Essay, Research Paper: Who's To Blame For The Cold War?

This paper is a one sided paper blaming the soviets for the cold war. It can also be written against the Americans.

Who's to Blame for the Cold War?
by Karrie Pilgrim


Beginning after the end of World War II and proceeding until 1990, the Cold War
has effected all countries in Eastern and Western Europe. Through unsettled grievances,
the Soviet Union and United States have "fought" a nuclear arms war to show off who has
the best defenses and technology. Due to previous events, it is evident that the Soviet
Union is to blame for such actions. From signing the non-aggression pact to the Cuban
Missile crisis, it is obvious that the US is just a bystander who became involved by trying
to help others.
The non-aggression pact started when Germany and the Soviet Union signed a
pact that if Germany took over Poland, the two power houses would not go to war with
each other. Once Germany broke the agreement and invaded Russia, all out war began,
and the Soviets were left to defend themselves. Unable to help in the relief of the battle at
Stalingrad, the allied powers tried to devise a way to make Germany surrender
unconditionally. Because of America's lack of involvement in Stalingrad, the Soviets never
really forgave the allies and had hard feelings towards them that were never resolved.
Because conflict for the upcoming war lays in the unresolved problems of the previous
war, this set the backdrop for the Cold War.
The Yalta conference held in February of 1945, was a turning point in the
relationship between the major powers. The big three, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill,
disagreed on how to settle up with Germany after the end of the war, and unlike the US
and Britain, the Soviet Union wanted to punish Germany and make it pay for damages
done to Soviet land. By this time, the Soviet Union had already occupied much of Eastern
Europe, in particularly Poland. While in Poland and surrounding countries, communism
was beginning to grow for the Soviets and their fear of capitalism was also cultivating.
Stalin continually seemed to tighten his grip on Eastern Europe. Going into the meeting
proceeding Yalta, the Soviets were not going to let countries, such as Poland, decide their
own governmental fate, but wanted to keep them under communist control to protect the
western side of the union. This led to problems in the development of the United Nations.
The Cold War deepened in June of 1948 as Soviet leaders declared that their
currency would be circulated in all parts of Berlin, including those belonging to Britain,
France and the US. As a way to influence the western allies to give up their parts of Berlin
to the Soviets, the Soviet leaders turned off electrical power to West Berlin and blocked
all highways and railroads into and out of the capital. This left two million West Berliners
hostage without food, water or fuel. In order to protect their investments in West Berlin,
America began an air relief by flying in 13,000 tons of supplies a day to a make shift
runway.
In February of 1946, Stalin spoke of what American Supreme Court Justice
William Douglas called a "declaration of World War III." Stalin talked of how one day
communism and capitalism would clash, and he decided to stop all trade with the West
and build modern weaponry no matter what it cost the country. This weaponry became
threatening to the US when Soviet troops began building missiles in Cuba during the early
1960s. This sent the US into a panic to protect their southern border. Cuba's ruler, Fidel
Castro, and the Soviet Union's leader Khrushchev felt they "had to think of some way of
confronting America with more than words." As a way to keep peace, American President
John F. Kennedy, agreed to block Cuban shipping lanes to halt further deliveries of Soviet
nuclear missiles to the island. To avoid a nuclear war, Khrushchev agreed to remove the
missiles from Cuba if the US agreed to never attack the island.
After carefully weighing the evidence presented, the Soviet Union seems to be the
likely one who started the war. Their lack of communication with the US and their
decision not to negotiate with the other powers led them to defend themselves during the
Cold War era. Beginning with the non-aggression pact and ending with the fall of the
Soviet Union in the 1990s, the Cold War has opened many eyes to the world of nuclear
warfare and possible ends to the world.