USSR against the USA is a global military, ideological, political, economic confrontation of the second half of the last century. One of the main components of the confrontation was the ideological struggle between the socialist and capitalist models of government. In addition, the efforts of opposing countries were aimed at dominating the political sphere.
Cold War: the history of the term
The term was first used by George Orwell in "You and the Atomic Bomb" in a British periodical. According to Orwell, the appearance of the atomic bomb could lead to the emergence of two or three superpowers that would divide the world among themselves, possessing weapons capable of destroying most of the world's population in just a few seconds. After a conference in Moscow in March 1945, the writer feared that an atomic war would soon begin, but the USSR against the USA was not the kind of confrontation that should be expected. George Orwell spoke of the Union's action againstGreat Britain. In an official setting, the term was first used by President Harry Truman's adviser Bernard Baruch.
Beginning of the Cold War
After the end of World War II and the new redistribution of the world, the United States began to fear the spread of Soviet influence not only in Eastern Europe, but throughout the world as a whole. The socialist regimes in Latin America and the revolution in Cuba did not add hope for holding a leading position. So the United States began to perceive the USSR as a real threat. But Soviet authors argued that the policy of imperialism is connected with the interests of the monopolists, and also aims to strengthen the capitalist system.
The division of the world into spheres of influence was carried out after the Y alta Conference, but the US aggression against the USSR did not stop at the established agreements. Of course, the Soviet Union did not lag behind in this either, retaliatory measures were taken immediately. In April 1945, Winston Churchill spoke about the active preparation of a plan in case of a possible war with the USSR, and in March of the following year he delivered a speech towards the USSR. This is what is considered the reason for the start of the Cold War.
Kennan's "Long Telegram"
"Long telegram" is the well-established name of the message of the US Embassy in Moscow, in which the Deputy Ambassador pointed out the impossibility of cooperation with the USSR. According to the diplomat, it is necessary to resist Soviet expansion and build US plans against the USSR, because the authorities of the Soviet Union (in his opinion) respectonly strength. The Deputy Ambassador himself, George F. Kennan, later became known as the "architect of the Cold War".
The threat of nuclear war
The Caribbean crisis is not the only stage of the Cold War when the use of nuclear weapons was possible, but one of the most famous. The reason for the escalation of the conflict was that on October 27, 1962, a US reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft guns over Cuban territory. This day is usually called Black Saturday, which served as the beginning of the Caribbean Crisis, which at any moment risks developing into the Third World War. The reasons for the aggravation of the confrontation are the deployment in Cuba of military units and weapons of the USSR, including nuclear weapons. The USSR's strategy against the US was deterrence, in response to the deployment of missiles in Europe, the Soviets placed weapons in Cuba.
Another event of those years when there was a possibility of the use of nuclear weapons by the opposing countries occurred exactly one year before the start of the Caribbean crisis. On October 27, 1961, American and Soviet tanks stood opposite each other in Berlin, but the confrontation between the United States and the USSR did not enter the hot phase at that time. The event went down in history as “the incident at Checkpoint Charlie.”
Khrushchev's "thaw"
The threat of world war the US against the USSR receded with the coming to power of Nikita Khrushchev. In 1955, the Warsaw Pact was signed, which formalized the creation of a union of socialist states with the leading role of the USSR. This was an adequate response to Germany's accession to NATO. In 1959, Khrushchev visited the USA -the first ever visit by a Soviet leader to America. Despite the warming of relations between the giants of the world political arena, this period includes the demonstrations of workers in the GDR, the general strike in Poland, the Suez crisis and the anti-communist uprising in Hungary.
Detente international tensions
The nuclear arms race continued, but Brezhnev (unlike his predecessors) did not have a penchant for risky adventures outside the sphere of influence of the USSR and extravagant actions, so the seventies were held under the slogan "detente of international tension." A joint space flight of Soviet and American cosmonauts took place, an Agreement on Security and Cooperation in Europe was concluded, and arms reduction treaties were signed.
A new round of confrontation
The entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan was perceived by Western countries as the transition of the USSR to expansion. In response, the United States launched the production of neutron weapons. Another incident contributed to the aggravation of the situation - in the fall of 1983, a South Korean airliner was shot down by Soviet air defense. America then switched to open support for anti-Soviet and anti-communist movements, in 1985 the Reagan Doctrine was adopted.
The End of the Cold War
The confrontation between the USSR and the USA has changed significantly since 1987. In the Soviet Union, there was a transition to a new political movement, pluralism and the priority of universal human values over class values were proclaimed. From that time on, the confrontation in ideology and the military-political sphere began to lose its former sharpness. The USSR itself was then going through a deep crisis, and in December 1991 the country finally ceased to exist. The Cold War is over.
