A little about cold war
 

[B][U][SIZE="3"]Introduction[/SIZE][/U][/B]

The term cold war became famous after the end of World War II. As soon as the World War II ended the verbal bickering started among different nations. Churchill first made a speech emphasizing the superiority of Western nations and Stalin in return placed Churchill in the same league as Hitler. The term ‘cold war’ became popular later after it was being used in books and articles. The ideologies of Capitalism and Communism adopted by two nations in United States and Russia paved way for two different ways of life. Capitalism flourished in the US while leaders advocated for democracy. Russia on the other hand under the leadership of Stalin advocated for its own security favoring communist government in countries like Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria. The US and Russia tussle started with their difference of opinion on Germany. US wanted to rebuild Germany while Russia saw a Germany capable of initiating another war.

[B][U][SIZE="3"]Decade of 60s & 70s[/SIZE][/U][/B]

The decade of 60s brought in its wake a situation where U.S and Russia continued to engage in a cold war with each other. Kennedy assassination, the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War antiwar movement were some of the events that disturbed the US governments during the decade but US governments still remained pervasive with their anti-Russia policy. Due to its occupation with Vietnam War, US could not pursue its policies as adamantly as Russia did resulting in Communist power in Southeast Asia. However by the end of Vietnam War Soviet influence declined dividing Southeast Asia in a way that China became a little closer to the United Sates as President Nixon visited China. “In March 1969, after several exchanges of gunfire between Soviet and Chinese troops on the Ussuri River, which separates Chinese Manchuria and Soviet Siberia, the prospect of a Sino-Soviet war did not seem out of the question, particularly after the Soviets massed forty divisions on the frontier facing China. The Soviets apparently were prepared to reduce tensions with the United States and its European allies if only to free themselves to deal with the seemingly unreasonable Chinese” (Powaski, 1998). Another development that took place was the influence of two super powers on the third world nations. Some nations were like Libya was heavily backed by USSR and some like Saudi Arabia was backed by the United States. The end of decade of 1970s was marked by the invasion of USSR in Afghanistan while the emergence of governments of Thatcher and Reagan made anti USSR movement stronger.

[B][U][SIZE="3"]Decade of 80s[/SIZE][/U][/B]

Afghan war and Chernobyl accident in decade of 80s were two incidents that triggered a movement that finally marked the end of cold war. The process of change started with the election of Mikhail Gorbachev in the mid 80s. Soviet Communist party under the leadership of Gorbachev started the process of reform. Relations with West improved a lot. Economic liberalization process also started after the rise of Gorbachev as many economic and social problems plagued Soviet Union. In the face of economic issues facing the empire the cost of managing the cold war with respect to the Cold War arms race almost endangered its survival. The Chernobyl catastrophe in 1986 made matters even worse for the Soviet Republic. On American front Republican government came into force with Ronal Reagan sitting in the Washington D.C. with a stern stance on the foreign policy. The result of these two new governments came in the form of meeting of the respective head of states for reducing their military arsenal. The two super powers then started negotiating on a continuous basis resulting in a number of treaties between the two states. “During his second term he held five summit meetings with a Soviet leader -- more than any other president -- and shortly before leaving the presidency in January 1989, Reagan would visit Moscow and place his arm around the leader of the "evil empire," Mikhail Gorbachev, and call him a man with whom the United States could do business” (Powaski, 1998). Also transformation started taking place worldwide and communist governments started facing resistance from different quarters for example East Germany saw huge protests by public against the communist government. Moreover, the fall of Berlin Wall and demise of communist regimes in Bulgaria and Romania created a new outlook for the world. All these changes made Soviet Republics seek independence from the central government in Moscow. The agitation started in different republics seeking independence as a result of which the government in return made promises of greater freedom for the republics and more decentralization in the future. The agitation of people also resulted in the mass movement against the Gorbachev government. Even though the movement to topple the government of Gorbachev could not succeed but Baltic States got independence.

[B][U][SIZE="3"]End of Cold War[/SIZE][/U][/B]

By the end of the year 1991 the super power of Russian Federation fell into pieces and the Soviet Union separated into fifteen different nations and so the cold war finally met its natural death. The new states formed had lost the connection with super power and the cold war. The new States did not have the luxury to wage a cold war rather they had new problems to face as independent states. The collapse of Soviet Union was the event that not only marked the end of cold war but the end of a century of conflict between two powers leaving only United Sates as the sole super power in the world.



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ALLAH PE AMAN