The Cold War lasted. Cold War: years, essence

And the United States of America lasted for more than 40 years and was called the “Cold War”. The years of its duration are estimated differently by different historians. However, we can say with complete confidence that the confrontation ended in 1991, with the collapse of the USSR. The Cold War left an indelible mark on world history. Any conflict of the last century (after the end of World War II) must be viewed through the prism of the Cold War. This was not just a conflict between two countries.

It was a confrontation between two opposing worldviews, a struggle for dominance over the entire world.

Main reasons

The year the Cold War began was 1946. It was after the victory over Nazi Germany that a new world map and new rivals for world domination emerged. The victory over the Third Reich and its allies cost the whole of Europe, and especially the USSR, enormous bloodshed. The future conflict emerged at the Yalta Conference in 1945. At this famous meeting of Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt, the fate of post-war Europe was decided. At this time, the Red Army was already approaching Berlin, so it was necessary to carry out the so-called division of spheres of influence. Soviet troops, seasoned in battles on their territory, brought liberation to other peoples of Europe. In the countries occupied by the Union, friendly socialist regimes were established.

Spheres of influence

One of these was installed in Poland. At the same time, the previous Polish government was located in London and considered itself legitimate. supported him, but the Communist Party, elected by the Polish people, de facto ruled the country. At the Yalta Conference, this issue was especially acutely considered by the parties. Similar problems were also observed in other regions. The peoples liberated from Nazi occupation created their own governments with the support of the USSR. Therefore, after the victory over the Third Reich, the map of the future Europe was finally formed.

The main stumbling blocks of the former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition began after the division of Germany. The eastern part was occupied by Soviet troops, the Western territories were proclaimed, which were occupied by the Allies and became part of the Federal Republic of Germany. Infighting immediately began between the two governments. The confrontation ultimately led to the closure of the borders between Germany and the GDR. Espionage and even sabotage actions began.

American imperialism

Throughout 1945, the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition continued close cooperation.

These were acts of transfer of prisoners of war (who were captured by the Nazis) and material assets. However, the following year the Cold War began. The years of the first aggravation occurred precisely in the post-war period. The symbolic beginning was Churchill’s speech in the American city of Fulton. Then the former British minister said that the main enemy of the West is communism and the USSR, which personifies it. Winston also called on all English-speaking nations to unite to fight the “red infection.” Such provocative statements could not but cause a response from Moscow. After some time, Joseph Stalin gave an interview to the newspaper Pravda, in which he compared the English politician with Hitler.

Countries during the Cold War: two blocs

However, although Churchill was a private person, he only outlined the course of Western governments. The United States has dramatically increased its influence on the world stage. This happened largely thanks to the war. No combat operations took place on American soil (with the exception of Japanese bomber raids). Therefore, against the backdrop of devastated Europe, the States had a fairly powerful economy and armed forces. Fearing the outbreak of popular revolutions (which would be supported by the USSR) on their territory, capitalist governments began to rally around the United States. It was in 1946 that the idea of ​​creating a military unit was first voiced. In response to this, the Soviets created their own unit - the ATS. It even got to the point where the parties were developing a strategy of armed struggle with each other. At the direction of Churchill, a plan for a possible war with the USSR was developed. The Soviet Union had similar plans. Preparations began for a trade and ideological war.

Arms race

The arms race between the two countries was one of the most significant phenomena that the Cold War brought. Years of confrontation led to the creation of unique means of warfare that are still in use today. In the second half of the 40s, the United States had a huge advantage - nuclear weapons. The first nuclear bombs were used back in World War II. The Enola Gay bomber dropped shells on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, practically razing it to the ground. It was then that the world saw the destructive power of nuclear weapons. The United States began to actively increase its stockpiles of such weapons.

A special secret laboratory was created in the state of New Mexico. Strategic plans for future relations with the USSR were built on the basis of nuclear advantage. The Soviets, in turn, also began to actively develop a nuclear program. The Americans considered the presence of charges with enriched uranium as the main advantage. Therefore, intelligence hastily removed all documents on the development of atomic weapons from the territory of defeated Germany in 1945. Soon a secret strategic document was developed, which envisaged a nuclear strike on the territory of the Soviet Union. According to some historians, variations of this plan were presented to Truman several times. Thus ended the initial period of the Cold War, the years of which were the least tense.

Union nuclear weapons

In 1949, the USSR successfully conducted the first tests of a nuclear bomb at the Semipalatinsk test site, which was immediately announced by all Western media. The creation of the RDS-1 (nuclear bomb) became possible largely thanks to the actions of Soviet intelligence, which also penetrated the secret test site in Los Alamossa.

Such a rapid creation of nuclear weapons came as a real surprise to the United States. Since then, nuclear weapons have become the main deterrent to direct military conflict between the two camps. The precedent in Hiroshima and Nagasaki showed the whole world the terrifying power of the atomic bomb. But in which year was the Cold War the most brutal?

Cuban missile crisis

During all the years of the Cold War, the situation was most tense in 1961. The conflict between the USSR and the USA went down in history as its prerequisites existed long before. It all started with the deployment of American nuclear missiles in Turkey. The Jupiter charges were placed in such a way that they could hit any targets in the western part of the USSR (including Moscow). Such a danger could not go unanswered.

A few years earlier, a popular revolution began in Cuba, led by Fidel Castro. At first, the USSR did not see any promise in the uprising. However, the Cuban people managed to overthrow the Batista regime. After this, the American leadership declared that it would not tolerate a new government in Cuba. Immediately after this, close diplomatic relations were established between Moscow and Liberty Island. Soviet armed units were sent to Cuba.

Beginning of the conflict

After the deployment of nuclear weapons in Turkey, the Kremlin decided to take urgent countermeasures, since for this period it was impossible to launch atomic missiles at the United States from the territory of the Union.

Therefore, the secret operation "Anadyr" was hastily developed. The warships were tasked with delivering long-range missiles to Cuba. In October the first ships reached Havana. The installation of launch pads has begun. At this time, American reconnaissance planes flew over the coast. The Americans managed to obtain several photographs of tactical divisions whose weapons were aimed at Florida.

Aggravation of the situation

Immediately after this, the US military was placed on high alert. Kennedy held an emergency meeting. A number of senior officials called on the President to immediately launch an invasion of Cuba. In the event of such a development of events, the Red Army would immediately launch a nuclear missile strike on the landing force. This could well lead to a worldwide conflict. Therefore, both sides began to look for possible compromises. After all, everyone understood what such a cold war could lead to. Years of nuclear winter were definitely not the best prospect.

The situation was extremely tense, everything could change literally at any second. According to historical sources, at this time Kennedy was even sleeping in his office. As a result, the Americans put forward an ultimatum - to remove Soviet missiles from Cuba. Then the naval blockade of the island began.

Khrushchev held a similar meeting in Moscow. Some Soviet generals also insisted not to give in to Washington's demands and, if necessary, to repel an American attack. The main blow of the Union could not have been in Cuba at all, but in Berlin, which was well understood in the White House.

"Black Saturday"

The world suffered the greatest blows during the Cold War on October 27, Saturday. On this day, an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft flew over Cuba and was shot down by Soviet anti-aircraft gunners. Within a few hours, this incident became known in Washington.

The US Congress advised the President to launch an invasion immediately. The President decided to write a letter to Khrushchev, where he repeated his demands. Nikita Sergeevich responded to this letter immediately, agreeing to them, in exchange for a US promise not to attack Cuba and to remove missiles from Turkey. In order for the message to reach as quickly as possible, the appeal was made via radio. This is where the Cuban crisis ended. From then on, the tension in the situation began to gradually decrease.

Ideological confrontation

Foreign policy during the Cold War for both blocs was characterized not only by competition for control over territories, but by a tough information struggle. Two different systems tried in every possible way to show the whole world their superiority. The famous Radio Liberty was created in the USA, which was broadcast to the territory of the Soviet Union and other socialist countries. The stated purpose of this news agency was to fight Bolshevism and communism. It is noteworthy that Radio Liberty still exists and operates in many countries. During the Cold War, the USSR also created a similar station that broadcast to the territory of capitalist countries.

Every significant event for humanity in the second half of the last century was considered in the context of the Cold War. For example, Yuri Gagarin's flight into space was presented to the world as a victory for socialist labor. Countries spent enormous resources on propaganda. In addition to sponsoring and supporting cultural figures, there was a wide agent network.

Spy games

The espionage intrigues of the Cold War were widely reflected in art. The secret services went to all sorts of tricks to stay one step ahead of their opponents. One of the most typical cases is Operation Confession, which is more like the plot of a spy detective story.

Even during the war, the Soviet scientist Lev Termin created a unique transmitter that did not require recharging or a power source. It was a kind of perpetual motion machine. The listening device was named "Zlatoust". The KGB, on Beria’s personal orders, decided to install “Zlatoust” in the US Embassy building. For this purpose, a wooden shield was created depicting the coat of arms of the United States. During the visit of the American ambassador, a ceremonial assembly was held at the children's health center. At the end, the pioneers sang the US anthem, after which the touched ambassador was presented with a wooden coat of arms. He, unaware of the trick, installed it in his personal account. Thanks to this, the KGB received information about all the ambassador’s conversations for 7 years. There were a huge number of similar cases, open to the public and secret.

Cold War: years, essence

The end of the confrontation between the two blocs came after the collapse of the USSR, which lasted 45 years.

Tensions between West and East continue to this day. However, the world ceased to be bipolar when Moscow or Washington stood behind any significant event in the world. In which year was the Cold War the most brutal, and closest to the “hot” one? Historians and analysts are still debating this topic. Most agree that this is the period of the “Cubicle crisis,” when the world was one step away from nuclear war.

Who called the war “cold”: 10 facts from the history of the confrontation between the USA and the USSR

On February 1, 1992, the Russian-American declaration was signed on the end of the Cold War, which was waged from 1946 to 1991 by the United States and the USSR, as well as their allies, within the framework of which an arms race was carried out, economic pressure measures were applied (embargo, economic blockade) created militarily -political blocs and military bases were built. The joint declaration of Russia and the United States, signed on February 1, 1992 at Camp David, officially put an end to ideological rivalry and confrontation.

The Cold War was invented by George Orwell

The term "Cold War" was coined in 1946 and came to refer to a state of political, economic, ideological and "paramilitary" confrontation. One of the main theorists of this confrontation, founder and first head of the CIA, Allen Dulles considered it the pinnacle of strategic art - “balancing on the brink of war.” Expression "cold war" first heard on April 16, 1947 in a speech by Bernard Baruch, adviser to US President Harry Truman, before the South Carolina House of Representatives. However, he was the first to use the term “Cold War” in his work “You and the Atomic Bomb” George Orwell, in which "cold war" meant a long economic, geopolitical and ideological war between the United States, the Soviet Union and their allies.

The US planned to drop 300 atomic bombs on the USSR

In 1949, the Pentagon adopted the Dropshot plan, which called for dropping 300 atomic bombs on 100 Soviet cities and then occupying the country with 164 NATO divisions. The operation was scheduled to begin on January 1, 1957. Through bombing they wanted to destroy up to 85% of Soviet industry. Massive attacks on Soviet cities were supposed to force the USSR and its allies to surrender. It was planned to involve about 6 million 250 thousand people in the war against the Soviet Union. The drafters aimed to conduct not only military action, but also psychological warfare, emphasizing that “psychological warfare is an extremely important weapon for promoting dissidence and betrayal among the Soviet people; it will undermine his morale, sow confusion and create disorganization in the country.”

Operation Anadyr on Freedom Island

The Cuban missile crisis became a serious test of the Cold War. In response to the deployment of American medium-range missiles near Soviet borders - in Turkey, Italy and England - the Soviet Union, in agreement with the government of Cuba, began installing its missiles. In June 1962, an agreement was signed in Moscow on the deployment of Soviet armed forces on Liberty Island. The first combat units participating in the operation, code-named Anadyr, arrived in early August 1962, after which the transfer of nuclear missiles began. In total, the number of Soviet forces in Cuba was supposed to be 44 thousand people. However, the plans were prevented by the blockade of Cuba. The United States declared it after they managed to discover launch sites for launching medium-range ballistic missiles on the island. Before the blockade was declared, about 8,000 soldiers and officers arrived in Cuba and 2,000 vehicles, 42 missiles and 36 warheads were transferred.

The beginning of the arms race

On August 29, 1949, the Soviet Union conducted its first atomic bomb test, marking the beginning of the arms race. Initially, neither the United States nor the Soviet Union had a large arsenal of nuclear weapons. But between 1955 and 1989, an average of about 55 tests were conducted each year. In 1962 alone, 178 tests were carried out: 96 by the United States and 79 by the Soviet Union. In 1961, the Soviet Union tested its most powerful nuclear weapon, the Tsar Bomba. The test took place at the Novaya Zemlya test site in the Arctic Circle. During the Cold War, many attempts were made to negotiate a comprehensive ban on nuclear weapons testing, but it was not until 1990 that the Nuclear Test Limitation Treaty began to be implemented.

Who will win the Cold War?

From the second half of the 60s, doubts arose in the USSR about the possibility of emerging victorious in the war. The leadership of the USSR began to look for opportunities to conclude treaties on the prohibition or limitation of strategic nuclear weapons. The first consultations on possible negotiations began in 1967, but no mutual understanding was reached at that time. The USSR decided to urgently eliminate the backlog in the field of strategic weapons, and it was more than impressive. Thus, in 1965, the United States had 5,550 nuclear warheads on strategic carriers, and the USSR only 600 (these calculations do not include warheads on medium-range missiles and nuclear bombs for bombers with a flight range of less than 6,000 km).

Eight zeros for ballistic missiles

In 1960, the United States began production of ground-based intercontinental nuclear ballistic missiles. Such missiles had a mechanism to protect against accidental launch—the operator had to enter a code using a digital display. At that time, the command ordered the installation of the same code 00000000 (eight zeros in a row) on all such missiles. This approach was supposed to ensure a quick response at the outbreak of a nuclear war. In 1977, taking into account the threat of nuclear terrorism, the command decided to change the simple and well-known code to an individual one.

Moon Bombing Plan

Secret underground city in Beijing

Beginning in 1969 and for the next decade, by order Mao Zedong An underground emergency shelter for the government was being built in Beijing. This “bunker” stretched near Beijing for a distance of 30 kilometers. The giant city was built during the Sino-Soviet split, and its sole purpose was to defend itself in case of war. The underground city contained shops, restaurants, schools, theaters, hairdressers and even a roller skating rink. The city could simultaneously accommodate up to 40 percent of Beijing's residents in the event of war.

$8 trillion for ideological confrontation

Cold War Victory Medal (USA) Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / US Army Institute of Heraldry

Famous historian Walter Lafaber estimated US military spending during the Cold War at $8 trillion. This amount does not include military operations in Korea and Vietnam, interventions in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Chile and Grenada, many CIA military operations, as well as spending on research, development, testing and production of nuclear ballistic missiles. At the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union were preparing for a possible attack from the enemy, so they spent a total of $50 million every day on creating weapons.

In the United States, medals were awarded for participation in the Cold War

In April 2007, a bill was introduced into the chambers of the US Congress to establish a new military award for participation in the Cold War (Cold War Service Medal), which was previously supported by senators and congressmen from the Democratic Party led by Hillary Clinton. The medal was awarded to all those who served in the armed forces or worked in the US government departments between September 2, 1945 and December 26, 1991. The award does not have a specific status and is not formally a state award of the country.

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Introduction

The Cold War, which began after the Second World War, has for many years attracted the deepest interest of many historians, scientists and just ordinary history buffs. The information open for thought makes us think about many questions: who started this war and why, what were the goals, and in general, was it worth it? This is relevance this topic. Over the years, the debate about the Cold War has not subsided, but only flared up with renewed vigor.

While working on this research project, the following was determined: target- consider local conflicts that occurred between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War.

Tasks This work can highlight the following:

Consequences of the largest local conflicts for the Soviet Union and the USA

Determine if the Cold War is truly over

I Beginning of the Cold War

Fulton speech.

After the end of the Second World War, a confrontation arose on earth between two “superpowers”, the USSR and the USA. As everyone knows, the Soviet Union promoted communist ideology and propagated it to all neighboring countries. The United States crowned democracy, and naturally did not want power in most countries to be in the hands of communists. It is worth noting an important point that occurred a year after the end of the Great Patriotic War.

Fulton, Missouri, March 5, 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave a very aggressive and anti-communist speech.

He spoke as a private person, as a result of which this gave him a certain expansion in words and expressions.

One of the reasons Churchill wrote this speech was Iranian oil, or rather the question of its division. After all, the Soviet Union, back in 1944, demanded that oil fields in the North of Iran should only be in the hands of the USSR, and if the USA or England attempted to develop oil fields near the border of the Soviet Union, the latter would consider this a threat to state security and take measures to neutralize this threat.

The expression “Iron Curtain” was first uttered by Winston Churchill at the same Fulton speech. These words mean a certain separation of the Soviet Union and other countries of the socialist system from the capitalist countries of the West. The most interesting thing is that this 1 phrase was uttered even before Churchill, namely by the French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau in 1919, and the German politician Joseph Goebbels in 1945. They used the expression “Iron Curtain” in a propaganda manner. And this phrase appeared when the Russian philosopher Vasily Rozanov compared the October Revolution to a theatrical performance, after which the curtain was solemnly lowered, although it was a heavy iron one, which fell in memory of Russian history. As a result, this concept began to disappear at the end of the 1980s, due to the policy of transparency and openness.

It is worth remembering one interesting moment after which Joseph Stalin called Winston Churchill a Nazi. This was done due to the fact that at this “conference” Churchill too often used these phrases in his speech: “Empire”, “British Commonwealth”, “English-speaking peoples” and the adjective “related”. Stalin believed that Churchill adhered to the views of Adolf Hitler, that is, those nations that speak English, as the only true and complete ones, should prevail over other nations of the world.

The Fulton speech did not cause any surprise to the Soviet Union, since Soviet intelligence worked well enough, and the very next day the complete translated speech was placed on the table of Stalin and Molotov. Two days later, the Izvestia newspaper published an article about “Churchill, who rattles his sabers.” On the same day, Radio Moscow reported “Churchill’s extremely aggressive speech.” Later, on March 10, an interview with Joseph Stalin was published in the Pravda newspaper.

The end of Fulton's speech was concluded with Churchill's phrase: “I hope that I have initiated reflections that will influence the course of history.” Well, naturally that’s what happened.

First provocations

Six months after the Fulton speech, serious provocations began directed towards the Soviet Union. Namely, after the USA and Great Britain learned about the “meager” position of the USSR.

They moved on to fight the Soviet Union, adding that the United States had atomic weapons. 2

In the same month, September, Special Assistant to the US President C. Clifford, on the orders of Harry Truman, held a meeting with senior US government leaders, and on its basis, on September 24, presented a report entitled: “American Policy towards the Soviet Union,” 3 in which said: “It is necessary to point out to the Soviet government that we have sufficient power not only to repel an attack, but also to quickly crush the USSR in war,” “To keep our power at a level that is effective in containing the Soviet Union, the United States must be prepared to conduct atomic and bacteriological warfare." In mid-1948, the US Committee of Chiefs of Staff prepared the Chariotir plan, 4 which provided for the use of 133 atomic bombs against 70 Soviet cities in the first 30 days of the war. 8 bombs were supposed to be dropped on Moscow, and 7 on Leningrad. It was planned to drop another 200 atomic bombs and 250 thousand tons of conventional bombs on the Soviet Union in the next two years of the war.

Threats of an atomic attack against the USSR, voiced in the US Congress and the British House of Commons, as well as on the pages of the press of Western countries, were supported by hostile actions in the international arena.

In 1947, the United States government unilaterally terminated the 1945 Soviet-American Agreement on the supply of American goods on credit.

In March 1948, export licenses were introduced in the United States, prohibiting the import of most goods into the USSR. Soviet-American trade virtually ceased. But anti-Soviet propaganda began to expand. K. Clifford's report dated September 24, 1946 emphasized: “On the widest scale that the Soviet government will tolerate, we must deliver books, magazines, newspapers and films to the country, and conduct radio broadcasts to the USSR.” This is how the Cold War program set out by Winston Churchill on March 5, 1946 began to be implemented.

II Local conflicts

Division of Germany, emergence of military blocs

In 1949, a military alliance of a number of Western countries, NATO 5 (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), was created. Which included 12 countries: USA, Canada, Iceland, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark, Italy and Portugal. In response to this, 6 years later, in 1955, Warsaw Pact 6 (Warsaw Pact Organization) was created. Which included 8 countries: USSR, SRR (Socialist Republic of Romania), NRB (People's Republic of Bulgaria), PPR (Polish People's Republic), GDR, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (Czechoslovak Socialist Republic), Hungarian People's Republic (Hungarian People's Republic), NSRA (People's Socialist Republic Albania).

Also in 1949, Germany split into two independent republics. 7 FRG (Federal Republic of Germany), which was under Western control. And the GDR (German Democratic Republic), which was under the control of the Soviet Union.

To “secede” these republics, on the territory of the GDR on August 13, 1961, the “Berlin Wall” was erected, which had a height of 3.6 meters and was around West Berlin.

Civil war in China.

In 1946-1949, the Chinese Civil War took place 8. We can confidently say that the reason was the struggle between the two systems. After the end of World War II, China, like Germany, was divided into two parts. The Northeast was in the hands of the People's Liberation Army (communist), and the rest belonged to Kuomintang party leader Chiang Kai-shek (anti-communist).

At the beginning there were seemingly peaceful elections, but after a certain period of time they failed and the war for the reunification of China began. In the end, the winner was the People's Liberation Army; naturally, the victory was not without the support of the Soviet Union.

Korean War.

In 1950-1953, the war broke out in Korea for reunification 9. Korea was divided into two camps, under the control of the USSR and the USA. North Korea (USSR) and South Korea (USA). The camp rulers were supported by the authorities of the Soviet Union and the United States. Kim Il Sung was supported in the north, and Syngman Rhee in the south.

It was a very brutal war, which led to nothing except the deaths of a huge number of people. As a result, the borders of North and South Korea practically did not move.

Berlin crisis.

The most difficult years of the Cold War were rightfully the first years of the 60s. 10 It was at that time that the world was already on the brink of nuclear war.

In 1961, the General Secretary of the USSR Nikita Khrushchev demanded that American President John Kennedy change the status of West Berlin on a large scale, since the Soviet Union was alarmed by the activity of Western intelligence services, as well as the “brain drain” (immigration of talented individuals and scientists) to other countries, in particular to West. The nuclear apocalypse did not happen, but as I wrote above, the “Berlin Wall” was built, which is the main symbol of the Cold War.

Caribbean crisis.

In 1962, the most intense conflict of the Cold War occurred—the crisis in Cuba 11 . It all started when the United States placed its missiles in Turkey, one might say right “under the nose” of the Soviet Union. Naturally, Moscow did not really like this trick. Something had to be done. By this time, a revolution had begun in Cuba led by Fidel Castro. In response to a request from the leaders of the Cuban revolution, the USSR agreed to deploy medium-range nuclear missiles on Liberty Island.

As a result, any city in the United States can be wiped out in 3-4 seconds. The United States did not like this “neighbor”, and even this “neighborhood” almost brought everything to the “red button”, but even then everything worked out and the parties decided to make do with peace. As a result, the Soviet Union refrained from deploying nuclear missiles, and the United States promised not to interfere in Cuba's affairs. The United States also removed its missiles from Turkey.

Vietnam War.

The Vietnam War 12 began in 1964. The point was again to unite the country. Vietnam was divided into North and South. Northern was supported by the USSR, China, and Warsaw countries. Accordingly, the South was supported by the United States and NATO countries.

The Vietnamese fought guerrilla battles on the territory of South Vietnam, and the Americans responded by burning them with napalm. But this did not help the Americans very much, since they suffered heavy losses. During the war years, the Americans lost 58 thousand people killed in the jungle, 2300 missing and over 150 thousand wounded.

As a result, the United States withdrew its troops from Vietnam, and the war ended in victory for North Vietnam, which united Vietnam under the rule of the CPV (Communist Party of Vietnam).

"Discharge"

The Cold War did not always proceed aggressively. At times, aggression was replaced by “detente.” 13 During such periods, the Soviet Union and the United States concluded the most important treaties on the limitation of strategic nuclear weapons and ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense).

In 1975, the “Helsinki Meeting” 14 was held in which 33 European countries participated, including NATO and Warsaw countries. The following issues were raised at the Meeting: ensuring security in Europe; cooperation in the fields of economics, science, technology and the environment; cooperation in humanitarian and other fields; further steps after the Meeting.

As a result of this “Helsinki Meeting,” 10 principles were identified that should determine the rules and norms of relations between the states that participated in the Meeting.

Principles:

1) Sovereign equality, respect for the rights inherent in sovereignty;

2) Non-use of force or threat of force;

3) Inviolability of borders;

4) Territorial integrity of states;

5) Peaceful settlement of disputes;

6) Non-interference in internal affairs;

7) Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief;

8) Equality and the right of peoples to control their own destinies;

9) Conscientious fulfillment of obligations under international law;

10) Cooperation between states.

In 1975, on July 15, with the launch of the Soyuz-19 spacecraft in the USSR and the Apollo spacecraft in the USA, the first joint space flight in the history of mankind began by representatives of different countries. The Soyuz-Apollo program was created. The main goals of which were:

1) Testing of elements of a compatible in-orbit rendezvous system;

2) Testing of the active-passive docking unit;

3) Checking technology and equipment to ensure the transition of astronauts from ship to ship;

4) Accumulation of experience in conducting joint flights of spacecraft of the USSR and the USA.

Afghanistan and new rounds of tension

In 1979, the Soviet Union sent troops into Afghanistan. Despite the fact that at a meeting of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, Leonid Brezhnev said: “The question was raised about the direct participation of our troops in the conflict that arose in Afghanistan. I think that...it’s not right for us to get drawn into this war now. We must explain...to our Afghan comrades that we can help them with everything they need...The participation of our troops in Afghanistan can harm not only us, but, above all, them.” 15

Due to the introduction of troops, the United States imposed a set of political and economic sanctions against the USSR in 1980-1982, and the installation of more American missiles in European countries began. 16

After the death of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov became the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. Under him, the Soviet Union and the United States stopped any negotiations altogether.

Samantha Smith

In 1982, Samantha Smith 17, an American schoolgirl from Maine, at the height of the Cold War, wrote a letter to the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Yuri Andropov. Due to the fact that in the American magazine “Time”, Samantha saw an article that Yuri Andropov is a dangerous person, and that under his leadership the Soviet Union is very dangerous and poses a huge threat to the United States. In the letter, she wrote that she was very afraid that a nuclear war would start, and asked Andropov if he was going to start a war.

At the beginning of 1983, part of Samantha’s letter was published in the Pravda newspaper, and on April 26, she received a letter from Yuri Andropov.

In which it was written that the Soviet Union does not want war, because the citizens of the USSR want peace for themselves and for all the peoples of the planet. At the end of the letter there was an invitation to the Artek pioneer camp for Samantha and her family.

Samantha and her parents left for the USSR on July 7, 1983. As a goodwill ambassador, she visited Moscow, Leningrad, and Crimea. She saw the Kremlin, visited Lenin's mausoleum, laid flowers at the burial place of Yuri Gagarin and at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I saw Peterhof and the Leningrad Palace of Pioneers.

The media of the USSR, the USA and the whole world followed her every step, every phrase. Samantha was annoyed by such attention from journalists, but she understood that this was their job, and did not particularly complain. Before flying home on July 22, Samantha smiled at the television cameras and shouted in Russian with a smile: “We will live!”

III Perestroika. End of the Cold War

Mid-1980s 18. Many socialist countries are on the verge of a crisis. Assistance from the USSR came in less and less every year.

People's needs grew, there was a great desire to go to the West, where they discovered a lot of new things. People's consciousness was changing, they wanted change, life in a more open and new society. The technical condition of the Soviet Union from Western countries was increasingly improving.

The General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, understood this, and he tried, through “perestroika,” to revive the economy, give the people more “freedom,” and move on to a “new life.”

The Communist parties of the Socialist camp tried to change and, so to speak, “modernize” the ideology and move to a new economic policy.

The Berlin Wall, rightfully a symbol of the Cold War, came down and Germany was reunified.

The Soviet Union withdrew troops from Afghanistan and Europe.

In 1991, the WTO (Warsaw Pact Organization) was dissolved.

The USSR, which did not survive the economic crisis, also collapsed, forming the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States).

Conclusion

An indisputable fact is that the Cold War played a key role in the events of the 20th century. The consequences of the largest local conflicts for the Soviet Union and the United States are as follows: the Soviet Union collapsed, the only superpower left on earth was the United States, which established a unipolar model of the world, allowing the United States to use the necessary resources for its own benefit 19 . True, after some time it became clear that during the confrontation between the two superpowers and the subsequent celebration of the victory of the United States, a potential new superpower, China, appeared in the world.

In addition, after the Cold War, the funds that were spent on the arms race began to be used in everyday life, and some funds went into investments.

Poor countries have become puppets of more progressive countries, and so on.

The West believes that the Cold War is over and ended with the victory of the West, because the Soviet Union collapsed, CMEA and Warsaw no longer exist. The West behaves like a winner, wondering why it should take Russia into account.

Our country really wanted to become part of the West, but it became clear that we are not the West, we are different. There is still confrontation between the two superpowers, it’s just different. I would like to believe that, remembering the lessons of the 40s, 50s and 90s, the leaders of countries will not make mistakes and will not lead to a critical point again.

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Cold War - Briefly covers just a few global events that are actually worth knowing. Of course, there are also small events that should not be overlooked. Without knowing these events, it is extremely difficult to navigate tests and exam assignments. Everything must be systematized, because history is an exact science. So I recommend reading this short article to the end, in which we briefly and clearly outlined the key events.

Key events

Before reading this article, I strongly recommend that you read and. Otherwise, things won't work out! In addition to these events, which we discussed below, we must also keep in mind the arms race, the unification of Germany, and many more nuances that will really help you learn the material at the proper level. Where to find all this, I wrote at the end of the article.

The Cold War covers the following events:

Berlin crisis of 1948-49.

Reasons: Berlin was mostly in the Soviet zone of occupation, and as a result people fled to the western zone of occupation. Plus, the Western Allies decided to carry out a monetary reform, which led to chaos in the monetary system of the Eastern part of the city.

Course of events:

• On June 21, 1948, the USSR imposed a blockade of Berlin.
• Western countries are trying to organize an air bridge. Any plane crash could lead to a new world war.
• In May 1949, the USSR lifted the blockade of Berlin, and relations normalized.

Results: in 1949, Germany was split into two states, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, under Western and Soviet influence, respectively. For a very long time, these two states did not diplomatically recognize each other.

Korean War 1950 - 1953

Reasons: After the unconditional surrender of Japan, on September 2, 1945, the USSR and the USA agreed that North Korea would fall under the protectorate of the USSR, and South Korea would fall under the protectorate of the US. What does Korea have to do with it if we are talking about the surrender of Japan? If you asked this question, then you are not at all aware of world history. The fact is that Korea, like the lion’s share of China, lived under Japan throughout the first half of the 20th century.

Accordingly, a communist government was formed in North Korea, controlled by the USSR, headed by Kim Il Sung, and South Korea followed the path of capitalist development. However, the USSR and the North wanted to expand their influence and, since 1948, had been preparing an attack on South Korea.

Course of events:

Results: As a result of the peace treaty, the border between the Koreas again passed along the 38th parallel.

Suez crisis of 1956

Berlin crisis of 1961

Cause: the USSR's desire for greater independence of the GDR, ideally to extend its influence to the Federal Republic of Germany. Tension was created by the fact that there was still no peace treaty between the GDR and the FRG.

Course of events: negotiations took place continuously from 1958 to 1961. And in principle, both sides were ready to compromise. Questions were raised by Khrushchev's aggressive rhetoric. As a result, Kennedy declared that if necessary, the United States would fight for West Germany and West Berlin.

Results: In 1961, the Berlin Wall was erected overnight, dividing West and East Berlin.

Cuban missile crisis of 1962

This event is considered the highest peak of the Cold War.

Reasons: the emergence of the communist regime of F. Castro in Cuba in the late 1950s, right “under the nose” of the United States, as well as the deployment of Soviet nuclear missiles there.

Course of events: deployment of US nuclear missiles in Turkey, which could reach the territory of the USSR.

Negotiations between the USA and the USSR lasted throughout September and October 1962. As a result, on October 28, the USSR accepted the US conditions: it removed missiles from Cuba in exchange for the US removing missiles from Turkey.

Consequences: This event showed that nuclear war was real and predetermined the period of détente.

• The Vietnam War 1964 - 1975.
• Final Act on Security and Cooperation in Europe 1975.
• War in Afghanistan 1979 - 1989
• Collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Other events will be added as I have free time. By the way, I analyzed all of them and many other nuances in.

In conclusion, I would like to clarify something. It seems that the events of the Cold War have sunk into history. However, one can look at the current international situation and say that nothing is over: the incomprehensible confrontation between states with imperial ambitions has not disappeared and continues to pose a threat to global security. And it is not a fact that a new crisis, like the Caribbean one, is already on the way. What do you think about this? Write in the comments!

Best regards, Andrey Puchkov

Holodnaya voyna (1946—1989...present)

In short, the Cold War is an ideological, military and economic confrontation between the two strongest powers of the 20th century, the USSR and the USA, which lasted 45 years - from 1946 to 1991. The word “war” here is conditional; the conflict continued without the use of military force, but this did not make it any less severe. If we talk briefly about the Cold War, then the main weapon in it was ideology.

The main countries of this confrontation are the Soviet Union and the United States. The USSR has caused concern in Western countries since its inception. The communist system was the extreme opposite of the capitalist one, and the spread of socialism to other countries caused an extremely negative reaction from the West and the United States.

Only the threat of Nazi Germany's seizure of Europe forced the former fierce opponents to become temporary allies in World War II. France, Great Britain, the USSR and the USA created an anti-Hitler coalition and jointly fought against German troops. But the conflicts were forgotten only for the duration of the war.

After the end of the bloodiest war of the 20th century, a new division of the world into spheres of influence between the major victorious countries began. The USSR extended its influence to Eastern Europe. The strengthening of the Soviet Union caused serious concerns in England and the United States. The governments of these countries already in 1945 were developing plans to attack their main ideological enemy. British Prime Minister William Churchill, who hated the communist regime, made an open statement in which he emphasized that military superiority in the world should be on the side of Western countries, not the USSR. Statements of this kind caused increased tension between Western countries and the Soviet Union.

In short, the Cold War began in 1946, immediately after the end of World War II. Churchill’s speech in the American city of Fulton can be considered its beginning. It showed the true attitude of the Western allies towards the USSR.
In 1949, the West created the NATO military bloc in order to protect against possible aggression from the USSR. In 1955, the Soviet Union and its allied countries also formed their own military alliance, the Warsaw Pact Organization, as a counterbalance to Western countries.

The main participants in the conflict, the USSR and the USA, did not engage in hostilities, but the policies they pursued led to the emergence of many local conflicts in many regions of the world.
The Cold War was accompanied by increased militarization, an arms race and ideological warfare. The Cuban Missile Crisis that occurred in 1962 showed how fragile the world is under such conditions. A real war was barely averted. After him, the USSR came to understand the need for disarmament. Mikhail Gorbachev, starting in 1985, pursued a policy of establishing more trusting relations with Western countries.