US Soviet Relations

US Soviet Relations Timeline

Here is a brief timeline outlining US Soviet relations throughout the 20^th century:

US Soviet Relations The Background to Hostilities

Let's look at the long-term origins and short-term events that caused hostile relations between the USA and USSR in the early Cold War period.

Ideological Issues

At the crux of US/USSR hostility was their polar-opposite ideological beliefs. The capitalist USA practised democratic freedoms, individual rights, free-market economics, and cultural liberties. On the other hand, the communist USSR observed a one-party state system, shared ownership, and placed the importance of the nation above that of the individual.

Such contrasting ideologies garnered deep distrust between the superpowers and meant inevitable inhospitable relations. Let's compare the two schools of thought.

US Russia Economic Relations

In 1941, the USA launched its Lend-Lease Policy during WWII. This policy leased military equipment and supplies to allied nations in the fight against the Axis powers. According to the US Embassy and Consulates in Russia, the USSR received the following supplies:

• 400,000 jeeps & trucks
• 14,000 aeroplanes
• 8,000 tractors
• 13,000 tanks
• 1.5 million blankets
• 15 million pairs of army boots
• 107,000 tons of cotton
• 2.7 million tons of petrol products
• 4.5 million tons of food

After the war had ended, the US – under Harry Truman – abruptly terminated the program. This prompted uproar in the USSR and marked the disintegration of the Grand Alliance.

Acts and Organisations

Respective legislation and acts exacerbated the hostile relations between the USA and USSR. Such policies saw the deterioration of US-Soviet relations and increased polarity in Europe.

Fig. 1 Harry Truman.

Let's look at some of these new policies that deteriorated US Soviet relations:

Individuals

After being elected in 1945, US President Harry S. Truman took a hard-line approach to Stalin, and the personalities of the two men dominated the Potsdam Conference. They continued to dictate the relationship between the US and the Soviet Union throughout the early stages of the Cold War.

Alliances

On 22 June 1941, Adolf Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa – the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. As well as ceasing the Nazi-Soviet Pact, Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union prompted the establishment of the Grand Alliance between Great Britain, the USA, and the Soviet Union.

The Grand Alliance was a strange coalition; the Soviet Union was communist, whereas Great Britain and the USA were capitalist. Despite differing on economic, political, and ideological grounds, the members of the Grand Alliance were united in their common aim to defeat Nazism.

After defeating Nazi Germany in May 1945, the Grand Alliance turned its attention to the post-war reconstruction of Europe. With their common enemy now defeated, the major differences between the USA and the Soviet Union began to surface. As hostilities grew throughout the late 1940s, both sides began establishing alliance systems in Europe.

Here is a brief table outlining the development of the alliance systems:

US and Soviet Union relations during the Cold War

Now, let's look at the deterioration and betterment of relations between the USA and USSR during the Cold War.

Deterioration in Relations

In the early stages of the Cold War, several incidents saw a decline in US Soviet relations.

Berlin Airlift

In June 1948, the West introduced a new currency, the Deutschmark, into West Berlin. The USSR responded by cutting off all transport links between West Germany and West Berlin. This event, known as the Berlin Blockade, was Stalin's attempt to remove US influence from Soviet-occupied West Berlin. In response to the blockade, the USA and Great Britain airdropped supplies to the people of West Berlin every three minutes for 11 months.

Fig. 2 Berlin Airlift.

U-2 Incident

On 1 May 1960, the USSR shot down the plane of F. Gary Powers, a USA U-2 reconnaissance pilot. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev demanded the US stop reconnaissance flights over USSR territory and sentenced F Gary Powers to 10 years in prison.

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a conflict between the communist, USSR-backed North Vietnam and the capitalist, USA-backed South Vietnam. The conflict occurred between November 1955 and April 1975, lasting nearly two decades and resulting in the deaths of approximately 3.8 million people.

Fig. 3 The Viet Cong.

Sputnik Launch

On 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I into space. The shuttle was the first satellite successfully launched into space. While Sputnik itself was harmless, it was a significant achievement for the USSR, outlining its advancements in science and technology.

In response, the US Congress passed the National Defence Education Act (NDEA), a four-year, multi-billion pound investment in the US education system. In 1969, the USA's Apollo Project landed humans on the moon for the first time.

Cuban Missile Crisis

On 14 October 1963, a US surveillance plane discovered the construction of a USSR nuclear missile silo in Cuba. These nuclear missiles were capable of reaching the US.

President John F. Kennedy readied the USA's nuclear arsenal, including ICBMs, nuclear submarines, and B-52 bombers. The following thirteen days saw the world on the brink of destruction.

US Russia Relations Improving

From 1969 to 1979, strained relations were relaxed, and there was an increase in arms control. This was known as the 'détente' period.

Fig. 4 Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev.

Lifting of the Trade Embargo

In 1969, US President Richard Nixon partially removed USA's trade embargo on the USSR; the embargo had been in place since 1949. Following this, in 1972, Leonid Brezhnev signed a trade agreement with the United States.

The following year, Brezhnev visited the USA and signed a treaty preventing nuclear war. There was a third meeting between Brezhnev and Nixon in Moscow in 1974; however, the Yom Kippur War and the Arab coalition overshadowed the summit.

SALT

In 1972, the USSR and USA signed the SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) Treaty. Both sides agreed not to manufacture land-based missile launchers or strategic weapons for five years. The SALT II agreement was signed in 1979, limiting the number of missile launchers and bombers.

Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE)

The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was a standing forum that sought to bridge the political tensions between the West and East of Europe. Known as the Helsinki Summit, the forum brought world superpowers around one negotiating table.

US Soviet Relations Historiography

Historiography regarding the hostile US Soviet relations during the Cold War is divided into three main camps:

Traditionalists

Prominent among Western scholars during the 1940/1950s, historians such as Thomas Bailey, Herbert Feis, and George Kennan believed that Stalin’s foreign policy was expansionist and a threat to Western democracy. This view, prevalent until the 1960s, believed USSR expansionism was the root cause of hostile relations.

Revisionists

Revisionist historiography was prevalent throughout the 1960s and was propagated by Western historians known as the New Left. Key revisionists, such as William Appleman Williams, asserted that the US was the aggressor, motivated by achieving economic dominance in Europe.

Post-Revisionists

Post-revisionist historiography was prominent from the early 1970s until 1989. Post-revisionists, such as John Lewis Gaddis, believed that Cold War relations resulted from several complex circumstances.

US Soviet Relations Significance

The Cold War was an unprecedented conflict. It dictated international politics for 45 years, divided Europe into two camps, and brought the world to the edge of destruction during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

At the crux of this conflict was the hostile relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union. The mistrust and suspicion between the two superpowers initiated and exacerbated the Cold War into a global affair. While the fall of the USSR ostensibly marked the end of the Cold War, the political, societal, and ideological factors which defined US-Soviet relations for nearly a century are still very much apparent today.