Who Was to Blame for the Cold War?

Haley Kvarnberg

Mr. Clark

MYP World History, Period 3

8 May 2015

Who Was to Blame for the Cold War?

        The Cold War was a major “war” and controversial time period lasting from 1945 to 1991.  It was fought between the democracies of the Western World led by the United States and the communist countries of Eastern Europe led by the Soviet Union. The United States and the Soviet Union never actually fought in a war; instead they ‘fought’ for their beliefs. The United States and the Soviet Union were the two most powerful countries in the world at the time, known as the two superpowers; all of the other countries in the world were weakened by World War II. They used to be allies in World War II and all of this changed as they had clashing ideas and interests during and after the war. Joseph Stalin played a major part in the Cold War as he was the power-hungry leader of the Soviet Union. Stalin refused to join the United Nations and believed the United States and Britain were delaying D-Day to weaken the Soviet Union. “At the Tehran Conference (1943) Stalin and Churchill clashed over how much control Stalin would have over the countries of Eastern Europe” (Causes of the Cold War). The Cold War was started for a number of reasons, and based on the evidence, the Soviet Union provoked it. The Soviet Union “‘resented the Americans’ decades-long refusal to treat the USSR as a legitimate part of the international community as well as their delayed entry into World War II, which resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of Russians” (Cold War History). The Soviet Union was angry about the secrets America hid from them, especially their nuclear weapon plans. America disagreed with the concept of Soviet communism and was always concerned with the amount of power Stalin had. They feared that the Soviet Union wanted to control the world and convert the entire world to a system of communism. The difference in political systems between the United States and Soviet Union were major factors in the real blame regarding who the aggressor was in the Cold War. The United States government transferred authority to local governments and were open to new ideas or opinions, while the Soviet Union’s government gave major authority to its central government. The Soviet Union induced the Cold War as they didn’t agree with the ideology of the United States. The United States was the most prominent in rank in capitalism, while the Soviet Union claimed to be a Marxist-Leninism based communist country. Although the United States and Soviet Union were both to blame for the Cold War, the Soviet Union evidently induced it due to the imposition of communism and military expansion of Stalin.

        The Soviet Union and their powerful leader, Joseph Stalin, caused the Cold War due to the confrontation with the United States. Joseph Stalin originally made a non-aggression pact with Adolf Hitler in 1939 only to be betrayed by him. Stalin continued to fight along with the allies as he didn’t have a lot of other options in World War II. After the allies won World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States were the two most powerful countries in the world. While the United States was celebrating their victory and recovering from a major battle, the Soviet Union captured large parts of Europe-especially parts of Germany and countries east of Germany.  The Americans and the British were skeptical about the conquering of the European countries, but didn’t take action to make changes. “The British feared too strong a Soviet presence in Europe and the Americans wanted a free and open Germany which would become a large market for its products. The Soviets stood in the way to both” (Cold War History Essay).