The outcome of World War II also indicated a change in the balance of forces in the world. The Soviet Union's political influence spread into Eastern Europe. The United States became the dominant world power, possessing enormous economic, air, sea, and nuclear power. In Western historiography the beginning cold war(states of confrontation, confrontation between the USSR and its allies, on the one hand, and Western states, on the other) are associated with post-war politics Soviet Union, which was aggressive in nature. In March 1946, speaking at the American College in Fulton, W. Churchill formulated the goal of the “English-speaking peoples” - to resist communist states. Churchill saw the main threat to the world community in the growing influence of communist parties in European countries.

An integral part American politics aimed at integration European countries to the world economic system, became developed in the summer of 1947. Marshall Plan, according to which allocated for 1949-1952. for the industrial reorganization of Europe, American credits, loans and subsidies amounted to more than 20 billion dollars. The goal of the plan is to make Western Europe completely dependent on America, undermining the influence of the USSR in Eastern Europe. This plan cemented the division of the world into two parts - East and West.

In 1949, Germany was dismembered, as well as the creation of the Atlantic Pact ( NATO) between the USA, Great Britain, France, Canada, Italy and a number of other European countries. In 1952, Turkey and Greece joined NATO. Thus, the compromise between the two political systems that emerged as a result of the war against fascism was completely destroyed. The culminating point of the confrontation between the two powers - the USSR and the USA - was the participation of both in Korean War (1950-1953), which showed the irreconcilability of the two opposing systems.

One of the leading directions of USSR foreign policy in post-war years was the establishment of friendly relations with the states of Eastern Europe. In 1949, the Intergovernmental economic organization – Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA).

Became a development model for these countries Soviet Union. In April 1945, treaties of friendship, mutual assistance and post-war cooperation USSR with Yugoslavia, Poland and other people's democracies. Becoming new political regime happened during full control Moscow. There were Soviet troops on the territory of many countries, which stimulated the rise of socialist governments to power in them.

The emerging crisis in Moscow’s relations with the countries of Eastern Europe was the Soviet-Yugoslav conflict that broke out in 1948. According to most historians, one of the reasons was Stalin’s negative attitude towards the desire of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia to become the “leading” party in the Balkans. As a result, normal diplomatic relations between Yugoslavia and the countries of Eastern Europe were interrupted, and from 1950, economic ties between the USSR and the People's Democracies with Yugoslavia completely ceased.

Thus, the results of the foreign policy activities of the USSR in the second half of the 40s and early 50s were contradictory. Its position in the international arena has strengthened, while at the same time the policy of confrontation between East and West has significantly contributed to the growth of tension in the world.

After Stalin's death, a short period of “thaw” began in international relations. In 1955, a military-political union was created socialist countries Europe (except Yugoslavia), which was called Warsaw Pact Organization(OVD). In 1959, N.S. Khrushchev visited the USA. In 1963, an agreement was signed major powers about prohibition nuclear tests in three spheres: in the atmosphere, in space, under water.

In the second half of the 50s, relations with socialist states, to which Cuba joined, became stable. The Soviet Union's assistance in the construction of industrial and other facilities on the territory of socialist countries has increased. At the same time, conflict situations increasingly appeared in the relations between states. In 1956, the joint armed forces of the member states of the Warsaw Pact Organization suppressed the anti-socialist uprising in Hungary. At the end of the 50s, relations with the People's Republic of China became complicated.

In 1962, the Soviet leadership decided to create a nuclear missile base on the American continent, in Cuba (the United States created a missile base near the borders of the USSR in Turkey). Soviet plans caused a storm of indignation among the American military-political leadership. The armed forces of the warring parties were put on full combat readiness. Has begun "Caribbean crisis, which brought the world to the brink of a third world war. During the negotiations, the USSR leadership abandoned its plan, the US leadership agreed to remove its missiles from Turkey and leave Cuba alone.

The Brezhnev leadership set three priority tasks in the field of foreign policy:

To unite the socialist camp even more closely in the political, military and economic relations;

Normalize relations between East and West;

Continue the policy of consistent support for pro-communist movements and regimes around the world.

Policy regarding the socialist countries of Eastern Europe Soviet leadership focused on providing them with somewhat greater economic and political freedom than before. In 1971, the CMEA adopted a comprehensive program for deepening cooperation, designed for 15–20 years. One of its main directions was to provide Eastern European countries with cheap energy resources and raw materials. Major joint economic projects were the construction of the Druzhba oil pipeline and the Soyuz gas pipeline, and the construction of industrial enterprises in different countries.

Relations with the industrialized countries of the West were generally constructive. Since the second half of the 60s, it began to be implemented policy of "détente". Relations between France and Federal Republic Germany. Throughout the entire period, they were most tense with Great Britain. Only after the Labor victory in England in 1974 did the process of improving Anglo-Soviet political and economic relations begin.

Economic relations between the USSR and Japan were quite successful. At the same time, the USSR never concluded a peace treaty with Japan. The main reason was that Japan demanded the return of the four islands of the South Kuril chain, which the USSR received after World War II. The Soviet Union, in turn, refused to negotiate on this issue.

The Moscow-Washington relationship was also in the general direction of the development of relations between the leading powers of the West and the USSR. In 1972, US President Richard Nixon visited Moscow. As a result of this visit, agreements were signed to limit strategic weapons(OSV-1), quantitative restrictions were established on construction missile defense, intercontinental missiles land-based and on submarines. For 1973–1976 The USSR and the USA exchanged visits by heads of state. During this period, the total volume of Soviet-American trade increased 8 times.

The peak of “detente” was Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). In 1975, the Final Act of the Conference was signed, in which the heads of 33 European states, as well as the USA and Canada took part. This act recorded and legitimized the political-military and socio-economic situation that developed in post-war Europe and in the world.

The end of “détente” was brought about by the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in 1979. The intervention of the Soviet Union was perceived by the United States as an aggression indirectly directed against them. The Afghan action marked the beginning of a new period of the Cold War. As a result, by the beginning of the 80s, constructive contacts with Western countries practically ceased.

Questions for self-control

1. What internal political problems did the USSR solve in the post-war years (1945-1953)?

2. What were the characteristics of de-Stalinization and the “thaw” in different areas public life?

3. Reveal the inconsistency of social development in the “era of Khrushchev.”

4. Prove that in mid. 60's - 80's there was a process of increasing crisis phenomena in various fields public life.

5. Describe the main directions and events of the foreign policy of the USSR in the post-war years (until the mid-80s)

Cold War (briefly)

Causes of the Cold War

After the most bloody war in the history of mankind - the Second World War, where the USSR became the winner, the preconditions were created for the emergence of a new confrontation between the West and the East, between the USSR and the USA. The main reasons for the emergence of this confrontation, known as the “Cold War,” were the ideological contradictions between the capitalist model of society characteristic of the United States and the socialist one that existed in the USSR. Each of the two superpowers wanted to see itself at the head of the entire world community and organize life according to its ideological principles. In addition, after the Second World War, the Soviet Union established its dominance in the countries of Eastern Europe, where communist ideology reigned. As a result, the United States, along with Great Britain, was frightened by the possibility that the USSR could become a world leader and establish its dominance, both politically and economic sphere life. At the same time, for the United States of America, one of the main tasks becomes clear attention to the policy of the USSR in the countries Western Europe in order to prevent socialist revolutions in this territory. America did not like communist ideology at all, and it was the Soviet Union that stood in its way to world domination. After all, America became rich during the Second World War, it needed somewhere to sell its manufactured products, so the countries of Western Europe, destroyed during hostilities, needed to be restored, which was what was offered to them by the US government. But on condition that the communist rulers in these countries will be removed from power. In short, the Cold War was a new kind of competition for world domination.

Beginning of the Cold War

The beginning of the Cold War was marked by a speech by the English ruler Churchill, delivered in Fulton in March 1946. The US government's primary goal was to achieve complete military superiority of the Americans over the Russians. The United States began to implement its policy already in 1947 by introducing a whole system of restrictive and prohibitive measures for the USSR in the financial and trade spheres. In short, America wanted to defeat the Soviet Union economically.

Progress of the Cold War

The most culminating moments of the confrontation were 1949-50, when the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, the war with Korea occurred, and at the same time the first atomic bomb of Soviet origin was tested. And with the victory of Mao Zedong, fairly strong diplomatic relations between the USSR and China were established; they were united by a common hostile attitude towards America and its policies.
proved that the military power of the two world superpowers, the USSR and the USA, is so great that when threatened new war there will be no losing side, and it’s worth wondering what will happen to ordinary people and the planet as a whole. As a result, from the beginning of the 1970s, the Cold War entered the stage of settling relations. A crisis broke out in the USA due to high material costs, but the USSR did not tempt fate, but made concessions. An agreement was concluded to reduce nuclear weapons called START-2.
The year 1979 once again proved that the Cold War was not over yet: the Soviet government sent troops into Afghanistan, whose inhabitants offered fierce resistance to the Russian army. And only in April 1989 the last Russian soldier left this unconquered country.

End and results of the Cold War

In 1988-89, the process of “perestroika” began in the USSR, the Berlin Wall, the socialist camp soon collapsed. And the USSR did not even lay claim to any influence in third world countries.
By 1990, the Cold War was over. It was she who contributed to the strengthening totalitarian regime in USSR. The arms race also led to scientific discoveries: nuclear physics began to develop more intensively, and space research acquired a wider scope.

Consequences of the Cold War

The 20th century has ended, more than ten years have passed in the new millennium. The Soviet Union no longer exists, and the Western countries have also changed... But there was only time weak Russia rise from their knees, gain strength and confidence on the world stage, as the “ghost of communism” again appears to the United States and its allies. And we can only hope that politicians in leading countries will not return to the Cold War policy, since everyone will ultimately suffer from it...

After the end of the Second World War, which became the largest and most brutal conflict in the history of mankind, a confrontation arose between the countries of the communist camp on the one hand and the Western capitalist countries on the other, between the two superpowers of that time, the USSR and the USA. The Cold War can be briefly described as a competition for dominance in a new post-war world.

The main reason for the Cold War was the insoluble ideological contradictions between the two models of society, socialist and capitalist. The West feared the strengthening of the USSR. The lack of winning countries also played a role common enemy, as well as the ambitions of political leaders.

Historians identify the following stages of the Cold War:

· March 5, 1946 – 1953 The Cold War began with Churchill's speech in Fulton in the spring of 1946, which proposed the idea of ​​creating an alliance of Anglo-Saxon countries to fight communism. The goal of the United States was an economic victory over the USSR, as well as achieving military superiority. In fact, the Cold War began earlier, but it was by the spring of 1946, due to the USSR’s refusal to withdraw troops from Iran, that the situation seriously worsened.

· 1953 – 1962 During this period of the Cold War, the world was on the brink nuclear conflict. Despite some improvement in relations between the Soviet Union and the United States during Khrushchev's "thaw", it was at this stage that the anti-communist uprising in Hungary, events in the GDR and, earlier, in Poland, as well as the Suez crisis took place. International tension increased after the USSR developed and successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in 1957. But, the threat of nuclear war receded, since the Soviet Union was now able to retaliate against US cities. This period of relations between the superpowers ended with the Berlin and Caribbean crises of 1961 and 1962, respectively. Allow Caribbean crisis succeeded only during personal negotiations between the heads of state Khrushchev and Kennedy. Also, as a result of negotiations, it was signed whole line non-proliferation agreements nuclear weapons.

· 1962 – 1979 The period was marked by an arms race that undermined the economies of rival countries. The development and production of new types of weapons required incredible resources. Despite the presence of tension in relations between the USSR and the USA, agreements on the limitation of strategic arms are signed. A joint space program"Soyuz-Apollo". However, by the beginning of the 80s, the USSR began to lose in the arms race.

· 1979 – 1987 Relations between the USSR and the USA are deteriorating again after the introduction of Soviet troops to Afghanistan. US deploys in 1983 ballistic missiles at bases in Italy, Denmark, England, Germany, Belgium. An anti-space defense system is being developed. The USSR reacts to the actions of the West by withdrawing from the Geneva negotiations. During this period, the missile attack warning system is in constant combat readiness.

· 1987 – 1991 M. Gorbachev’s coming to power in the USSR in 1985 entailed not only global changes within the country, but also radical changes in foreign policy, called “new political thinking.” Ill-conceived reforms completely undermined the economy of the Soviet Union, which led to the country's virtual defeat in the Cold War.

The end of the Cold War was caused by the weakness of the Soviet economy, its inability to no longer support the arms race, as well as pro-Soviet communist regimes. Anti-war protests also played a certain role in the most different corners peace. The results of the Cold War were dismal for the USSR. The symbol of the victory of the West was the reunification of Germany in 1990.

As a result, after the USSR was defeated in the Cold War, a unipolar world model emerged with the dominant superpower of the United States. However, there are other consequences of the Cold War. This is the rapid development of science and technology, primarily military. Thus, the Internet was originally created as a communication system for the American army.

Today, many documentaries and feature films have been made about the Cold War period. One of them, telling in detail about the events of those years, is “Heroes and Victims of the Cold War.”

Subject: Foreign policy USSR after the war and the beginning of the Cold War

• Lesson objectives:
• Expand the content of the concept of “Cold War”, “Iron Curtain”
• Explain the reasons for the aggravation of contradictions between the USSR and Western countries in the post-war years.
• Characterize the policy of the USSR towards the countries of Central Europe.
  Lesson type: Learning new material

Lesson equipment:

1. Textbook, A.A. Levandovsky, Yu.A. Shchetinov, L.V. Zhukova Lesson developments for the textbook “History of Russia in the twentieth century” for grade 11.

2. Multimedia projector, interactive board, Handout for students

Lesson plan:
1. Post-war world.
2. USSR and the Marshall Plan.
3. Military confrontation.
4. Conflict with Yugoslavia and strengthening Soviet influence in Eastern European countries.

During the classes:

IOrganizing time
IILearning new material
1. Post-war world.
Teacher: Today we will get acquainted with foreign policy events in post-war period, we will highlight the main causes and signs of the Cold War, as well as its consequences for further international relations.

The main lesson that humanity has learned - to preserve peace - is reflected in the creation of the UN, international organization to maintain peace and security on the planet. Its founding conference took place in San Francisco from April 25 to June 6, 1945. The UN Charter came into force on October 24, 1945. This date is celebrated as UN Day.

But the objective development of the situation led to an aggravation of contradictions between members of the anti-Hitler coalition due to the desire to strengthen their position on the world stage. After the end of the war, the Allied camp split into two parts: the USA, Great Britain, France - on the one hand, and the USSR, on the other. The leaders of these countries understood that after the defeat of Germany, a struggle for world domination was inevitable. The USA and the USSR laid claim to political hegemony. (Slide 2)

1. Let's trace the territorial changes after the Second World War on the map (interactive map) (Appendix 3)

Why exactly did the USSR AND the USA claim the role of “superpowers”?

Student answers:

US territory was not affected by military action

The economy was doing great. The USA produced up to 35% of world production

Invention of nuclear weapons.

During the war years, the USSR also strengthened its international authority. Was able to create a huge combat-ready army.

The enterprises produced the required amount of military equipment.

Expanding boundaries.

Thus, two “superpowers” ​​appeared on the world stage, which were ready to defend their interests. The invention of nuclear weapons made direct military conflict between the USSR, the USA and their allies impossible and radically changed world politics. Since victory in nuclear war impossible, because even the winner will pay for victory with the lives of his fellow citizens, a struggle has begun in all directions - in ideology, in the desire to get ahead in the arms race, in economic indicators, even in sports. As John F. Kennedy said, “A country's international prestige is measured by two things: nuclear missiles and Olympic gold medals.”

Confrontation former allies began to increase by the end of 1945. A term appeared to denote this confrontation - the “cold war.”

It was first used in the fall of 1945 by the English science fiction writer George Orwell, who commented on international events in the British Tribune magazine.

Who was to blame for starting the Cold War?

Some historians attribute the blame for the outbreak of the Cold War to the West, others to the USSR, and still others to both sides.

Let's get acquainted with different points of view and answer the question. (Slide 3 Slide 4 (entry in the notebook of the term)

Work with documents

Who is to blame for starting the Cold War?

Conclusion: Both sides are to blame for the outbreak of the Cold War policy. (Slides 5-11)

What event is considered the starting point of the Cold War?

So, Winston Churchill gave a speech on March 5, 1946 in Fulton in the presence of American President Henry Truman, which marked the beginning of the Cold War. (slide 12)

How did W. Churchill explain the reasons for the start of the Cold War?

Fearing communist expansion, the United States is changing the direction of its foreign policy. Doctrines of “containment” of communism emerge.

A striking example of this policy is the Truman Doctrine.

The appointment of George Marshall as Secretary of State meant a transition from a “soft course” to a decisive fight against communism.

The USSR also launched a propaganda campaign against the “Anglo-American warmongers” (slide 15). Both in the USA and in the USSR at this time events were being carried out that intensified the Cold War:

• “saving” Europe from Soviet expansion: economic assistance to Europe; providing Greece and Turkey with military and economic assistance. (Congress allocated $400 million for military and economic assistance to Greece and Turkey).
• Marshall Plan (June 5, 1947):

Strengthening European democracies by providing urgent financial and economic assistance (providing $17 billion over 4 years, subject to the removal of communists from government)

April 1948 - 16 Western countries signed the Marshall Plan.

3. Nuclear blackmail USSR: 196 bombs to destroy 20 Soviet cities.

THE USSR:

• 1945-1949 - establishment of communist regimes in the countries of Eastern Europe and Asia.
• Providing economic assistance and

provision of preferential loans

countries of Eastern Europe,

"who have taken the path of socialism

development" (in 1945-1952, 3 billion dollars were provided).

• The spread of USSR influence to new regions of the world; resuscitation of the idea of ​​world revolution (at a secret meeting in the Kremlin in January 1951, J.V. Stalin stated that it was possible to “establish socialism throughout Europe” within the “next four years”).
• 3. Military confrontation

This irreconcilable position of the leading powers led to an intensification of the arms race.

The arms race that began, on the one hand, made it possible to maintain balance in the world, on the other hand, made it possible for the USA and the USSR to participate in local conflicts, influence the policies of other countries. (Slide 16, 17)

After the end of the war, the German question became a stumbling block. (Interactive map)(Appendix 3)

Each power created its own political system in the occupation zone, which ultimately led to the split of Germany and the emergence of two states hostile to each other in Europe. (Slide 18)

With the division of the world into two systems, the formation of military-political blocs also occurs.

Bring specific examples influence of the USA and the USSR on the policies of others

• 4. Conflict with Yugoslavia

To provide military and material assistance to socialist countries, CMEA was created in 1949.

Already in the mid-50s, the USSR created a powerful bloc of socialist countries, where no amateur activity was allowed. JV Stalin demanded political and socio-economic transformations in these countries according to the Soviet model. Any deviation from it was perceived with extreme hostility. This was precisely the basis for the severance of relations with Yugoslavia. In 1948. Broz Tito proposed the idea of ​​​​creating a Balkan federation and its own path to socialism.

• In October 1949 Stalin broke off diplomatic relations with Yugoslavia and contributed to its isolation among the socialist countries. (Slide 19)
• 5. Homework
  Paragraph 28

The term “Cold War” itself was coined by US Secretary of State D.F. Dulles. Its essence is political, economic, ideological confrontation between two systems, brinkmanship .

There is no point in arguing about who started the Cold War - convincing arguments are presented by both sides. In Western historiography, the Cold War is the response of Western democracies to the Soviet Union's attempt to export socialist revolution. In Soviet historiography, the reasons for the Cold War were the attempts of American imperialism to establish US world domination and eliminate socialist system, restore the capitalist system in people's democracies, suppress national liberation movements.

It is illogical and unwise to completely whitewash one side and place all the blame on the other. Today the Cold War can be seen as the inevitable cost of creating bipolar structure the post-war world, in which each of the poles (USSR and USA) sought to strengthen its influence in the world based on its geopolitical and ideological interests, while being aware of the limits of possible expansion. Already during the war with Germany, plans to start a war with Russia were seriously considered in some circles in the United States and England. The fact of negotiations that Germany conducted at the end of the war with the Western powers on a separate peace (Wolf mission) is widely known. The upcoming entry of Russia into the war with Japan, which would save the lives of millions of American boys, tipped the scales and prevented these plans from being realized.

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not so much a military operation as a political act aimed at putting pressure on the USSR.

The main axis of confrontation was the relationship between the two superpowers - USSR and USA. The turn from cooperation with the Soviet Union to confrontation with it began after the death of President F. Roosevelt. The beginning of the Cold War is usually dated to the speech of W. Churchill in American city Fulton V March1946 g., 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 Truman Doctrine , nominated by the US President in 1947. According to this doctrine, the conflict between Western democracy and communism is irreconcilable. 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 for the events taking place throughout the world was proclaimed; all these events were viewed through the prism of the confrontation between communism and Western democracy, the USSR and the USA.

Monopoly ownership atomic bomb allowed the United States, as they believed, to dictate its will to the world. In 1945 The development of plans for an atomic strike on the USSR began. The plans “Pincher” (1946), “Dropshot” (1949), “Broiler” (1950) and others were consistently developed. American historians, without denying the existence of such plans, say that they were only talking about operational military plans, which drawn up in any country in case of war. But

After the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the presence of such plans could not but cause sharp concern to the Soviet Union.

In 1946 A strategic military command was created in the United States,

carried by aircraft carrying atomic weapons. In 1948 bombers with atomic weapons were stationed in Great Britain and West Germany. The Soviet Union was surrounded by a network of American military bases. In 1949 there were more than 300 of them.

The US pursued a policy of creating military -political blocs against the USSR. IN 1949 was created North Atlantic block (NATO ). It included: USA, England, France, Italy, Canada, Belgium, Holland, Norway, Greece and Turkey. Were created: in 1954 g. - military organization Yugo -East Asia (SEATO ), V 1955 G. - Baghdad Pact . A course was set to restore Germany's military potential. IN 1949 g., in violation of the Yalta and Potsdam agreements, from three zones of occupation - British, American and French - was created Federal Republic of Germany , which joined NATO that same year.

The Soviet Union did not develop plans for aggression against other countries, in particular the United States. He did not have the necessary fleet for this (aircraft carriers of all classes, landing craft); until 1948 it had practically no strategic aviation until August 1949. atomic weapons. Developed at the end of 1946 - beginning of 1947. The “Plan for the Active Defense of the Territory of the Soviet Union” had exclusively defensive tasks. Since July 1945 to 1948 the size of the Soviet army decreased from 11.4 to 2.9 million people. But, despite the inequality of forces, the Soviet Union sought to pursue a tough foreign policy line, which led to strengthening confrontation . For some time, Stalin hoped for cooperation with the Americans in technical and economic field. However, after the death of Roosevelt, it became clear that such assistance was not part of the plans of US politicians. Back 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 guardianship by the allies of Italy's colonial possessions in Africa (at the same time, the USSR planned to provide a naval base in Libya).

In 1946 a conflict situation arose around Iran. In 1941 Soviet and British troops were brought there. After the war, British troops were withdrawn, but Soviet troops continued to remain. On the territory they occupied in Iranian Azerbaijan, a government was formed that proclaimed autonomy and began transferring part of the landowners' and state lands to the peasants. At the same time, Iranian Kurdistan proclaimed national autonomy. Western countries regarded the position of the Soviet Union as preparation for the dismemberment of Iran. The Iranian crisis provided the occasion for Churchill's Fulton speech. The USSR was forced to withdraw its troops.

Confrontation has also emerged in Asia. Since 1946 started Civil War in China. Troops of Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang government attempted to occupy communist-controlled territories. Western countries supported Chiang Kai-shek, and the Soviet Union supported the communists, giving them significant amount trophy- Mao Zedong nogo Japanese weapons. In 1948 The People's Liberation Army of China (PLA), as the CPC army became known, went on the offensive and defeated the last large formations of the Kuomintang army in the north of the country. The capital peacefully capitulated on October 1, 1949. The People's Republic of China was proclaimed. Communist leader Mao Zedong headed the government. The formation of the PRC dramatically changed the balance of power in the world. Previously, the United States, having a monopoly on the atomic bomb, could dictate its will to the world. Now the communists were in power in two largest countries world, in which more than a third of the world's population lived.

The Soviet Union agreed to the creation of a coalition government in Poland, which included representatives of the London emigration, but did not agree to hold general elections in Poland, which led to conflict situation in the country.

The final collapse of the world is associated with the advancement of the United States " Marshall plan » ( Secretary of State USA) and the sharply negative attitude of the USSR towards him.

The United States became immeasurably rich during the war. With the end of the war they were threatened with a crisis of overproduction. At the same time, the economies of European countries were destroyed, their markets were open to American goods, but there was nothing to pay for these goods. The United States was afraid to invest capital in the economies of these countries, since there was a strong influence of leftist forces there and the situation for investment was unstable: nationalization could follow at any moment.

The Marshall Plan offered help to European countries to rebuild their devastated economies. Loans were provided for the purchase of American goods. The proceeds were not exported, but were invested in the construction of enterprises in these countries. The Marshall Plan was adopted by 16 Western European countries. Political conditions assistance was the removal of communists from governments. In 1947 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 pressure from the USSR they refused assistance. At the same time, the United States broke the Soviet-American loan agreement and adopted a law banning exports to the USSR. Thus, European countries were divided into two groups with different economic systems.

In 1949 was tested in the USSR atomic bomb , and in 1953 a thermonuclear bomb was created (earlier than in the USA). The creation of atomic weapons in the USSR marked the beginning arms race between the USSR and the USA.

In contrast to the bloc of Western states, a economic And military -political union of socialist countries . IN 1949 was created Council for Mutual Economic Assistance - organ economic cooperation states of Eastern Europe. The conditions for joining it were the rejection of the Marshall Plan. In May 1955 g. is created Warsawmilitary -political union . The world split into two opposing camps.

This affected economic relations . After the adoption of the Marshall Plan and the formation of CMEA, two parallel world markets actually emerged, with few related friend with a friend. USSR and Eastern Europe found themselves isolated from developed countries, which had a detrimental effect on their economy.

Inside himself socialist camp Stalin pursued a tough policy and consistently implemented the principle “Whoever is not with us is against us.” He wrote: “Two camps - two positions; the position of unconditional defense of the USSR and the position of struggle against the USSR. Here you have to choose, because there is not and cannot be a third position. Neutrality in this matter, hesitation, reservations, and the search for a third position are an attempt to evade responsibility... What does it mean to evade responsibility? This means slipping unnoticed into the camp of opponents of the USSR.” Reprisals against dissidents were carried out within socialist countries. If the leadership of a country took a special position, then that country was excommunicated socialist camp, broke off all relations with her, as happened in 1948. With Yugoslavia , whose leadership tried to pursue an independent policy.

With the death of Stalin, the first stage of the Cold War ended. During this phase, the Cold War was perceived by both sides as a temporary, intermediate phase between two world wars. Both sides feverishly made military preparations, expanded their alliance systems, and fought wars with each other along their periphery. The most acute moments of this period were: Berlin crisis (summer1948 G.) and war V Korea (1950 - 1953).

The reason for Berlin crisis became currency reform V western zones ah occupation, when the entire mass of old-style money was not withdrawn from circulation and poured into eastern zone. In response, the Soviet administration introduced a blockade of West Berlin, which served as the reason for the unification of the western zones of occupation and the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany

War V Korea (1950 - 1953 ) - conflict between the Korean People - Democratic Republic (North Korea), supported by China and the USSR, and the Republic of Korea ( South Korea), supported by the USA. These states were formed from the Soviet and American occupation zones. Each of them sought to reunite the country under their own rule. The war began with the invasion of North Korean troops. The United States took advantage of the fact that the USSR withdrew from participation in the work of the UN Security Council in protest against the refusal to admit the People's Republic of China to the UN, and achieved a decision to send UN troops to Korea, and in fact troops of the Western bloc, who fought there with the troops of China and THE USSR. Military operations proceeded with varying degrees of success. Apply atomic weapons The US did not dare. The war ended on the same lines where it began.

Cardinal changes in the geopolitical situation in the post-war world, different balances of power in the international arena, fundamental differences in the socio-political system, value system, ideology of the USSR and the West, and primarily the USA, became powerful factors that led to the split of the alliance of the former victorious powers, determined the formation of a bipolar picture of the world. In the post-war period, the Cold War was inevitable; it was a kind of payment for the creation of a bipolar structure of the post-war world, in which each of the poles (USSR and the USA) sought to strengthen its influence based on its geopolitical and ideological interests, while realizing the limits of what was possible. expansion.

3. Political system THE USSR.

In the USSR, after the war, a restructuring of the country's governance began. Was dissolved State Committee Defense is an emergency body created during the war. However, there was no return to even those limited forms of democracy that existed before the war. The Supreme Council met once a year to approve the budget. Party congresses had not been convened for 13 years, and the plenum of the Central Committee was held only once during this time.

At the same time in political system After the war, certain changes took place. Firstly, the internationalist component of “Marxism-Leninism” was replaced as the main political line by state patriotism, designed to unite all forces within the country in the context of the unfolding confrontation with the West. Secondly, the center of political power shifted after the war from the party elite to executive power - to the government. For 1947 - 1952 Protocol meetings of the Politburo took place only twice (decisions were made by oral questioning), the Secretariat of the Central Committee became in fact a personnel department. All practical work management of the country was concentrated in the USSR Council of Ministers. Eight bureaus were created in it, between which most ministries and departments were distributed. Their chairmen are G.M. Malenkov, N.A. Voznesensky, M.Z. Saburov, L.P. Beria, A.I. Mikoyan, L.M. Kaganovich, A.N. Kosygin, K.E. Voroshilov were members of Bureau of the Council of Ministers , which was headed by I.V. Stalin. All government issues were decided in a narrow circle " comrades-in-arms of Stalin ", which included V.M. Molotov, L.P. Beria, G.M. Malenkov, L.M. Kaganovich, N.S. Khrushchev, K.E. Voroshilov, N.A. Voznesensky, A.A. Zhdanov, A. Andreev. The regime of personal power of I.V. Stalin, established since the late 1930s, has reached its highest development .

The period after the end of the Great Patriotic War and right up to the death of Stalin it is generally accepted apogee of totalitarianism in the USSR, its highest point. In the literature, various approaches have been outlined in assessing the effect of the repressive component of the Stalinist post-war regime. There is a certain general idea that repression was the most important tool for achieving stabilization of the situation in the country, mobilizing the forces of nations to solve economic problems, uniting society in the context of the outbreak of the Cold War, and solving situational problems in the struggle for power within the ruling elites.

Summer 1946G. ideological campaigns began, which went down in history under the name “ Zhdanovshchina ", named after A.A. Zhdanov, who led them. A number of resolutions of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks were issued on issues of literature, music, and cinematography, to which many Soviet poets, writers, film directors, and composers were sharply and biasedly criticized for “lack of ideas” and preaching “ideologies alien to the spirit of the party.” The resolutions emphasized that literature and art should be placed at the service of the communist education of the masses.

Already the following summer, this ideological campaign spread to the sphere social sciences. A.A Zhdanov held a meeting of philosophers, at which he condemned Soviet philosophy for “excessive tolerance” towards idealistic bourgeois philosophy and proposed to consistently proceed from the principle “ partisanship ”, and not from “bourgeois objectivism”. Ideological control was extended to all spheres of spiritual life. The party acted as a legislator in linguistics, biology, and mathematics. Wave mechanics, cybernetics, and genetics were condemned as “bourgeois pseudosciences.”

WITH late 1948 G. ideological campaigns took on a new direction. Their basis was " fight by sycophancy "before the West. This aspect of the ideological offensive was particularly brutal. It was based on the desire to isolate ourselves from Western states, from “bourgeois influence” “ iron curtain». Western culture was almost entirely declared bourgeois and hostile. The idea was raised about the priority of Russian scientists in various fields of knowledge, about the superiority of Russia over the West. Any invention from a bicycle to an airplane was declared the brainchild of Russian talent.

was needed image of the enemy , and this enemy became a cosmopolitan - “a man without family or tribe,” who worships the West and hates his homeland. Criticism cosmopolitanism became more and more anti-Semitic in nature, persecution of Jews began: Jewish cultural organizations were closed, a number of representatives of the Jewish intelligentsia were arrested. The culmination of the campaign against “cosmopolitanism” was “ business doctors » (January 1953.), when a group of doctors of the Kremlin hospital, Jews by nationality, were accused of killing, through improper treatment, the secretaries of the Central Committee A.A. Zhdanov and A.S. Shcherbakov and preparing the murder of Stalin.

In the second half of the 40s, mass repression . Prisoners of war liberated from fascist concentration camps by Allied troops were arrested. And although the repressions did not reach the scale of the 30s, there were no loud show trials, there was a tendency for the repressive wave to somewhat attenuate, but they were still quite wide. In 1946 123,294 people were convicted on political charges in 1947. - 78810, in 1952 - 28800. Total in 1946 - 1952. 490,714 people were convicted on political charges, of which 7,697 (1.5%) received death sentences, 461,017 people. sent to prison, the rest - into exile. In general, by January 1953 in the Gulag there were 2,468,542 prisoners, of which over half a million were convicted on political charges, while the share of political prisoners at that time amounted to 0.3% of the population of the USSR. It should be borne in mind that the article “counter-revolutionary crimes” applied to everyone who collaborated with the Germans during the war.

The tightening of the political climate was primarily a consequence of the Cold War. The situation was similar in the countries of the Western bloc. A campaign of anti-Sovietism unfolded there, taking place under the banner of the fight against the “Soviet military threat”, with the USSR’s desire to “export communism” to other countries. Under the pretext of fighting “subversive communist activities,” a campaign was launched against communist parties, which were portrayed as “agents of Moscow.” In 1947 communists were removed from the governments of France, Italy, etc. In England and the USA, a ban was introduced on communists holding positions in the army and state apparatus. In Germany the Communist Party was banned.

The “witch hunt” took on a special scale in the United States in the early 1950s, during the period of “McCarthyism” (named after Senator D. McCarthy, its inspirer). Congress created commissions to investigate “un-American activities,” to which any citizen could be summoned. On their recommendation, anyone could be fired from their job. In 1954 The law “On control over

communists." Communists were required to register as agents of a foreign power. If they refused, they faced a fine of 10 thousand dollars or imprisonment up to five years.

In a situation of absence democratic mechanisms repressions were also a manifestation of the struggle for power in Stalin’s circle. Since the late 1940s. Stalin actually stepped down from power due to a serious illness. The personal rivalry that developed between the two blocs of forces surrounded by I.V. Stalin - A.A. Zhdanov and A.A. Kuznetsov, on the one hand, and G.M. Malenkov and L.P. Beria, on the other - determined the main conflict line in relations between representatives of the power elite. In this confrontation, a temporary advantage was first on the side of the Leningraders (A.A. Zhdanov and A.A. Kuznetsov). A.A. Kuznetsov was a member of the secretariat of the Central Committee and oversaw the Ministry of State Security. In April 1946 were arrested former minister aviation industry A. Shakhurin, Air Force commander A. Novikov, which gave grounds to remove G.M. Malenkov, who oversaw the aviation industry during the war and previously headed the personnel department, from the secretariat of the Central Committee. A. Zhdanov, at the same time a member of the three highest government bodies (Politburo, Organizing Bureau and the Secretariat of the Central Committee), occupied a strong position in the leadership. He dealt primarily with issues of propaganda and ideology. Summer 1948 The influence of A.A. Zhdanov sharply weakened, which ultimately ended in the defeat of the Leningrad group and the strengthening of the positions of G.M. Malenkov and L.P. Beria, who retained their leading role until Stalin’s death. The consequence of this rivalry was " Leningrad case » (1948 G.), when such prominent figures as the Chairman of the State Planning Committee N. Voznesensky, the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee A.A. Kuznetsov, the Chairman of the Council of the RSFSR M. Rodionov, the head of the Leningrad party organization P. Popkov and others were arrested and secretly shot. They were charged with factionalism, an attempt to oppose the Leningrad party organization to the entire CPSU(b), in Russian chauvinism (for the proposal to create a Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) for the RSFSR and the Communist Party of the RSFSR, which could lead to a split of the united CPSU(b) into national communist parties and to the collapse of the USSR). Thus, the winners dealt with the vanquished.