The start of the cold war can be attributed to which factors?

Answer 1

World War II ended with the Soviet Union establishing communist government Throughout Eastern Europe

Answer 2

Josef Stalin-dictator of the Soviet Union is responsible for starting the 'Cold War' at the end of World War Two. His territorial ambitions, brutal suppression of Poland (an allied power), and continued occupation and repression of Eastern Germany & other eastern European countries were the primary causes. The economic & political collapse of the Soviet Union ended the Cold War. This happened because the United States successfully led its world-wide allies in Europe, Asia & America to resist and defeat Soviet threats and aggressions. The Soviet Union attempted to match the military power of the USA and its allies without the sufficient economic resources that the US and its allies had. The Soviet Union fell behind in many areas of military technology, and compensated by increasing the size of its military forces, versus the quality. This further increased the economic strain on the USSR. Communist led governments were not capable of achieving the economic growth and sustained advances in technology anywhere near to what free-market and democratic nations could produce. In the 1980's several things came together to defeat the USSR: The Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, begun in 1979 was not going well for the Soviet Union, especially after the US began to supply modern weapons to the Afghan resistance. The Soviet aggression tended to energize opponents to the Soviet Union. This effect would be felt in the United States in the next Presidential Election. In the United States, things have begun to change politically and socially. The post-Vietnam isolationist and liberal 'blame-America' theme would be weakened by several events. The unprovoked Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the continuation of the belligerence of Ayatollah Khomeini's Iran against the United States (prominently manifested by the Iranian Hostage Crisis of November 4, 1979-January 20, 1981) would be the two major international events to shape events going forward. In the United States there was a considerable amount of public anger and outrage directed at the new radical Islamic government of Iran, as well as concern and anger directed at the Soviet Union because of Afghanistan. Interestingly enough, the majority of the US public protests against Iran were by college students. This was evidence that many of America's college campuses were turning more conservative. In the midst of this, an unusual and unprecedented event occurred at the 1980 Winter Olympics in New York: The 'Miracle On Ice' when the United States Hockey Team won the Gold Medal by defeating the Soviet & Czech teams for the first times ever!! Up until this time the Soviet Hockey Team was considered to be invincible. It was a truly significant and symbolically triumphant event that rallied America during troubled times. This was a social as well as a political turning point for America. In Poland, the Solidarity Labor Movement, led by Lech Walesa, was becoming more active & popular. It was an anti-communist protest started in the 'Lenin Shipyard' of Gdansk in September 1980. Two years earlier (Oct 1978) Karol Jozef Wojtyla, a Pole, had become the new Pope (John Paul II), to lead the Vatican & the world-wide Catholic Church. This new Pope was anti-communist and a vocal critic of the Kremlin (USSR). His return to Poland as the Pope in June 17, 1983 was a significant event that many say is the beginning of the end of the communist power in Poland. In the west: Margaret Thatcher (Conservative Party Leader) becomes British Prime Minister on May 4, 1979. Ronald Reagan elected US President, takes office January 1981. Helmut Kohl (leader of Christian Democratic Union Party) becomes West German Chancellor in 1983. These three key conservative leaders would work very closely together to unify NATO against the Soviet Union. These three leaders came to power through free elections that displayed a return to conservative values in these three nations. NATO's military strength was rebuilt as the United States dedicated additional resources to the defense of Western Europe to face the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact nations. The most prominent new US weapons to be deployed in Europe in the 1980's were the new M-1 Tank, Cruise Missiles, and Pershing Rockets. In almost all areas of the US Military during this time were advances in both the quality and size of forces. The US Navy greatly expanded, this included new Aircraft Carriers and the re-activation of the four Iowa class battleships (with cruise missiles). President Reagan announced the plan to build a system to defeat Soviet ballistic missiles using space based satellites and/or particle beam weapons. This has often been referred to as the "Star Wars' Defense Plan. The Soviets became convinced that the US could succeed at this objective. Meanwhile in the Soviet Union and eastern Europe by the end of the 1980's things began to unravel for the communist governments. In the USSR, Leonid Brezhnev the Soviet dictator since 1964 and responsible for the Afghanistan invasion, died in office on November 10, 1982. He was followed by Yuri Andropov who soon died in office on February 9, 1984. Next came Konstantin Chernenko who also soon died in office on March 10, 1985. Next came Mikhail Gorbachev. Meanwhile for the last fifteen years the Soviet economy had been stagnating. Now Gorbachev had publically touted himself as a reformer that could bring economic recovery. Bottom-line, he couldn't reform the economy. Next, there was increasing dissatisfaction with the communist rulers. Despite his ineffectiveness, Mikhail Gorbachev became the 'darling' of the western media because of his new style, and relative youth (compared to previous Soviet dictators). He enjoyed this international celebrity spotlight, and apparently wanted to be liked by the western media. He lacked the usual ruthlessness & brutality of the previous communist leaders. This became quickly apparent to all. Eastern European dictators could no longer count on the brute force of the Soviet military to prop up their regimes. Sensing these weaknesses, the people of Eastern European nations by 1989 had ousted the communist dictators, some by force. These former communist nations, now free from oppression, immediately dropped out of the Warsaw Pact (allied to USSR), and switched their political orientation to being pro-western. This further weakened the Soviet Union economically, politically, and militarily to the point that the communist government of the USSR collapsed in August 1991. Soon the several regions/states of the USSR worked to become independent from Moscow (Russia). Most consider this to be the end of the Cold War, in that the USSR was dissolved without a final violent conflict or war with the west. Now 17 years later, many people are becoming alarmed by Russia's increasing aggressiveness. Some wonder if a new 'cold war' could come about over increased tensions with Putin & Russia?

Answer 3

-communism a threat to national security

-attempts of the soviets and chinese communists to influence and take over areas in Asia and Europe

-1949 Russia launched first test atomic bomb

-The Marshall plan

-The division of Germany after the war. USSR attempted to blockade West Berlin, US responded with airlift

-NATO

-Warsaw Pact

-Cuban Missile crisis

-Space Race (Sputnik) and Arms race