ipl-logo

Social And Economic Causes Of The Cold War

1700 Words7 Pages

Introduction The Cold War, which had been the defining conflict of 20th century history, was popularly known as the war of ideology between American democracy and Stalinist communism. American’s fear of subversive attack by communists and the USSR’s resentment on US interventionist policy around the world had mainly fuelled the continuous arms race and proxy wars in Asia as well as Eastern Europe. In Soviet Russia, the cold war was defined by constant intervention in Eastern Europe bordering the Soviet and their involvement in Afghanistan. While the United States claim an all-out war on communism by intervening in major conflicts and civil wars across South America and Asia through its containment policy (Chomsky p. 59, 2011). The end of the …show more content…

While the sole cause of Soviet Russia’s demise remained unclear, there were multiple events in the Cold War which would conjointly pushed the dismantling of the Stalinist regime. In the wake of the 30 years arms race against the US and constant political instability within the domestic front and the surrounding Eastern Europe, Soviet Russia was faced with economic stagnation and social depravity. By 1980’s Soviet Russia had spent almost one quarter of its GDP to compete with the United States in a seemingly never ending arms race (Reynolds pg. 540, 2000). The oil crisis in 1980’s also pushed Soviet’s economy downwards after eight years of leading oil production around the world (Aron, 2006). Aside from sluggish economic growth, the Soviet’s centralized economy was also unable to cope with the demands of innovation and competition needed in production. Analysts described it as, “This over centralized system could not handle challenges demanding decentralized initiative such as craftsmanship, agriculture and information technology” (Aslund, 2011). Consequently, mounting economic problem alongside rampant corruption within every levels of bureaucratic institution made living condition in majority of Russia a living hell. Poor health care, mounting alcoholism and environmental problem caused by massive …show more content…

Gorbachev’s early policies reflected his goal to improve the current system and not change it completely (Reynolds pg. 543, 2000). He focused on administrative reforms, fighting the growing problem of alcoholism and improving computer technologies. To quote, Gorbachev specify, “Not the market, not the anarchic forces of competition, but above all the plan must determine the basic features of development of the economy” (Reynolds pg. 543, 2000). He began with liberalizing trade by importing grains and food supply to accommodate the shortages that’s affecting the country. Further reforms was made to the Soviet’s economy by permitting individual enterprise, giving more powers and control to factories and allowing corporations to operate (Brown, 2011). Gorbachev’s role in liberalizing trade and the Soviet’s economy played a pivotal role in the breakdown of the USSR. With the democratization of trade and the introduction of a competitive election amongst communist party leaders, Gorbachev sought to liberalize Soviet’s economy. It was this effort that brought forth the economic collapse of Soviet

Show More
Related
1134 Words | 5 Pages

Under the shadow of the great industrial powers of the west, the Soviet Union was forced to rush the process of industrialization in order to catch up with it’s advanced neighboring states. Japan was in a similar position during the 20th century, though Japan’s reaction to the pressure was much more successful than Soviet industrialization. Japan’s industrialization was more prosperous and smooth than Russia’s because of the differences in treatment of factory workers, and adaptations to the developed foreign trade market, which ultimately diminished the efficiency of Russian industrialization. Russia was well aware that the state was in need of great change, even more specifically, the russian finance minister, Sergey Witte, had been writing

Read More
728 Words | 3 Pages

During the 1980’s the Soviet Union seemed to be one of the most stable political units of the world, but just because they had a stable political unit does not mean every thing else was good. The economy of the Soviet Union had its up’s and downs, as it shows in document B people had a hard time communicating because there was up to 11 hour difference. Another thing is the gross national product difference between the Soviet Union and the U.S. during the 1980’s, The United States GNP was 2.47 trillion dollars and the Soviet Union’s GNP was 1.47 trillion dollars. I feel that since this is during the cold war the Soviet Union spent all their money on their military and during this time there economy dropped and since they were communist they had a hard time supporting their people. This also explains why the U.S. GNP was high, because they weren't building up their military and also the U.S. already had a really great military so they didn't need to build up in the first

Read More
796 Words | 4 Pages

This was similar to the United States of America, as the US was also trying to industrialize with a purpose of factories and people working in them. A big factor of the industrialization that both America and Russia shared was that both of these countries had a very unfair system for workers. The pay was not great, and people who were poor had it even worse. There is even an old saying that fits this very well, “The rich get richer”. This is true because the people who were already poor, who were working for the money so they could afford things like homes, food, water, and clothing, were staying poor, because their pay was so low that at the rate of them using their money for necessities, they were earning barely enough to afford them.

Read More
696 Words | 3 Pages

He thought up two plans, known as the first and second five year plans, to catch Russia up to the rest of the world in ten years. To do this, Russia’s economy would turn into a command economy. Each industry had a target goal to reach and all government money was invested into industry, energy, and transportation. This had both positive and negative consequences. The production of consumer goods decreased but amazing progress was made.

Read More
790 Words | 4 Pages

When evaluating the extent to which Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies lead to the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union) it is important to look at many aspects: Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies that pushed the Soviet Union into an arms race, the U.S relations with the USSR to have a better understanding of the conflict between them. It is important to know which leader was in power in the Soviet Union during the time that Reagan was enforcing its foreign policies and also other economic crisis within the country that contributed into its collapse. The USSR was a Marxist–Leninist state on the Eurasian continent that existed between 1922 and 1991 where it officially collapsed on December 31, 1991. Dramatic economic

Read More
1223 Words | 5 Pages

Stalin proudly reports to the committee that “[w]e did not have a automobile industry. Now we have one... We did not have a an aircraft industry. Now we have one” (Document 3). The staggering amount of new industries built throughout this time period proves that the once called unrealistic goal of industrial advancement had been accomplished.

Read More
1963 Words | 8 Pages

Industrialisation was brought in through Stalin’s Five Year Plans. The aim of these Five Year Plans was to rapidly change the Soviet Union’s economic output to be caught up with the other large economies such as the USA. Stalin stated at a conference of the Union in February 1931 that Russia was ‘fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries’. He claimed that it was necessary to catch up immediately if they were not to be crushed.

Read More
551 Words | 3 Pages

The relationship between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, although initially tenuous, and at times stubborn, was ultimately one of significant interpersonal familiarity and substantial compromise. Yet, in spite of Reagan’s desire to eliminate nuclear weapons, overt rhetoric, and aggressive actions during his administration, Gorbachev’s progressive approach to international relations and domestic initiatives made him most responsible for the conclusion of the Cold War. When Gorbachev became the Soviet general secretary, he inherited significant domestic issues including a declining economic growth rate, bloated military budget, inadequate productivity, and poor living standards (Judge & Langdon, 239). In response to these issues, Gorbachev initiated a policy of glasnost, or openness, in an effort to address key problems instead of ignoring their

Read More
920 Words | 4 Pages

The Cold War was a term Walter Lippmann used to refer to the relations between the U.S. and the USSR after World War II. Many historians, over the years, have debated on the subject of ‘What started the Cold War?’ There’s no clear answer, one thing’s for sure; although Soviet Domination of Eastern Europe was a cause, it was not the main reason for the Cold War. Mr. Winston Churchill’s iron curtain speech, along with Mr. X’s theories for containment, prove that Soviet Domination was a cause of the Cold War. Since other causes will be presented in this essay, I will prove [or at least try to prove] that Soviet Domination of Eastern Europe was not the main cause of the Cold War.

Read More
936 Words | 4 Pages

Gorbachev had a Glasnost policy reform in which Perestroika was implemented. Perestroika was a political movement made by Gorbachev to reform and revitalise the Soviet Union from the 1985-1991.The Soviet Union were struggling with loss of power, economically and falling behind in modern technology and ideals, Gorbachev attempted to fix this. Gorbachev pushed for more political freedom within the Soviet Union as well as attempt to restructure the Peoples Congress. Furthermore, Gorbachev abandoned the struggle supporting other communist states as it was adding to the economic distain within the Soviet Union, putting an end to the communist/capitalist struggle. The peaceful and attempted reform of the Soviet Union by Gorbachev to a large extent helped place an end to the cold

Read More
2211 Words | 9 Pages

Although enterprises had more autonomy over themselves and the market, they could not change the inherent market prices themselves. The problem with the Soviet economy was not its workers or corruption or inefficiency, it was in the system itself. The structure of

Read More
523 Words | 3 Pages

In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards of health, even want of the most basic kind-too little food.’ President reagan connected with communist people letting them know that their world is struggling. He conveys to them that they are less fortunate then the successful and flourishing west. Reagan also raises the fact that the soviets are leaning towards altering their contemporary political society. “We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of reform and openness.

Read More
1447 Words | 6 Pages

Introduction For nearly 70 years, the Soviet Union stood tall as a world superpower. A communist state, it promised a government which would work for the people, one which would propel innovation and where all would be equal. Then, in a matter of just a few years, it all came crashing down. Though Mikhail Gorbachev’s goal as general secretary of the Soviet Union was to reform the country and extend its power, his revolutionary policies and ideas directly led to the downfall of the Republic and resulted in greater freedom and more opportunities for people.

Read More
798 Words | 4 Pages

To examine the Cold War consensus, one must discuss the Cold War. The Cold war was the tension between the United States, standing for capitalism, and the USSR, standing for totalitarianism and socialism, following World War II. Although it was not a physical war between the two superpowers, many proxy wars had came out of it as way to spread or combat communism throughout the Free World. The Free World, as the U.S. came to define it, did not necessarily mean free as countries were being ruled by military regimes and dictatorships, but free from communism(70). During the Cold War, the spread of communism frighted the American People.

Read More
1120 Words | 5 Pages

On March 11th, 1985 Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was elected the new General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Upon being elected, he immediately raised concerns about the social, economic and political issues in the Soviet Union, mainly those of economic decline, rising ethnic tensions and a rise in nationalism, leading to a stronger desire for Soviet Republics to gain their independence. This essay analyses the two sources by Gorbachev that set the complete reform of the Soviet Union in motion, ‘Gorbachev’s first views’ depicting his desire for reform and change, and ‘Gorbachev and the need for perestroika’ which depicts his dissatisfaction with the current system and the status-quo. Perestroika and Glasnost are undoubtedly the most essential sets of policies to understand Gorbachev’s intentions for reform and change of the system in the Soviet Union. This essay’s research question is “What kind of changes did Perestroika and Glasnost bring to the socio-economic aspect of the Soviet Union?”

Read More

More about Social And Economic Causes Of The Cold War

Related Topics

Open Document