5. Soviet response to containment

5

Wartime legacy

USSR lost 20 million civilians and soldiers, compared to 500k in the UK

Stalin’s expectations at Potsdam

a standard post-war conference to settle borders, ownership and reparations. Realist expectations

Novikov telegram

At same time as Kennan Long Telegram. explained the increase anti-soviet rhetoric is due to US sole interest in world domination and this is why they wont sign any agreements

Soviet containment effort

Much more limited than US, heavily influences by US possession of nuclear arms which the could use as threat

3 soviet policies during early cold war

Stay alive, respond to US, bomb

Stay alive

Following devastation from WW2, workforce and industry needed to be rebuilt under the ideological expectation of war. Mostly consisted on steel, iron, tanks. No consumer goods

Response to Baruch Plan

Gromyko Plan as a way to demonstrate interest in nuclear non-proliferation (while building their own)

Response to Marshall Plan

Molotov Plan - dont have enough money to actually carry this out, created resentment

response to NATO

Warsaw Pact - mirror of NATO in E. Europe. Members did not want to be under. Members joined in hopes that if the US is provoked into action then NATO would liberate them from Soviet control. USSR used this as propaganda

Get the bomb

USSR’s No1 priority to end US nuclear hegemony. US though the USSR was too backward to succeed

When did the USSR first test bomb

August 1949

What happened in China at the same time as Soviet bomb

Kwomingtang is overthrown in China lead by Mao Zedong and new socialist regime is established by peasantry

Revolution contrast to USSR

Marxism said it would be the industrial workers of the world who would revolt. China was still largely agricultural so did not have this class

Effect of Chinese rev on the world

600 million new socialist citizens. Focus turns to Stalin on how he will react. Us decides this does not require containing as the policy only applied to industrialised nations - China being communist makes no difference to the world economy