Critical Questions on

Russia, America and the Cold War 19491991

Caspar Ling

Mr. Rork
AP US History
March 7th, 2016

Part 1: a)

The book starts with an interesting line, A static power declines

but a dynamic power expands. According to Martin McCauley, what is The

Problem?
The fundamental problem of the Cold War was the goal of communism
requires the Soviet Unions incessant expansionary policy until the whole
world was Red. And under this pressure, the US was forced into confrontation
with the socialist nation. The quote delivers a message which indicates that
in a competition between two is like swimming against a fierce stream, either
go forward or backward, with no choice of remaining static for either of two
superpowers seeking hegemonic dominance.
b)

The Cold War, as the name implies, is a period of conflict between the

US and the USSR without direct military combat, seeking to dominate the
world with supremacy over the other. This event spanned approximately four
decades, and is divided in to five main periods according to Mr. Martin
McCauley.
The first period, the Cold War I, ranged from 1949 to 1953. Under
Communist doctrines, the Reds were destined to proliferate their political
structure until it occupied the whole world, which laid foundation for the
Soviets half-a-century intense rivalry with the US. From my perspective, this
is the most important part among all five, because the world just achieved a
desired peace against Fascism, but it ironically turned into another stage of
instability, under the peaceful camouflage. The Soviet Union rose during the
former world war, and the defeat of all the Axis Power in 1949 freed itself to
initiate the Communist expansion. This period was the starting point of the

overall conflict, and divided most parts of the globe into two political stances,
the US followers and the Soviet adherents. These two antagonistic camps
separated the world into two, the socialist and the capitalist (25).During this
term, the escalating situation led to the split of Germany, as Federal Republic
of Germany of the western region was established under the capitalist
leadership, and the German Democratic Republic in the east with communist
guidance, as well as the capital Berlin which was divided into halves. As the
situation intensified, the Soviet Union initiated the Berlin Blockade to the
Western Berlin, and the Capitalists were forced to choose air transportation,
named the Berlin Lift. Communism was also rising in other regions beside
Europe, seen in the birth of the Peoples Republic of China in East Asia. This
period set stage for the Cold War, building tensions between two camps from
previous wars and conflict.
The second main period, the Brinkmanship period, lasted from 1953
to 1969. The beginning of this interval was marked by the death of Stalin of
the USSR, along with the election of Eisenhower to the US. The Soviets quick
acquirement of nuclear bomb in 1949 of the previous period foreshadowed an
aggravated arm race during this phase and persisted throughout the whole
course of the Cold War. The term, Brinkmanship, indicates a set of dangerous
political tactics between the two superpowers, which pushed the world onto
the brink of collapse. Despite of optimistic hope raised from the settlement of
Korean War and signing of peace treaty in Austria, intensified conflict and
volatility overwhelmed the relation between the US and the Soviet Union in
this period. The Hungarian uprising and destroyed American aircraft by the
Soviets marked the start of brinkman events. Then the Cuban Missile Crisis

followed, which was the closest time in human history toward a nuclear war
that could have annihilated the whole population, and was dangerously and
fortunately solved soon after because both two powers realized the serious
consequences of nuclear devastation. The problem of lacking a commutative
channel between the two became visible through this event, and hence it
allowed for establishment of a direct means of communication. The last
important event took place during the interval was the formation of Warsaw
Pact, a military treaty and alliance headed by the Soviet Union, modeled after
and in response to the US-dominated NATO which was established earlier.
The third period, Dtente, started with the election of Richard Nixon
as the US President, and lasted from 1969 to 1979. This was the period of
easing relationship between the US and the Soviet, and the increased
negotiations had also resulted in many agreements between the two
adversary powers. A series of negations, collectively called the Strategic
Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) I, had made the first step to regulate the arm
race after the release ofthe recognition by the USA that the Soviet Union and
the USA enjoyed nuclear parity (27). Successful negotiations had also
resulted in the USSRs acknowledgement of the importance of human rights
protection. Moreover, the Paris Accords signed in this period pushed the US to
undeploy its troop in Indochina, which was a satisfactory result to the US.
These achievements during this interval eased the relation between the two
sides, and the established communication means was a critical historical
point which avoided possible future misunderstanding which was largely
responsible for the Missile Crisis.

The fourth main period of the Cold War unveiled the Cold War II
which lasted from 1979 to 1985. The Soviets invasion of Afghanistan marked
the start of this period, which was a time of heightened military activeness
for both sides, who were both preparing for a possible warfare. After being
elected, the new American president Reagan held a further militarized stance
on the Cold War, and denounced the SU as the Evil Empire who was the
primary cause of the global unrest (27). The increased number of communist
states around the world made the US uncomfortable and they wanted to
restore the previous balance, attempting to do so with trade boycotts. The
election of Reagan was the key event during the period; he initiated the
negotiations with Gorbachev which eventually led to the end of the Cold War.
The fifth, concluding period of the Cold War was the End of the Cold
War, which spanned from 1985 to 1991, beginning with Gorbachevs
installment at the Soviet Unions highest position in March 1985. He
transformed the Soviet Unions international relations approach, advocating
for new political thinking (28). Four diplomatic summits, held in Geneva,
Reykjavik, Washington DC, and Moscow, unraveled his new approach. As the
result of the Geneva meeting, both sides agreed to cut the arsenal into half,
further improving means communication, and relieve tension. During the
summit in Washington, the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces treaty was
signed between the two, aiming to eliminate three types of missiles, though
was followed by some struggles in implementing it. In 1991, the Soviet Union
finally marched to its destination and disintegrated into a number of
independent nations. Accession of Gorbachev, a man who knew the potent
power of nuclear destruction, was the most significant event in this period,

without him, the downfall of the USSR would neither come as immediate nor
as peaceful.
c)

The general characteristic of the Cold War include: an absence of

communication, a military buildup, the division of many parts of the world

especially in Europe, geographical extent of the Cold War, and economic
struggles. A lack of reliable communicative channel at the beginning partially
caused the escalated tension between the antagonistic powers, illustrated by
the inefficient, slow letters used during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The
improvement of communication, initiated after the missile crisis, indeed
contributed to avoid some tensions between the two sides, and opened door
for future negotiations. The Cold War began in Europe but later spread around
the globe, reaching Africa and Asia, showing the far reaching impacts of the
competing interests of the US and the USSR. However, the state-dominated
communist economy was proven to be inefficient, and the Soviet Union faced
financial difficulties due to the skyscraping military cost, which heavily
influenced its negotiation tactics with the US later on. The arm race also set
burden on the US, whose deficit grew substantially during this period. The
first theory interests me is the Interstate Theory. In my view, this theory is
more likely to be adopted by an authoritarian leader than the elected
government, because the politics of which involves intense struggles different
from the capitalist. Many historical events have also laid basis in supporting
this theory, such as the Sino-Indian War erupted in1962 during the GreatLeap famine of China to withdraw the internal attention. However, the
domestic tensions are less likely to be the dominate factors than just a
moderate push to diplomatic issues, since there are other facets behind a

diplomatic decision such as economic impact which takes a greater

importance. The other theory I like is the Theory of Arm Race. Military
capability is certainly the influential method to gain hegemonic power, over
economic power, cultural influence, etc. The nuclear threat existed through
the entire Cold War, which was a direct result of the arm race. However, the
arm race was the poison slowly toxicities the Soviet, which deteriorated its
economic struggle and finally led to its collapse.
Part 2: Descriptive Analysis: Chapters 3-7 (5 pages)
a) Chapter 3: This chapter introduces the beginning stages of the Cold War,
explaining the tensions that really fueled the fire and started the war. The
Cold War I period was centered on the Soviets goal of communist expansion.
Stalin, the Russian leader wanted to cut West Berlin off from the western
allies an idea that did not settle well with the US. From here, the US and
USSR had clearly become adversaries, setting the stage for Cold War. (36)
The NSC-68 document, written by the National Security Council in early 1950,
changed the USAs outlook on the expansion moving them from a stance of
containment to more direct action of confronting the emerging communist
powers. The first example of the United States confronting communist power
can be seen in the Korean War, where they supported South Korea after the
North Koreas invasion. This provided support for NSC-68. However, the war
gained unpopular support in the US and had very high death tolls.
Developing upon the prior mentioned events was the pressure keep on pace
with their rival in weapon development, which pushed both countries to
invest in their nuclear development programs. Also of importance during this
era was Chinese negotiations with Stalin, who established himself as the

master over the Chinese communist state. (37) This was the starting point
for Chinas involvement in the rest of the Cold War. There was no direct
communication between China and the US, and this lack of communication
was a problem that would persist throughout the early stage of the war.
Stalins death, in 1953, changed the political environment at the time leading
to the next period of the Cold War, Brinkmanship.
Chapter 4: Change in leadership in USSR and USA changed both countries
approach and attitude to the war. Khrushchev, the next Soviet supreme
leader after Stalin, wanted to restore inter-Party relations, as well as calm
the waters and have peace with the outside world, a significant shift from
the previous years (45). He expected the respect of all other communist
leaders, which he did not get, especially from Mao and some other Asian
communist countries following him. This underlay his future problems with
China. Eisenhower became president in the US, increasing military spending.
The Geneva Summit In July 1955 was a very important point in the Cold War
because it was the first time that both sides had constructive
communications with each other. Following this, Khrushchev endorsed the
peaceful coexistence in the capitalist world, condemning Stalins previous
stance (47). But the hope was crashed soon after the meeting, as the cold
conflict spread to other areas of the world, including Asia and the Middle East
and some of Khrushchev's arranged actions bolstered the acceleration of the
arms race as the US felt threatened (52). Similarly, when there were
tensions in Berlin, Khrushchev threatened the US with war if they tried to use
force.

A key turning point in the Cold War was the Cuban Missile Crisis, which
took place in October of 1962. The US realized it was fooled by the Russians
of the Soviets secret missile deployment in Cuba and the situation got
disastrously close to a nuclear war. Luckily the USSR and the US were able to
come to an agreement about both countries removing threatening missiles,
the Soviet from Cuba, and the US from Turkey. As a result, communication
between the US and the Soviet Union increased significantly. Following this
was the Vietnam War and tension in Indochina. If Indochina went completely
communist then it would be a dire situation for the US in competition with
communism. Nixon, who was recently elected president, was in a tough
situation as he knew the US was losing the war but did not want to come to
terms with this reality. The US withdrew from the war in 1973, suffering
massive losses in terms of lives and the economy. While it taught American
leaders a lot about involvement in other countries so they became more
cautious, the economy did not revive back from Vietnam until 1990.
Chapter 5: Chapter 5 covers the period known as Dtente, when
communications and relations between the US and the USSR were greatly
improved. The two met for their only summit between 1961 and 1972 in
Glassboro, New Jersey. Another good sign was when China, North Vietnam,
and North Korea did not attend a global communism conference, suggesting
a disintegration of the communist alliance and an ease on communist
expansion. Both two wanted peace and the Americans tried to bargain with
the Russians for global stability. China wanted to meet with Nixon and other
leaders; Nixon was very open to this idea because if he could align himself
with China, a wedge could be driven between the two communists giants

and the communist movement weakened in the rest of the world (64). The
Soviet Union did not like the idea of a friendly relationship between China and
US because this was a potential threat. Following this change in attitude
were the strategic arms limitation talks, or SALT. These talks focused on the
balance of military power as both sides made negotiations. Although the first
treaty, the ABM, was signed, it did not really address offensive weapons,
other world summits followed from this beginning which addressed many
issues including agriculture and transport. In addition, both countries agreed
to be open about the threat of nuclear war, a sign that they had moved from
confrontation to negotiation. (65)
Conflict in the Middle East revealed that the Soviet Union was not
willing to be as honest as promised and collaborate with the US on
international issues. Americans realized it was a bad idea to be trapped in
the immediate geographic cold war area and did not want to increase taxes
to support conflict across the continents, including Africa. For the time being,
it appeared that the US was not as eager to challenge the Soviet Union and
the Russians thought had gained the leading position.
The new leader of the Soviet Union, Brezhnev, continued to pursue
new policies. The Helsinki accords were achieved in a security conference in
Europe, signed in August of 1975. As a result, the USSR had to be more
mindful of human rights and the spread of communist ideas on the continent.
The following year, Jimmy Carter was elected as the president to the US. He
had uncertain views, and the inconsistent advice he received on foreign
affairs increased his uncertainty. SALT II talks were raised as a priority,
although they eventually took 7 years to reach an agreement. The Soviet

Union invaded Afghanistan when the treaty was being debated in the Senate
and President Carter pulled it back, but both sides said they would follow it on
their own free will.
Chapter 7: Once Gorbachev ascended to Kremlin, he powered ahead on
policy changes, working to reform the structure of the Soviet society; this
new way of political thinking focused on a more positive relationship with the
US in order to solve Third World problems together and settle disputes
about the arms race (86). Both side wanted avoided the possibility of nuclear
war and Gorbachev started pushing for a nuclear stable world. The USA was
also changing their stance on international relations, displayed in how they
decided to no longer observe the unratified SALT II agreement (88).
Gorbachev and Reagan had disagreements, but continued to work together,
an improvement over relationships in the past. They signed the INF
agreement, which eliminated a class of nuclear weapons, a point of conflict
throughout the Cold War. Bush and Gorbachev disagreed on topics such as
the arms race and money; however, they eventually worked through these
issues, instead of returning back to intense stalemate. There was a large
impact on a global scale of their improved diplomatic communications. For
example, the Berlin Wall fell down and Germany was reunified on October
3rd, 1990 (96). Changes are also seen across Europe, as revolution rolled
over Eastern Europe like an irresistible tide (97). The Soviet Union cracked
down, forming the Commonwealth of Independent States, ending the Cold
War as the USA being the only superpower coexisting with other great powers
such as Russia and China.

Chapter 6: The Dtente period was a repose from constant tension and
disagreement, but it failed as Moscow was not willing to concede any power
in foreign countries affairs to the US. This signaled a transition into the final
period of the war, referred as the Cold War II. The USSR invaded Afghanistan,
thinking that the US would not respond. They miscalculated, as the invasion
outraged President Carter. The Russians were suspicious of American
intervention in Afghanistan and invaded to save their reputation with
communist leaders around the world. Reagan replaced Carter as President,
taking an aggressive stance and building up the military even though the
economy was facing difficulties. Reagan did not like the thought of a nuclear
war, but he wanted to make sure if it did happen they would initiate it and
not the Soviet Union. After Brezhnev died, Andropov took over the Soviet
Union, starting a period of illness related instability in Russian leadership. He
thought that Reagan would back down in military spending, instead of
thinking to do the same in his own country. Ultimately though, Reagan
worked to improve relations with both the Soviet Union and China, even
though he had previously described the Soviet Union in a very negative
reproach. Although the USSR leadership kept changing because of untimely
deaths, three agreements were reached between the two countries: START,
INF, and defensive systems. Gorbachev became the leader of the USSR in
1985, which was the beginning of the end of the cold war.
Chapter 7: Once Gorbachev ascended to Kremlin, he powered ahead on
policy changes, working to reform the structure of the Soviet society; this
new way of political thinking focused on a more positive relationship with the
US in order to solve Third World problems together and settle disputes

about the arms race (86). Both side wanted avoided the possibility of nuclear
war and Gorbachev started pushing for a nuclear stable world. The USA was
also changing their stance on international relations, displayed in how they
decided to no longer observe the unratified SALT II agreement (88).
Gorbachev and Reagan had disagreements, but continued to work together,
an improvement over relationships in the past. They signed the INF
agreement, which eliminated a class of nuclear weapons, a point of conflict
throughout the Cold War. Bush and Gorbachev disagreed on topics such as
the arms race and money; however, they eventually worked through these
issues, instead of returning back to intense stalemate. There was a large
impact on a global scale of their improved diplomatic communications. For
example, the Berlin Wall fell down and Germany was reunified on October
3rd, 1990 (96). Changes are also seen across Europe, as revolution rolled
over Eastern Europe like an irresistible tide (97). The Soviet Union cracked
down, forming the Commonwealth of Independent States, ending the Cold
War as the USA being the only superpower coexisting with other great powers
such as Russia and China.
Part 3: Assessment (3 pages)
a) 1. What are the sources of the hostility which marked the relations
between Russia and America from the mid-1940s to the mid-1980s?
-Both the USSR and the US tried to be the global dominating force with
control and power on the global stage. Since one nation cannot have two
queens as the same to the world, competition and clash between the two
were then inevitable. The ideological drive of both states were their views

of how the world should be run. The USA believed in freedom and good
relations with other countries while the USSR believed in communism, the
complete opposite idea. As a result, they both felt threatened. If the United
States had kept an isolationist stance on the communist expansion and
leave the rest of the world to its own devices, the USSR likely would not
have felt threatened and the war could have been avoided (113).
Additionally, there was still tension left over from the two world wars that just
terminated. Russia and America were not true allies during World War II, they
just shared a common goal. They only concurred on fighting against Germany
to bring down the Nazi power, and the two countries did not experience any
close relationship prior to the Cold War.
2.

Why did America come to guarantee West European security?

-The communists were not a direct threat to the United States when they
originally started expanding, and imposed a strategy of containment,
somehow similar to the Europeans appeasement to Nazi no constructive
intervention; however, the US eventually realized that communism would be
a potent threat in future. The US would have to deal with a rapidly
expanding communist sphere of influence, which would be an economic
strain on the US. Challenging this growth before it really took over was a
preemptive step to eliminate a future problem.
3.

Why did Russia and America gradually become systemic rivals?

-There were many fundamental differences in the political and social

structures of the countries. This inevitably led to clash of opinion between
these two superpowers, causing the USSR and the US gradually becoming

systemic rivals. At the time Russia was a communist state, while the United
States emphasized freedom and capitalism and this emphasized what life
was like in both countries. The differing systems of each country caused them
to view each other in a negative perspective, and as each country pursued
what they thought to be best for them and the rest of the world tension was
inevitable.
4.

Is there a link between good government and economic prosperity?

-It was statistically proven that in countries with better governance, real
income per capita grew at a higher rate annually than in those countries with
poor government (119). These statistics show that it is possible to have
economic growth if you have a poor government, but you will have a higher
rate of growth if you have a better government. One reason for this is how
the government allocates tax has an important impact on economic growth,
such as infrastructure building. However, to me, it is more like a contradiction
between Competent and Incompetent instead of simply Good vs. Bad. I
believe that the Communism started with vanguards of good initiatives to
help the people, but as it developed and the system failed to bring the people
to prosperity, a group of higher status establish their interest in the regime,
and refuse to reform.
5.

Was the growth of nuclear arsenals inevitable?

-The growth of nuclear arsenals was not inevitable, but various reasons
caused the arms race. This only happened because of how cautious and
fragile all of these countries were that they would be attacked. One reason
for the volatility was due to the impact of two recent devastating world wars

and a depression, and tensions continued after them. Also, there was a lack
of communication between the countries; if a reliable and efficient
communication channel had been established, the exchange of information
would add sense of security to both side and curb the arm race.
6.

Why did the cold war end?

-The Cold War ended mainly because of the Soviet Unions incapability to
compete against the United States, the problem of which can trace back to
the fundamental deficiency of communism. An overwhelming portion of
human history has proven that efficiency and equality are contradictory,
though vary in different scale depend on different situation. The communist
ideal could not sustain the Soviets political goal economically, and was the
essential cause led to its collapse. Furthermore, the US also shifted its
attitude on how to maximize its own interest, from imperialist expansion to
more peaceful trade, a critical change in the American ideology to build its
prosperity upon in the new following century.
7.

Was the USA an Imperialist Power?

-Yes, the US was an Imperialist Power; the author has decorated the USAs
imperialist action as benign, but in my opinion, any intervention taken to
other weaker country based on solely self-interest was pure imperialist, and
there is no difference between good or bad imperialism, because it had
barely been close to altruism in any perspective. The author argues that the
USs aggression was forced in response to expanses Soviet Union, the
Imperialist Power first, and used evidence of the US helping China as a
proof to say that US was benign. However, these benign actions were just

necessary sugar-coated bullet to draw others in to its own bloc under the
global situation. If it was needed, the US would not hesitate to be a malign
imperialist, which had taken place in history, such as the Manifest Destiny to
Mexico and the support to Taliban in the past.
Part 4: Documents (3 pages)
a)

I find document 7 to be interesting because it is funny, and a sense of

humor is not something that was present often in the Cold War. Part of this
communication is a request for fake beards and wigs to be used to sneak fifty
Italian communists into France because they did not feel safe without a
disguise. One of the responsibilities outlined in this letter was altering ones
external appearance which was probably not a common request at the time,
so it would have been interesting to see the reaction of the Soviet official who
read this (140).
Document 8 was thought provoking because it furthered my
understanding of why the Soviet Union backed Palestine in the IsraeliPalestinian war, mentioned on page 50. The Soviet Union did not do this
because Palestine was a communist state which I originally suspected. After
reading this document I think the Soviet Union backed Palestine because the
US backed Israel. This was yet another proxy war, where the US and USSR
fought vicariously through other countries to push their own agendas.
Document 12 is another of my favorites because I find Gorbachev to be very
interesting throughout the book, and this primary document gives good
insight to Gorbachevs way of thinking. His skillful use of language really
conveys his desire to promote the integration of his country with the rest of

the world, advancing past their isolationist stance. This desire shines through
when he says A country can develop its full potential by interacting with
other societies, yet without giving up its own identity. He was keeping in
mind important aspects of his citizens and what made them unique, while
also realizing the advantage of forming bonds with other communities. I also
enjoyed document 13 because it is about the arms race, which I think was
the cause of the Cold War in the first place. All of the countries were way too
volatile and suspicious about attacks from other countries. They just kept
building up huge piles of weapons, causing stress and tension leading to
preemptive strikes and fears. This document gives insight to the Soviet
leaders feelings on the US action and this dynamic between these colleagues
is interesting to observe as it was hidden from the public eye. What leaders
said in public and what they actually thought were probably pretty different.