soviet Union were outlined.

The US monopoly on nuclear weapons put the USSR in a rather difficult position and forced the country's leadership to pursue two main lines. The first, the official line, was to create Soviet nuclear weapons and eliminate the US nuclear monopoly, regardless of any difficulties. The efforts of the Soviet military-industrial complex were crowned with success. In a TASS statement dated September 25, 1949, it was said that the secret of the atomic bomb was no longer there. Thus, the US nuclear monopoly was eliminated. The confrontation became thermonuclear.

Still not possessing nuclear weapons, the USSR stepped up the second, propaganda line. Its essence boiled down to demonstrating in every possible way a desire to negotiate with the United States on the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons. Was this desire sincere? Did the Soviet leadership consider such negotiations to be real? Probably not. Another thing is important - this propaganda line met the desire of the Soviet people to live in peace, and the official propaganda in this case coincided with the movement of peace supporters both in the USSR and abroad.

In 1947, on the initiative of the USSR, a UN General Assembly resolution was adopted condemning any form of propaganda aimed at creating or increasing a threat to peace. Against the background of a broad international discussion of the threat of a world war, in August 1948, on the initiative of prominent scientists and cultural figures, an international movement of peace supporters emerged, which held its first congress in April 1949 in Paris. The Congress was attended by representatives of 72 countries, the Standing Committee of the World Congress of Peace Supporters was created, headed by the outstanding French physicist F. Joliot-Curie, and International Peace Prizes were established. This social movement absolutely coincided with the official foreign policy line of the Soviet Union, therefore the USSR provided constant assistance to the peace movement.

It took on an organized character within the country as well, joining with all the might of the Soviet propaganda machine - in August 1949, the first All-Union Peace Conference was held in Moscow and the Soviet Peace Committee was created. The entire adult population of the USSR (115.5 million people) signed the Stockholm Appeal, adopted in March 1950 by the session of the Standing Committee of the World Peace Congress. The appeal demanded an unconditional prohibition of atomic weapons "as a weapon of intimidation and mass destruction of people." The signatories demanded "the establishment of strict international control over the implementation of this decision," and the first use of atomic weapons against any country was declared a "crime against humanity."

At the official diplomatic level, in June 1950, the USSR declared its readiness to cooperate with the legislative bodies of other countries in implementing the proposals of the peace supporters, and on March 12, 1951, the USSR Supreme Soviet adopted the Peace Defense Law, according to which the propaganda of war was declared the gravest crime against humanity.

The climax of the confrontation was the war in Korea (June 25, 1950 - July 28, 1953), during which the struggle between the USSR and the United States for influence in Asia turned into an open military confrontation that threatened to escalate into a world war. In the Korean War, North Korea (DPRK) fought against pro-American South Korea. On the side of the DPRK, Chinese volunteers took part in the hostilities, and from the end of November 1950 - several Soviet air divisions on aircraft with Korean identification marks, air defense formations. On the side of South Korea, the Americans fought under the UN flag. The Soviet government provided the DPRK with military and material assistance: it supplied the Korean army with tanks, aircraft, ammunition, and medicines. Several Soviet ground divisions were prepared to be sent to Korea. The military operations took place with varying degrees of success. The largest military role was played by the US landing in the rear of the North Korean army in September 1950 and the massive bombing of the DPRK capital Pyongyang in July 1952.Nevertheless, neither side managed to achieve a decisive strategic advantage, and on July 28, 1953 in Korea peace was established, but the country remained divided into two states.

The confrontation between the blocs came to a dangerous line during the Cuban Missile Crisis in the fall of 1962. The United States began deploying nuclear missiles in Turkey, Italy and the FRG, organizing its military bases there. The United States also attempted to overthrow the Castro regime by organizing a landing in the Playa Giron area in April 1961.

Under the threat of losing power, Castro in the spring of 1962 obtained from the Soviet leadership the recognition of Cuba as a socialist country. The admission of Cuba to the "socialist camp" imposed obligations on the USSR, primarily in the military-strategic area, related to the protection of the territory of the "island of freedom." The United States continued to develop plans for a military invasion of the island.

Therefore, in the spring of 1962, the USSR began to secretly equip its military base in Cuba, carrying out a top-secret transfer of people and medium-range missiles. This made it possible, while defending the socialist transformations in Cuba, at the same time "keeping the gun on the fly" Washington. US President John F. Kennedy responded by naval blockade of Cuba and the demand for the immediate withdrawal of Soviet missiles from the island. In full combat readiness were brought not only the troops of the USSR and the United States, but also the formations of NATO and the Internal Affairs Directorate.

Intensive negotiations began between Khrushchev and Kennedy, as a result of which a salvific compromise was reached: the USSR exported missiles from Cuba, and the USA - from Turkey and Italy; America also guaranteed the security of Cuba and the Castro regime.

Of particular discussion is the question of which side prevailed as a result of the Cuban missile crisis. The entire spectrum of opinions is presented in the literature. It seems that one should separate the political and military results of the past events. If, in a political sense, the United States gained an advantage and new evidence of "Soviet expansionism," in a military sense, the withdrawal of American missiles from Turkey and Italy was an undoubted success for the USSR. If the propaganda effect was evident, the military agreements and US concessions in Turkey and Italy were kept secret. This development of events led to further confrontation between the USSR and China, as it gave Mao Zedong an excuse to talk about the "criminal conspiracy" of Soviet revisionism and American imperialism.

On a number of points, Mao's views were shared by Castro, who believed that Khrushchev had betrayed him when he made concessions to the Americans and "exchanged" their missiles in Turkey and Italy for his own in Cuba. However, the main and indisputable significance of the Cuban missile crisis was to prove the impossibility of using nuclear missiles to achieve political goals. The Cuban missile crisis marked the end of the first period of the Cold War, when it could escalate into an armed conflict.

After the crisis, a gradual process of lifting the acute confrontation in relations between the USSR and the United States began. An important step in this direction was the signing of a treaty banning atomic weapons tests in the atmosphere, space and under water, which took place in August 1963 in Moscow. The assassination of Kennedy in November 1963 and the resignation of Khrushchev in October 1964 slowed down the development of this process.

Thus, the analysis of historical events in the period under review allows us to conclude that both the leadership of the United States and the USSR were equally guilty of unleashing the cold war at its first stage, which not only did not try to reduce it, but also strengthened in every possible way by conducting appropriate ideological propaganda.

The so-called Allen Dulles plan, which will be discussed further in this work, is of great scientific interest.

RVIO Scientific Director Mikhail Myagkov spoke about how the American program of assistance to Europe launched the Cold War with the USSR.

Traveling through the vastness of the foreign press, we found one interesting article published in the American newspaper The Washington Post. And although the text tells about the events of the late 1940s, the author leaves no doubt that this topic is still relevant.

We are talking about the famous Marshall Plan, or rather, a book that is entirely devoted to this American program of aid to Europe after World War II. The author of the article is Hope Harrison, Doctor of History, Professor of History. Her material is dedicated to the book by the writer Benn Steil entitled "The Marshall Plan: Dawn of the Cold War" (The Marshall Plan: Dawn of the Cold War).

Remarkably, in his article, Harrison openly criticizes the Marshall Plan, arguing that “such an initiative is unlikely to be implemented again - even if one day the US is headed by a president who believes that America's core interests are closely related to the interests of other countries, and who wants to help these countries. "

Both the author of the book and the historian agree that it was the policy of Secretary of State George C. Marshall, which the United States began to implement in April 1948, that launched the mechanism of the Cold War and aggravated relations with the Soviet Union.

It would seem that by deciding to help 17 European countries restore their economies after World War II, America showed nobility, but a number of historians see this for completely different reasons.

Read about the role the Marshall Plan played in the Cold War, how America was guided in this situation, and how it relates to the division of Germany into East and West - read in our interview with Scientific Director Mikhail Myagkov.

Depression or Cold War?

- Mikhail Yuryevich, tell us what it was aboutthe Marshall plan and why did America need it first of all?

The Marshall Plan is a large-scale economic aid from the United States of America to European countries (affected by World War II - Approx. ed.). But this aid had a twofold purpose. On the one hand, it really was aid, and on the other, the subordination of European countries to the American economy, which, in fact, tied European countries to the industrial, agricultural and financial power of the United States. In addition, it was also an opportunity for America to subjugate Western Europe politically and militarily.

What role did the Marshall Plan play in rebuilding the economies of war-torn nations? And what kind of help were you talking about?

The aid was quite substantial: the total amount of appropriations to Western European countries over several years is about $ 13 billion. It allowed Europe to quickly increase the pace of development of its industry and agriculture. But do not forget that the Marshall Plan was primarily needed by the United States itself, because in America, one way or another, they feared the post-war depression.

- And could help Europe prevent this depression? How exactly?

In the United States, there was a certain overproduction of goods that had to be sold somewhere, and this sale had to be made specifically to the countries of Europe. This made it possible for American industry and agriculture to maintain their pace of development after the war, since the war gave American industry a powerful impetus. And the US government feared that the sale of goods would stop after the war and that what happened during the Great Depression of 1929 - 1930 would be repeated. To avoid this, it was necessary to open up sales markets in Europe. Accordingly, Europe had to economically submit to the United States. And the second goal, as I said, was through this large-scale aid to subjugate Europe in the military-political sense. For example, it was agreed in advance that leftist forces should be removed from the governments of the countries that are being supported. It was a kind of mechanism for the Cold War, which was already flaring up at that time.

Partition of Germany was thought about during the war

- In the articleTheWashingtonPost there is a phrase that, in my opinion, illustrates well the position of the United States in this story. True, it looks more like an excuse: “At first, America believed that the economic aid program would help stabilize Europe and give the United States the opportunity at some point to leave there in order to concentrate on its own affairs. However, Europeans' concerns about the possible restoration of Germany's power required the United States to maintain its presence in Europe. " Do you think it is possible to believe that America was really going to "leave" Europe?

Whatever the American President F. Roosevelt said during the Second World War, after the war, the United States naturally wanted to stay in Europe. They needed a presence there in order, first of all, to open for themselves the markets of European states and through their economies to penetrate even more into the colonies of European countries scattered throughout the world, to subjugate them economically and politically.

Was the revival of the power of Germany really feared then? And is the Marshall plan connected with the process of the division of Germany into the GDR and the FRG?

The Marshall Plan undoubtedly influenced the partition of Germany, since the United States was in one way or another interested in the fact that Germany was economically subordinated primarily to American capital. The Americans had access to coal, steel, and production facilities in the western part of Germany. All this would allow the United States not only to subjugate West Germany, but also to oppose its resources to the Soviet Union. It is noticeable that the Americans, in the conditions of the already flaring cold war, tried to strengthen their military and economic capabilities, including at the expense of West Germany. And it is clear that this kind of support, of course, could only lead to the division of the country.

One of the prerequisites for the Marshall plan is sometimes called the failure of the Morgenthau plan, which was also a program to prevent Germany from unleashing a third world war. What is the difference between the two concepts?

The Morgenthau plan, in fact, spoke of the transformation of Germany into an agrarian country. Such thoughts were really expressed, there were such projects. Franklin Roosevelt, even during the war years, had plans to divide Germany into several states. But in the conditions of the Cold War that had already begun, when the United States headed for an escalation of confrontation with the Soviet Union, fears about a possible revival of the power of the western part of Germany gave way to a desire to use its potential against the USSR. West Germany was already taken into account in the plans for the war against the Soviet Union.

Reduce Russia to a subordinate power

- How did the Soviet leadership react to such a policy of the Americans?

It is believed that the Soviet Union immediately rejected the Marshall Plan. But, on the other hand, it is also known that in 1947 negotiations were held between the USSR, England and France, at which VM Molotov was present from the USSR, where the issues of American assistance to the European countries affected by the war were initially discussed. On the other hand, when it became clear that the Marshall Plan was aimed primarily at subordinating European states to the American economy and politics, the attitude of the Soviet Union towards it, of course, became unequivocally negative.

The Americans were playing their own game, and the USSR did not want the economic and then military-political influence of the United States to penetrate into the countries of Eastern Europe. Then the Soviet Union, instead of a security belt on its borders, could again receive a belt of unfriendly states. A threat from a potential adversary would come close to our territory (as happened in the 1990s-2000s, when Eastern European countries began to join NATO). In any case, it was clear in Moscow that the United States of America thinks primarily in terms of the weakening of the USSR.

Does it not seem strange to you that both the article and the book to which it is devoted were published not somewhere abroad, but in the United States, that is, in the homeland of the Marshall Plan? After all, both the journalist and the historian, whose book is analyzed there, quite openly criticize such a policy of the States. Maybe this is a sign that America is ready for rapprochement with Russia, and not unleashing a new Cold War? And did the Marshall Plan play such a big role in this conflict?

I think that the Marshall Plan for the American leadership was precisely the escalation mechanism of the Cold War. At the same time, the Americans were interested in getting as many countries as possible into their orbit. They wanted the Eastern European countries, which in those years were under the influence of the Soviet Union, to also enter their sphere of influence. Accordingly, Europe, both then and today, occupies the most important place in the strategic plans of the United States, both economic and political. That is, the more European countries enter the US orbit, the easier it will be for the United States to carry out its various military-political plans, including the encirclement of Russia by military bases, an increase in sanctions against it, and other methods aimed at undermining our defenses and economic development. ... If the Americans then used all their economic and political opportunities for this, then they will do so today. No matter how much the Marshall Plan is criticized, the most important foundations that were laid then, in fact, continue to operate today. Earlier, the United States sought to subjugate Europe and use its resources against the USSR. And today Washington wants to continue to dominate the European continent economically and politically and economically and use its potential against Russia.

THE BEGINNING OF THE "COLD WAR" by the countries of people's democracies. At the final stage of the Second World War, the Red Army entered the countries of Eastern Europe. They began to be called the countries of people's democracy. The Stalinist policy, with its methods of violence, began to be applied there even before the end of the war. Europe after World War II.

THE BEGINNING OF THE COLD WAR Iron Curtain. Already in May 1945, a few days after the end of the war in Europe, Churchill telegraphed Truman that the Iron Curtain had descended over the Soviet front. The Iron Curtain (American propaganda poster).

THE BEGINNING OF THE "COLD WAR" March 5, 1946 in Fulton (USA). The beginning of the Cold War is considered to be the speech of the former Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston Churchill, which he delivered on March 5, 1946 in Fulton (USA). In his speech, Churchill warned the world against the growing threat of communism. Speech by Winston Churchill at Fulton (March 5, 1946). "Churchill scares the world with the threat of communism."

THE COLD WAR BEGINS March 12, 1947 On March 12, 1947, US President Harry Truman addressed Congress with a proposal to provide assistance to all countries threatened by communist expansion. the Truman doctrine. These principles became the fundamental provisions of the so-called. the Truman doctrine. Text of the Truman Doctrine. Harry Truman is the 33rd President of the United States.

THE COLD WAR STARTS Marshall Plan. One of the first measures to implement the Truman Doctrine was the Marshall Plan. It got its name from the name of the then US Secretary of State George Marshall. Signing of the Marshall Plan (1948) George Marshall

THE BEGINNING OF THE COLD WAR The essence of the Marshall plan was to provide the countries of Europe in 1948 - 1952 dollars to restore the ruined economy. The countries of Eastern Europe, under pressure from the USSR, refused American aid. European states that received assistance from the United States under the Marshall Plan.

THE BEGINNING OF THE "COLD WAR" January 1949 Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA). In January 1949, the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe established the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA). Mutual economic aid instead of American aid - that is the meaning of the name of this organization. CMEA member countries (as of 1980).

THE COLD WAR BEGINS April 1949 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created. This block was created primarily to protect its members. Signing of the North Atlantic Treaty.

THE COLD WAR STARTS May 1955 Organization of the Warsaw Pact. In May 1955, the Warsaw Pact Organization was created. It was a military-political alliance under the auspices of the USSR. by 1955, the confrontation between East and West was finally formed. Thus, by 1955, the confrontation between East and West was finally formed. The signing of the Warsaw Pact.

KOREAN WAR (1950 - 1953) The Korean War ended in 1953. In three years of fierce fighting, more than Koreans, Chinese and about Americans were killed. Each side proclaimed its victory. The final stage of the Korean War.

SUETZ CRISIS (1956) October 1956 In October 1956, Israeli forces invaded Egypt and began to rapidly approach the Suez Canal. Soon, British and French troops entered the territory of Egypt. November 6, 1956 However, on November 6, 1956, an armistice was signed with the mediation of the UN. In 1957, Israeli troops left the territory of Egypt. The Suez Canal became the legal property of Egypt. Suez Crisis (1956).

BERLIN CRISIS (1961) In 1955, Western countries recognized the FRG, and the USSR - the GDR. The FRG authorities did not recognize the GDR and declared that they would sever relations with the country that would do this (an exception was made only for the USSR). In 1958, Moscow demanded the withdrawal of the troops of its former allies from West Berlin.

CARIBBEAN (CUBAN) CRISIS (1962) In January 1959, the regime of the dictator Batista was overthrown in Cuba. The rebels came to power, led by Fidel Castro, who in his policy was guided by the USSR. The United States began to finance the struggle of the Cuban emigrants against the Castro regime. Dictator Batista. Fidel Castro and Nikita Khrushchev.

CARIBBEAN (CUBAN) CRISIS (1962) In the summer of 1962, Washington became aware of the deployment of Soviet medium-range missiles in Cuba. Map of Cuba depicting the bases of Soviet medium-range missiles. A snapshot of a Soviet missile base in Cuba taken by an American reconnaissance aircraft.

CARIBBEAN (CUBAN) CRISIS (1962) In response to the deployment of Soviet missiles, US President Kennedy announced the introduction of quarantine around Cuba. The quarantine was intended to prevent the delivery of weapons to Cuba. The USSR dismantled the missiles in November 1962, and the United States ended the blockade of Cuba. Meeting of the President of the United States with the Commander of the United States Air Force. Meeting of the US President with Soviet diplomats.

VIETNAM WAR (1965 - 1973) In 1945, the leader of the Vietnamese communists, Ho Chi Minh, proclaimed the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In 1946, a war broke out between France and Vietnam, which lasted 8 years. French Indochina. Ho Chi Minh Fight with the participation of French paratroopers (1952).

VIETNAM WAR (1965 - 1973) In 1954, ceasefire agreements in Indochina were signed in Geneva. In Vietnam, actually two states were formed, which began to fight against each other. In this struggle, North Vietnam was supported by the USSR, and South Vietnam by the United States. North and South Vietnam on the eve of the outbreak of the Vietnam War.

VIETNAM WAR (1965-1973) The US entered the war in the August 1964 incident in the Gulf of Tonkin. March 1965 In March 1965, the first American units arrived in Vietnam. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident (August 1964). American landing in Vietnam (March 1965).

VIETNAM WAR (1965-1973) The entry of the United States into the war caused a wave of pacifist sentiments in the United States itself and harsh condemnation from the USSR and its allies. Antiwar activists and military police (Washington, October 1967). "Put an end to the aggression in Vietnam!" (Soviet propaganda poster).

VIETNAM WAR (1965 - 1973) January 7, 1973 On January 7, 1973, agreements were signed in Paris to end the Vietnam War. They also provided for the withdrawal of American troops. Socialist Republic of Vietnam. In 1976, Vietnam united. The state became known as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Signing of agreements in Paris (January 1973).

THE ERA OF RELEASE The 1970s went down in the history of the Cold War as a period of relaxation of international tension. In 1972, in Moscow, the leaders of the USSR and the United States signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) and the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT-1). Signing of the ABM and SALT-1 Treaties (Moscow, 1972).

THE ERA OF DETAIL 1975 The Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. In 1975, the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe was signed in Helsinki, which guaranteed the inviolability of European borders and laid the foundations for the development of cooperation in various fields of life. Brezhnev signs the so-called. Helsinki agreements. Participants of the Helsinki meeting.

THE ERA OF DISCHARGE 1979 SALT-2 Treaty In 1979, the leaders of the USSR and the United States signed the SALT-2 Treaty, according to which they pledged to reduce the number of carriers of nuclear weapons. Due to the fact that the USSR sent its troops to Afghanistan, the United States refused to ratify this treaty. Signing of the SALT II Treaty (Vienna, June 7, 1979).

THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1985 - 1991) Mikhail Gorbachev. Eduard Shevardnadze. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the new Soviet leader. Eduard Shevardnadze was appointed the new foreign minister. The Soviet leadership took a course towards improving relations with the West. Mikhail Gorbachev was the leader of the USSR from 1985 to 1991. Eduard Shevardnadze - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR.

THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1985 - 1991) The meetings of the heads of the USSR and the USA became regular. They discussed four areas of problems: disarmament; regional conflicts; human rights; bilateral relationship. Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan during negotiations.

THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1985 - 1991) In the late 1980s, the USSR withdrew its troops from Afghanistan and agreed to the unification of Germany. Relations with the West began to improve. The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan (February 1989). Unification of Germany (October 1990). 46