World History: Origin and Initial Factors of Cold War
Cold war (1940s -1991) is characterised by a situation where there is neither a direct confrontation nor a lasting peace. It is a situation marked by mutual suspicion, jealousy, hostility and rivalry. The two super powers avoided a direct confrontation, but met each other indirectly through their respective allies.
Was Cold War Initiated by USA and USSR?
A mistaken notion that has generally been accepted as a fact is that the cold war originated between the United States and the Soviet Union. Nothing could be more fallacious. The original players in the cold war were Great Britain and the Soviet Union with the Americans playing the role of mediators. Such a situation remained unchanged virtually till the end of World War II and the death of the American President FD Roosevelt. As long as Franklin Roosevelt was alive he thought in terms of a new world order where the Americans and Russians would cooperate for the maintenance of international peace and security. The end of World War II saw the relegation of Great Britain to a distant background depending upon the United States for its survival and the death of Roosevelt brought Harry S. Truman as the new President of the United States.
However unlike Roosevelt, Truman detested communism and the Soviet Union, just as much as the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill did. Roosevelt’s political acumen lay in pacifying Churchill and Stalin, the Soviet Premier. But, Truman’s ascendance to the Presidency saw the Americans to be the major opponents of the Russians and after 1945, the Americans replaced Great Britain as the major player in the cold war.
Views on origin of Cold War
Some historians believe that cold war had started as early as 1917, when the Bolshevik party under Lenin ousted Tsarist misrule from Russia in October Revolution. The Bolshevik victory in Russia led to the establishment of communism which appeared to be a direct challenge to the capitalist world. Hence, to nip communism in the bud, a sustained effort was made by western powers and therein lies the genesis of the cold war.
Another group of historians however, believes that the cold war originated during the course of the Second World War when Churchill and Stalin met for the first time during the Teheran Conference of 1943.
Whatever be the timing of the cold war, it remains the most complex political development of the 20th century. All international developments after 1945 took shape under the shadow of the cold war.
Cold War in East Europe
The basis of the cold war, in its initial phase undoubtedly was centred on developments in East Europe. For centuries East and West Europe had been struggling with each other for control of the huge area rich in human and industrial resources and one that was strategically vital to both sides, either to Russia: as a buffer against the west or to Germany and France as a gateway for invasion of Russia. Till 1940s, East Europe had sided with the west. But when East Europe faced devastation by the marauding Nazi troops, the Russians bore the brunt of the war and were finally successful in liberating East Europe. Russia after 1945 controlled East Europe and this crucial result of World War II destroyed the Grand Alliance between the United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union and gave birth to the Cold War.
American view of ‘Friendly’ East European Governments
The West, with America leading the way, was unwilling to accept Russian domination of East Europe. Although the Anglo-Americans were willing to allow Stalin a major say in the politics of the region and realised that Russian security demanded friendly governments there, they were not prepared to abandon East Europe altogether. The Americans had a mistaken notion that it was still possible to have East European governments that were both capitalistic but friendly to Russia. The Russians on the other hand forcefully put forth their plea that a ‘friendly’ government in East Europe meant only a communist government.
British intervention in Greece starts the cold war
The first move in the cold war was, however, made by Great Britain when British Prime Minister Churchill intervened in Greece with the help of British ground forces. Though Greece had been liberated by Soviet troops and the Russian troops won the admiration of the Greeks, Churchill could never think of giving up Greece for fear of losing the entire Mediterranean zone.
Russian countermove in Poland and Romania
But the brazen British action in Greece had profound and far reaching consequences; and as retaliation to this action, Stalin brought Poland into the Russian fold by according recognition to the provisional Government there. Then it was the turn of Romania. Vyshinsky, the Soviet Foreign Minister on February 27, 1945, visited Bucharest, the Romanian capital and demanded the dismissal of the coalition government. On March 6, 1945, a communist dominated Government was sworn in there {Soviet occupation of Romania}. Neither the Americans nor the British could raise any objection since the Soviet action in Poland and Romania was an answer to the British action in Greece. Thus, the onset of the cold war led to the formal division of Europe and it was reflected in all parts of the world.
Turning Point in Soviet-American Relations
The real turning point in Russo-American relations came during the period December 1944 and April 1945. It was during this period that the American ambassador to the Soviet Union, Harriman, brought about a drastic change in his attitude towards the Russians. Till very recently, an ardent proponent of close Russo-American ties, Harriman, during March-April 1945 constantly advised the American foreign office to adopt a tough attitude towards the Russians. According to him the Russians had violated the spirit of the Yalta Conference of February 1945 to co-operate with the west for establishing a new world order, by their action in Romania. Hence Harriman believed that the only way of making the Russians stick to the agreements made by them was to force them to do so.
Death of Roosevelt and Ascendance of Truman
Another major factor was the death of Roosevelt and the entry of Harry S. Truman as the President of the United States. Truman was new to the international diplomacy and personally he had an intense dislike for communism and the Soviet Union. Whereas Roosevelt always tried to act as a mediator between extreme British and Soviet positions, Truman pushed aside Great Britain to make the United States the chief antagonist of the Soviet Union in the cold war.
Common Enemy collapsed after 1945
A basic factor which must be borne in mind was that there never was any cordiality in Russo-American relations. They had merely come closer during the World War II, since both found a common enemy in Hitler. With Hitler gone, the Grand Alliance between the East and West that had been forged during the war, also collapsed.
UN making exposed differences
The process of U.N. making also contributed to the growing suspicion between the parties. Stalin, never a proponent for having a strong United Nations, demanded certain built in devices in the UN charter that would make the Soviet participation in the world body meaningful. Russian stubbornness led to the formulation of the ‘Veto’ formula in the Security Council ensuring that no issue could pass through the UN without the approval of all the five permanent members in the Security Council.
Hard Stance by Americans
President Truman’s hostility towards the Soviet Union was further demonstrated when he stopped the supply of loans to the Soviet Union. These loans had been promised to the Russians for their help during the war. The Russians had been expecting a large American post-war loan for the purpose of reconstruction and this sudden stoppage at the end of the war in Europe convinced the Russians of American betrayal.
Potsdam conference and American Atomic Explosion
Nevertheless, President Truman was keen to meet the Russians for he needed their support to bring about the defeat of Japan. At the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, Truman was surprised to see the Russian readiness to enter the war in Japan but was desisted with their attitude when they opposed and defeated the President’s favourite plan of internationalising the world’s principal waterways. This by implication meant an American naval presence in the river network of East Europe which by now was under the Russian sphere of influence. The Russian refusal convinced the President that the Russians were bidding for world domination and that force was the only language they understood. The Potsdam Conference was doomed to failure since the very day the conference began, July 17, 1945, the United States made a successful test of the first atomic bomb in the history of mankind. Being the only nuclear power, President Truman walked out of the Potsdam Conference with the conviction that he could force the Russians to be amenable to his demands. Truman was equally determined that after the war in Japan he would not allow the Russians any foothold there. He detested the idea of any joint control of any territory in which the Russians participated.
Iran and Soviet American rift
Meanwhile, the developments in Iran in early 1946 caused serious concern. Iran had been occupied on both ends by Russia and Britain in 1941, on the pretext that king Reza Shah had pro-Nazi sympathies. They occupied the country, its oil wells and its only railway line. At the London Foreign Minister’s Conference both Britain and Russia had agreed to withdraw their troops from Iran not later than March 1946. But while British troops withdrew in time, Russian troops continued to stay there and laid claim to the Baku oil fields in Iran as a compensation for the destruction of the Russian oil fields by Nazi forces. This according to Americans was a serious breach of faith and President Truman issued an ultimatum to the Russians threatening to use US Navy and ground forces in case the Russians did not withdraw immediately.
By the end of May 1946, Iran was clear of the Soviet troops but the Russians felt bitterly humiliated and waited for an opportunity to retaliate against the Americans.
Hardening Soviet stance and Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ speech
Stalin now recognised the reality of the cold war which was becoming more and more intense. In a speech on February 9, 1946, he emphasised upon the inevitable conflict between communism and capitalism and wanted to shape his country’s foreign policy accordingly. On 6 March 1946, Winston Churchill delivered his famous ‘Iron Curtain’ speech at Fulton, Missouri in the United States. Here, he exhorted Americans to wake up and realise that a cold war had really begun between the Russians and the Western Civilisation. He reminded the Americans that it was time they gave up their dreams of a united world and that it was their holy duty to protect the western civilisation from the dreaded evil of communism. His speech in nutshell was – from the north of Europe to the South “an Iron Curtain had descended behind which all the ancient capitals of East Europe – Berlin, Warsaw, Budapest Bucharest, Belgrade, Prague, Sofia and Vienna – had vanished.” If the Russians were not stopped things would soon overwhelm West Europe and that would be too dangerous a proposition for the United States.
Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain speech was delivered by Winston Churchill, the British PM at Missouri. It refereed to the boundary dividing the Europe in two parts, from 1946 till 1991, in which the eastern part was pro-USSR and western part was Pro-US. The eastern side had a Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and the military Warsaw Pact, while the western side had European Community and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Berlin wall was one of the symbols of this Iron Curtail. Iron curtain fell with the collapse of Soviet Union and end of Cold War.
Kennan and the Doctrine of Containment
The United States responded by enunciating a policy by George F. Kennan in 1946, famous as the ‘Doctrine of Containment’. This doctrine has governed American Foreign Policy, since 1946. George Kennan stressed that United States policy towards the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies. This doctrine was based on two assumptions:
- the inherent expansive tendencies of Russian communism.
- the basic unsoundness of the Soviet system.
In the light of these developments, the American Foreign Policy had to be geared up to contain the expansion of communism from the Soviet soil to other parts of the world. This could only be done by raising, American ‘counter forces and ‘unassailable barriers’ The cold war now assumed dangerous proportions, whose consequences for the· future would be equally dangerous.
Failure of Moscow Conference and Division of Germany
Probably, the last link in the chain of events that worsened the cold war was the Moscow Foreign Minister’s Conference in March 1947. Till the Potsdam Conference, the Soviet Union preferred a weak Germany which might not pose them any danger in future. But in the Moscow Conference, the Russians insisted upon a strong and industrialized Germany whose products could be used for Russian industrial revival. This, the western powers thought was too dangerous a scheme and in any case they had no intention of leaving West Germany just as the Russians had no design of moving out of East Germany. The rift between the West and the Russians led to the formal division of Germany and its capital Berlin. Its significance however, lay in the fact that the division of Germany implied a formal division of Europe into two hostile camps. The cold war thus, had the effect of dividing Europe and the world between two opposing camps. Ironically, reunification of Germany in 1991 brought about an end to the cold war. However, in Moscow in 1947, reconciliation was not possible since president Truman made an open declaration of the cold war by enunciating the famous Truman Doctrine.
During its course of more than forty-five years the cold war led to open hostilities in different parts of the world at different times. The very first such hostility was to be witnessed during the Berlin crisis of 1949 which kept on recurring in 1958 and 1961. There were other flashpoint areas in the world leading to serious conflicts like the Korean crisis, Kashmir crisis, Congo crisis, Suez crisis, Cuban Missile crisis; Arab-Israeli conflicts, conflicts in Afghanistan and Africa.
