During The Cold War Essay

1378 Words6 Pages

Tensions between the US and the USSR were high, even as they fought alongside eachother in WWII. The US was wary of Stalin as a leader, hearing stories of his abuse of power and communist ideologies. The Soviet Union resented the US for failing to take their country seriously in Political affairs as well as entering the war after most of the fighting had already been done, with tens of millions of Russians dying as a result. (Cold War History.) The war ended, catalyzing an explosion of mutual hatred and distrust between the two countries. A forty-odd year arms race occured, which we know today as the Cold War. Life for the average citizen during the Cold War was differed greatly, depending on who a person was and where they lived. …show more content…

Over 80 percent of the 559 weapon tests the USSR conducted over the cold war took place on the Kazakh Steppe. Few precautions were taken to protect the 1.6 million people in the area, many of whom were nomads. The effects were devastating. A resident living in the region at the time recalls when the sky turned black from a test that went haywire. He was eight when it happened. “I was very afraid,” he said. “We stayed at home for a week. A man came into our house dressed in protective gear. My mother sealed the windows against the dust.” It is estimated that 100,000 people still suffer from radiation related diseases because of the testing. The world may think that there was no physical harm that came about as a result of the Cold War, this legacy will remain for the people of the Kazakh Steppe. (Tavernise) Additionally, the US and Russia both have huge arsenals of nuclear weapons. They were built during the cold war, mainly for intimidation purposes, and still exist today. They are expensive to keep up, and we still have to worry that they could potentially fall into the wrong