Soviet Union And The Cold War Essay

Have we learned the accurate information about the Soviet Union? When most people reflect about the Soviet Union, they only remember learning to fear them. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; also known as the USSR or Soviet Union, created during the 1922 after the Russian Revolution;1917, when Nicholas II was overthrown. This led to Lenin, who was a revolutionist and theorist, an opportunity to create a communist country. What should we learn about the Soviet Union?

The Cold war began due to political and military tension due to World War II. The Soviet Union and America were two world superpowers that fought for a change in government and world supremacy. America feared a communist expansion from the Soviet Union and created many policies, laws, legislations, and pacts to protect democracy on the home front as well as internationally. The Cold War stemmed from the Soviet Union’s failure to maintain their integrity to the group of nations in the Yalta and Potsdam Conference. Soviet leader, Stalin invaded Eastern Europe and started the communist expansion in regions that were promised to be untouched. The consequences of his actions resulted in the Cold War. American reactions to the Cold War were justified

“If the Soviet Union let another political party into existence they would still be one state party state because everybody would join the other party,” is a quote by Ronald Reagan about the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union(USSR) is a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1999. It's fall resulted from its government-run economy not working very well. Soviet Union was run by Vladimir Lenin, dictator who overthrew Russian monarchy, and Bolshevik communist. At first USSR aligned with the US to defeat the Nazi Germany. But the countries soon turn against each other due to the difference in perspective about how government should run in 1945. Their clash was a major part of cold war. Now with all this information

The December of 1991 marked the end of the Soviet Union—and with it, an entire era. Like the February Revolution of 1917 that ended tsardom, the events leading up to August 1991 took place in rapid succession, with both spontaneity and, to some degree, retrospective inevitability. To understand the demise of Soviet Union is to understand the communist party-state system itself. Although the particular happenings of the Gorbachev years undoubtedly accelerated its ruin, there existed fundamental flaws within the Soviet system that would be had been proven ultimately fatal. The USSR became a past chapter of history because it was impossible to significantly reform the administrative

Democratic localism was also enforced to keep the government at bay, allowing people to make their own economic decisions. Capitalism was renewed due to growth. Americans were enjoying various freedoms in politics, religion and travel. Nixon stated in one of his speeches that the United States had “come closest to the idea of prosperity for all in a classless society (166).”

Offner, Arnold, "Provincialism and Confrontation: Truman’s Responsibility" in Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, Volume II.

Over the years that the soviet union was active, they had many achievements to be proud of. However some of these achievements are not recognized or are so miniscule in soviet textbooks that no one pays any attention to the topic. The Soviet Union had a lot of pride in themselves so it only makes sense to put more emphasis into these three topics, geographic expansion, military strengths, and socio economic accomplishments. The Soviet Union was great at all three of these areas and showed the world how great they truly were.

Towards end of the Second World War II was not just the end of long hard fought battle, but also the start of an oversensitive and vibrant stage that moved culture on all levels. The post war phase, as it became known, formed the world we live in; the era was created itself both by the war that had lead it, and dominant forces that encased it. As the energy of primarily different ideas Socialism and Equality collapsed with improvements in science as for instinct nuclear bomb, a hazardous situation resulted that produced an atmosphere of fear throughout the world and particularly, inside American walls.

1.     How NSC-68 influenced America’s response to Communist North Korea’s invasion of South Korea in June 1950 and to Communist expansion in Southeast Asia in the 1960s. The NSC-68 called for military assistance programs that would meet the requirements of our allies. Since South Korea was an ally, we assisted them in repelling the invasion of another communist nation. This help for South Korea meant that a communist nation would be weakened and therefore possibly cripple a potential ally for the Soviet Union. Also, South Korea would then respond to a call for aid if the Soviet Union ever attacked

In the period after World War II, from the late 1940’s up until the 1990’s, the United States and their allies were engaged in a “cold” war with the Soviet Union and its allies. Except for minor proxy wars between countries supported by the respective sides, no major wars were fought between the U.S. and the USSR. Nonetheless, tensions were extremely high for many years and the two superpowers constantly went back and forth trying to best the other. Likely the most well-known of these competitions was the Space Race. Battling for cosmic supremacy from the late 1950’s to 1969, the two countries traded many victories over the years and pushed each other to their technological apexes.

The Cold War’s outcome defined the United States of America as the world’s leading power after a period of proxy wars against the USSR. The two nations employed opposing ideologies with different beliefs and policies, yet sharing the same aspirations for global influence. What ultimately toppled the Soviet Union was the onset of globalization as its isolationist regime made it laborious for the nation to evolve. As Kofi Annan said it during the 53rd DPI/NGO conference, “arguing against globalization is like arguing against the law of gravity”. It can be inferred that the essence of human nature is based on freedom and therefore people naturally seek liberty (Flew, 1991). Socialist policies were depriving Soviet citizens of (what the west would consider) their basic needs such as freedom of speech or freedom to roam. The US accentuated the need for a freer world by introducing the Marshall Plan and the Truman doctrine - compelling the world to follow suit. Indeed, the current global structure shows that most nations, including former socialist countries, have adopted US-style free market policies and democratic elections. In addition, treaties such as NATO were signed which united multiple countries yet weakened the Soviet Union, affecting its economy indirectly, eventually leading to its dissolution.

The Cold War was a response to the perceived threat by the United States that Communism would interfere with national security and economic stakes in the world. It was a perceived threat by communist countries that the United States would take to the world. During the Cold War, the United States, Russia, and other countries made efforts to avoid another world war, while warring in proxy in other lands. The devastation caused by the hydrogen bombs exploded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the next technological advancements became only deterrents to the public. Governments had their own agenda which would result in worsening the strain between nations. The United States hid behind a curtain of nationalism resulting in increased

The terms ‘hawks and doves' were quick labels attached to politicians in order to categorize their views on war and foreign policies, as to make them understandable and accessible for the public. However, these labels were not always accurate and in some cases could be quite misleading; it would have been more accurate not to label individuals as either Hawks or Doves, but instead, what they stood for.

In 1961 President John F Kennedy put together a doctrine, which altered from President Eisenhower’s one. It was to “Respond flexibly to communist expansion, especially guerrilla warfare.” (Roskin & Berry, 2010, p. 58) It was a time when the Cold War was at its height and nuclear weapons a mass threat and source of power. This doctrine was aimed at using alternative means before opening into combat. This, in light of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, it succeeded in doing.

Communism in the USSR was doomed from the onset. Communism was condemned due to lack of support from other nations, condemned due to corruption within its leadership, condemned due to the moral weakness of humanity, making what is perfect on paper, ineffective in the real world. The end of this system was very violent. It left one of the two most powerful nations in the world fearful of what was to come. <br><br>Communism can either be called a concept or system of society. In a society that follows the communist beliefs groups own the major resources and means of production, rather than a certain individual. In theory, Communism is to provide equal work, and benefits to all in a specific society. Communism is derived from many ancient