Post-war structure of the world, cold war, reasons, content. Post-war world structure. Cold War era. The emergence and confrontation of two world social systems. Post-war world order

The post-war peace did not become more durable. In a short time, relations between the USSR and its allies in the anti-Hitler coalition deteriorated significantly. To characterize them, the metaphor began to be increasingly used "coldnew war", which first appeared on the pages of the English Tribune magazine in the fall of 1945 in an international commentary famous writer J. Orwell. This term was later used in the spring of 1946 in one of his public speeches by a prominent American banker and politician B. Baruch. At the end of 1946, the influential American publicist W. Lippman published a book whose title was these two words.

However, by the "declaration" or proclamation, " cold war"traditionally there are two historical fact: speech by W. Churchill (March 1946) in Fulton (Missouri) in the presence of US President G. Truman about " iron curtain"and the Soviet threat, as well as the promulgation of the "Truman Doctrine" (March 1947) - an American foreign policy concept that declared the main task facing the United States was to counter communism and "contain it." The post-war world split into two antagonistic blocs, and a "cold "war" entered its active phase in the summer of 1947, ultimately leading to the formation of military-political blocs opposing each other.

Each side made its own specific contribution to the post-war confrontation. The West was frightened by the increased military power of the Soviet Union, the unpredictability of Stalin's actions and the increasingly persistent advance of communist influence in the countries of Eastern Europe and Asia. During 1945-1948. a number of Eastern European countries were drawn into the orbit of Soviet influence (Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the eastern part of the dismembered Germany), in which, under pressure from the USSR, coalitions were initially formed, with a decisive influence communist parties, and then purely communist in composition of the government.

At the end of September 1947, under pressure from the Stalinist leadership, the Information Bureau of Communist and Workers' Parties (Cominformburo) was created with headquarters in Belgrade from representatives of six communist parties in Eastern Europe and the two largest Western European communist parties (France and Italy). This body contributed to increasing the pressure of the USSR on the countries of the so-called "people's democracy" along with the presence on the territory of some of these countries Soviet troops and agreements concluded with them on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. Created in 1949, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA), with its headquarters in Moscow, tied the countries of “people's democracy” even more economically to the USSR, because the latter were forced, according to the Soviet scenario, to carry out all the necessary transformations in culture, agriculture and industry, relying exclusively on the Soviet, not entirely positive experience.

In Asia, the Soviet Union was drawn into the orbit of influence during the period under review. Northern Vietnam, North Korea and China, after the people of these countries were able to achieve victory in communist-led wars of national liberation.

The influence of the USSR on domestic and foreign policy Eastern European countries, despite all the efforts made by Stalin, was not unconditional. Not all communist party leaders here have become obedient puppets. The independence and certain ambition of the leader of the Yugoslav communists I. Tito, his desire to create a Balkan federation with the leading role of Yugoslavia aroused the discontent and suspicion of J. V. Stalin. In 1948, the Soviet-Yugoslav crisis arose and soon sharply worsened, leading to the condemnation of the actions of the Yugoslav leaders by the Cominform Bureau. Despite this, the Yugoslav communists maintained the unity of their ranks and followed I. Tito. Economic relations with the USSR and Eastern European countries were severed. Yugoslavia found itself under an economic blockade and was forced to turn to capitalist countries for help. The pinnacle of the Soviet-Yugoslav confrontation was the rupture of diplomatic relations between the two countries on October 25, 1949. The consequence of this rupture and the desire to achieve unity in the communist movement were two waves of purges of communists accused of "Titoism". During the period 1948-1949. were repressed in Poland - V. Gomułka, M. Spychalski, 3. Klishko; in Hungary L. Rajk and J. Kadar (the first was executed, the second sentenced to life imprisonment), in Bulgaria T. Kostov was executed, in Albania - K. Dzodze and many others. In 1950-1951 in almost all Eastern European countries took place trials against "Yugoslav spies". One of the latest was the trial in Prague in November 1952 against the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia R. Slansky and thirteen prominent Czechoslovak communists, the vast majority of whom were executed after the end of the trial. Demonstrative political trials, like similar “events” that took place in the late 1930s. in the USSR, were supposed to scare everyone dissatisfied with the ongoing Soviet Union policy towards the countries of “people’s democracy” and consolidate the only path already paved by the USSR to the so-called. "socialism".

Despite the fairly serious influence of communists in a number of Western European countries (in the first post-war years their representatives were members of the governments of France, Italy, etc.), the authority of Western European communist parties decreased in Europe after the adoption of the “Marshall Plan”, named after US Secretary of State J. Marshall, one of the “fathers” of the idea of ​​American economic assistance for post-war reconstruction Europe. The Soviet government not only itself refused to participate in this plan, but also influenced the corresponding decisions of Eastern European countries, including Czechoslovakia and Poland, which initially managed to express their readiness to participate in it.

After this, 16 Western European countries became participants in the Marshall Plan. The division of Europe into two hostile camps completed the creation in April 1949 of the North Atlantic Pact (NATO), which by 1953 united 14 European states under the auspices of the United States. The creation of this military-political bloc was largely facilitated by the events associated with the Soviet blockade of West Berlin in the summer of 1948. OPTA were forced to organize an “air bridge” that supplied the city for about a year. Only in May 1949 was the Soviet blockade lifted. However, the actions of the West and the intransigence of the USSR ultimately led to the creation in 1949 of two countries on German soil: on May 23, the Federal Republic of Germany and on October 7, the German Democratic Republic.

Late 1940 - early 1950s became the culmination of the Cold War. In September 1949, the USSR tested the first Soviet atomic bomb, the creation of which is associated with the name of the outstanding Soviet scientist I.V. Kurchatov. The most serious international problem for the USSR was the war unleashed with the direct consent of Stalin North Korea against the pro-American regime of South Korea (1950-1953). It cost the lives of several million Koreans, Chinese and representatives of other nations who took part in this largest conflict since World War II. The question of the integration of Germany into the Western political system and its cooperation with NATO was of great difficulty.

The death of J.V. Stalin, which occurred at the height of the Cold War, helped to reduce tensions in international relations, although it did not remove the question of the further continuation of the struggle between the United States and its allies, on the one hand, and the USSR, the vanguard of the so-called commonwealth. "socialist" states of Europe and Asia, on the other hand, for world domination.

Test yourself

The division of Germany into two states occurred: 1) in 1945; 2) in 1948; 3) in 1949; 4) in 1953?

Which of the named writers was subjected to especially harsh criticism from the authorities in 1946-1953: 1) A. Akhmatova; 2) M. Sholokhov; 3) M. Zoshchenko; 4) K. Simonov?

Which of the following events and phenomena relate to the concept of the “Cold War”: 1) the signing of the Anti-Comintern Pact; 2) political confrontation between the USSR and the USA; 3) Soviet-Yugoslav conflict 1948-1953; 4) the Korean War in 1950-1953?

Name the main political repressive campaigns of the post-war period: 1) “the case of the Industrial Party”; 2) “Leningrad affair”; 3) “Tukhachevsky process”; 4) “the doctors’ case.”

In the post-war period there was new alignment of political forces on the world stage . German power was eliminated in the center of Europe and Japan - in the Far East, the forces of Great Britain were exhausted and France was paralyzed after four years of German occupation. The collapse of the colonial system began. Two new superpowers, the USSR and the USA, powerful politically and militarily, came to the forefront of the world stage.

After the war a new one emerged - bipolar world order , i.e. The bipolar structure of international relations was established in the form of a confrontation between two socio-political systems. The USA declared itself the defenders of the free world, capitalism, and the USSR - the bastion of peace, democracy and socialism. The core priority was a tough confrontation with the external enemy of two blocs - NATO and the Warsaw Pact Organization. In the context of the confrontation between the two poles, a bloc of non-aligned countries was formed. The whole world was divided into spheres of influence and interests. The concepts of “East” and “West” acquired an ideological and political dimension. When major revolutionary changes emerged in the countries of Africa and Asia, the line of the United States and other Western countries was aimed at pushing aside leftist forces adhering to a “socialist orientation” and preserving the liberated countries in the orbit of the “free world.” The USSR sought to expand the “sphere of socialism” as much as possible, imposing the “Soviet model.” The USSR managed to create its own sphere of influence, over which strict control was established. However, the Stalinist leadership failed to extend the influence of the USSR in the Mediterranean, the Near and Middle East. The tough confrontation was complicated by a new military-strategic factor - the presence of nuclear weapons among the bloc leaders.

In the post-war period there was new structure world order: two superpowers - the top of the pyramid, followed by England, France and China, which, along with the USSR and the USA, were among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, then countries that have less weight in solving international problems.

And now, within the framework of a bipolar world order, let us consider the trends in global development towards integration and separation, democratization and violence. Back in 1944, they created international economic organizations – IMF (International currency board) and IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development). They influence the formation of the world economy and the world market. By the way, the USSR participated in the Brettnoe-Woods conference during their creation, but did not ratify the agreements, that is, did not become a member of these organizations. The Marshall Plan (American aid plan for Europe) also had a unifying role. Let us recall that the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe took part in the discussion of the Marshall Plan. Archive documents show that there was a heated discussion among the country's top leadership about the possibility of adopting the plan. Just as there was then, and now there is no unambiguous assessment of the refusal of the USSR, and under its pressure, the countries of Eastern Europe, to participate in the Marshall Plan. This plan was adopted by 18 European countries and the economic European community was gradually formed. Countries that did not participate in these organizations and processes were gradually pushed to the periphery of the world economy and ultimately suffered serious damage, because their economic mechanism was not brought into conformity with the rules in force in world economic communication, they did not move along the path of convertibility of the monetary unit, and were not included in the world monetary and credit system. A prerequisite for membership in these organizations was the recognition and implementation of a market economy in various modifications as the most effective. The CMEA (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance) countries focused on the integration of collective isolation and isolation from the world market.

After the end of the war it gained strength democratization trend . In order to maintain and strengthen peace, security and develop cooperation between states, it was created in 1945 UN . Specialized institutions UN such as World organization health , UNESCO, Children's Fund were created in 1946 to develop sanitary rules, improving sanitary conditions external environment, fight against especially dangerous diseases, for cooperation in the field of education, science and culture, to help children. The UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. The 30 articles of the declaration set out human rights and freedoms with the aim of ensuring recognition and respect, satisfaction public order and general welfare in a democratic society. On November 20, 1959, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

However, the tendency towards violence was also gaining strength, "cold war" . Many domestic and foreign historians see the reasons for the emergence of the Cold War in the hegemonic aspirations of I. Stalin and G. Truman, in the actions of the West aimed at isolating the USSR in the post-war world and the aspirations of the USSR in this direction. As indicators of its beginning, two speeches are most often cited: Stalin - in February 1946, that “the capitalist system of the world economy contains elements of a general crisis and military clashes and it is necessary to guarantee the country from any accidents”; and W. Churchill in March 1946, in which he proclaimed a “crusade” against the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe, and put forward a program of Anglo-American world domination. If we talk about the reasons for the origin of the Cold War, then first of all it is a clash of interests; as well as a knot of contradictions in the Near and Middle East.

These are the “Iranian” and “Turkish” crises of 1945–1946. This is the division of Europe, the Berlin crisis of 1948–1949. The Korean War (1950–1953) was the climax of the Cold War and the world was close to World War III. The construction of the Berlin Wall (1961) became a unique symbol of the Cold War. During the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), the world again found itself on the brink of global nuclear war. The period from 1945 to the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s can be called a state of the world with a forced arms race, “balancing on the brink of war.” Isolation, ignorance of each other, tendentious selection of information, targeted psychological processing of mass consciousness formed the “image of the enemy”, confrontational thinking. Currently, historians, using archival documents, are establishing what opportunities were missed in the politics between the USSR and the USA, where wrong steps were taken that dragged the world into a harsh confrontation that undermines economic stability, trust between peoples, and nuclear age poses a mortal danger to humanity.

The post-war world realized various models economic development . Thus, in West Germany a transition was made (after 12 years of National Socialism) from a totalitarian regime and centralized methods of management to social market economy. The priority of the economic reform proposed by Vice-Chancellor L. Erhard was the development of industries operating on consumer market. The reform created conditions that encouraged people to invest money in investments. All prohibitions were lifted, and a flexible tax system was proposed. The Marshall Plan attracted outside investment. Competition, freedom of enterprise, and encouragement of personal interest have borne fruit. The country received an effective economy and a decent standard of living, an open industrial society. The social market model of the economy in various modifications, as the most effective, became dominant on the planet and, accordingly, the further evolution of the bourgeois-democratic political system took place. The leading direction in politics has become neoliberalism (policy of flexible state regulation of the economy, carried out, as a rule, by socialist and social democratic parties). In political life in the West, bourgeois conservatives and neoliberals (socialists) periodically replaced each other in power.

Eastern European countries have tried to implement model of democratic socialism : various forms of ownership (state, collective, private), democracy, not the dictatorship of the proletariat; multi-party system, multiplicity of ideologies; economic independence of enterprises with access to foreign markets. But Stalin already in 1948 managed to impose an authoritarian system and a command-distribution economy. During the post-war years, these countries achieved certain results in economic, scientific and technological growth, albeit through pressured, anti-democratic methods. The USSR helped them in restoration National economy, but later they began to economically exploit the USSR, since cooperation and integration within the framework of the CMEA were carried out on a basis unfavorable for the Soviet state.

Thus, the post-war world order was characterized by the process of forming a new world order. As a result, a bipolar confrontational world emerged, two new superpowers, and bloc confrontation. The main feature of the post-war world was brinksmanship.

Victory provided USSR choice: to develop with developed countries West or lower the Iron Curtain, dooming the country to isolation, and keep the pre-war model unchanged. The possibility of change and reform existed immediately after the war, in 1945 . Contacts between officers and soldiers with the Western world during the war made it possible to compare living conditions and have a more realistic attitude towards reality. There was a tendency towards a restructuring of thinking, a democratic renewal of society, and freedom. At the top, the country's development prospects were modeled. In 1946, a draft of a new Constitution of the USSR was prepared, in 1947 a draft new program CPSU(b). They contained a number of progressive provisions: the state was recognized as dominant in the forms of ownership, but small private farming of peasants and artisans was allowed. During the discussion of the documents, it was proposed: to decentralize economic life, give more rights to the people's commissariats, local authorities, limit the terms of tenure in leadership positions, nominate several candidates for elections to the Soviets, etc. Both documents were discussed only in a narrow circle of responsible workers and the emergence of liberals in this environment ideas spoke about the new mood of part of the leadership - N.A. Voznesensky, A.N. Kosygina, G.K. Zhukova and others. Doubts about the feasibility of the current administrative-command economy arose among economists L.D. Yaroshenko, A.V. Savina, V.G. Venzhera and others. They defended the use of commodity-money relations, and not command-volitional methods. Letters from ordinary citizens to the Party Central Committee substantiated the need to transform state-owned enterprises into joint-stock enterprises, suggested that collective farmers be given the opportunity to freely sell their products at market prices, etc. The Central Committee’s assessment of these documents: “harmful views”, “into the archives.”

I.V. Stalin defined in my own way prospects for the development of society . At a reception in the Kremlin on May 24, 1945, he notes that the Soviet people “believed in the correctness of the policy of their government... And this trust turned out to be the decisive force that ensured the historic victory... over fascism.” In a speech to voters in February 1946, he justified the policies of industrialization, collectivization and repression. In the law on the five-year plan for 1946–1950. the extremely high rates of industrial recovery ran counter to the idea of ​​balanced economic development. In the draft of the new program of the CPSU (b), the party fixed the goal: within 20-30 years to build communism in the USSR and solve the main economic problem- within 15-20 years, surpass the main capitalist countries in per capita production. The utopian nature of these plans is evidenced by the ratio between the industrial potential of the USSR and the USA in 1945 – 1:4. In Stalin's book “Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR” (1952), a return to the development model of the 30s was justified. Stalin objected to any concession to the market; he believed that the categories money, prices, value, cost, etc., operate formally under socialism, and cash payments in the near future should replace product exchange. He reduced the transition to communism primarily to administrative measures in the sphere of distribution.

The declared utopia contradicted objective reality, where there were both successes and failures. Thanks to the heroism of the people, the pre-war level industrial production was achieved in 1948 G.; many cities have been restored. But in 1949, there was a revision of the fourth five-year plan and the adoption of super-voluntaristic principles of economic growth, with preference given to heavy industry. In industry, the phases of growth (1947–1948) and “overheating” (1949–1950) were followed by a phase of obvious slowdown (until 1954). The shift in capital investment in favor of heavy industry (88% of 100%) undermined the base light industry, working for the consumer market. Heavy industry also developed on the basis of outdated solutions, without taking into account technological achievements and innovations created in the world. Metallurgy has made enormous progress, but chemistry and petrochemistry have remained neglected. In the fuel and energy balance, the world gave preference to oil and gas, and the USSR gave preference to coal. The development of transport, communications, and roads has been left in disarray.

A very difficult situation has arisen in agriculture . After the drought and famine of 1946, in 1947 the government resorted to coercive measures against collective farmers, and an impressive breakthrough in development followed. But in subsequent years, growth rates remained very low, and only in 1952 did grain production in the country reach pre-war levels. The size of obligatory supplies from villages to the state increased annually. Collective farms were enlarged (since 1950) and at the same time individual plots were significantly reduced, and payment in kind for workdays was reduced. High taxes were imposed on everything. There were no passports, pensions, or trade unions in the village.

In 1947, the USSR, the first European country, abolished the food rationing system, but at the same time prices for consumer goods were increased more than three times (to the level of 1940), and workers' wages were reduced by 50%. Then the annual seasonal reduction in prices for milk and meat was presented as concern for people and had a great political effect. But even in 1952 these prices were higher than pre-war levels. Simultaneously with the abolition of cards, the government is introducing a tough monetary reform (an exchange of new money for old money has been introduced in an average ratio of 1:10), although it was possible to choose a “softer” option. The current economic model did not allow the housing crisis to be resolved.

Complex processes were taking place in spiritual life . In the first years after the victory, the prevailing thought among workers was “the main thing is that the war is behind us,” and the post-war difficulties were temporary. However, at the turn of 1947–1948. in the mass consciousness the limit of the “temporariness” of difficulties had been exhausted. There have already been successes in post-war reconstruction. And people's reaction to tough decisions authorities became more harsh. In 1947, there was a mass desertion (29 thousand workers) from the mines Kemerovo region. Criticism of the authorities intensified, but the authorities ignored the historical chance to implement reforms and took the path of a hard line and repression.

All the difficulties of the post-war years were attributed to the machinations of “enemies” and “spies”. Let us recall that in a resolution of 1946, the Central Committee of the Party attacked the magazines “Leningrad” (reprimand), “Zvezda” (closed) for the fact that they are conductors of the “ideology of alien parties,” especially after the publication of the works of A. Akhmatova and M. Zoshchenko . Some films, including the second series of “Ivan the Terrible” by S. Eisenstein, were criticized as “idealess.” Composers (in 1948) S. Prokofiev, D. Shostakovich, V. Muradeli, A. Khachaturian were criticized for “formalism”. The intelligentsia was accused of cosmopolitanism, genetics and cybernetics were called pseudoscience.

People known for reformist views were removed from leadership positions in the center and locally. The “Leningrad affair” dealt a blow to the leading cadres. A feature of the new stage of personnel purge was the intensification of anti-Semitism. The “Doctors' Plot” was a shameful provocation against the medical intelligentsia. In January 1953, fifteen well-known doctors were accused of the murder of Zhdanov and the attempt on the lives of military leaders Konev, Vasilevsky, and Shtemenko. The persecution of scientists continued. In 1947, the doctor was arrested medical sciences, world famous scientist, Deputy People's Commissar of Health, Scientific Secretary of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences V.V. Parin. He was released from prison in 1953 and became one of the founders of space medicine. The machine of fear, persecution, and reprisals was set in motion again. As a result of emergency measures in the country, all shoots of political opposition - real and potential - were strangled. The liberals were destroyed. In the countries of the Eastern Bloc, leaders obedient to Stalin were implanted. Things were heading towards a new wave of terror. This was put to an end by the death of Stalin on March 5, 1953.

1945 in Potsdam. The system of occupation of Germany was finally agreed upon; it was envisaged that supreme power in the defeated country will be carried out by the commanders-in-chief of the armed forces of the USSR, USA, Great Britain and France - each in their own zone of occupation.

A sharp struggle broke out over Poland's western borders. Under pressure, Poland's western border was established along the Oder and Neisse rivers. The city of Königsberg and the surrounding area were transferred to the USSR, the other part East Prussia went to Poland.

US attempts to make diplomatic recognition of some Eastern European countries conditional on the reorganization of their governments ended in failure. Thus, the dependence of these countries on the USSR was actually recognized. The three sides confirmed their decision to bring the main war criminals to justice.

The generally successful solution to important political problems for the USSR was prepared by a favorable international situation, the successes of the Soviet army, as well as the interest of the allies in the USSR entering the war with Japan.

Education of the United Nations (UN).

The UN was created at the final stage of World War II at a conference in San Francisco, which began on April 25, 1945. Invitations were sent to 42 states on behalf of the four great powers: the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and China. The Soviet delegation managed to organize an invitation for representatives of Ukraine and Belarus. In total, 50 countries participated in the conference. On June 26, 1945, the conference concluded its work with the adoption of the UN Charter.

The UN Charter obliged members of the organization to resolve disputes among themselves only by peaceful means, and to refrain in international relations from the use of force or threats to use force. The Charter also proclaimed the equality of all people, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, the need to respect all international treaties and obligations.

The main task of the UN was to promote global peace and international security.

It was established that sessions of the UN General Assembly would be held annually with the participation of delegates from all UN member countries. In matters of maintaining world peace the main role assigned to the UN Security Council, consisting of fourteen members. Five of them were considered permanent (USSR, USA, Great Britain, France, China), the rest were subject to re-election every two years. The most important condition was the established principle of unanimity of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. This principle protected the UN from turning into an instrument of dictatorship in relation to any country or group of countries.

The beginning of the Cold War.

By the end of the war, contradictions between the USSR, on the one hand, and the USA and Great Britain, on the other, sharply emerged. The main issue was the question of the post-war structure of the world and the spheres of influence of both sides in it. The West's tangible superiority in economic power and monopoly on nuclear weapons allowed it to hope for the possibility of a decisive change in the balance of power in its favor. Back in the spring of 1945, a plan of military action against the USSR was developed (Operation “Unthinkable”): W. Churchill planned to start the Third World War on July 1, 1945 with a joint attack by the Anglo-Americans and formations German soldiers against Soviet troops in Germany. Only by the summer of 1945, due to the obvious military superiority of the Red Army, this plan was abandoned.

Soon both sides adopted a policy of brinksmanship. In 1947 American journalist W. Lippmann called this policy the “Cold War.” A turning point in relations between the USSR and the Western world was the speech of former Prime Minister Churchill at the Fulton Military College (USA) in March

Mr. Churchill called on the “English-speaking world” to unite and show “the Russians strength.” US President Harry Truman supported Churchill's ideas. The threats sparked concern, which called the speech a "dangerous act." The USSR actively strengthened its influence not only in the countries of Europe occupied by the Soviet Army, but also in Asia.

The beginning of the formation of a bipolar (bipolar) world.

In 1947, relations between the USSR and the USA continued to deteriorate. Europe lay in ruins. Under these conditions, the influence of the ideas of communism and the prestige of the USSR grew. To undermine such sentiments, the United States adopted a program of assistance to Europe - the Marshall Plan (named after US Secretary of State J. Marshall). The condition for the provision of assistance was its use under US control. This was unacceptable for the USSR. Under his pressure, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Finland refused to participate in the Marshall Plan.

In order to strengthen Soviet influence, in the fall of 1947, the Information Bureau of Communist Parties (Cominform) was created - a similarity to the Comintern dissolved in 1943. Soon Stalin decided to abandon his initially adopted course of transition of the Eastern European countries to socialism through parliamentary methods. Communist governments in 1 came to power in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Before this, the communists gained power in Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Albania. In 1949, the Chinese Civil War ended with the victory of the communists. The communists came to power in North Vietnam and North Korea. This is how the socialist camp emerged.

Despite the colossal internal difficulties, the USSR provided all these countries with enormous material assistance, which allowed them by the early 50s. basically overcome the post-war devastation. In 1949, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) was created to coordinate development issues. At the same time, in socialist countries (countries of people's democracies), repressions were carried out against a number of figures, including leaders of communist parties, suspected of trying to withdraw their states from the control of the USSR. Only the ruler of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito, managed to defend his right to an independent policy, which became the reason for the rupture of relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia in 1948.

The Marshall Plan and the USSR's response to it led to a further division of the world into two opposing parts: East and West (bipolar world).

P The first international crises.

In 1948, the United States decided to consolidate the division of Germany by creating a separate West German state. The economic division of Germany was determined by the introduction of the West German mark into circulation. Before this, Stalin sought to implement decisions Yalta Conference about a united democratic Germany, hoping to make it a neutral buffer between the West and the East. Now the Soviet Union had to take a course to strengthen its positions in East Germany. Soviet troops blocked the communications routes connecting Berlin with the western occupation zone. In response to this, an “air bridge” was created, through which supplies were supplied for almost a year. West Side Berlin (zone allocated for Allied occupation forces).

The Berlin crisis brought the world to the brink of war and led to the final division of Germany. On May 8, 1949, the Parliamentary Council under the leadership of Konrad Adenauer adopted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). On September 20, 1949, Adenauer presented the first composition of the new state to parliament. On October 7, 1949, the pro-Soviet German Democratic Republic (GDR) was formed.

Even earlier, in April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) was signed, formalizing the military-political alliance of Western countries under the leadership of the United States. It included 12 states: the USA, Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal, Iceland and Canada.

Korean War.

After the defeat of Japan, its former colony Korea was divided along the 38th parallel into Soviet and American occupation zones. When Soviet and American troops withdrew, both the northern government of communist Kim Il Sung and the southern government of Syngman Rhee sought to extend their power throughout Korea.

On June 25, 1950, North Korean (DPRK) troops began to successfully advance south. In September 1950, troops from fifteen countries, led by the United States, under the UN flag, landed troops in the rear of the DPRK army. During fierce fighting, the Americans reached the Korean-Chinese border. In saving the DPRK, “volunteers” from China came out on its side, and Soviet aviation also operated successfully ( soviet fighters shot down 1097 enemy aircraft, the Americans destroyed 335 Soviet aircraft).

In 1951, the front line was established in the area of ​​the same 38th parallel. In 1953, a truce was signed. The Korean War gave impetus to a new stage in the arms race.

QUESTIONS AND TASKS

1. What decisions did the Potsdam Conference make?

2. When was the UN created? What were her goals? What clauses were included in the UN Charter?

3. What is the Cold War? What were her reasons?

4. What is a bipolar world? How did it turn out?

5. What were the causes and consequences of the Berlin crisis?

6. Why did the Korean War start? What were its results?

7. Was the Cold War inevitable? Give reasons for your answer.

As a result of the Second World War, the balance of power in the world changed. The victorious countries, and primarily the Soviet Union, increased their territories at the expense of the defeated states. went to the Soviet Union most of East Prussia with the city of Königsberg (now the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation), the Lithuanian SSR received the territory of the Klaipeda region, and the territories of Transcarpathian Ukraine were transferred to the Ukrainian SSR. In the Far East, in accordance with the agreements reached at the Crimean Conference, the USSR was returned Southern Sakhalin And Kurile Islands(including four southern islands, not previously part of Russia). Czechoslovakia and Poland increased their territory at the expense of the German lands.

The situation within the Western world has changed. The aggressor countries, Germany and Japan, were defeated and lost their role as great powers, and the positions of England and France were significantly weakened. At the same time, the influence of the United States grew, which controlled about 80% of the gold reserves of the capitalist world and accounted for 46% of world industrial production.

A feature of the post-war period was the people's democratic (socialist) revolutions in the countries of Eastern Europe and a number of Asian countries, which, with the support of the USSR, began to build socialism. A world system of socialism led by the USSR was formed.

The war marked the beginning of the collapse of the colonial system of imperialism. As a result of the national liberation movement, such largest countries like India, Indonesia, Burma, Pakistan, Ceylon, Egypt. A number of them took the path of socialist orientation. In total, in the post-war decade, 25 states gained independence, and 1,200 million people were freed from colonial dependence.

There has been a shift to the left in the political spectrum of the capitalist countries of Europe. Fascist and right-wing parties left the scene. The influence of the communists grew sharply. In 1945-1947 communists were part of the governments of France, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Finland.

During the World War, a single anti-fascist coalition emerged - an alliance of great powers - the USSR, USA, Great Britain and France. The presence of a common enemy helped to overcome differences between capitalist countries and socialist Russia and find compromises. In April-June 1945, the founding conferences of the United Nations were held in San Francisco, including representatives of 50 countries. The UN Charter reflected the principles of peaceful coexistence of states of different socio-economic systems, the principles of sovereignty and equality of all countries of the world.

However, the Second World War was replaced by the Cold War - a war without combat. The term “Cold War” was coined by US Secretary of State D.F. Dulles. Its essence is a political, economic, ideological confrontation between two socio-economic systems of socialism and capitalism, balancing on the brink of war.

The basis of the confrontation was the relationship between the two superpowers - the USSR and the USA. The beginning of the Cold War is usually dated to W. Churchill’s speech in the American city of Fulton in March 1946, in which he called on the people of the United States to jointly fight against Soviet Russia and its agents - the communist parties.

The ideological justification for the Cold War was the doctrine of US President Truman, put forward by him in 1947. According to the doctrine, the conflict between capitalism and communism is insoluble. The task of the United States is to fight communism throughout the world, “contain communism,” “throw back communism within the borders of the USSR.” American responsibility was proclaimed for events occurring throughout the world, which were viewed through the prism of opposition between capitalism and communism, the USA and the USSR.

The Soviet Union began to be surrounded by a network of American military bases. In 1948, the first bombers with atomic weapons aimed at the USSR were stationed in Great Britain and West Germany. Capitalist countries are beginning to create military-political blocs directed against the USSR.

IN Western Europe In 1949, the North Atlantic bloc NATO was created. It included: USA, England, France, Italy, Canada, Belgium, Holland, Greece and Turkey. IN South-East Asia in 1954 the SEATO bloc was created, in 1955 the Baghdad Pact was created. Germany's military potential is being restored. In 1949, in violation of the Yalta and Potsdam agreements, the Federal Republic of Germany was created from three zones of occupation - British, American and French - and joined NATO in the same year.

The Soviet Union also pursues a policy of confrontation. In 1945, Stalin demanded the creation of a system of joint defense of the Black Sea straits of the USSR and Turkey, the establishment of joint custody by the allies of Italy’s colonial possessions in Africa (while the USSR planned to provide a naval base in Libya).

The confrontation between capitalist and socialist camp is also intensifying on the Asian continent. In 1946, the civil war began in China. Troops of Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang government attempted to occupy communist-controlled territories. Capitalist countries supported Chiang Kai-shek, and the Soviet Union supported the communists, transferring them a significant amount of captured Japanese weapons.

The final disintegration of the “world” into two warring socio-economic systems is associated with the promotion in 1947 of the “Marshall Plan” by the United States (named after the US Secretary of State) and the sharply negative attitude of the USSR towards it.

European countries were offered assistance to rebuild their devastated economies. Loans were given to purchase American goods. The Marshall Plan was adopted by 16 Western European countries. Political condition assistance was the removal of communists from governments. In 1947, the communists were removed from the governments of Western European countries. Help was also offered to Eastern European countries. Poland and Czechoslovakia began negotiations, but under the influence of the USSR they refused assistance.

In contrast to the bloc of capitalist countries, an economic and military-political union of socialist countries began to form. In 1949, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance was created - a body economic cooperation socialist states; in May 1955 - the Warsaw military-political bloc.

After the adoption of the Marshall Plan in Western Europe and the formation of CMEA in Eastern Europe, two parallel world markets emerged.

The post-war peace did not become more durable. Behind a short time Relations between the USSR and its allies in the anti-Hitler coalition deteriorated significantly. To characterize them, the metaphor began to be increasingly used "cold war", which first appeared on the pages of the English Tribune magazine in the fall of 1945 in the international commentary of the famous writer J. Orwell. This term was later used in the spring of 1946 by the prominent American banker and politician B. Baruch in one of his public speeches. At the end of 1946, the influential American publicist W. Lippman published a book whose title was these two words.

However, two historical facts are traditionally considered to be the “declaration” or proclamation of the “Cold War”: W. Churchill’s speech (March 1946) in Fulton (Missouri) in the presence of US President Henry Truman about the “Iron Curtain” and the Soviet threat, as well as the promulgation of the “Truman Doctrine” (March 1947), an American foreign policy concept that declared the main task facing the United States to be counteracting communism and its “containment.” The post-war world split into two antagonistic blocs, and the Cold War entered its active phase in the summer of 1947, ultimately leading to the formation of military-political blocs opposing each other.

Each side made its own specific contribution to the post-war confrontation. The West was frightened by the increased military power of the Soviet Union, the unpredictability of Stalin's actions and the increasingly persistent advance of communist influence in the countries of Eastern Europe and Asia. During 1945-1948. a number of Eastern European countries were drawn into the orbit of Soviet influence (Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, East End dismembered Germany), in which, under pressure from the USSR, first coalition governments were formed, with the determining influence of communist parties, and then purely communist governments.

At the end of September 1947, under pressure from the Stalinist leadership, the Information Bureau of Communist and Workers' Parties (Cominformburo) was created with headquarters in Belgrade from representatives of six communist parties in Eastern Europe and the two largest Western European communist parties (France and Italy). This body contributed to the increased pressure of the USSR on the countries of the so-called “people's democracy”, along with the presence of Soviet troops on the territory of some of these countries and the treaties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance concluded with them. Created in 1949, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) with headquarters in Moscow further tied the countries of “people’s democracy” economically to the USSR, since the latter were forced, according to the Soviet scenario, to carry out all the necessary transformations in culture, agriculture and industry, relying exclusively on the Soviet, not entirely positive experience.

In Asia, North Vietnam, North Korea and China were drawn into the USSR's orbit of influence during the period under review, after the peoples of these countries were able to win victories in communist-led wars of national liberation.

The influence of the USSR on the domestic and foreign policies of Eastern European countries, despite all the efforts made by Stalin, was not unconditional. Not all communist party leaders here have become obedient puppets. The independence and certain ambition of the leader of the Yugoslav communists I. Tito, his desire to create a Balkan federation with the leading role of Yugoslavia aroused discontent and suspicion of I.V. Stalin. In 1948, the Soviet-Yugoslav crisis arose and soon sharply worsened, leading to the condemnation of the actions of the Yugoslav leaders by the Cominform Bureau. Despite this, the Yugoslav communists maintained the unity of their ranks and followed I. Tito. Economic relations with the USSR and Eastern European countries were severed. Yugoslavia found itself under an economic blockade and was forced to turn to capitalist countries for help. The pinnacle of the Soviet-Yugoslav confrontation was the rupture of diplomatic relations between the two countries on October 25, 1949. The consequence of this rupture and the desire to achieve unity in the communist movement were two waves of purges of communists accused of “Titoism” that took place in the countries of “people’s democracy” under the control and with the active participation of the Soviet intelligence services " During the period 1948-1949. were repressed in Poland by V. Gomulka, M. Spychalski, Z. Klishko; in Hungary L. Rajk and J. Kadar (the first was executed, the second sentenced to life imprisonment), in Bulgaria T. Kostov was executed, in Albania K. Dzodze and many others. In 1950-1951 Trials against “Yugoslav spies” took place in almost all Eastern European countries. One of the most recent was the trial in Prague in November 1952 against the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia R. Slansky and thirteen prominent Czechoslovak communists, the vast majority of whom were executed after the end of the trial. Indicative political processes, as in its time, similar “events” took place in the late 1930s. in the USSR, were supposed to scare everyone dissatisfied with the policy pursued by the Soviet Union towards the countries of “people's democracy” and consolidate the only path already paved by the USSR to so-called “socialism”.

Despite the fairly serious influence of communists in a number of Western European countries (in the first post-war years, their representatives were part of the governments of France, Italy, etc.), the authority of Western European communist parties decreased in Europe after the adoption of the Marshall Plan, named after the US Secretary of State J. Marshall one of the “fathers” of the idea of ​​American economic assistance to the post-war reconstruction of Europe. The Soviet government not only itself refused to participate in this plan, but also influenced the corresponding decisions of Eastern European countries, including Czechoslovakia and Poland, which initially managed to express their readiness to participate in it.

After this, 16 Western European countries became participants in the Marshall Plan. The division of Europe into two hostile camps completed the creation in April 1949 of the North Atlantic Pact (NATO), which by 1953 united 14 European states under the auspices of the United States. The creation of this military-political bloc was largely facilitated by the events associated with the Soviet blockade of West Berlin in the summer of 1948. OPTA were forced to organize an “air bridge” that supplied the city for about a year. Only in May 1949 was the Soviet blockade lifted. However, the actions of the West and the intransigence of the USSR ultimately led to the creation in 1949 of two countries on German soil: on May 23, the Federal Republic of Germany and on October 7, the German Democratic Republic. Late 1940 early 1950s became the culmination of the Cold War. In September 1949, the USSR tested the first Soviet atomic bomb, the creation of which is associated with the name of the outstanding Soviet scientist I.V. Kurchatova. The most serious international problem For the USSR, the war of North Korea against the pro-American regime of South Korea (1950-1953) was unleashed with the direct consent of Stalin. It cost the lives of several million Koreans, Chinese and representatives of other nations who took part in this largest conflict since World War II. The question of the integration of Germany into the Western political system and its cooperation with NATO was of great difficulty.

Death of I.V. Stalin, which happened at the height of the Cold War, helped to reduce tensions in international relations, although it did not remove the question of the further continuation of the struggle between the United States and its allies, on the one hand, and the USSR, the vanguard of the community of the so-called “socialist” states of Europe and Asia , on the other hand, for world domination.