Decisions of the Potsdam Conference.
The Conference of the Heads of Government of the USSR, USA and Great Britain worked from July 17 to August 2, 1945 in Potsdam. A system for the occupation of Germany was finally agreed upon; it was envisaged that the supreme power in the defeated country would be exercised by the commanders-in-chief of the armed forces of the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France - each in his own zone of occupation.
An acute struggle flared up over the western borders of Poland. Under pressure from I. V. Stalin western border Poland was established along the Oder and Neisse rivers. The city of Königsberg and the area adjacent to it were transferred to the USSR, the other part of East Prussia went to Poland.
US attempts to make diplomatic recognition of some Eastern European countries conditional on the reorganization of their governments ended in failure. Thus, the dependence of these countries on the USSR was actually recognized. The three parties reaffirmed their decision to bring the major war criminals to justice.
The successful solution of important political problems for the USSR as a whole was prepared by the favorable international situation, the successes of the Soviet army, and also the interest of the allies in the USSR's entry into the war with Japan.
Formation of the United Nations (UN).
The UN was created at the final stage of World War II at a conference in San Francisco, which began work on April 25, 1945. Invitations were sent to 42 states on behalf of the four great powers: the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and China. The Soviet delegation managed to organize an invitation for representatives of Ukraine and Belarus. A total of 50 countries participated in the conference. On June 26, 1945, the conference completed its work by adopting the UN Charter.
The UN Charter obligated the members of the organization to resolve disputes among themselves only by peaceful means, to refrain in international relations from the use of force or threats to use force. The charter also proclaimed the equality of all people, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, the need to comply with all international treaties and obligations.
As the main task of the UN, the promotion of world peace and international security was set.
It was established that sessions of the UN General Assembly would be held annually with the participation of delegates from all UN member countries. In matters of maintaining world peace, the main role was assigned to the UN Security Council, consisting of fourteen members. Five of them were considered permanent (USSR, USA, Great Britain, France, China), the rest were subject to re-election every two years. The most important condition was the established principle of unanimity of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. This principle protected the UN from turning it into an instrument of diktat in relation to any country or group of countries.
Beginning of the Cold War.
Already by the end of the war, the contradictions between the USSR, on the one hand, and the USA and Great Britain, on the other, were sharply outlined. The main issue was the question of the post-war structure of the world and the spheres of influence in it of both sides. The tangible superiority of the West in economic power and the monopoly on nuclear weapons allowed him to hope for the possibility of a decisive change in the balance of power in his favor. Back in the spring of 1945, a plan of military operations against the USSR was developed (Operation Unthinkable): W. Churchill planned to start the Third World War on July 1, 1945 with a joint attack by the Anglo-Americans and formations German soldiers against Soviet troops in Germany. Only by the summer of 1945, due to the obvious military superiority of the Red Army, this plan was abandoned.
Both sides soon shifted to a policy of brinkmanship. In 1947, the American journalist W. Lippman called this policy the "cold war." A turning point in relations between the USSR and Western world was the speech of the former Prime Minister of Great Britain W. Churchill at the Military College of Fulton (USA) in March
Mr. Churchill called on "the world that speaks English" to unite and show the "Russians strength." US President Harry Truman supported Churchill's ideas. These threats aroused the anxiety of I. V. Stalin, who called the speech a "dangerous act." The USSR actively increased its influence not only in the countries of Europe occupied by the Soviet Army, but also in Asia.
The beginning of the formation of a bipolar (bipolar) world.
In 1947, relations between the USSR and the USA continued to deteriorate. Europe lay in ruins. Under these conditions, the influence of the ideas of communism and the prestige of the USSR grew. To undermine such sentiments, the United States adopted a program of assistance to Europe - the Marshall Plan (named after US Secretary of State J. Marshall). The condition for providing assistance was its use under the control of the United States. This was unacceptable for the USSR. Under his pressure, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Finland refused to participate in the Marshall Plan.
In order to strengthen Soviet influence in the fall of 1947, the Information Bureau of the Communist Parties (Cominform) was created - a kind of Comintern dissolved in 1943. Soon, Stalin decided to abandon the course he had originally adopted for the transition of the Eastern European countries to socialism by parliamentary methods. Communist governments in 1947-1948. came to power in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Prior to this, the Communists gained power in Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Albania. In 1949, the victory of the communists ended Civil War in China. The Communists came to power in North Vietnam and North Korea. This is how the socialist camp was formed.
Despite the colossal internal difficulties, the USSR provided all these countries with enormous material assistance, which allowed them by the beginning of the 50s. basically overcome the post-war devastation. In 1949, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) was created to coordinate development issues. At the same time, in the socialist countries (countries of people's democracy), repressions were carried out against a number of figures, including the leaders of the communist parties, who were suspected of trying to take their states out of the control of the USSR. Only the ruler of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito, managed to defend his right to an independent policy, which caused the rupture of relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia in 1948.
The Marshall Plan and the Soviet response to it led to a further division of the world into two opposing parts: East and West (a bipolar world).
P first international crises.
In 1948, the United States decided to consolidate the division of Germany by creating a separate West German state. The economic split of Germany was determined by the introduction of the West German mark. Prior to this, Stalin sought to implement the decisions of the Yalta Conference on a united democratic Germany, hoping to make it a neutral buffer between West and East. Now the Soviet Union had to take a course to strengthen its positions in East Germany. Soviet troops blocked the communication routes linking Berlin with the western occupation zone. In response to this, an “air bridge” was created, through which it was supplied for almost a year Western part Berlin (a zone allocated for the occupying Allied forces).
The Berlin crisis brought the world to the brink of war and led to the final division of Germany. On May 8, 1949, the Parliamentary Council under the leadership of Konrad Adenauer adopted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). On September 20, 1949, Adenauer presented the first composition of the new state to the parliament. On October 7, 1949, the pro-Soviet German Democratic Republic (GDR) was formed.
Even earlier, in April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) was signed, which formalized the military-political alliance Western countries under US leadership. It includes 12 states: the USA, Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal, Iceland and Canada.
Korean War.
After the defeat of Japan, its former colony of Korea was divided along the 38th parallel into the Soviet and American zones of occupation. When the Soviet and American troops were withdrawn, both the northern government of communist Kim Il Sung and the southern government of Syngman Rhee sought to extend their power to all of Korea.
On June 25, 1950, the troops of North Korea (DPRK) began to successfully move south. In September 1950, the troops of fifteen countries, led by the United States under the UN flag, landed troops in the rear of the DPRK army. During fierce fighting, the Americans reached the Korean-Chinese border. Saving the DPRK, "volunteers" from China acted on its side, and Soviet aviation also successfully operated ( Soviet fighters shot down 1097 enemy aircraft, the Americans destroyed 335 Soviet aircraft).
In 1951, the front line was established in the area of the same 38th parallel. In 1953 an armistice was signed. The Korean War gave impetus to a new stage in the arms race.
QUESTIONS AND TASKS
What decisions did the Potsdam Conference make?
When was the UN created? What were her goals? What items were included in the UN Charter?
What is a "cold war"? What were her reasons?
What is a bipolar world? How did he develop?
What were the causes and consequences of the Berlin Crisis?
Why did the Korean War start? What were its results?
Was the Cold War inevitable? Justify your answer.
After the end of the war, the main task of the policy of the USSR in the first post-war years was the restoration National economy . It began as early as 1943 as the occupiers were driven out. In 1946, a plan for the development of the country during the years of the 4th five-year plan (46-50) was adopted. By 1950, about 6,000 enterprises had been restored and rebuilt, mainly in heavy industry. An important place in the restoration of industry was given to power plants. Huge funds were directed to the restoration of the Dneproges. Already in 1947, the Dneproges gave industrial current. Agriculture emerged from the war weakened. In 46-49 years. about 11 million hectares of peasant land were cut in favor of the collective farms. The consolidation of collective farms began. In the early 50s, fertilizers and equipment were sent to the villages, which made it possible to reach the level of 40. In 47, the card system was canceled and a monetary reform was carried out. The war changed the socio-political situation in the country. However, the government was concerned about the revival of political life. The country was again depressed. In 1948, special regime camps appeared for those convicted of anti-Soviet activities. In 48-53 years. political prisoners of the camps of Vorkuta, Norilsk, Pechora raised uprisings in the camps. In the same years, the deportation of the population from western Ukraine and the Baltic states to Siberian camps was carried out. There was a struggle with the creative intelligentsia. In 1946, by a decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the magazines Leningrad and Niva, the work of Zoshchenko and Akhmatova were criticized. Science has undergone an ideological defeat. Pseudo-scientists Lysenko and Lepeshinskaya received great support; they introduced their discoveries about the concept of heredity, denying the conclusions of science, and discrediting scientists. The atmosphere of fear and terror was again whipped up. A "Leningrad case" arose against prominent figures of the party of Leningrad, many of whom were repressed. In 1953, a group of Kremlin doctors were arrested and accused of Zhdanov's death. With the death of Stalin, the case was closed. On March 5, Stalin died, and there was hope for democratic reforms in the country. After the war, the international prestige of the USSR was strengthened, diplomatic relations were established with 52 countries of the world. In 1946, the Paris Peace Conference was held with the participation of the USSR, at which peace treaties were signed with the former allies of Germany. The USSR began to play a prominent role in the organization of the United Nations (UN) created in 1945. In 45-46 years. Soviet lawyers spoke at the Nuremberg trials of the main Nazi war criminals. In 1946, the "cold war" between west and east began, based on an arms race. In 1949, a council for mutual economic assistance of the countries of the socialist community was created. In 1955, the organization of the Warsaw Pact was created - a military-political union of European political countries. The USSR pursued a policy of pressure on the social. Countries, sought to influence developing countries.
1. General post-war situation. The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan
The concept of "cold war" appeared with the "light hand" of Churchill, who, speaking in Fulton (USA) on March 5, 1946, stated in his speech that Europe was divided by the "iron curtain", and called on Western civilization to declare war on "communism".
The reason for this, apparently, was the increased authority of the Soviet Union after the end of World War II, as well as the role of communists in the world. This situation was clearly unfavorable for the states and Great Britain, who did not want to give the palm in the world community.
The confrontation between the West and the Soviet Union began to take on a sharp character. Moreover, Stalin was annoyed by the economic power of the United States after the war, in which the states suffered almost no losses.
Increasingly, they began to talk about the bipolar structure of the world, standing in the ruins of the USSR gradually rose to its feet.
Two superpowers rose above all others - the USSR and the USA, between which gradually, almost imperceptibly for both opposing camps, an arms race - the "cold war" began.
In 1947, some significant events took place that had a direct impact on the course and history of the World War.
Thus, in a speech at the American Congress, US President Harry Truman proposed a foreign policy doctrine. On March 12, 1947, Truman delivered a speech at a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives, where he first noted that the seriousness of the situation forced him to appear before the general meeting of congressmen. After that, he outlined the situation in Greece in gloomy colors. “The Greek government,” he said, “works in conditions of chaos and despair ... The Greek army is small and poorly equipped. She needs supplies and weapons in order to restore the authority of the government over the entire territory of Greece. Recognizing that he proposed to interfere in the internal affairs of other states far from America and that the course he recommended to take was very serious, Truman tried to justify his policy by saying that the United States should interfere in the lives of other peoples, allegedly in order to help the majority against minorities. Truman noted that if the United States refused "to provide assistance to Greece and Turkey at this fateful hour, then this would have far-reaching consequences for the West as well as for the East", in connection with which he asked Congress to allocate "aid" to these two states over the next 15 months, $ 400 million. In conclusion, Truman said that the United States spent on the second world war The $341 billion that the appropriation he is now offering is a trifle: only 0.1% of US spending on this war.
This address of the President of the United States on March 12, 1947 to Congress was called "doctrine a". Despite the preparatory work carried out, the "Truman Doctrine" met with strong opposition in Congress. The debate dragged on for two months. Many in Congress were aware of what the US President's undertaking meant.
However, on May 22, 1947, the "Truman Doctrine" came into force. Congress, in authorizing US intervention in the internal affairs of the countries of the Middle East, approved Washington's support for reactionary forces and regimes around the world, a course that is truly fraught with far-reaching consequences. With his doctrine, Truman ensured that Congress imposed unilateral obligations on the United States without securing either allies or UN support.
At this time, "on the other side of the ocean" also took place certain political events. At an information meeting of representatives of a number of communist parties in Warsaw at the end of September 1947, it was noted that the "Truman Doctrine" was openly aggressive. "It is designed to provide American assistance to reactionary regimes that actively oppose the USSR and the countries of the socialist camp."
Soviet Union condemned the aggressive nature of the "Truman Doctrine". The US military intervention in Greece also drew condemnation from the world community. This forced the US leadership to change the tactics of implementing its further hegemonic plans.
In an effort to overcome the resistance of the peoples, the extreme monopoly circles in the USA decided to use more disguised forms of their actions. So a new version of their policy appeared - the "Marshall Plan".
The idea of the plan was not new. His family tree dates back to 1919-1923, when the ARA (American Reliet Administration) was created, which pursued not so much a policy of helping European countries affected by the First World War, but a policy of combating the revolutionary movement and strengthening economic and political America's positions.
In May 1947, as a result, the communists were removed from the governments of Italy and France. The "Marshall Plan" was camouflaged with talk about the need for the economic recovery of Europe, but American capital cared least of all about the economy of its competitors, it was interested in military allies. President Truman acknowledged this a few years later, noting that economic aid to Europe was intended to support rearmament rather than further general economic expansion.
On June 5, 1947, US Secretary of State J. Marshall, former Chief of Staff of the US Army, delivered a keynote address on the problems of the post-war reconstruction of Europe, he put forward the idea of allocating financial resources for the restoration of European countries. Without the restoration of a normal economic situation in the world, J. Marshall summarized, it is impossible to ensure "political stability" and peace.
J. Marshall's speech on June 5, 1947 testified to the intention of the US leadership to expand the practice of interference in European affairs. George Marshall's speech marked an important milestone: the US was moving on to asserting its positions in Europe on a long-term, orderly basis. Whereas previously US economic intervention had been carried out on a case-by-case basis in individual countries of the continent, now the question was raised of a large-scale program of penetration into all states in need of economic assistance.
The Marshall Plan was designed to solve a number of interrelated tasks: strengthening the shattered foundations of capitalism in Europe, ensuring America's dominant position in European affairs, and preparing for the creation of a military-political bloc. At the same time, Germany, more precisely, its western part, was already conceived as the main ally of the United States in Europe and the main recipient of assistance under the "Marshall Plan" at this stage.
The task of carrying out the plan in Europe was entrusted to the American leadership of British and French diplomacy. After the meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries on June 17-18, 1947, the governments of England and France turned to the Soviet government with an invitation to meet in Paris for a tripartite meeting of foreign ministers to discuss the "Marshall Plan". The calculation was made on the refusal of the Soviet Union and, as a result, the further isolation of the USSR, on shifting the blame for the difficult economic situation in Europe and for its split.
However, the USSR agreed to take part in the tripartite meeting. At the Paris meeting, which took place from June 27 to July 2, 1947, the British and French Foreign Ministers proposed the creation of committees to develop a coordinated economic program, which would then be submitted to Washington for consideration. Thus, the United States would have the right to determine the direction of development of key sectors of the European economy. The Soviet Union agreed to accept the "Marshall Plan" on the condition that the sovereignty of the European countries was preserved and a distinction was made between those countries that fought in the war as allies, neutral countries and former enemies, especially Germany. These requirements were not accepted. American capitalism has demonstrated its vitality and its ability to exercise international hegemony. For the USSR, there was nothing left but to choose between an agreement with the "Marshall Plan" and recognition of the leading role of America, to which Western Europe had already agreed, and non-agreement and the risk of opening confrontations with it. Stalin made a choice definitely in favor of the second solution.
On April 3, 1948, the US Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act of 1948, to which the US recognized West Germany as its ally and gave it obvious preference.
2. Eastern Europe
After the Second World War, the countries of Eastern Europe found themselves in the sphere of influence of the USSR. Then they then formed the basis of the "socialist camp" on the European continent, it was thanks to a series of agreements of the great powers that they restored statehood, acquired national-state borders, guarantees territorial integrity and became an essential component of the system of international relations.
The creation in 1949 of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance was another result in strengthening the emerging bloc by linking the economies of Eastern Europe to the USSR and subordinating to the interests of the bloc as a whole. The conclusion of a political union in which the Soviet Union had a monopoly on administrative functions. Another field of confrontation between the superpowers was Germany.
In 1955, the division of Europe between East and West finally took shape. However, a clear frontier of confrontation has not yet completely divided Europe. There was one unclosed “window” left in it - Berlin. The city was divided in half, with East Berlin being the capital of the GDR, and West Berlin considered its part of the FRG. Two opposing social systems coexisted within the same city, while every Berliner could freely get "from socialism to capitalism" and back, moving from one street to another. Every day up to 500 thousand people crossed this invisible border in both directions. Many East Germans, taking advantage of the open border, left for the West forever. Thousands of people moved in this way every year, which greatly worried the East German authorities. And in general, the wide open window in the "Iron Curtain" did not at all correspond to the general spirit of the era.
In August 1961, the Soviet and East German authorities decided to close the border between the two parts of Berlin. The tension in the city grew. Western countries protested the division of the city. Finally, in October, the confrontation reached highest point. At the Brandenburg Gate and on Friedrichstrasse, near the main checkpoints, American tanks lined up. Soviet combat vehicles came out to meet them. For more than a day, the tanks of the USSR and the USA stood with guns aimed at each other. Periodically, the tankers turned on the engines, as if preparing for an attack. The tension was somewhat relieved only after the Soviet, and after them the American tanks, withdrew to other streets. 
However, the Western countries finally recognized the division of the city only ten years later. It was formalized by an agreement of four powers (USSR, USA, England and France), signed in 1971. All over the world, the construction of the Berlin Wall was perceived as a symbolic completion of the post-war division of Europe.
3. Creation of military blocs and struggle for countries
The world was divided into two blocks: East and West, where the USSR became the personification of the first, and the USA - the second. Of course, they were not the only participants in the Cold War, gathering other states under their "wing" according to the principle "whoever is not with us is against us."
The next step was to create international organizations, the so-called collective security systems. 
In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - NATO, was formed, which included the United States, Canada and countries Western Europe. And in May 1955, the Warsaw Pact was signed. At the time of signing, it included Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, USSR, Czechoslovakia.
The polarization of the world has ended, and the created coalitions, led by their leaders, began to fight for influence in the countries of the third world.
In the first post-war years, a special struggle between opponents went on for two European states- Finland and Norway.
Under the armistice agreement signed in Moscow on September 19, 1944, Finland was forced to cede a significant territory to the Soviet Union, demobilize the army, transfer the Porkkala Udd area, not far from Helsinki, to the USSR for a long-term lease, to create there military base and pay $300 million in reparations. The Allied Control Commission (JCC) arrived in Helsinki to monitor the fulfillment of the terms of the armistice, headed by A.A. Zhdanov, a member of the Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, and which was in fact under the complete control of the Soviet side.
With the support and under the supervision of the Chairman of the JCC A. A. Zhdanov, the Communist Party of Finland was revived, and then a coalition of leftist forces was formed - the Democratic Union of the People of Finland (DSNF), where the communists played the leading role.
The peace treaty with Finland, concluded in Paris on February 10, 1947, fully satisfied Soviet interests: it fixed all the "territorial" articles of the Armistice Agreement, restrictions on the armed forces, provisions on the "democratization" of the country and a ban on anti-Soviet propaganda. However, what had been achieved no longer seemed to the Soviet leadership a sufficient guarantee of influence on Finland.
Having learned about the desire of Finland, whose economy was in a rather difficult condition, to receive US economic assistance under the Marshall Plan, the Soviet side put strong pressure on the country's government.
As a result of lengthy negotiations between the USSR and Finland, an agreement on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance was signed, which became the basis of relations between the two countries for the entire period of the Cold War. Partially giving up freedom of action in foreign policy, Finland defended its independence and social structure, taking a special place in the international arena, something in between the position of an ally of the USSR and a “benevolent neutral”.
As for Norway, being the closest neighbor of the USSR, it traditionally maintained equal relations with it. The only contentious issue between the two countries was the Soviet attempt in 1944 to secure a condominium over the strategically important Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, which belongs to Norway. Transformed during lengthy negotiations into a more moderate draft agreement on the joint defense of the islands, the Soviet demands were finally rejected by the Norwegian side on February 15, 1947. The Soviet Union, which never considered Norway a part of its sphere of influence, resigned itself to this outcome: the aggravation of the situation could only push the Norwegians "into the arms" of England and the USA. Nevertheless, the Svalbard issue caused considerable concern among Norwegian politicians.
As a result, at the beginning of 1948, two options for solving this problem were opened. The first, proposed by the Swedish government, was to create a neutral military bloc of the Scandinavian countries. The second is in joining the Western Union. Both options had their advantages and disadvantages. The Norwegian government hesitated: in intensive consultations with the Swedes, it simultaneously turned to the United States with a request: what kind of help could be expected from them in case of war.
The situation of uncertainty was suddenly resolved by a crisis in early March 1948. Before the shock of the communist takeover in Czechoslovakia and Stalin's letter about a mutual assistance pact with Finland had passed, rumors began to spread throughout Europe that a similar pact would soon be offered to Norway.
On March 6, a message appeared that "after Finland, it will be Norway's turn." A day earlier, similar information was received in Washington from the American mission in Helsinki and immediately passed on to the Norwegians.
On March 8, Foreign Minister Lange informed the American ambassador that Norway would refuse the Soviet proposal for a mutual assistance pact, and inquired about possible US military assistance. On the same day, he made a similar request to the British Ambassador.
For supporters of a military alliance of Western countries in England and the United States, a decisive moment has come - Norway's request for help, as it were, was pushing for immediate action.
On March 11, a memorandum was sent to US Secretary of State J. Marshall on the proposal to conclude an "Atlantic Mutual Assistance Pact, in which ... the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, France" could participate. The very next day, Marshall agreed, and at the Washington Conference of representatives of the USA, Great Britain and Canada, held on March 22 - April 1, 1948, a preliminary draft of the Atlantic Pact was developed, which later formed the basis of the treaty establishing NATO.
Norway at that moment had not yet made a final choice, still preferring the union of the Scandinavian countries, but with its link to the Atlantic security system. When it became clear that Sweden would not agree to this condition, cherishing its traditional neutrality, the Norwegian government formally joined NATO on April 4, 1949. However, it stipulated a special status for itself, refusing to deploy foreign bases and troops on its territory in peacetime.
As a result, this military bloc turned out to be one of the most significant and influential organizations in the world, not a single one could (and does not) do without its participation. controversial issue in Europe. As of today, the future of this bloc is likely to look optimistic. At least as long as eastward expansion is successful, there is nothing Russia can do about it.
4. A new round of the Cold War in the face of the Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1959, a revolution took place in Cuba, as a result of which Fidel Castro came to power. Active opposition to American influence on the island began.
Of course, the Soviet Union supported the Cuban authorities. However, open confrontation could not be allowed, since the forces were too unequal (by the beginning of the 60s, the United States had an obvious advantage in the field of weapons).
Thus, the United States was significantly ahead of the USSR in the deployment of naval nuclear forces. The George Washington-class nuclear submarines carried 16 Polaris-A missiles each, which were launched from a submerged position. In the early 60s they were based in Holy Loch ( West Coast Scotland) and carried out combat patrols in the North Atlantic.
The Soviet Navy has just begun to deploy a group of missile submarines. Project 658 nuclear submarines with three R-13 missiles were still being tested. Only diesel-electric submarines of project 611 with two R-11FM missiles and project 629 with three R-13 missiles were in the combat strength of the fleet.
In general, by the beginning of the 1960s, the United States had quantitative and qualitative superiority in the field of strategic nuclear weapons and could hypothetically win a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.
The significance of this superiority was already evident at the Vienna meeting at highest level in June 1961. All of Khrushchev's demands for West Berlin and Cuba "crashed" against the smile of John F. Kennedy.
Moreover, the results of space reconnaissance conducted in 1961 clearly showed that instead of 200 missiles (the old CIA estimate), the Soviet Union had only four MCRs deployed in Plesetsk, while the US had 40 ICBM launchers.
This circumstance significantly changed American plans for the use of nuclear weapons. It turned out that with practically two or three Jupiter missiles from Turkish territory, the deployment of which was completed in May 1962, it was possible to destroy all the intercontinental missiles of the USSR.
It became clear to the Soviet leadership that the Americans no longer believed the bluff about the "nuclear and missile power" of the Soviet Union. The situation on the “Soviet-American front of the Cold War” threatened not only with the loss of Cuba and world prestige in general, but also with a possible defeat in a nuclear war.
Therefore, only one way out of this impasse was found - the creation of a weighty threat of nuclear strikes against objects located on the territory of the United States.
On May 24, 1962, at an enlarged meeting of the USSR Defense Council, a decision was made to create a Group of Soviet Forces in Cuba, which included a missile division consisting of five missile regiments armed with medium-range missiles.
The deployment of a group of medium-range missiles in Cuba was brilliantly carried out by the USSR during Operation Anadyr in July-October 1962. Even despite its incompleteness, it was possible to achieve military-strategic parity and change the balance of strategic forces in the Western Hemisphere.
October 14 comes, the deployment of Soviet missiles in Cuba is no longer a secret for the Americans. Now the United States was faced with a matter of life and death, the resolution of which required either decisive action or concessions.
Analysts' calculations, which lasted for a week, showed that, despite the fact that in response to the launch of Soviet missiles from Cuba, the American side could strike at the territory of the Soviet Union, the losses for the United States in this case would become completely unacceptable.
The American side undertook not to attack the island of Liberty in exchange for the withdrawal of Soviet strategic offensive weapons from Cuba. Kennedy and Khrushchev agreed confidentially that the US would eliminate the medium-range missile groups deployed in Britain, Italy and Turkey, which was done.
5. Afghanistan
The next "point of contact" between the interests of the US and the USSR, apart from the Vietnam War, can be called actions against Afghanistan.
In April 1978, a coup took place in Afghanistan, later called the April Revolution. Afghan communists came to power - the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). The government was headed by the writer Nur Mohammed Taraki. However, within a few months, a sharp struggle flared up within the ruling party.
In August 1979, a confrontation broke out between the two leaders of the party - Taraki and Amin. On September 16, Taraki was removed from his post, expelled from the party and taken into custody.
These events caused discontent in Moscow, although outwardly everything remained as before. The mass “purges” and executions in the party environment that began in Afghanistan caused condemnation. And, since they reminded the Soviet leaders of the Chinese "cultural revolution", there were fears that Amin might break with the USSR and move closer to China.
Amin repeatedly asked for the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan to strengthen the revolutionary power, and finally, on December 12, 1979, the Soviet leadership decided to fulfill his request, but at the same time remove Amin himself. 
Soviet troops were brought into Afghanistan, Amin was killed by a grenade explosion during the storming of the presidential palace.
In the West, the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan caused violent protests. The Cold War broke out with renewed vigor.
However, the war in Afghanistan did not stop for more than nine years. More than a million Afghans died during the hostilities. Soviet troops, according to official figures, lost 14,453 people killed.
In June 1987, the first, so far symbolic, steps towards peace were taken. The new Kabul government offered "national reconciliation" to the rebels.
In April 1988, the Soviet Union signed an agreement in Geneva on the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. On May 15, the troops began to leave, and nine months later, on February 15, 1989, the last Soviet soldier left Afghanistan.
6. End of the Cold War
The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe can be considered the beginning of the end of the Cold War. The participating countries consulted for two years, and in 1975 in Helsinki, these countries signed the Final Act of the meeting. On the part of the USSR, it was sealed by Leonid Brezhnev. This document legalized the post-war division of Europe, which was what the USSR was striving for. In exchange for this Western concession, the Soviet Union pledged to respect human rights.
The next active actions aimed at a truce took place only in the late 80s and early 90s.
In 1988-89, with the beginning of perestroika, drastic changes took place in Soviet politics. In November 1989, the Berlin Wall ceased to exist. On July 1, 1991, the Warsaw Pact was dissolved. The socialist camp collapsed. 
In a number of countries - its former members - democratic revolutions took place, which not only were not condemned, but were supported by the USSR. The Soviet Union also refused to expand its influence in the countries of the third world. Such a sharp turn in Soviet foreign policy in the West is associated with the name of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.
In addition, a number of major arms control agreements were signed, which undoubtedly marked the end of the Cold War. Multilateral and bilateral treaties and agreements on disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, concluded as part of the disarmament process, have helped to reduce the tension in the military-political situation at the global level and to reduce various types of weapons.
However, the opening of the "Iron Curtain" did not lead to the establishment of good neighborly relations between the peoples. On the contrary, it became the reason for the destabilization of international relations in the face of the collapse or weakening of intra-bloc discipline.
The split occurred not only at the international level, but also within the USSR: the latter collapsed, creating a new union - the CIS.
Thus, the end of the Cold War led to the development of a trend of transition from a confrontational bipolar to a multipolar world. The centripetal forces that attracted a significant part of the rest of the world to each of the two superpowers sharply weakened.
After the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, and then the USSR, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in their predominant number ceased to focus on Russia, which acted as the successor to the Soviet Union. Russia's ties with the sovereign countries of the CIS - the former parts of the practically unitary USSR - have also fundamentally weakened.
Simultaneously, similar trends developed around the United States. Greater than before, the countries of Western Europe began to show independence, having ceased to depend on the American "nuclear umbrella". Their attraction to the "Eurocenter" is gradually taking over the transatlantic orientation.
Against the backdrop of Japan's rapidly expanding positions in the world, the bonds of its military-political dependence on the United States are weakening. It is characteristic that a process of strengthening independence is taking place, and those countries that were farther from the epicenter of the bipolar confrontation did not directly adjoin any superpower. First of all, this conclusion is true for China, which is rapidly increasing its economic potential.
But still, this does not yet allow us to say that a multipolar world has already taken shape, and most importantly, that an equal partnership has already come to replace the balance of power system on which the world order was based. At the same time, the inertia of political thinking continues to affect in the most negative way. The stereotypes that took root during the 40 years of the Cold War in the minds of several generations of statesmen have not yet disappeared along with the dismantling of strategic missiles and the destruction of thousands of tanks.
Thus, the nature of international relations for the transitional period from a confrontational to a democratic world has not yet been determined. Meanwhile, the ability and possibility of overcoming new dangers, threats and challenges of the post-confrontation period depend on what this character will be like.
History and SID
The Cold War began between the USSR and the USA and their allies, Churchill's Fulton speech, Truman's Doctrine, and curbing the influence of the USSR in the world. The USSR imposed communist regimes in Eastern Europe. At the same time, socialist Yugoslavia did not recognize the supremacy of the USSR, relations between the countries were broken off. The USSR had nuclear weapons.
Post-war order of the world. Beginning of the Cold War.
After the war, the Stalinist regime reached its apogee. During the war years, the national idea was strengthened (before there was the idea of a world revolution). In connection with the increased influence of the West, the struggle against "cosmopolitanism" began. In 1949-1953 there was a new round of arrests (the case of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, the "Leningrad case", "the case of doctors").
In 1952, at the 19th Party Congress of the CPSU(b), it was renamed the CPSU. The Politburo was expanded and received the name of the Presidium of the Central Committee.
By 1950, the national economy was basically restored to the pre-war level. The priority was the defense complex. The exploitation of the village has reached an unprecedented scale. In 1946-1947 there was a famine. In 1947 food cards were abolished.
In 1946-1947. a "cold war" began between the USSR and the USA and their allies (Churchill's Fulton speech, the Truman Doctrine - containment of the influence of the USSR in the world). The USSR planted communist regimes in Eastern Europe. At the same time, socialist Yugoslavia did not recognize the supremacy of the USSR, relations between the countries were severed. In 1949, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) of the socialist countries was established. In 1949 NATO was created. In 1949, the western zone of occupation of Germany became known as the FRG, and the Soviet zone as the GDR. In 1949, the USSR acquired nuclear weapons. In 1950-1953 The USSR and China supported North Korea in the fight against the South, which was supported by the United States and its allies.
The main achievement of science is developments in atomic physics. In 1948, genetics, declared pseudoscience, was crushed. Cybernetics ended up in the pen, which later affected the level of computer technology.
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Lecture No. 14 The post-war structure of the world, the cold war and its consequences.
External and domestic politics THE USSR.
The end of the Second World War gave rise to a new situation on the planet. The first place in the foreign policy of European countries was taken by the issues of peaceful settlement, starting with the definition of borders and establishing relationships and ending with the solution of internal social and economic problems.
The main issue of the post-war settlement was the question of the creation of international organizations.
In April 1945, a conference on the security of nations in the post-war period opened in San Francisco. The conference was attended by delegations from 50 countries headed by foreign ministers. It was characteristic that among the conference participants there were representatives of Ukraine and Belarus, on which the issue was resolved at the Crimean meeting of the heads of state of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. Since in Poland the government was created in the course of the struggle against Nazi Germany, and in London there was another government in exile, at the initiative of England and the United States, it was decided in relation to Poland that after the decision on the Polish government of this country, she would be given a place at the UN.
At the conference, the United Nations was created and, after heated discussions, the Charter was adopted, which was signed in a solemn atmosphere on June 26, 1945 and entered into force on October 24, 1945. This day is considered the birthday of the United Nations. The Charter for the first time enshrined the principle of equality and self-determination of peoples as the basis of international relations. The Charter obliged UN members to take effective collective measures to prevent and eliminate threats to peace and suppress acts of aggression, to resolve international disputes "by peaceful means, in accordance with the principles of justice and international law."
The main political body of the UN is the Security Council, which consists of permanent members. The USSR received a seat as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, along with the United States, Britain, France and China.
The main deliberative body of the UN is the General Assembly, in which representatives of all member countries of the organization participate. Non-permanent members are elected by the UN General Assembly for a two-year term.
Unlike the United States, which significantly strengthened its position, European countries from the camp of the winners emerged from the war with a weakened economy. Things were even more complicated in the USSR. On the one hand, the international prestige of the Soviet Union has increased unprecedentedly, and without its participation not a single major problem of international relations was now resolved. At the same time, the economic situation of the USSR was severely undermined. In September 1945, the amount of direct losses caused by the war was estimated at 679 billion rubles, which was 5.5 times the national income of the USSR in 1940.
The USSR became a recognized great power in the international arena: the number of countries that established diplomatic relations with it increased from 26 in the pre-war period to 52.
Foreign policy. The warming of international relations that emerged after the war turned out to be short-lived. In the first months after the defeat of Germany and the capitulation of Japan, the Soviet government did its best to create the image of the USSR as a peace-loving state, ready to seek compromises in solving complex world problems. It emphasized the need to ensure favorable international conditions for peaceful socialist construction in the USSR, the development of the world revolutionary process, and the preservation of peace on Earth.
But this did not last long. Internal processes, as well as cardinal changes in the international situation, led to the tightening of the political and doctrinal guidelines by the Soviet leadership, which determined the specific goals and actions of domestic diplomacy, the direction of ideological work with the population.
After the end of the war, people's democratic states were formed in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia. 11states took the path of building socialism. The world system of socialism united 13 states and covered 15% of the territory and about 35% of the population the globe(before the war - 17% and 9%, respectively).
Thus, in the struggle for influence in the world, the former allies in the war with Germany were divided into two opposing camps. An arms race and political confrontation began between the USSR and the USA, East and West, which became known as the Cold War.
In April 1945, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the preparation of a war plan against the USSR. Churchill presented his conclusions in his memoirs: since the USSR has become a mortal threat to America and Europe, it is necessary to immediately create a front that goes as far as possible to the East, against its rapid advance. The main and true goal of the Anglo-American armies is Berlin with the liberation of Czechoslovakia and entry into Prague. Vienna and all of Austria must be ruled by the Western Powers. Relations with the USSR should be based on military superiority.
Cold War - a global geopolitical, economic and ideological confrontation between the Soviet Union and its allies, on the one hand, and the United States and its allies, on the other, which lasted from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s. The confrontation was not a war in the literal sense - one of the main components was ideology. The deep contradiction between the capitalist and socialist models is the main cause of the Cold War. The two victorious superpowers in World War II tried to rebuild the world according to their ideological guidelines.
The speech of W. Churchill in Fulton (USA, Missouri), in which he put forward the idea of creating a military alliance of the Anglo-Saxon countries in order to fight world communism, is often considered the formal beginning of the Cold War. W. Churchill's speech outlined a new reality, which the retired British leader, after assurances of deep respect and admiration for "the valiant Russian people and my wartime comrade Marshal Stalin", defined as the "Iron Curtain".
A week later, in an interview with Pravda, I.V. Stalin put Churchill on a par with Hitler and stated that in his speech he called on the West to go to war with the USSR.
The Stalinist leadership sought to create an anti-American bloc in Europe and, if possible, in the world, in addition, the countries of Eastern Europe were perceived as a "cordon sanitaire" against American influence. In these interests, the Soviet government in every possible way supports the communist regimes in Eastern Europe, where "socialist revolutions" took place by 1949, the communist movement in Greece (an attempt to organize a communist coup here failed in 1947), tacitly gets involved in the Korean War (1951-1954 gg.) on the side of pro-communist North Korea.
In 1945, the USSR presented territorial claims to Turkey and demanded a change in the status of the Black Sea straits, including recognition of the USSR's right to establish a naval base in the Dardanelles. In 1946, at the London meeting of foreign ministers, the USSR demanded that it be granted the right to protectorate over Tripolitania (Libya) in order to secure a presence in the Mediterranean.
On March 12, 1947, US President Harry Truman announced his intention to provide Greece and Turkey with military and economic assistance in the amount of 400 million dollars. dollars. At the same time, he defined the content of the rivalry between the USA and the USSR as a conflict between democracy and totalitarianism.
In 1947, at the insistence of the USSR, the socialist countries refused to participate in the Marshall Plan, which involved the provision of economic assistance in exchange for the exclusion of the Communists from the government.
After the war, the USSR provided substantial economic assistance to all countries of the socialist bloc. So, in 1945, Romania received 300 tons of grain as a loan, Czechoslovakia - 600 thousand tons of sarn, Hungary - three loans, etc. By 1952, such assistance was already estimated at over $3 billion.
Created after the war by the decision of the Potsdam Conference, the Control Council for managing Germany as a "single economic entity" proved to be ineffective. In response to the US decision to carry out a separate monetary reform in 1948 in the western zones of occupation and West Berlin in order to give the German economy a hard currency, the USSR imposed a blockade of Berlin (until May 1949). In 1949, the conflict between the USA and the USSR led to the split of Germany into the FRG and the GDR, where the problem of West Berlin remained unresolved.
The Soviet Union launched large-scale assistance to the people's democracies, creating for this purpose a special organization - the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (1949).
1949-50s became the apogee of the Cold War - a military-political bloc of Western countries - NATO was created, as well as other blocs with the participation of the United States: ANZUS, SEATO, etc.
A few years later, the USSR united part of the countries of people's democracy into a military-political union - the Warsaw Pact Organization: ( 1955-1990 - Albania /until 1968/, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, USSR, Czechoslovakia). The USSR actively promoted the communist parties and movements in the Western states, the growth of the liberation movement in the "third world" and the creation of countries of "socialist orientation".
For its part, the US leadership sought to pursue a policy from a "position of strength", trying to use all its economic and military-political power to put pressure on the USSR. In 1946, US President G. Truman proclaimed the doctrine of "limitation of communist expansion", reinforced in 1947 by the doctrine of economic assistance "to free peoples."
The United States provided large-scale economic assistance to Western countries (“Marshall Plan”), created a military-political alliance of these states led by the United States (NATO, 1949), deployed a network of American military bases (Greece, Turkey) near the borders of the USSR, supported anti-socialist forces within the Soviet bloc.
In 1950-1953. During the Korean War, there was a direct clash between the USSR and the USA.
Thus, the formation of the camp of socialism, which economically, politically and culturally became more and more isolated from the capitalist countries, and the tough political course of the West led to the split of the world into two camps - socialist and capitalist.
