Cold War leaders

Truman and Stalin

  • Context:

    • USA and USSR were fighting Japan and Germany respectively, USSR then declares war on Japan and USA drops the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (the bombs were secret, however the USSR knew about its existence before they were dropped)

    • Both the US and USSR participated in the wartime conferences (Tehran, Yalta & Potsdam) alongside Britain; Roosevelt had died and was replaced by Truman in the Potsdam conference.

  • Relations:

    • Ideological differences that led to numerous disagreements, such as the implementation of Soviet governments in Eastern Europe, Stalin wanting to create a central planned economy whereas Truman wanted to maintain a free market (Marshall Plan).

    • Truman was openly anti-communist.

    • US diplomat in Moscow, George F Kennan, sent out a long telegram that concluded that the Soviet Union acted out of fear towards the US, being influenced by a threat of the outside world, stating that the Soviet regime was cruel and oppressive. This contributed to the US hardening its attitude towards the USSR and also caused the Soviet ambassador in the US; Novikov, to send a telegram addressed to Stalin.

    • Truman implemented different policies and strategies than what Roosevelt had done to deal with communism; the most significant ones were the Marshall Plan (US aided European countries that were bankrupt or damaged after the war) and the Truman Doctrine (financial aid to the damaged capitalist countries).

    • Stalin’s Berlin Blockade failed, consequently, the West established the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the USSR the German Democratic Republic (GDR)

    • Salami tactics - communisation of Eastern Europe: a method implemented by the USSR to increase their hegemony over Eastern Europe

    • The COMECON was an outcome of the Molotov Plan created in 1949. The Cominform was the organization of the eastern bloc countries to Moscow. The Cominform was the  international communist movement (1947-1956). It increased Stalin's power in other communist countries.

    • NATO was created April 4 under the name of North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The Washington treaty forms the bases of the organization and was signed by 12 founding members and was a clear rival to the Soviet bloc and the Cominform.

    • Distrust amongst both countries made them take aggressive and defensive measures, initiating and developing the Cold War.

Reagan and Gorbachev

  • Both were willing to cooperate and negotiate to maintain peace.

  • Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force Treaty (INF Treaty)

    • Reagan:

      • Strong anti-communist → criticised predecessors for their detente policies

      • pushed the USSR to increase their military spendings (USSR was using about 25% of its GDP, whereas USA was only using 7% and was winning the arms race)

      • He wanted to end the Cold War because he wanted to win it.

    • Gorbachev (proved to want to maintain peace and be cooperative):

      • Reforms: Perestroika (reconstructing the economy and establishing a free market) and Glasnost (democratisation of Soviet politics, further involvement and participation of the people in the CSPU)

      • Removing troops from Afghanistan, USSR could no longer maintain the war against the Taliban (anti-communist Islamic group)

      • Gorbachev did not intervene with force in any of the anti-Soviet movements (e.g: people using the Hungarian border to get to the West, Polish Solidarity); the USSR could also no longer maintain its empire due to its high spendings on the arms race.

  • Both of the leader’s willingness to negotiate