After the war, the United States and the Soviet Union tried to divide their spheres of influence to avoid conflicts, but for various reasons, the Cold War was caused by complex reasons.
At the end of World War II, the leaders of the United States, the Soviet Union and Britain held three meetings in Tehran, Yalta and Bosten to discuss the division of power.
In addition, we have to count the percentage agreement reached by Stalin and Churchill in 1944. It was not until the Postan meeting of 1945 that the specific content was gradually improved.
Specifically, Russia's sphere of influence is eastern Europe, but Yugoslavia should be influenced by Russia and Britain at the same time, and Greece and Turkey belong to the British and American forces.
Central Europe, including Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia, is a region with intertwined forces-all under the control of big countries (Austria was later neutralized).
In Asia, the Soviet Union has an "advantage" over China-but it needs to keep the tacit understanding that the US military will not land in Chinese mainland.
Japan should be occupied by many countries.
First of all, at the Postan Conference, Stalin promised to hold elections in Poland and other Eastern European countries, but Stalin did not hold fair elections. This has caused a series of conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. However, Stalin reached a percentage agreement with Churchill in 1944, and he believed that his behavior was in line with the agreement-that is, Eastern Europe belonged to the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union.
However, after the war, the Soviet Union violated the 1943 agreement and failed to withdraw its troops from Iran in time. Instead, it tried to force the Iranian government to accept the unequal treaties, which caused dissatisfaction between Britain and the United States.
The Soviet Union's influence on the Greek guerrillas-violating the percentage agreement of 1944 (Stalin recognized Britain's dominant position in Greece), made Churchill feel that the British Empire was unable to safeguard the interests of the Balkans and hoped to introduce the United States-so he went to Truman's hometown to give a speech-the Iron Curtain speech-led Truman to put forward Truman Doctrine in 1947-and demanded that,
The United States later adopted the Marshall Plan in 1948-stimulated by the Czechoslovak coup in 1948, providing economic assistance to Western Europe, selling American products, and preventing the Soviet Union from infiltrating into Western Europe.
The Soviet Union was also invited to participate in the plan, but was asked to provide economic data and was rejected. Stalin immediately established COMECON and Workers' Intelligence Bureau in Eastern Europe to fight against the United States.
Moreover, for the Soviet Union, the control of Eastern Europe involves the security of the Soviet Union. After being invaded by Germany twice, the Soviet Union urgently needs a buffer zone.
One of the core issues of the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union is the German issue, although the Postan Conference divided Germany into four occupied areas. But Stalin himself wanted Germany to remain neutral (just like Austria) because the western countries occupied the industrial areas in Germany. However, there was a conflict with the United States. Stalin created the Berlin crisis, hoping to urge the United States to compromise through air blockade, and the result ended in failure. Subsequently, the United States directly established the West German government, and Stalin supported East Germany as a response-leading to the establishment of 1949 NATO.
In Asia, the landing of American troops in China led to the disappearance of mutual trust, and the Soviet Union began to openly support Chairman Mao's expansion in Northeast China. In addition, the United States did not invite the Soviet Union to occupy Japan together.
After the establishment of NATO, it directly put into actual combat on the Korean peninsula, which reflected the containment strategy of the United States (first put forward by Cannan in The Power of the Dragon). The two sides directly started the proxy war. 1955, the Soviet Union established the Warsaw Pact, and Europe was completely split into two armed groups-the Cold War broke out, but it is worth noting that the spheres of influence of both sides remained basically unchanged.
To 1955, compared with the sphere of influence planned by 1945, there are the following differences.
First of all, the isolation belt between China and Europe has not been fully formed-Yugoslavia and Austria have been successfully neutral, but the problem of Germany has not been solved.
In Asia, Japan did not participate in the occupation. Under the influence of the Soviet Union, Chairman Mao controlled the whole of Chinese mainland-the neutralization of Vietnam also failed-which led to the American intervention in Vietnam (this issue is more complicated, and I don't want to talk about it here).
However, the sphere of influence of the United States in Western Europe and North and South America has remained basically unchanged-Britain's influence in the Middle East began to weaken, and the Czech arms-for-cotton program led by the Soviet Union successfully turned Egypt into the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union-which opened the prelude to the future competition between the United States and the Soviet Union in the Middle East.
In a word, the construction of isolation belt is very unsuccessful-the reason is local leaders (such as Tito and Kim Il Sung, etc. It is not easy to be controlled by big countries).
In addition, Britain's sphere of influence began to shrink-the Soviet Union and the United States began to fill the hole.
Let me specifically analyze the reasons for the outbreak of the cold war.
First, after World War II, Germany, a traditional European power, and Japan in Asia were defeated, and the strength of the British Empire was weak, resulting in a power vacuum in Europe and Asia. However, the United States is far from the main battlefield of World War II and has little loss. Russia defeated Germany and occupied Eastern Europe, with high prestige. These two countries became superpowers, took the opportunity to fill the vacuum and broke out.
Second, the ideology of the United States and the Soviet Union is different. Stalin wants to export his ideology, and the United States wants to establish a global free trade system.
Third, there is a big gap between the two countries on security issues. Russia's occupation of eastern Europe is a fear of Germany's future rearmament, hoping for a buffer, but it is considered an expansion. The Soviet Union thinks that North Korea's attack on South Korea is an internal problem, and the United States thinks it is an international problem.
Fourth, after the war, the US military-industrial complex helped stir up troubles and create a sense of crisis for its own benefit, and used Stalin's paranoia to maintain US military spending and make profits for itself.
The pattern of bipolar confrontation has a great influence on the world, which is also the first time in history.
The cold war led to the spread of two subcultures-two ideologies, and further promoted the spread of nationalism.
The confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union has strengthened global trade ties (within the two major alliances), and the country's strength has begun to decline-for example, South Korea, NATO members have relatively given up some military strength.
The confrontation in Europe has promoted the integration of Western Europe and the establishment of the future European Union.
Japan was able to rise economically in the cold war-the large-scale orders and industrial diffusion effects of the cold war promoted the economic development of some countries in Southeast Asia.
The Soviet Union pursued Leninism, supported African national movements and disintegrated the colonial system for hundreds of years.
The deeper influence of the Cold War, I have two original articles for your reference.
All men are created equal? The fate of the Viking heir, the Hu Kan Empire.
/% E7 % BB % B4 % E4 % BA % AC % E7 % BB % A7 % E6 % 89% BF % E4 % BA % BA/blog/item/059 b 1 bdfd 652d 2 14622798 19 . html
(The Crisis of Primitive Long Civilization —— A Brief Introduction to the New World Order (I) and (II)
/% CE % AC % BE % A9 % BC % CC % B3 % D0 % C8 % CB/blog/item/ 1 d75 df 620 f 524 ed 5 e 6 1 1 13a 43 . html
/% CE % AC % BE % A9 % BC % CC % B3 % D0 % C8 % CB/blog/item/2b 8600554d 7 e 40 CCB 645 ae4c . html
The above is completely original by myself. I hope everyone can give me extra points.
History, especially the Cold War,19th century history, mathematics, astronomy, you can ask me, I hope it will help you.
I have established a historical knowledge group that takes history as a mirror. I hope you will support our group in the future, and you can consult me if you have any historical questions.
Inquiry (although our group is newly built, there are many experts)
In addition, you can ask me questions about mathematics, physics and astronomy. Thank you.