Cold War Era the End

¶ … Cold War Era

The End of the Cold War and the Development of Democracy in the Former Soviet Union

The idea behind the Cold War and whether it could have been avoided or whether it was something that was inevitable has been a bone of contention for both researchers and historians for years. The trend in thinking, however, is that the Cold War was indeed inevitable because of the build-up of problems that were seen before the war began in 1947. By that time, there was very little that anyone could have done to avoid the War (Gaddis, 1997). Originally, the breakdown in post-war relations that occurred after WWII is what led to the Cold War. During that era in history the United States and the Soviet Union struggled to make any kind of peace with one another. Although they said in 1945 that they were committed to unity and cooperation, their power and victories in WWII made it difficult for either one of them to give in on anything (Gaddis, 1997).

Not long after their tentative truce, blame was placed on the Allied Coalition that had been able to defeat Hitler. Each side - American and Soviet - started blaming the other side for the creation of military, ideological, and political rivalry (Roberts, 1999). The rivalries and related problems divided Europe into a number of competing blocs. In addition, a strong and very dangerous struggle for power formed between communism and a liberal form of democratic capitalism (Roberts, 1999). It was difficult to pinpoint the location of the power struggle, as it seemed to appear out of nowhere and reach out to encompass virtually everywhere. There was very little that could be done to stop it from occurring.

Once the Cold War started, there was speculation as to how and why it had begun. There were phases of debate, and different time periods in which those debates were seen. American foreign policy was one of the focal points of the debates, and that trend of thought continued through the 1970s (McCauley, 1990). Another area of focus was that the Cold War occurred because America tried to stop Soviet expansion (Roberts, 1999). Still another debate centered around the idea that the United States was aggressive and unreasonable after WWII, and that aggression provoke the Soviet Union into taking a stand against what it considered to be unfair treatment (Roberts, 1999).

By the end of the 1970s, the majority of the people who had been arguing were ready for compromise They were prepared to let go of their desire to place blame on others, and to move forward. Unfortunately, there were misunderstandings and unavoidable clashes that continued to take place (Roberts, 1999). These caused the attitudes that drove the Cold War, instead of allowing the discomfort between the two countries to fade away into the background. Even though both of the countries could see what was coming, there were still miscommunication issues and no one wanted to concede too much or give up too much ground. Finally, the two powers had basically reached a stalemate.

The 1980s and 1990s saw historians making other suggestions as to the cause of the Cold War (Painter, 1999). Small players like West Germany, France, and Britain were more closely scrutinized, and politicians such as Adenauer, Bidault, Bevin, and Churchill has a stronger influence on the foreign policy of the United States. Blame was shifted from one country to no countries to a group of countries. Soviet foreign policy also came into focus during the 1990s (Painter, 1999).

In 1982, the death of Leonid Brezhnev showcased the problems with Soviet leadership in a more obvious manner. The country's economics began to have trouble meeting society's demands, since the model for Soviet economics had essentially been the same since the 1930s. Outdated and shoddy products were produced and the quality that was needed for the country to be competitive in a newer and more high-tech world had not yet been developed. The military had resources because it took whatever the country had, but anyone else who needed something had to accept the leftovers. There was plenty of military might in the Soviet Union during that time, but the country was struggling to keep its people fed, clothed, and offered anything beyond military protection (Brzezinski, 1998).

It was during the middle of the 1980s that the Soviet Union first decided that a pattern of renewal was needed for the country. Of course, that was not something that could take place overnight. The country would have to weed out economic problems, along with issues like corruption and alcoholism that were further weakening the country and its economy. The position that the Soviet Union held from a global standpoint was worsening, and action had to be taken if the country was to pull itself back from the brink and find a way to survive and to grow once again. The Soviet Union was giving help to many third-world nations, but it wasn't getting anything in return. In addition, there was no friendship or alliance with the United States, and the Soviet Union decided to start correction some of the issues that was plaguing it in an effort to build the country up again (Brzezinski, 1998).

Then-President Gorbachev determined that a new policy was needed, where average people could speak out about problems that they were facing with life in a communist country. Soviet life was apparently very bad, because Gorbachev was unprepared for the level of anger and criticism he received. A large number of Soviet citizens expressed distaste and upset with industry, government, agriculture, and virtually everything that was related in some way to the way the Soviet Union was operating. Gorbachev had planned on a great renewal of Soviet life, but that plan failed and people ended up nearly starving. Inflation skyrocketed rapidly, and both industrial and agricultural production fell - spiraling nearly out of control so quickly that people did not know what to do. Because Gorbachev did not have much experience, he was at a loss as to how to fix the problems (Brzezinski, 1998).

It is certainly possible that the United States had some effect on the Russian economy's collapse, but the Soviet Union did a lot to harm itself during that time period, as well. Under Brezhnev, there had been too many problems and they had continued for too long. Gorbachev could not have saved the country before it collapsed, even if he had been experienced, because the Soviet Union was simply too far gone by that point (Brzezinski, 1998). Once the Cold War was over, Russian life improved - but this took a lot of time and effort on the part of the Soviet government and the Soviet people. Transitioning themselves into a more capitalist model was not easy, but in the long run it paid off from the standpoint of a strong country and healthy, happy citizens.