Cold War
Origin of Cold War
The term cold war is used for that unprecedented state of tension that suddenly developed between the two former friends the USA and the USSR. By August 1945, with the surrender of Japan, the victory of the Allies had been ascertained but the tension lurking in their camps suddenly burst out. The German attack on the USSR and the Japanese bombardment of Pearl Harbour brought these two countries which subscribed to opposing ideologies together. But this friendship soon changed into a strange war called the Cold War.
Meaning and Definition of Cold War
The term cold war stands for hostile and tense international relations between the USA and the USSR and is an outcome of the post world war politics. It expressed itself through ideological hatred, political distrust, diplomatic manoeuvring, military competition, espionage, psychological warfare and bitter relations.
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It set up pro USSR governments in Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Czechoslovakia. Its hesitation to provide the allies bases in Siberia also made them suspicious. The Soviet troops deployed in Manchuria handed over all war materials left by Japan there to communist troops in early 1946.
• The concept of Vacuum: The defeat of Germany and Japan had created a vacuum. Russia and America were competent to fill this vacuum but instead of this they tried to decimate the German powers. This paved the way for Cold War.
• Historical Causes: Some observers seek the causes of cold war in the Bolshevik revolution 1917. The western nations had been attempting to put an end to the USSR, for communism was a worldwide movement and aimed at abolishing capitalism. Britain granted recognition to the USSR in 1924 and America in 1933. The western nations had been inciting Hitler to attack the USSR for they were more apprehensive of the USSR than of the Nazi
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For this purpose a twenty year treaty was signed in Washington by USA, Canada and ten European countries. Later on Greece, Turkey and West Germany also joined it. This intensified the atmosphere of cold war.
Third Stage of Cold War (1953-1958): After the death of Stalin in march 1953, Khrushchev came into power. He insisted on the policy of peaceful coexistence and compromise. In America General Eisenhower replaced Truman who spurred cold war. Some of the important events of this period are as follows:
Nuclear Tests conducted by the USSR: The USSR tested its first nuclear device in August 1953. After this started the space race which made the Cold War all the more terrific. Both the powers possessed the over kill power, which made the situation very explosive.
SEATO and Warsaw Pact: To check the onward march of communism in South East Asia and the Middle East America formed SEATO and MEDO respectively on the pattern of NATO. The USSR retaliated this mover by forming a Communist Defence Pact better known as the Warsaw Pact. It aimed at countering the assault of imperialism and capitalism. This divided the whole world into two groups the American bloc and the Soviet bloc. This polarisation deepened and strengthened Cold