Y alta-Potsdam system of international relations - the post-war world order, which was formed as a result of two major conferences. In fact, they discussed the results of the world opposition to fascism. It was assumed that the system of relations would be based on the cooperation of the countries that defeated Germany. An important role was assigned to the United Nations, which was supposed to develop appropriate mechanisms for interaction between countries. In this article, we will talk about the main features and stages of this system, its subsequent collapse associated with the collapse of the USSR.
The role of the UN
The UN played an important role in the Y alta-Potsdam system. Already in June 1945, the charter of this organization was signed, in which it was proclaimed that the goals would be to maintain peace on the planet, as well as to help all countries and peoples freelydevelop, self-determine. Cultural and economic cooperation was encouraged, and much was said about individual freedom and human rights.
The UN was supposed to become the world center for coordinating efforts in the Y alta-Potsdam international system in order to exclude future conflicts and wars between states. This was the main feature of the established world order.
First problems
Unsolvable problems appeared almost immediately. The UN was faced with the inability to guarantee the interests of the two leading members - the Soviet Union and the United States. There were constant tensions between them, on almost every issue.
As a result, the main function of the UN within the framework of the Y alta-Potsdam international system has become the prevention of a real armed conflict between these countries. It is worth noting that she coped with this task. After all, stability between them was the key to peace for much of the second half of the 20th century.
In the early 50s, when the formation of the Y alta-Potsdam system of international relations was just beginning, the bipolar confrontation was not yet so active. It was not felt at all in the Middle East and Latin America, where the US and the USSR acted in parallel, without affecting each other's interests.
In this regard, the Korean War became the key one, creating the prerequisites for the emergence of the Soviet-American confrontation anywhere in the world.
Arms race
The next stage in the development of the Y alta-The Potsdam system of the world takes shape by the mid-50s. The USSR is almost completely closing the gap with the United States in the defense industry.
The situation in the world is influenced by the change in the balance of power between the colonial powers. First of all, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands. In international relations, there is an alignment of European and non-European issues.
By 1962, the tension in the political arena reaches its peak. The world is on the brink of a nuclear war capable of destroying it. The high point of instability was the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is believed that the USSR and the USA did not dare to start the Third World War, imagining how disastrous the use of such powerful weapons would be.
Easing tensions
At the end of the 60s-70s, the status quo was established in world politics. Despite existing ideological differences, there is a trend towards détente.
The bipolarity of the Y alta-Potsdam system guaranteed some balance in the world. It now had two guarantors who controlled one another. Both countries, for all their contradictions, were interested in maintaining the established rules of the game. This became the main characteristic features of the Y alta-Potsdam system of international relations.
An important feature was the tacit recognition of spheres of influence by the superpowers. It is noteworthy that the United States did not intervene in the situation in Eastern Europe when Soviet tanks entered Bucharest and Prague during acute political crises in these countries.
At the same time, in countries"Third World" there has been a confrontation. The desire of the Soviet Union to influence the policies of some Asian and African countries led to a number of international conflicts.
Nuclear Factor
Another characteristic feature of the Y alta-Potsdam system was the nuclear factor. The Americans were the first to receive the atomic bomb, having managed to use it against Japan in 1945. The USSR got it in 1949. A little later, Great Britain, France and China took possession of the weapons.
Nuclear bombs played a big role in the interaction between the two superpowers when the American monopoly on their possession ended. This provoked a full-scale arms race, becoming an important element of the world order in the Y alta-Potsdam system.
In 1957, the USSR launched the production of ballistic missiles after the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite. Now weapons from Soviet territory could well have reached American cities, which instilled fear and uncertainty in the inhabitants of the United States.
Speaking briefly about the Y alta-Potsdam system of international relations, it is worth noting that the nuclear bomb has become a tool of deterrence in it. As a result, none of the superpowers went to a full-scale conflict, fearing a retaliatory strike.
Nuclear weapons have become a new argument in international relations. Since then, the country that began to own it, forced all its neighbors to respect itself. One of the results of the formation of the Y alta-Potsdam system was the stabilizing effect of nuclear potentials on the entire world order. This iscontributed to preventing the escalation of the conflict, which could lead to war.
The nuclear potential had a sobering effect on politicians, forcing them to weigh their statements and actions against the existing threat of a global catastrophe.
Describing briefly the Y alta-Potsdam system, it is worth noting that this stability was fragile and unstable. The balance was achieved solely through fear, besides, local conflicts constantly continued on the territory of third countries. This was the main danger of the existing world order. At the same time, this system of relations turned out to be more stable than the Versailles-Washington one that preceded it, since it did not lead to a world war.
Crash of the system
The collapse of the Y alta-Potsdam system of international relations actually occurred on December 8, 1991. It was then that the leaders of the three Soviet republics (Russia, Belarus and Ukraine) in Belovezhskaya Pushcha signed an agreement on the emergence of the CIS, declaring that the USSR would cease to exist from now on.
Among the already former Soviet population, this caused a negative reaction. Three days later, the Constitutional Supervision Committee, which existed in the Soviet Union, condemned the Belovezhskaya Accord, but this had no consequences.
The next day the document was ratified by the Supreme Council. The Russian deputies were recalled from the SC, after which it lost its quorum. Kazakhstan was the last to declare its independence on December 16.
CIS, which was initially considered the successor of the USSR, was created at the same time innot as a confederation, but as an interstate organization. It still has weak integration, there is no real power. Despite this, the B altic republics and Georgia still refused to become members of the CIS, which later did join.
The collapse of the Y alta-Potsdam system has actually already occurred, even though Russia has announced that it will continue its membership in all international organizations in the place of the Soviet Union. The Russian Federation also recognized all Soviet debts. The assets became her property. Economists estimate that at the end of 1991, Vnesheconombank had about $700 million in deposits. Liabilities were estimated at more than 93 billion, and assets at about 110 billion.
The last act of the collapse of the Y alta-Potsdam system of relations was the announcement by Gorbachev about the termination of the duties of the President of the USSR. He made this statement on December 25. After that, he voluntarily resigned as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, handing over the so-called "nuclear suitcase" to Yeltsin.
On New Year's Eve, the declaration on the demise of the USSR was officially adopted by the upper chamber of the Supreme Soviet, which still managed to maintain a quorum. At that time, representatives of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan continued to sit in it. Also, this last legitimate body of Soviet power adopted a number of important documents, mainly related to the resignation of high-ranking officials, for example, the headState Bank. This day is officially considered the date of the end of the existence of the USSR, the day when the collapse of the Y alta-Potsdam system ended.
At the same time, some Soviet organizations and institutions continued their activities for several more months.
Reasons
Discussing the causes of what happened, historians put forward different versions. The collapse of the existing politics in the world was facilitated not only by the collapse of the Soviet Union, but also by the Warsaw Pact, as well as those significant changes that took place in the countries of the socialist bloc located in Eastern and Central Europe. Instead of the USSR, a dozen and a half independent states were formed, each of which was looking for its place in the world.
Dramatic changes were taking place in other parts of the world. Another symbol of the demise of power politics was the unification of Germany, the de facto end of the Cold War between America and the Soviet Union.
Most researchers agree that the collapse of the USSR was the key factor in the cardinal change in international relations, since it was its existence that determined the dominant bipolar relations in the world. They were based on the formation of two blocs organized on the confrontation between the main military and political opponents, the two superpowers. Their advantage over other countries was undeniable. It was determined primarily by the presence of nuclear weapons, which guaranteed mutual destruction if the conflict escalated intoactive stage.
When one of the superpowers officially ceased to exist, an inevitable breakdown took place in international relations. The world order established after the war against fascism, which dominated the world for several decades, has changed forever.
What led to the collapse of the USSR?
This question is also of great importance within the framework of the topic under consideration. There are several main points of view.
Among Western political scientists, the position has been established that the collapse of the USSR was predetermined by its loss in the Cold War. Such opinions are extremely popular in Western European states, as well as in the United States. They quickly established themselves, replacing the amazement at such a rapid collapse of the communist regime.
Here, the desire of the opposing side to take advantage of the fruits of victory looks obvious. This is important for the Americans themselves and the rest of the members of the NATO bloc.
It is worth noting that in political terms, this trend poses a certain danger. From a scientific point of view, it is untenable, since it reduces all the problems solely to external factors.
Beijing Conference
In this regard, the conference that took place in Beijing in 2000 is of great interest. It was devoted to the reasons for the collapse of the USSR and the impact it had on Europe. It was organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
It is no coincidence that such a scientific forum took place in this country. The Chinese authorities began to implement changes similar to the Soviet ones at the end80s, back in 1979, having achieved significant economic results. At the same time, they were worried and alarmed by the socio-economic catastrophe that shook the USSR.
Then they began to directly study this issue, so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past. According to Chinese researchers, the collapse of the Soviet Union can be regarded as a tragedy for the whole world, which threw civilization back in its development.
They gave this assessment based on the results that the subsequent changes led to. According to their findings, this was the biggest geopolitical change of the 20th century.
Record death
There is another opinion according to which the USSR collapsed not in December 1991, but much earlier. The leaders of the three republics, who gathered in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, figuratively acted as pathologists to record the death of a patient.
According to the Russian politician and lawyer, one of the authors of the first constitution of modern Russia, Sergei Shakhrai, three factors were the reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The first was in one of the articles of the current constitution. It gave the republics the right to secede from the USSR.
The second was the so-called "information virus", which began to manifest itself actively in the late 80s. In the context of the economic crisis that broke out at the time, sentiments emerged in many Soviet republics as national governments started calling for them to stop working for Moscow. In the Urals there were demands to stop helpingneighboring republics. At the same time, Moscow blamed the outskirts for losing all its income.
Another reason was autonomy. By the beginning of the 1990s, perestroika had completely fizzled out. The political center was greatly weakened, the rivalry between Gorbachev and Yeltsin for political leadership grew into an active phase, power began to move to the "lower levels". All this ended with the loss of 20 million of the population of the Soviet Union. The monolith of the CPSU cracked, the putsch that took place in 1991 was the last straw. As a result, 13 out of 15 republics declared sovereignty.
At the heart of the Y alta-Potsdam order was a regulated confrontation between America and the Soviet Union. The existing status quo in the political-diplomatic and military-political fields began to rapidly collapse. Both powers went over to the revision, however, for opposite reasons. It was then that the issue of the need to coordinate and reform the Y alta-Potsdam order appeared on the agenda. Its participants by that time were already different in their influence and power.
Becoming the successor state of the USSR, the Russian Federation was unable to perform the functions inherent in bipolarity, as it did not have the necessary capabilities.
In relations between the states, there are tendencies towards rapprochement between the capitalist and yesterday's socialist states. At the same time, the international system began to show the features of a "global society".
