Monday, November 29, 2010

Who was to blame for the Cold War?

If you type: 'Who was to blame for the Cold War' into google, what you mainly turn up is dozens of online essays of dubious quality, many of which simply rehash what you have already learned from my website! My strong advice is to avoid them like the plague, and make up your own mind.

By far the best link on this topic (and the liveliest) , if you haven't already found it, is the BBC audio-byte, which takes the form of a debate (you can read a transcript of the debate here). There is also a pretty shoddy list of points-for and points-against on the projectgcse website, which you may find of help if you have been asked to write the essay (which will have to take the form of 'on-the-one-hand ... on-the-other ... conclusion).

In the end, this is a subject where you will also have to show that you are aware of the historiography - what past historians have written on the subject. There is a simple summary of this on the BBC Bitesize site, and my more detailed account here.

So - what do YOU think!! As the BBC audio-byte demonstrates, this is a contentious and controversial subject, so you ought to be able to have some fun debating it here...

79 comments:

Anonymous said...

Somos un grupo de voluntarios y la iniciativa de comenzar una nueva marca en la comunidad. Su weblog nos proporcionó información valiosa para trabajar. Usted ha hecho un trabajo maravilloso!

Anonymous said...

firstly i'd like to thank you whole heartedly as a year 11 student about to sit my modern world history exam for your website. the contents are so helpful especially the interpretations provided for each source. it would be very difficult to say who should take the blame for the cold war. i'd take the post revisionists point of view ^_^ because it takes two to tango :)

thanks again!

Simon Curtis said...

I'm trying to find a way to contact you, I am a teacher who is indebted to you for your outstanding website. When teaching new subjects it has been a fantastic safe place to start. Thank you and enjoy your well earned retirement.

Anonymous said...

Straight to the point and well written! Why can’t everyone else be like this?

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

USA

Anonymous said...

USSR

Anonymous said...

thanks to your sight i got an A* in nazi germany and A in cold war

thanks so much!

Anonymous said...

I’ve desired to write something like this on my webpage which has given me a concept. Cheers.

Zero said...

I agree with the post-1991 view that both sides were to blamed. There was a clash of ideology, between communism in USSR and capitalism in US. Now that the world had ended, they had no common goal and had no need for alliance, and caused tensions between the two to be refueled again. They now had different aims, all geared to protect their ideology

Anonymous said...

Mr. Clare,
On your web page about the Truman Doctrine you wrote: "Truman himself described the British withdrawal from the Mediterranean as a foreign policy ‘opportunity’ in the Middle East of which America must ‘take advantage’." I was just wondering what source you got this from? I'm writing an essay and would like to use this information, if it is a primary source that would be even better!

Mr Lincoln said...

The Cold War could never have started without the mutual mistrust both super powers had of one another. The reason for their alliance during WW2 was because of a greater threat in Hitler but after his demise, their true feelings and clearly polar opposite ideologies were allowed to come to the fore which was exacerbated through diplomatic relations such as the notorious telegrams.

Esther said...

I think that the Russians are to blame for the cold war. This is because they are insecure and not trust worthy. At the Potsdam conference, the super powers agreed that Stalin would withdraw the red army and hold free and fair elections in his 'sphere of influence', but he did the opposite. This made way for antagonism and tension amongst the Big Three; which led to the cold war.

Tom said...

Hi there,
I think Truman was to blame for the start of the cold war, as his dropping of the atomic bomb, I believe, was a way of impressing the Soviets, with the small 'extra' of 250,000 Japanese deaths.
As Truman had not specifically told Stalin about the USA's testing of the atomic bomb, the news came as a near-complete surprise for Stalin, resulting in his burning anger, and I think, the start of real tension in the cold war.
The rest, as they say, is history....

Tom Palmer said...

Tom Palmer, Mr Lincoln

Hi, I think that the USSR was to blame for the Cold War because it was them who blocked Berlin. The Berlin Blockade was one of the key reason for the cold war as it meant that no one could get in or out of Berlin. America had to fly planes in with supplies every 3 minutes due to this. Also, Stalin was too power hungry ans was too greedy in taking over countries. They even murdered the Czech president, Jan Masaryk, who had supposedly 'fallen out of the window' however they really pushed him.

Matt said...

Matt(Mr Lincoln)-
I think Russia was more to blame because they set up the Berlin blockade . This shows Germany were willing to make people suffer to make America try to give up. This would have caused a lot of tension because they were trying to get the better of america by putting america on the spot to either 1)give up 2)Fly planes in (expensive) or 3) start a war, just so russia could spread communism.

Unknown said...

Howard(Mr Lincoln)
I think Truman was to blame because he failed to see that the USSR had come off very badly from WW2. They needed to rebuild and be sure that they wouldn't be invaded again. Of course, they couldn't treat Germany too harshly because they knew what had happened after the Treaty of Versailles, but they were still quite lenient, and that meant that it took longer for the USSR to rebuild. It also meant that Stalin didn't trust Truman in the same way that he trusted Roosevelt.

Jospeph(Mr Lincoln said...

Russia are to blame because they forced communist governments on eastern European countries. If they hadn't exploited their sphere of influence in Europe, the cold war could have been prevented.

Issac said...

I think that the USSR were to blame because the created most of the tension. The Berlin Blockade is a good example of this because they had created more tension directly by cutting off all the roads even though the USSR agreed that America could have part of Berlin.

Tom H, Mr Lincoln said...

I think it was the USSRs fault for the start of the Cold War because, after WW2, they left their troops in Eastern Europe rather than giving them the free and fair elections they were promised in the post war conferences. This allowed communism to spread and caused America to be angry, not only at the fact they had broken their promises, but they were spreading communism, which America would do anything to stop.

Danielle said...

(Mr Lincoln)
I think that it was the USSRs fault because Stalin blocked all roads in and out of Berlin. The Berlin blockade is a great example of mistrust as they had made the agreement that they would split Berlin.

jonathan said...

jonathan, mr lincoln
I think president truman was to blame because if he had been frendlier and more trusting in stalin tensions could have been avoided.

George said...

i think that the USSR was mostly to blame because firstly they were the group who caused the most problems.they broke the rules agreed at yalta and potsdam and cost the usa lots of money for flying into berlin during the berlin blockade.thye had used their salami tactics to take over the majority of eastern europe and threatened the west's way of life in doing so.

Francis said...

I think that the USSR were most to blame for the cold war firstly because they were taking violent methods to try and build a communist empire using salami tactics and the usa were just trying to contain them. Secondly, if they hadn't tried the berlin blockade or stated illegal corrupt communist governments in east europe by murdering lead opposition in coutries such as Czechoslovakia by killing Jan Masryk.

Alex said...

I believe that the USSR was to blame because of the acts they commited in pursuit of expanding their sphere of influence. They went against what was agreed at Yalta in holding fixed elctions and assassinating political rivals such as Jan Masaryk. Russia then set up the Berlin blockade which was a deliberate act to try and take Berlin and go against the USA.

Ozzy said...

I think USA were to blame because they went against what was agreed at the yalta conference, at the conference all the countries agreed to split Germany into 4 sections, but USA,Britain and france joined their parts together to form west Germany, this made Stalin angry, so that is why he blocked Berlin.

Anonymous said...

Dan, Mr Lincoln
I think the USA was to blame because they dropped the atomic bomb, discarding Russia's help and offending Stalin.

Sophie said...

I think that the USA was most to blame for causing tension of the cold war because they continuously tried to provoke and annoy the USSR in indirect ways. Although the USSR reacted badly to these, I think the USA caused the retaliation of the USSR.

Anonymous said...

I don't know... both countries seem to be asking to have a cold war at the start- Truman shows off with an Atom bomb, while Stalin breaks his promises with regards Poland and the percentages deal with Churchill also goes out of the window. It just seems that noone made any attempt to stop the cold war as long as they could avoid a hot one.

Anonymous said...

They both were to blame to an extent however I think the USSR created more tensions, as early on as Potsdam we can see disagreements about the size of reparations taken from Germany. The USSR also started the first military confrontation of the Cold War- the Berlin blockade, however the USA's mistrust made them edgy and I find they over reacted the most e.g when Kennedy spent a lot of unnecessary money on fallout shelter and the Truman doctrine which stated the USA had a responsibility to protect the world from communist tyranny

Abraham said...

Altough the USSR impacts where more notisable, we can argue that both the USA and the USSR were to blame for the cold war:
Firstly The USA was to blame because:
the USA designed the atomic bomb without telling Russia which menat the USA didn´t need the USSR´s help, asswell as Getting a new president who was very anti comunist. This meant that there would be conflict between the USSR and the USA.

Secondly the USSR was to blame because:
The USSR used salami tactics this meant that Stalin turned the countries around the USSR communist this leads to suggest that Stalin only wanted to spread Russia´s power.
another reason is that Stallin wanted to take over Berlin an take all the resources from Germany this also lead to conflict with the USA as it wanted to recover Germany instead of doing what Stalin prefered.

Becky said...

Becky said...

Both USSR and USA are to blame for the Cold War.

Firstly USSR are to blame because they corrupted the statements agreed at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences. With Poland for instance, USSR agreed to set up Capitalist and Communist government in Poland, but instead forced Communism.

However, USA are to blame too, as they provoked USSR. A way in which they did this, was by secretly testing the atomic bomb, although Russia and America were planning to work on it together.

Overall, I think that USSR are to blame because they violated the terms agreed at the conferences and tried to take over Europe and destroy Capitalism, replacing it with Communism.

Amy said...

I think that USA are definitely most to blame for the cold war. The most obvious reason for this is the atomic bomb.Despite common belief that Truman dropped the bomb on hiroshima in order for a quick end to the war in the pacific; there were deeper motives for his actions. USA had agreed at the Yalta conference to allow USSR to build up some of their sphere of influence if Stalin agreed to fight against Japan. Truman jumped at the chance of ending this agreement before Stalin entered the war. This therefore caused friction between USA and USSR, due to Stalins quick retaliation of building an atomic bomb of their own. So therefore not only did the atomic bomb mark the end of a war, but also the start of a cold war.

Maeve said...

Overall it's hard to place blame on either the USA or USSR for the cold war. The early Cold war was essentially a fight between two superpowers acting like children , showing off who had better toys ; the USA dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and the USSR made one of their own. The USA created the Marshall plan to contain communism and the USSR created comeform and comecon to ... contain communism.

reece said...

i think both are to blame, USSR did keep his army in many countries to expand his nation. but USA did drop the atomic bomb on japan in secrecy.

reece said...

I think both are to blame. the USSR did keep its red army in countries surrounding it to buid up is protective layer. but USA did drop the atomic bomb on japan in secrecy to prove their power.

Georgie said...

I think you can place the blame for starting the cold war on USA and USSR.

Firstly the USA are to blame because they did many things to provoke Stalin like the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid as Stalin thought they were undermining Russia.

USSR are also to blame because Stalin started taking over countries in Eastern Europe (salami tac tics) when he had agreed not to. Also because Stalin captured the non-communist leaders of Poland to make Poland a communist country., which aggrivated President Truman.

lucy said...

I think USSR are to blame because they used the Berlin blockade-so they would potentially starve all of the people just because western powers were becoming too powerful. So USA had the right to step in.

Tom D said...

I believe Truman is at fault for the cold was being started. I feel this way because he never told Stalin he was testing the atomic bomb. This led to mistrust, friction and the tension caused a cold war.

Izzie said...

I think the USA are to blame because at Yalta they agreed to the USSR having a sphere of influence. However, when they realised how strong Stalin could be with his sphere of influence in Eastern Europe, they created more ways to control and contain communism that caused tensions such as the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall plan.

Andre said...

I think the Usa are to blame because of the atomic bomb also when Roosevelt died Truman came to power and he was very anti communist.

Jamie said...

I think that the USSR are most to blame for the cold war because they forced communism on Eastern European countries. They were stubborn and wouldn't compromise for the views of USA or GB but did what they thought anyway.

brendan said...

I believe the ussr are to blame because of the constant kust for power and their use of the salami tactic to take ove eastern Europe and force communism on other countries

connor said...

I think the ussr and the usa are both to blame because they were both pushing each others buttons. Truman tested the atomic bomb in secret and and stalin went against what was agreed at yalta

chris said...

I thin that the USSR are to blame for the cold war because even though we did agree for Russia to have a sphere of influence but stalin then violated this by making their influence too big

david said...

I believe that usa are responsible for the cold war because they joined the three zones together forming a further east west divide making Stalin feel like they were preparing for a east vs west war

Kieran A dog said...

I believe that the USA is to blame because they joined the zones together which forced stalin to form the berlin blockade they also deuchtsmark which angered stalin because it destroyed the eastern german currency

Kat said...

Stalin and Truman. If someone else was in power, there would be no urge to compete who is the world most powerful guy. Stalin didnt really intend to expand in the balkans and eastern europe, but he seized the opportunity during and after the war under pressure because he initially wanted socialism in one country but russians wanted the world revolution. And Truman... I always thought he was a **** he just ruined everything the previous presidents built, the whole isolationist policy and cooperation.. It's like he was a child saying "i want freedom and peace and great things and everything but no soviets! no communism! only democracy! i have to intervene and start a cold war in 7 years while im a president". but then again, i understand why he disliked stalin. and he was anxious when in power. but i feel that he started a race, for arms, nuclear weapons, spheres of influence. sorry it got too long but its good to revise for exams

Anonymous said...

Soviet Union because they would not let us help the when they needed it and that created tension

Unknown said...

clash of ideologies. it was inevitable that at some point both countries would find themselves battling to see which way of living is the best one. both USA and USSR were seeking to expand their influence and gain more allies as they knew that war could be near them. only that this time war would be MAD (mutually assured destruction) as atomic weapons were already being developed into a larger scale than Hiroshima and Nagasaki. USA had already bombs that could cause triple the damage that was made. i think that both sides are to blame but definitely Stalin's urge and desire to expand and seek for a sphere of influence made the whole argument begin as if he would have stuck to communism in Russia only (idea presented throughout his struggle for power against Trotsky from 1924-28), the USA wouldn't have worried about communist expansion.

Anonymous said...

Wilson, Marshall, and Eisenhower...They prevented Patton from goating Stalin into combat, where we already had the weapons and men to end it quickly (atomic, that is.) At the first sign of the Berlin blockade, we should have invaded eastern Europe to the Russian frontier and if necessary, deposed Stalin and set up a western democracy, as we did in west Germany.

Anonymous said...

everyone

Lin said...

The ubiquitous paranoia and age-old power struggle prevalent between larger powers (such as Russia and the US) that finally saw a more critical representation in the later 20th century when technology, relations, politics and influence had developed and the world had been devastated and hit by two world wars the same century and they saw old, direct. bloody and violant war tactics would not at all be suitable in setting the influence of one power and its politics. Therefore it was referred to by George Orwell as a 'cold' war. Both powers scrambled to assert their dominance through other means; though the impact was still profound.

Khue said...

Due to history being about how past events are interpreted, it is hard to place the blame on only USA or the USSR within the context of history. All the factors that contribute to the rising tension of the Cold War are interlinked with each other. For example, the USA only began the policy of containment due to the fear of communism and Stalin utilising Salami Tactics and forcing communism on countries, which was to go against Truman having a 'get-tough' attitude with USSR. However, Stalin was already promised a sphere of influence during the Yalta Conference. Numerous factors could have its roots traced back to either country. Both countries were wary of each other and were only being defensive with the fear that the other might attack or make a move.

Minh Tuan said...

While both USSR and USA can be blamed for the cold war, the opposite could also be said. I think the real reason for the cold war is because of the clash between ideologies. Communist and Democracy have too much of a difference which mean they are very cautious of each other, like the tension between USSR and the Western powers after WW2. This cast a domino effect on both USSR and USA. If any of them makes any move, the others would follow. The competition would increase and eventually lead to the cold war.

Duy said...

I think that USA and USSR is to blame for the Cold War because they both tried to counter other policy, for example because of the fear of communism the USA set up Marshall aid but USSR introduced Comecon to stop the influence of Marshall aid getting bigger. But If not because of the salami tactics the USA wouldn't have to introduce the Marshall aid to held the western country back, however if not because of at the Potsdam conference the American has approved USSR sphere of influence the USSR cannot set up their salami tactic. Overall, this is like a dominoes effect when they set of many policies just because of the fear and the need to stop each other growing, so they are both to blame as they both force each others to feel unsafe and need to act in order to protect themselves.

Nguyen Duy Bach said...

Although both USSR and USA were at fault for the Cold War due to their clash of ideologies, the USA was more responsible for the Cold War. There are many different reasons to why USA was at fault. Firstly, at the Yalta Conference, the USA along with the West were the countries who gave the USSR the sphere of influence, allowing them to have confidence to execute the Salami Tactic in East Berlin. Furthermore, the Truman Doctrine being published was also a huge cause to the Cold War. It gave the offer to provide economical, political and military assistance to any democratic countries that needed help.

Sophie said...

Both sides were too blame for the Cold war. The USA and USSR were 'attacking' each other in a tit for tat way, that created the chain of events that caused the Cold war. A prime example is when the USSR significantly worsened the relations between the two nations by Blockading Berlin, letting thousands of West Berliners to starve, and live without bare necessities for 11 months consequentially. However, this move wasn't unprovoked as it was a response to USA's Bizonia and Deutschmark. The creation of West Germany was against the treaty they agreed in Yalta, that Germany would be divded into 4 zones temporarily, creating a West Germany meant that it wasn't. The Deutshmark undermined Russian economy significantly, as it rendered their currency invaluable when people started exchanging all their money to Deutschmarks. Before this occurence was a chain of events of USSR and USA going back and forth, and after this occurence was also a chain of events of them going back and forth. So, they were both to blame, as one thing wouldn't have happened without the other, the domino effect of these events caused the Cold war to happen.

hoanglinh said...

in my humbling opinion i would like to say that the ussr was more to blame because communism basically paranoid the us and set up every action. Every action from the powers were linked, they all have a reason which was based on the other’s action before. The huge clash in ideologies made war seemed inevitable, Stalin’s urge and desire to expand and create a sphere of influence created distrust. Stalin transformed the ussr into an extension of himself, forcing communism onto many countries in eastern europe, and with a staunchly anti communist leader of the usa this triggered them. Usa’s action of marshall plan, truman doctrine, atomic bomb was all in an attempt to contain communism and provide protection in case of an outspread. The marshall plan and truman doctrine was basically aimed to provide aid to stop communism.

Phat said...

It was hard to determined who was to blame for the Cold War because the events were interconnected which led to the faults of either of them. The USSR was to blame for the cold war because they had broken the promises made in the Yalta conference. Although the Soviets was given the sphere of influence in the East, but they also needed to give those countries the free and fair elections to decide who their government is, what future they wanted to head. However, Stalin cold-bloodedly and violently imposed his puppet governments and suppressed the uprisings. However, the USA did also have some responsibility for the cause of the Cold War. Their attitude towards the Soviets was always hostile, privately from the Kennon telegraph and publicly via the Truman Doctrine. Moreover, they created a United West Germany via Bizonia and the introduction of the Deutschmark. This led to a stronger Germany which were a huge threat to the Russians in the past, as in WW1 and WW2.

my anh said...

The clash of ideologies between 2 influential world powers. Both powers struggle to maintain their influence, even expand it, and prevent an active war at the same time. In doing so, actions that are claimed to be defensive by one would be called offensive by the other, and we cannot blame Truman or Stalin for not ending the cycle if it means they had to put their countries at risk. The history that they shared, either against each other or together, does not allow either of them to be altruistic.

Anonymous said...

I think both are blamed for the Cold War. It begins way before the Cold War, USA and USSR ideologies were always contradicting each other, hence leading to disputes and conflicts such as the Red Scare sowed the seeds for the Cold War. Both were major powers and so it is clear that they would be afraid if the other decide to do something that poses as small as an inconvenience, hence cause the other to go on the defensive to counter it, starting what is coined the domino effect.

quyen said...

I believe that both USA and USSR were to blame for the Cold War because all the events that lead to the Cold War between two countries were linked together. For instance, Berlin Blockade would not have happened if Biozone and the introduction of the new currency did not exist. Therefore, there is not any movement from any country that significantly caused the Cold War, it is just tension being build up over time along with these actions .

QK said...

I believed that the USSR is the most to blame for the cause of the cold war, they created tension when they decided to do the blocked Berlin.Also the USSR use the salami tactic on USA, after a while China become Communist the sa feel threatened, this goes against Usa idea to spreads Capitalism,Ussr started a small series of attacks together resulting in a a large scale attack.However the Usa is also to blame for the cause of cold war because USA decided to divide Germany into 4 at the Yalta conference, Usa also tested to drop an atomic bomb and they also informed Stalin about it, the USSR is scared so they started to developed their own atomic bomb later.

In conclusion,I believed that both Usa and the USSr is to blame for the cause of the cold war but the Ussr is more to blame.

bao anh said...

Although the question of "Who was to blame for the Cold War?" is still up to debate, it is generally believed that both countries contributed to the rise of Cold War. For instance, one of Stalin main goal was to expand his sphere of influence in the eastern part of Europe and thereby spread communism. However, the president of the USA at the time, Harry Truman was in huge favor of a policy called "Containment" and was determined to put a stop to the spread of communism. This clash of ideologies caused both countries to act in certain ways to protect themselves yet also led to a variety of conflicts. As a result of Truman setting up the Marshall Aid to prevent other nations from succumbing to communism, Stalin established the Comecon in return to stop eastern Europe countries from accepting the Marshall Aid. Additionally, with the Allies introducing the Deutschmark, Stalin felt like his economy was being undermined, not to mention the sky rocketed rate of inflation. Consequently, the USSR leader came up with several responses, one of which was the Berlin Blockade. Not only did this blockade increased tensions between these countries but also costed the Americans billions of dollars. Apparently, the USA and the USSR just couldn't seem to stop doing things that would provoke one another to response intensely

phan said...

Truman coming to power initiated the conflict between the two due to his hatred towards communism. The US' involvement in the Greek civil war and their solution known as the "Truman doctrine" caused further distrust between Stalin and Truman. They both had atomic bombs which posed as another threat towards the both of them; this led to a predicament where both got stuck and hesitant to attack the other due to their fear of retaliation. Nuclear bombs kept them hesitant and prevented them from initiating further conflicts

Unknown said...

Both sides were equally to blame for the Cold War. Firstly, it was USSR's fault. Stalin desired to dominate the world under Communism. His takeover of Eastern Europe was seen to be his first step toward this. By July 1945, Stalin controlled most of the Eastern countries, this made USA fear a Communist take-over. But USA was blame for this too as they allowed Stalin to had the sphere of influence. Secondly, in 1948, Stalin set up cominform to coordinate the work of the Communist Parties of eatern Europe and completely control other countries therefore Truman introduced Marshall Aid and this made Stalin afraid that other countries had to rely on USA which making Cold War more stressful. In July, 1945, the USA successfully tested an atomic bomb and Truman informed Stalin about this at the Potsdam Conference. This seemed to be Truman's provocation to Stalin and made the situation between the two countries become increasingly tense.

Anonymous said...

Although both USA and the USSR have contributed to the Cold War's increased tensions and the question of "who is more to blame?" is still a debatable topic, the USA is still the one to blame more since they started being suspicious, thus leading to a chain of reactions after.
On the one hand, the USA started it first with the new president Truman establishing the containment policy which limited Communism in the USA, and the Truman Doctrine sent money to countries in threat of Communist takeover in the form of Marshall aid. This serves as a blow to Stalin's face and made him more skeptical of their intentions since it actively go against his ideology. Moreover, the atomic bombings in Japan just further angered Stalin since the USA is flexing their military and nuclear power, thus actively encouraging Stalin to make a move on them. Lastly, the formation of NATO without Russia is a way of undermining the USSR; this is implicitly saying the Allied Powers and non-communist countries hate Communists and want to prohibit them in every way possible, which increased the already high tensions in Eastern Europe.
On the other hand, USSR was to blame mainly for their expansion of the Soviet sphere of influence first, which triggered Truman and enabled him to start the Containment policy since he was not as neutral as Roosevelt. Furthermore, the establishment of Comecon and Cominform to combat Marshall Aid is a direct way to retaliate against the USA as Communist countries are not allowed to accept money from the USA while Stalin tightened control in countries under the Communist sphere of influence. This further angered Truman, due to the already high tension, he would automatically assume it was for the worst.
In conclusion, both are blamed for the Cold war but the USA is the one who started it first then the USSR followed. Since the USA could not stop provoking the USSR, which resulted in a chain reaction between both countries' hatred for each other.

Duong said...

It is hard to conclude that who are really to blame for Cold War because of several reasons. USA was to blame in events such as the Marshall plan, Truman Doctrine, atomic bomb and the bizonia event with British, they created a new currency which effected to the USSR so USSR also started the Berlin Blockade, salamis tactics, Warsaw Pact and Comecon to against the Marshall plan. In history, everyone had their own opinion on who to blame compare to nowadays what people think of that. We can see that both of USSR and USA are just doing stuffs because they weren't feel safe with each others like snowball effect which made to problems grow bigger and bigger.

Unknown said...

Both sides were equally to blame for the Cold War. Firstly, it was USSR's fault. Stalin desired to dominate the world under Communism. His takeover of Eastern Europe was seen to be his first step toward this. By July 1945, Stalin controlled most of the Eastern countries, this made USA fear a Communist take-over. But USA was blame for this too as they allowed Stalin to had the sphere of influence. Secondly, in 1948, Stalin set up cominform to coordinate the work of the Communist Parties of eatern Europe and completely control other countries therefore Truman introduced Marshall Aid and this made Stalin afraid that other countries had to rely on USA which making Cold War more stressful. In July, 1945, the USA successfully tested an atomic bomb and Truman informed Stalin about this at the Potsdam Conference. This seemed to be Truman's provocation to Stalin and made the situation between the two countries become increasingly tense.
Huyen

Thanh Mai said...

ideological differences was and history were the causes of the cold War. On the one hand, the X article and long telegram influenced Truman into adapting the Truman doctrine which tell the USSR that the US is against them in their ideology and they will fight to prevent it from spreading. On the other, the spread of communism in eastern Europe was due to the fact that USSR had been repeatedly invaded through Eastern Europe. This spread of communism scared the USA since the US and Soviet have opposing ideology.

Hansu said...

The USSR should be blamed for the Cold War. Stalin wanted to conquer the world under communism, he made the world and the US fear communism. The Berlin Blockade occurred in the years immediately following World War II and played a important role in escalating tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, which ruined their relationship. In addition, they were also to blame for the expansion in the Soviet sphere of influence. Which allowed Truman to create the containment policy

Sang said...

In my opinion, the USA was to blame for the Cold War for numerous reasons. Firstly, USA was the first country to take antagonising actions and through dropping the A-bomb of Japan regardless of their aggrement in Yalta when USA agreed to wait for USSR to invade. This is clearly a show of force from the USA to establish that they were the most powerful force in the world. Secondly, USA also compromised Soviet's own economic situation after the world as they merge their Berlin zone with with Britain and France, and also created the Deustchmark to dominate Berlin's economy and undermine Russian currency. Thirldy, the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid also aim to segreate communist and prevent the spread of it to the world which is clearly and aggresive action. Overall, the USA was to blame for the Cold War because they were provoking and also delibearately weakining USSR, a country that have just suffered from WWII.

Monica said...

Although USA and USSR were both responsable for the cold war, USSR was the one that creates the Berlin blockade, also the sphere of influence was a very important point because Stalin was able to take control over other countries and therefore he also was able to spread communism around Europe.

Minjun said...

Cold war between US and USSR was triggered by numerous complex reasons and factors. However, I strongly believe that USSR should be blamed for the Cold war. Stalin, the leader of USSR, wanted to spread out communism to all over the world. In fact, eastern Europe was taken over by Stalin and the countries in the region became communist countries. Furthermore, USSR forced Germany and blocked Berlin to isolate Berlin from the external world. Otherwise, US supported countries in the western Europe financially, to prevent spread of communism.

Q Lam said...

It’s hard to completely blame a country for the Cold War, but I think USA was mostly to blame. USA was the first one to create tension as they drop the A-bomb on Japan. This creates hostility and thus started the war and might also be the cause for USSR to uses the ‘salami tactic’. Furthermore, USA also creates the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Aid, and the Deutschmark. This creates threats towards USSR and forces them to use counter active methods such as the Berlin Blockade and also Comecon and Comeform. This means that the entire time, USA is the one who’s being aggressive and USSR was just trying to defend.

tuan huy said...

In my opinion, USA the one to blame for the Cold War as they showed no empathy for USSR, and implemented aggressive foreign polices on them. Truman's beliefs and opinion on Communism caused failure in the Potsdam conference, which was a declaration for the deterioration of the relationship between the two. Furthermore, his policies like 'containment', Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid, and especially the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan led to further distrust and the creation of COMECON, COMINFORM and the Berlin blockade in return. Also, Stalin's actions were more justified compared to Truman's; during WW2, Russia suffered the most lost, and their policies only aimed to protect themselves.

Tuan Minh said...

The Truman Doctrine and containment, in my opinion, were to blame for the USA's involvement. To stop the spread of communism, the United States developed measures including the Truman Doctrine and the containment strategy. These actions brought about the creation of military alliances like NATO and interventions in wars like the Korean War. The USSR viewed these measures as hostile and menacing. Due of its financial weight, the Marshall Plan also holds the Truman Doctrine and containment responsible. Critics contend that the financial assistance offered through programs like the Marshall Plan had political objectives and led to economic reliance. Some claim that it gave the United States the ability to exert influence and control over other nations, potentially eroding their political independence.

Tuan said...

Based on history, The attitude towards communism is extremely opposed and even exceeds the limits of the US, perhaps causing disastrous consequences from the cold war. Second, the Truman doctrine requires the complete abolition of communist ideology, wishing to promote freedom like America. This makes the Soviet side even more worried due to interference in their ideology from the US side. making war more and more obvious between the two powers. Third, after the war, the Soviet Union was devastated economically and socially, safety was increasingly the Soviet Union's priority, especially when the US succeeded in testing and manufacturing atomic bombs at that time. Raising concerns with the Soviet Union due to disagreements between the two great powers over ideology. Partly it can be said that America caused the cold war