The Cold War

[INeverSleep]

In your opinion, how did the policies of both the United States and Soviet Union lead to the start of the Cold War?

[mathematic]

After WWII Stalin seemed determined to put as much of Europe as possible under Communist domination. U.S. and U.K. opposed this - Marshall plan and eventually NATO.

[Sriman Dutta]

Main cause of Cold War was the rivalry between the Capitalist Bloc led by USA and the Communist Bloc led by USSR.

[Velocity_Boy]

In your opinion, how did the policies of both the United States and Soviet Union lead to the start of the Cold War?[/size]

It was all about the two countries respective speheres of influence, to coin a phrase that was popular at the time. Russia was of course our ally during the war and since we defeated the Axis Powers, it was a sort of To the Victors Go the Spoils dynamic at work after the war. Both us and Russia sought to annex defeated nations into our own politics and type of position!Iridal ideology. Which of course we're diametrically opposed. The USA was a Democratic republic with Free Market capitalist economy, while Russia was of course a Communist and State controlled Soviet. We wanted to make sure that as many nations as possible that were of interest to us and strategically and geographically desirable also incorporated our own type of government and economic system. Thus strengthening and enlarging our spheres of influence.

 

And yes, we did really drive the USSR into bankruptcy. Their way of government has been roundly and fairly denigrated as being unviable or even impossible. But it might have survived nonetheless for a much longer time had Russia. Of spent so much money trying to keep up with us in defense and technology. And in Cold War operations. Both covert and overt. Afghanistan was their Vietnam. The paralells are remarkable. And that war also played a large part in their undoing.

 

Russia was super by us. And our government also filed the American people in propagating cold war paranoia. Russia was never really that close to us technology or defense wise. We were far ahead the whole time and posed a much bigger threat to them than they to us. Look up Ronald Reagan and his Operation Able Archer. Or research on who really avoided nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis.