Methodological development of the lesson “Post-war structure of the world. Beginning of the Cold War
A country's economy
Politic system
Nurturing spirituality
Post-war world structure
part of East Prussia Klaipeda region Transcarpathian Ukraine
Has changed. They were defeated and lost their role as greats powers of the aggressor countries - Germany and Japan, much . In the same time US influence has grown
Led by the USSR.
The war put gained independence
Sharp Communist influence grew
During the World War 1945 took place in San Francisco
cold war Dulles
The basis of confrontation USSR and USA Churchill 1946
USA and USSR.
In Western Europe in 1949
Soviet Union also conducts policy of confrontation
Asian civil war in China
The final collapse of the "world"
European countries were invited
IN
A country's economy
damage
In March 1946 The Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted fourth five year plan
The reform allowed abolish the card system government loans countries.
well
Under construction industrial giants
Quickly created Atomic industry. IN 1948 went into operation in the Urals plant "Mayak" nuclear center .
Unfolded arms race
Complex the situation was in agriculture
By the end of the fourth five-year plan
purchase prices increased tax on collective farmers reduced
In February–March
Politic system
These ideas were incorporated into
In countries capitalist bloc the company turned around anti-Sovietism
50s McCarthyism period
The apogee of McCarthyism was
Since the beginning of the Cold War The internal policy of the USSR sharply tightened. The situation of a “military camp”, a “besieged fortress” required, along with the fight against an external enemy, the presence of an “internal enemy”, an “agent of world imperialism”.
In the second half of the 40s. reprisals against enemies resumed Soviet power. The largest was " Leningrad affair" (1948 g.), when such prominent figures as the Chairman of the State Planning Committee N. Voznesensky, the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee 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.
When after the war was the state of Israel was created, there mass migration of Jews from all countries of the world began. In 1948, arrests of representatives of the Jewish intelligentsia began in the USSR, the fight against “rootless cosmopolitanism”" In January 1953 a group of doctors from the Kremlin hospital, Jews by nationality, were accused of killing the secretaries of the Central Committee Zhdanov and Shcherbakov through improper treatment and preparing the murder of Stalin. These doctors allegedly acted on instructions from international Zionist organizations.
Post-war repressions did not reach the scale of the 30s, there were no high-profile show trials, but they were quite widespread. It should be taken into account that only in national formations from among the peoples of the USSR during the war years, from 1.2 to 1.6 million people fought on the side of Hitler’s Germany. So the large number of people repressed for collaborating with the enemy is understandable. Were former prisoners of war were repressed(by order of Commander-in-Chief Stalin, all those captured fell into the category of traitors to the Motherland). The war and the difficult post-war situation in the country also led to colossal increase in criminality. In total, by January 1953, there were 2,468,543 prisoners in the Gulag.
After the death of I. Stalin, a collective leadership was created country and party. G. Malenkov became Chairman of the Council of Ministers, his deputies L. Beria, V. Molotov, N. Bulganin, L. Kaganovich. K. Voroshilo became the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in, and post Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee was occupied by N.S. Khrushchev. Domestic policy began to soften. Immediately, on April 4, 1953, rehabilitation according to the “doctors’ case”" People began to return from camps and exile.
In July 1953 plenum of the Central Committee discussed the “Beria case”. L. Beria headed the security and internal affairs agencies and was the immediate leader of the repressions. Charged with “collaboration with imperialist intelligence services” and “conspiracy to restore the rule of the bourgeoisie.” L. Beria and six of his closest collaborators were sentenced to death.
After the execution of L. Beria began mass rehabilitation of convicts for political crimes. The first timid one begins in print criticism of the “cult of personality”, but the name of I. Stalin has not yet been mentioned. A period begins that has gone down in history under the name “ thaw».
Revision of the “Leningrad case”"undermined G.'s position. Malenkova. In February 1955 he was dismissed from the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers, this post was N. Bulganin appointed. This led to a change in the balance of power at the top - to the first positions N.S. came forward Khrushchev.
A country's economy
Politic system
Nurturing spirituality
Post-war world structure
As a result of the Second World War The balance of power in the world has changed. The victorious countries, first of all Soviet Union, increased their territories at the expense of the defeated states. The Soviet Union received a large part of East Prussia with the city of Koenigsberg (now the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation), the Lithuanian SSR received territory Klaipeda region, territories were transferred to the Ukrainian SSR Transcarpathian Ukraine. In the Far East, in accordance with the agreements reached at the Crimean Conference, the Soviet Union was Southern Sakhalin and Kuril Islands returned(including the four southern islands that were not previously part of Russia). Czechoslovakia and Poland increased their territory at the expense of the German lands.
Has changed the situation within the Western world. They were defeated and lost their role as greats powers of the aggressor countries - Germany and Japan, much England and France weakened their position. In the same time US influence has grown which controlled about 80% of the gold reserves of the capitalist world, they accounted for 46% of world industrial production.
A feature of the post-war period was people's democratic (socialist) revolutions in Eastern Europe and a number of Asian countries who, with the support of the USSR, began to build socialism. The world system of socialism was formed led by the USSR.
The war put the beginning of the collapse of the colonial system imperialism. As a result of the national liberation movement gained independence such large countries as India, Indonesia, Burma, Pakistan, Ceylon, Egypt. A number of them took the path of socialist orientation. In just the post-war decade 25 states gained independence, 1200 million people were freed from colonial dependence.
There has been a shift to the left in the political spectrum of the capitalist countries of Europe. Fascist and right-wing parties have left the scene. Sharp Communist influence grew. In 1945–1947 communists were part of the governments of France, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Finland.
During the World War a unified anti-fascist coalition was formed- an alliance of great powers - the USSR, USA, Great Britain and France. The presence of a common enemy helped to overcome differences between capitalist countries and socialist Russia and find compromises. April–June 1945 took place in San Francisco founding conferences of the United Nations which included representatives from 50 countries. The UN Charter reflected the principles of peaceful coexistence of states of different socio-economic systems, the principles of sovereignty and equality of all countries of the world.
However, the Second World War was replaced by “ cold war"- war without combat. The term “Cold War” was coined by US Secretary of State D.F. Dulles. Its essence is a political, economic, ideological confrontation between two socio-economic systems of socialism and capitalism, balancing on the brink of war.
The basis of confrontation became the relationship between the two superpowers - USSR and USA. The beginning of the Cold War is usually dated to the speech of W. Churchill in the American city of Fulton in March 1946., in which he called on the people of the United States to jointly fight against Soviet Russia and its agents - the communist parties.
The ideological justification for the Cold War was US President Truman's Doctrine, put forward by him in 1947. According to the doctrine, the conflict between capitalism and communism is insoluble. The task of the United States is to fight communism all over the world, “containing communism,” “throwing back communism within the borders of the USSR.” Proclaimed American responsibility for events happening around the world e, which were viewed through the prism capitalism's opposition to communism, USA and USSR.
The Soviet Union began to be surrounded network of American military bases. In 1948, the first bombers with atomic weapons aimed at the USSR were stationed in Great Britain and West Germany. Capitalist countries are beginning to create military-political blocs directed against the USSR.
In Western Europe in 1949 NATO is created. It included: USA, England, France, Italy, Canada, Belgium, Holland, Greece and Turkey. In Southeast Asia in 1954 the SEATO bloc is created, in 1955 the Baghdad Pact. Germany's military potential is being restored. IN 1949 in violation of the Yalta and Potsdam agreements, from three zones of occupation - British, American and French - there was The Federal Republic of Germany is created, which joined NATO that same year.
Soviet Union also conducts policy of confrontation. In 1945, Stalin demanded the creation of a system of joint defense of the Black Sea straits of the USSR and Turkey, the establishment of joint guardianship by the allies of Italy's colonial possessions in Africa (while the USSR planned to provide a naval base in Libya).
The confrontation between the capitalist and socialist camps is intensifying in Asian continent. Started in 1946 civil war in China. Troops of Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang government attempted to occupy communist-controlled territories. Capitalist countries supported Chiang Kai-shek, and the Soviet Union supported the communists, transferring them a significant amount of captured Japanese weapons.
The final collapse of the "world""on two warring socio-economic systems is associated with promotion to 1947 United States Marshall Plan"(named after the US Secretary of State) and the sharply negative attitude of the USSR towards him.
European countries were invited assistance to restore the destroyed economy. Loans were given to purchase American goods. The Marshall Plan was adopted by 16 Western European countries. The political condition for providing assistance was removing communists from governments. In 1947, the communists were removed from the governments of Western European countries. Help was also offered to Eastern European countries. Poland and Czechoslovakia began negotiations, but under the influence of the USSR they refused assistance.
In contrast to the bloc of capitalist countries an economic and military-political union of socialist countries began to form. IN 1949 The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance was created– body for economic cooperation of socialist states; in May 1955 – Warsaw military-political bloc.
After the adoption of the Marshall Plan in Western Europe and the formation of Comecon in Eastern Europe two parallel world markets have emerged.
A country's economy
The Soviet Union ended the war with huge losses. At the fronts, in occupied territory, in captivity Over 27 million Soviet citizens died. 1,710 cities, over 70 thousand villages and villages, 32 thousand industrial enterprises were destroyed. Straight damage damage caused by the war exceeded 30% of national wealth.
In March 1946 The Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted fourth five year plan economic development. It was planned not only to restore the national economy, but also to exceed the pre-war level of industrial production by 48%. It was planned to invest 250 billion rubles in the national economy. (the same as for the three pre-war five-year plans).
During the war, the entire economy was rebuilt on a war footing, and the production of consumer goods was virtually stopped. A huge amount of money, not backed by goods, has accumulated in the hands of the population. To relieve the pressure of this mass on the market, in 1947, monetary reform was carried out. Money in the hands of the population was exchanged in a ratio of 10:1.
The reform allowed abolish the card system introduced during the war. As in the 30s, they were carried out government loans among the population. These were tough measures, but they allowed improve your financial situation countries.
The restoration of the destroyed industry proceeded at a rapid pace.
In 1946, there was a certain decline associated with conversion, and with 1947 Steady rise begins.
IN 1948 pre-war level of industrial production was surpassed, and by the end of the five-year plan it exceeded the level of 1940. The growth was 70%, instead of the planned 48%.
This was achieved by resuming production in territories liberated from fascist occupation. The restored factories were equipped with equipment produced in German factories and supplied as reparations. In total, 3,200 enterprises were restored and restarted in the western regions. They produced civilian products, while defense enterprises remained where they were evacuated - in the Urals and Siberia.
After the war, the USSR government continued well, begun during the first five-year plans to increase the industrial power of the country, which is the main factor in the existence of the state in conditions of severe confrontation between socialism and capitalism.
Under construction industrial giants: Kaluga Turbine Plant, Minsk Tractor Plant, Ust-Kamenogorsk Lead-Zinc Plant, etc. State reserves at the beginning of 1953 increased compared to the pre-war level: non-ferrous metals - 10 times; petroleum products – 3.3 times; coal - 5.1 times.
The Baltic Republics, Moldova, western regions of Ukraine and Belarus, which became part of the USSR on the eve of the war, transform from agricultural to industrial.
Quickly created Atomic industry. IN 1948 went into operation in the Urals plant "Mayak"(Chelyabinsk-40), it was built first domestic nuclear reactors– converters for plutonium production. The Mayak plant became the first nuclear center countries. It was here that the first kilograms of plutonium-239 were obtained, from which the charges of the first atomic bombs were made. In parallel with the development of atomic weapons production, formation of the rocket industry.
Unfolded arms race, the harsh confrontation between capitalism and socialism, the restoration of the destroyed national economy of the USSR required, first of all, colossal funds for the development of the industry, hence in the post-war years much less funds were allocated to the development of the light and food industries - consumer goods production grew slowly, there was a shortage of essentials.
Complex the situation was in agriculture. Of the total allocations in the fourth five-year plan, only 7% was allocated for its development. As in the years of the first five-year plans, the main burden of restoration and further industrialization of the country fell on the countryside. The state was forced to develop the industry confiscate in the form of taxes and compulsory deliveries over 50% of the products of collective and state farms. Purchasing prices for agricultural products have not changed since 1928, while for industrial products they have increased 20 times during this time. Based on workdays, a collective farmer received less per year than a worker earned per month.
At the end of the 40s. personal plots were heavily taxed. The peasants began to get rid of livestock and cut down fruit trees, since they could not afford to pay taxes. The peasants could not leave the village because they did not have passports. However, the rural population was declining in the conditions of accelerated industrial development - peasants were recruited to construction sites, factories, and logging. In 1950, the rural population was halved compared to 1940.
By the end of the fourth five-year plan There has been an increase in the living standards of the population in cities. Price reductions were carried out annually. By 1950, real wages had reached 1940 levels.
The restored industry made it possible to obtain funds for the development of agriculture. IN 1953 tax reform was carried out and taxes on personal plots were halved. The tax was levied only on land, not on livestock or trees. In September 1953 Plenum of the Central Committee dedicated to the development of agriculture was held, after which they were significantly (3–6 times) purchase prices increased for agricultural products and 2.5 times tax on collective farmers reduced. State grain reserves have quadrupled compared to pre-war levels.
In February–March In 1954, a program for the development of virgin and fallow lands was adopted. Over 500 thousand volunteers (mainly young people) went to Siberia and Kazakhstan to put additional land into circulation. In the eastern regions there was over 400 new state farms were created. The share of grain harvest on newly developed lands amounted to 27% of the all-Union harvest.
Politic system
The Second World War ended with the victory of the USA, England, France, who acted in alliance with the USSR against the fascist governments of Germany, Italy and Japan. The defeat of fascism created prerequisites for a sustainable world order. These ideas were incorporated into UN Charter, adopted June 26, 1946 year at a conference in San Francisco.
However, these ideas were not fully realized. The reasons are the Cold War, the split of the world into two socio-political camps opposing each other.
In countries capitalist bloc the company turned around anti-Sovietism, held under the banner of the fight against the “Soviet military threat”, with the desire of the USSR to “export revolution” to other countries of the world. Under the pretext of fighting “subversive communist activities”, a campaign against communist parties, who were portrayed as “agents of Moscow”, “an alien body in the system of Western democracy.” IN 1947 communists were removed from governments France, Italy and several other countries. In England and the USA, a ban was introduced for communists to hold positions in the army and state apparatus, and mass layoffs were carried out. In Germany, the Communist Party was banned.
The “witch hunt” took on a special scale in the United States in the first half
50s, who went down in the history of this country as McCarthyism period, named after Republican Senator from Wisconsin D. McCarthy. He ran for the presidency of Democrat Truman. G. Truman himself pursued a rather anti-democratic policy, but the McCarthyites took it to ugly extremes. G. Truman began “loyalty testing” of government employees, and the McCarthyites passed the Internal Security Act, which created a special department for the control of subversive activities, whose task was to identify and register organizations of “communist action” in order to deprive them of civil rights. G. Truman gave order to try Communist Party leaders as foreign agents, and the McCarthyites passed an immigration restriction law in 1952, which barred entry into the country for people who collaborated with left-wing organizations. After the Republican victory in the elections In 1952, McCarthyism began to flourish. Congress created commissions to investigate un-American activities, to which any citizen could be summoned. On the recommendation of the commission, any worker or employee instantly lost his job.
The apogee of McCarthyism was 1954 Law on Control of Communists. The Communist Party was deprived of all rights and guarantees, membership in it was declared a crime and punishable by a fine of up to 10 thousand dollars and imprisonment of up to 5 years. A number of provisions of the law had an anti-trade union orientation, classifying trade unions as subversive organizations “infiltrated by communists.”
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Post-war world structure and ensuring international security
To determine the specific guilt of those who started the Second World War, the allied states - the USSR, the USA, England and France - created the International Military Tribunal. He began his work at Nuremberg on November 20, 1945, and ended on October 1, 1946, with the death sentence of twelve major war criminals. According to the indictment, the following were sentenced to death by hanging: Goering, Ribbentrop, Keitel, Kaltenbrunner, Rosenberg, Frank, Frick, Streicher, Zukel, Jodl, Seyss-Inquart and Bormann (in absentia); to life imprisonment: Hess, Funk, Roeder; to 20 years in prison: Speer and Schirach; to 15 - Neurath, Doenitz.
Created in accordance with the agreements at the conference, the so-called Council of Foreign Ministers (CMFA) developed draft peace treaties of the USSR with states that were allies of Nazi Germany: Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland. After consideration by the Paris Peace Conference (1946), these treaties were approved and signed on February 10, 1947. They were in the interests of ensuring the free and independent development of the peoples of these countries, contributed to the strengthening of their international positions and became a serious contribution to eliminating the consequences of the Second World War and to strengthening peace in Europe.
This kind of cooperation was perhaps the last joint action of the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition. In subsequent years, unfortunately, development took a completely different path. Our former allies soon began to break the ties that united the main participants in the war against the powers of the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo axis. At the same time, the main bet was made on atomic weapons.
Thus, negotiations on concluding a state treaty with Austria were already going on with great difficulties. It took 33 meetings of the Council of Foreign Ministers, 260 meetings of deputy foreign ministers, 35 meetings of the special Vienna Commission. The reason for these difficulties is simple - the United States was interested in Austria primarily as an “Alpine fortress”, as a springboard for a possible subsequent struggle against the USSR and people's democracies.
But the main one was still the German question. Assessing the results of the Potsdam Conference, the newspaper Pravda wrote on August 3, 1945: “The fundamental interests of the peoples of Europe are to forever eliminate the threat of German aggression, prevent the revival of German imperialism, and ensure lasting peace between peoples and general security.”
Political principles for dealing with Germany
The political principles for dealing with Germany, developed by the Soviet side, were formulated in the draft declaration “On the Political Regime in Germany”, prepared in July 1945. Its main provisions boiled down to two important points:
1) it is impossible to identify the German people with the Hitler clique and pursue a policy of revenge, national humiliation and oppression towards them;
2) it is necessary to provide conditions for the development of Germany as a single, peace-loving state.
This meant that the Soviet side advocated recognition of the German people’s right to self-determination and their own choice of the path of socio-economic and state structure.
What was the position of the other side? The USA and England, who developed their proposals - and they related to the dismemberment of Germany and the distribution of its territory among other European states - for some reason did not submit them for discussion at the conference. For example, the American Admiral Leahy, one of Truman’s closest advisers, reports in his memoirs that the US President is heading to the Potsdam Conference with a plan to divide Germany into “separate sovereign states.” Leahy writes that Truman wanted to propose that "the Council of Foreign Ministers make recommendations to the governments regarding the dismemberment of Germany" and that already at the Potsdam Conference the "intention to grant the Rhineland independence and sovereignty as a separate state in the future" was declared. Moreover, Truman spoke out in favor of "... the creation of a South German state with its capital in Vienna." The need to reorganize the life of the German people on democratic and peace-loving principles then, apparently, was the least of the concerns of the Western powers. A directive from the US President to the American command in Germany stated: “Germany is being occupied not for the sake of its liberation, but because it is a defeated, enemy country.”
The principles of the joint policy of the states of the anti-Hitler coalition in the German question were recorded by the participants of the Potsdam Conference in the agreement “Political and economic principles that must be followed when dealing with Germany in the initial control period.”
What was the essence of these principles?
Ultimately to the demilitarization and democratization of Germany. In accordance with the decisions of the Crimean Conference, they provided for the complete disarmament of Germany and the liquidation of all industry in it that could be used for military production.
The conference participants agreed on the need to "destroy the National Socialist Party and its affiliates and controlled organizations, dissolve all Nazi institutions, ensure that they do not revive in any form, and prevent all Nazi and militaristic activities or propaganda." The three powers also pledged to take other measures necessary to ensure that Germany would never again threaten her neighbors or the preservation of world peace.
Signing of an agreement on reparations
The conference participants also signed a special agreement on the issue of reparations. They proceeded from the fact that Germany had to compensate to the greatest extent possible for the damage that it caused to other peoples. The reparation claims of the Soviet Union were to be satisfied by withdrawing from the zone occupied by the USSR the corresponding German investments (assets) abroad. It was also stipulated that the USSR would receive additionally from the western zones of occupation: 1) 15% of complete industrial equipment seized to pay reparations in exchange for food and other products from the Soviet zone of occupation; 2) 10% of seized industrial equipment - without payment or compensation.
However, the more time passed after the meeting in Potsdam, the further the Western powers moved away from its decisions. If demilitarization and denazification were successively carried out in the Soviet zone of occupation, then in the western zones these decisions were actually thwarted.
Looking back, we can state with confidence: the full and conscientious implementation by the Western powers of the Potsdam agreements on Germany, finally consolidating the new situation in Europe created by the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition, would have prevented not only the subsequent split of Germany, but also the transformation of the continent into the main hotbed of the Cold War. The agreements laid the necessary foundation for the birth of a peaceful, democratic, united Germany. “If the German people’s own efforts are continually directed toward this goal,” said the message about the Berlin conference, “it will be possible for them in the course of time to take their place among the free and peaceful peoples of the world.”
Unfortunately, defeated Germany increasingly became the object of unseemly political machinations by Washington and London. The disruption of the peace treaty with a united Germany, the conclusion of which was provided for by the Potsdam agreements, became one of the main steps of the United States and Great Britain, as well as France, which joined them, which led to the split of Europe into opposing alliances and, as a consequence, to the revival now in a new one, " West German" form of the "German factor" in world politics.
Europe was still in ruins, and in Washington they were already actively working on plans for a nuclear war against their ally in the fight against German fascism and Japanese militarism - the Soviet Union. In the depths of the Pentagon, as it later became known, projects for the destruction of the USSR were born, one more fantastic than the other90.
In general, the first post-war decades went down in history as the period of the Cold War, a period of intense Soviet-American confrontation, which more than once brought the world to the brink of a “hot” war.
What is the Cold War?
Apparently, not only a certain level of political tension between states and the arms race, but above all the global nature of the Soviet-American confrontation. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the situation of a “nuclear deadlock”, in which the huge reserves of destructive power accumulated by the USA and the USSR could not be used. The “Cold War” seemed to replace the “hot war” and became its surrogate. It is generally accepted that the beginning of the Cold War was marked by W. Churchill’s speech on March 5, 1946 at Westminster College in the American city of Fulton, where he actually called for the formation of a military-political alliance against the USSR. US President G. Truman, who was present in the hall, loudly applauded the speaker.
There is another way of looking at this problem: the beginning of the Cold War was laid by the so-called “long telegram” sent to Washington from the US Embassy in Moscow by the then young American diplomat J. Kennan. Subsequently, it was set out in the article “Sources of Soviet Behavior,” which appeared in one of the American magazines and signed under the pseudonym “Mr. X.” It was about putting constant pressure on the USSR so that it would be forced to abandon the socialist choice.
After the Second World War, the United States literally got stuck in a system of multilateral agreements and treaties - NATO, SEATO, CENTO, ANZUS were created, a network of military bases was deployed, American troops were firmly entrenched in Europe and other regions. And although from time to time there were voices in America in support of isolationism and attempts were made to limit American obligations in the world, a return to the past was not expected.
What are the reasons for the emergence of the Cold War?
There are two main points of view on this issue in the scientific literature:
1. It can be described as traditional: the Americans are to blame for everything, our actions were only a reaction to a provocation from the United States. Stalin perfectly understood the real balance of forces and therefore behaved with the utmost caution.
2. According to another point of view, the main blame for the Cold War lies with Stalin. They point out, for example, some actions of the USSR in Eastern Europe, “provoking” the war in Korea, harsh ideological rhetoric, etc.
But both of these points of view are one-sided. Neither Stalin nor Truman had the desire or even readiness to wage a major war. But there was something else - the desire to consolidate those spheres of influence in the world that were the result of the Second World War. In this sense, 1947 is a turning point. And not even because the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan were adopted at that time, but because this was the point after which it became impossible to return to the ideals of the United Nations, which were formed at the final stage of the Second World War.
How was the geopolitical situation at that moment?
The United States of America and the Soviet Union were the powers that expanded their "spheres of influence" the most as a result of the war. The USSR dominated Eastern Europe, the USA dominated Western Europe. But gradually it became clear that these “acquisitions” were quite illusory.
As for Eastern Europe, sympathy for the USSR was indeed very strong here, the communists had a broad social base, and the old emigrant governments - where they existed - could not pose a serious challenge to the left forces. But by 1946 it should have been obvious to Stalin that Eastern Europe could easily escape his direct political control. The development of Eastern European countries was associated with the search for their own national paths to socialism.
Similar processes, although under a different sign, took place in Western Europe. The influence that the United States had acquired in this part of the continent gradually began to fade. Communists in France, Italy and other countries won elections, American soldiers irritated Europeans.
Such a development of events in Western Europe was unacceptable for Truman, and what was happening in Eastern Europe could not suit Stalin. They were not only opponents, but also partners in the construction of a new system of international relations - a system of rigid bloc relations that would discipline the allies and secure the status of “superpowers” for the USSR and the USA.
Consequences of the defeat of fascist states
The chain reaction of profound social changes that began as a result of the defeat of fascist states ultimately led to a general shift to the left of all social life in the world, to the formation of a world socialist system, the destruction of colonial empires, and the emergence of dozens of independent developing states in Europe and Asia. The international working class made a huge contribution to the victory over German fascism. Despite the heavy human losses during the war, its population in the 50s was over 400 million people. In the post-war period, class consciousness, political activity and organization of the working class grew significantly. He strengthened his cohesion not only nationally, but also internationally. Thus, in September-October 1945 in Paris, representatives of 67 million workers organized in trade unions from 56 countries, with the active participation of Soviet trade unions, created the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU).
The powerful rise of the democratic movement in these years significantly expanded the socio-economic and political gains of the working people. A new stage has begun in the development of social legislation in many bourgeois countries. In a number of Western European states (for example, Italy, France), where the big bourgeoisie compromised itself by collaborating with the Nazi occupiers, hatred of collaborators united workers to fight against the rule of capital in general. In this situation, the ruling circles resorted to political and social maneuvering and made some concessions to the working people. The legislation included provisions on the right to work and equal pay for equal work, to protect the interests of workers with the help of trade unions, on equal rights for men and women, on the right to rest, education, and material security in old age.
The number of people who had the right to vote was significantly expanded. Voting rights were granted to women in France (1945), Italy (1946), Belgium (1948). The age limit was lowered to 21-23 years in Sweden and the Netherlands (1945), and in Denmark (1952).
Nationalization of enterprises and democratization of industrial relations
UN fascism tribunal
For the first time in the history of a number of Western European countries, leftist forces managed to achieve widespread nationalization of enterprises and democratization of industrial relations. Thus, in France, all large gas and electricity production enterprises and the largest insurance companies became state property. A law on committees was passed, giving French workers access to management for the first time.
Large-scale nationalization of industry and banks was carried out in Austria. The new works council law gave the Austrian working class the opportunity to participate in the management of enterprises. In Germany, the principle of workers' representation in enterprises has been legislated. This provision has also become part of the practice of concluding collective agreements in Italy. A number of leading industries in Great Britain were subject to nationalization, and British trade unions were given the right to participate in the management bodies of state-owned enterprises.
A number of measures were taken in the field of occupational safety and health of workers. Thus, insurance against industrial accidents was introduced in France and Great Britain (1946), for illness and disability - in Belgium (1944), old-age pensions - in Switzerland (1946), unemployment benefits - in Belgium (1944). ), the Netherlands (1949). There was a further reduction in the working week: in the USA - from 48 hours in 1939 to 40 hours in 1950, in Western Europe - from 56 hours to 48 hours. Western European trade union committees have achieved an increase in paid leave to two to four weeks.
The organized working class, trained in the anti-fascist struggle, strongly supported leftist policies in the labor and democratic movement. This led to an overall strengthening of the political role of communist parties. If in 1939 there were 1 million 750 thousand people in the communist parties of capitalist countries, then in 1945 - 4 million 800 thousand. The significant influence of the communist parties was evidenced by parliamentary elections in Western European countries in 1945 - 1946. Their representatives joined the governments of France, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Luxembourg, Norway, and Finland. The influence of the Swedish communists increased, the British Communist Party strengthened its position, the US Communist Party was restored (July 1945), and the Japanese Communist Party came out of hiding. As a result, an anti-communist campaign developed in a number of capitalist countries. Repressions began against communists and leaders of the labor and democratic movements in the United States. Communists were persecuted in England. In France and Italy, bourgeois circles achieved their exclusion from governments. In Germany, members of the Communist Party were prohibited by law from 1950 from holding public service. Somewhat later, a lawsuit was initiated against the German Communist Party. The Japanese Communist Party suffered persecution from the American occupation authorities.
In the post-war period, socialist and social-democratic organizations continued their activities or were newly formed. Their ranks increased noticeably: by the beginning of the 50s they numbered about 10 million members (before the war - 6.5 million). In November-December 1947, a representative conference of social democratic parties was held in Antwerp, which established the Committee of International Socialist Conferences (COMISCO), uniting social democratic parties of 33 states.
In 1951, the Socialist International was founded at the founding congress in Frankfurt am Main. It included 34 socialist and social democratic parties, mostly European, with about 10 million members.
The expansion of the Socialist International and the entry into its ranks of the socialist parties of Asia, Africa and Latin America led to the strengthening of progressive tendencies within it.
How were the relations between the two main groups of the socialist movement - communist and social democratic - built in the post-war decades?
First of all, on the basis of mutual understanding, intolerance, and sometimes confrontation. Today's new thinking creates the preconditions for the transition to permanent political dialogue.
A direct result of the growing political maturity of the working people and the growing role of the masses was the creation of a number of international democratic organizations. Among them are the World Federation of Democratic Youth (November 1945), the International Democratic Federation of Women (December 1945), etc.
After the Second World War, the colonial system of imperialism collapsed. Great Britain, France, Holland, Belgium, Portugal could no longer maintain their dominance in their possessions using the same methods with the help of military administration. In 1949, the People's Republic of China was formed, which had a strong impact on the national liberation movement in Korea, Southeast Asia, and Indonesia. India won state independence. Burma, Indonesia, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, and a number of other formerly colonial countries gained political independence. Within ten years, almost half of the globe was freed from colonial and semi-colonial dependence. The Non-Aligned Movement emerges.
There are different definitions of the concept of “international security”.
Security is a set of measures to create the most effective guarantees of universal peace both for a given state and on a global and regional scale, to protect states and peoples from the threat of wars, especially nuclear war.
Security as a policy is not static, it is dynamic. There is no security, even in relation to individual regions of the world, that would be established forever. Its achievement requires political will and constant efforts. Naturally, different security methods become important at different times and in different circumstances. They are derived from the class structure of society, from the economic and social relations prevailing in it. In the course of historical development, these methods were of a very diverse nature and took different forms.
Today, the divide in understanding the essence of security policy lies between those who see in it almost nothing above the military, military-technical categories and are inclined to make the solution to its problems dependent only on the number of units and the quality of weapons, and those who see here, first of all, a flexible and a complex form of political relationships.
In what main directions did they strive to ensure peace and international security during the period under review?
The United Nations (UN) has become a recognized center in the system of international relations. It was created in April-June 1945 at a conference in San Francisco by representatives of 50 states, which are considered the founding states.
The tasks of the UN were recognized as maintaining peace and guardianship over backward countries in order to lead them to “self-government or independence.”
The Charter of this organization included the Soviet Union's requirement for unanimity in decision-making on particularly important issues, which did not allow the United States and other powers to impose resolutions they liked by a majority vote.
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Finland transferred the Pechenga region to the USSR; according to the decision of the Potsdam Conference, part of East Prussia with its capital, Koenigsberg, was transferred to the RSFSR. Under agreements with Czechoslovakia, Transcarpathian Ukraine was annexed to the Ukrainian SSR, and territories were exchanged with Poland. In 1944, Tuva became part of the Soviet state as an autonomous republic, and in 1946 the border with Afghanistan was finally established. The victory over Japan made it possible to annex the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin, but this was not secured by a peace treaty between the states, which even today creates certain difficulties between them. Thus, the USSR found itself within the borders that the CIS and the Baltic countries have today.
The way of life in the newly annexed territories changed, it acquired all the features of the Soviet system: the restoration of the economy was accompanied by industrialization and collectivization, the traditional way of life was eliminated, dispossession and purges were carried out. All this caused national confrontation, armed struggle against the Soviet system (especially aggravated in Western Ukraine). And today, the complex interweaving of national, ideological and political motives for the confrontation of the 1940s is destabilizing relations between fraternal and neighboring peoples.
Relations with the West. The Second World War radically changed the system of international relations. The defeat of fascism and the emergence of new superpowers on the scene - the USSR and the USA - led to the emergence of geopolitical bipolarity in the world. The international situation for many years began to be determined by the confrontation between two systems - capitalist and socialist.
Victory in the ideological confrontation was possible only if one relied on real force, and this force was nuclear weapons. For the USSR in the second half of the 1940s, the situation was aggravated by the lack of nuclear potential, despite the fact that development and research in nuclear energy had been going on for a long time. It is known that, guided by this fact, US President Truman in 1949 intended to present an ultimatum to the USSR and, if it was not fulfilled, to use 1300 bombs against 100 cities of the Union. In total, the United States developed 10 plans for an atomic strike on the USSR. The world was saved from disaster only by the appearance of the USSR's nuclear bomb, which meant achieving parity and temporarily eliminating the deadly threat. Since that time, the confrontation between the leading powers entered an extremely dangerous phase - the redistribution of spheres of influence in the world began to take on more and more overt forms, and both sides intensively continued the arms race.
However, the USSR had already achieved considerable influence in Eastern Europe, supported the growing anti-colonial liberation movements in Asia, patronized the former colonies of defeated states, and established relations with the new communist China.
Thus, even after the end of World War II, the “battle for Europe” continued - only the participants and methods of the “war” changed. W. Churchill, giving a speech in Fulton in 1946, called the USSR an “evil empire” and declared that “the iron curtain has fallen.” This event marked the beginning of the Cold War - confrontation between the parties at all levels. However, the United States, having betrayed the principle of “non-participation in wars in peacetime”, being the most economically capable state in the world, launched the “Marshall Plan”, which provided for the restoration of post-war Europe. Thus, Western Europe and its dependent territories fell into the orbit of influence of the United States. The Soviet Union, realizing the threat of such a policy, opposed the creation of any military and political blocs and spoke out for equal bilateral relations between all states. In confirmation of the principle of peaceful coexistence of states with different socio-political systems, an agreement was signed with Finland in 1948.
In 1949, the Berlin Crisis occurred, caused by the conflict in the occupation zones with the Allies in West Berlin. There was no bloodshed, but the Berlin crisis led to the consolidation of anti-Soviet forces and the creation of the military-political NATO bloc, which included 12 states under the auspices of the United States. The Soviet Union and its allies gradually found themselves surrounded by enemy military bases. Within the countries, the atmosphere of distrust towards each other grew more and more, cultural contacts were limited, propaganda created a stereotype of a “hostile environment”, a “witch hunt” began in the USA, and another round of purges was planned in the USSR.
Gradually, the cold confrontation between the superpowers spread throughout the world and at any moment could escalate into an armed conflict. The first “swallow” was the Korean War in 1950-1953. The intervention, essentially, in the civil war between the USSR and the USA showed the fragility of the situation and the vulnerability of the “non-aligned” states from the claims of the new masters of the world. In this situation, the policies of the Soviet Union and the United States still retained their imperial features.
Relations with Eastern Europe. The states of this region found themselves in the sphere of influence of the USSR immediately after the war, since they were liberated by the Red Army, which won the trust of the majority of the population of these countries with its heroic struggle against fascism. In these countries, leftist forces led by communists (people's democratic regimes) came to power. In accordance with trade agreements, the Soviet Union supplied Eastern European countries with grain, raw materials for industry, and fertilizers for agriculture on preferential terms. The combination of feelings of genuine sympathy for the socialist system on the part of the population and active support for the new regimes on the part of the USSR led to an international union, which was called the “socialist camp.” In Europe it was Poland. Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Romania, Yugoslavia, Albania. In Asia - China, North Korea, North Vietnam.
Comprehensive contacts were developed with partners in the camp: economic and cultural ties were established, and experiences were exchanged. In 1949, as an alternative to the Marshall Plan, the Soviet side initiated the creation of CMEA - the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. The USSR, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, and then a number of other countries coordinated their activities through a system of mutual agreements. Along with the undeniable advantages of such interaction, there was a phenomenon that even then laid the foundation for the future collapse of this organization: the desire of the USSR leadership to establish the Soviet model of building socialism.
The USSR, regardless of the specifics of individual states, pursued a policy of unifying the socio-political structure, bringing uniformity to all countries that followed the path of socialist development. This led to the emergence of contradictions and conflicts in relations with individual countries. For example, already in March 1948, the leader of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito openly announced a “deadlock” in relations with the USSR, which led to a complete diplomatic break. In response to this, an anti-Yugoslav campaign was launched in socialist countries.
Over the following years, Stalin's harsh dictates kept the overall situation under control. But during these same years, the idea of the need for change in society became more and more clearly formed in the public consciousness.
The post-war peace did not become more durable. In a short time, relations between the USSR and its allies in the anti-Hitler coalition deteriorated significantly. To characterize them, the metaphor began to be increasingly used "coldnew war", which first appeared on the pages of the English Tribune magazine in the fall of 1945 in the international commentary of the famous writer J. Orwell. This term was later used in the spring of 1946 by the prominent American banker and politician B. Baruch in one of his public speeches. At the end of 1946, the influential American publicist W. Lippman published a book whose title was these two words.
However, two historical facts are traditionally considered a “declaration” or proclamation of the “Cold War”: W. Churchill’s speech (March 1946) in Fulton (Missouri) in the presence of US President Henry Truman about the “Iron Curtain” and the Soviet threat, as well as the promulgation of the “Truman Doctrine” (March 1947) - an American foreign policy concept that declared the main task facing the United States to be counteraction to communism and its “containment.” The post-war world split into two antagonistic blocs, and the Cold War entered its active phase in the summer of 1947, ultimately leading to the formation of military-political blocs opposing each other.
Each side made its own specific contribution to the post-war confrontation. The West was frightened by the increased military power of the Soviet Union, the unpredictability of Stalin's actions and the increasingly persistent advance of communist influence in the countries of Eastern Europe and Asia. During 1945-1948. a number of Eastern European countries were drawn into the orbit of Soviet influence (Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the eastern part of dismembered Germany), in which, under pressure from the USSR, first coalitions were formed, with the determining influence of communist parties, and then purely communist in composition of the government.
At the end of September 1947, under pressure from the Stalinist leadership, the Information Bureau of Communist and Workers' Parties (Cominformburo) was created with headquarters in Belgrade from representatives of six communist parties in Eastern Europe and the two largest Western European communist parties (France and Italy). This body contributed to the increased pressure of the USSR on the countries of the so-called “people's democracy”, along with the presence of Soviet troops on the territory of some of these countries and the treaties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance concluded with them. Created in 1949, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA), with its headquarters in Moscow, tied the countries of “people's democracy” even more economically to the USSR, because The latter were forced, according to the Soviet scenario, to carry out all the necessary transformations in culture, agriculture and industry, relying exclusively on the Soviet, not entirely positive, experience.
In Asia, North Vietnam, North Korea and China were drawn into the USSR's orbit of influence during the period under review, after the peoples of these countries were able to win victories in communist-led wars of national liberation.
The influence of the USSR on the domestic and foreign policies of Eastern European countries, despite all the efforts made by Stalin, was not unconditional. Not all communist party leaders here have become obedient puppets. The independence and certain ambition of the leader of the Yugoslav communists I. Tito, his desire to create a Balkan federation with the leading role of Yugoslavia aroused the discontent and suspicion of J. V. Stalin. In 1948, the Soviet-Yugoslav crisis arose and soon sharply worsened, leading to the condemnation of the actions of the Yugoslav leaders by the Cominform Bureau. Despite this, the Yugoslav communists maintained the unity of their ranks and followed I. Tito. Economic relations with the USSR and Eastern European countries were severed. Yugoslavia found itself under an economic blockade and was forced to turn to capitalist countries for help. The pinnacle of the Soviet-Yugoslav confrontation was the rupture of diplomatic relations between the two countries on October 25, 1949. The consequence of this rupture and the desire to achieve unity in the communist movement were two waves of purges of communists accused of "Titoism". During the period 1948-1949. were repressed in Poland - V. Gomułka, M. Spychalski, 3. Klishko; in Hungary L. Rajk and J. Kadar (the first was executed, the second sentenced to life imprisonment), in Bulgaria T. Kostov was executed, in Albania - K. Dzodze and many others. In 1950-1951 Trials against “Yugoslav spies” took place in almost all Eastern European countries. One of the latest was the trial in Prague in November 1952 against the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia R. Slansky and thirteen prominent Czechoslovak communists, the vast majority of whom were executed after the end of the trial. Demonstrative political trials, like similar “events” that took place in the late 1930s. in the USSR, were supposed to scare everyone dissatisfied with the policy pursued by the Soviet Union towards the countries of “people's democracy” and consolidate the only path already paved by the USSR to the so-called. "socialism".
Despite the fairly serious influence of communists in a number of Western European countries (in the first post-war years, their representatives were part of the governments of France, Italy, etc.), the authority of Western European communist parties decreased in Europe after the adoption of the Marshall Plan, named after the US Secretary of State J. Marshall - one of the “fathers” of the idea of American economic assistance to the post-war reconstruction of Europe. The Soviet government not only itself refused to participate in this plan, but also influenced the corresponding decisions of Eastern European countries, including Czechoslovakia and Poland, which initially managed to express their readiness to participate in it.
After this, 16 Western European countries became participants in the Marshall Plan. The division of Europe into two hostile camps completed the creation in April 1949 of the North Atlantic Pact (NATO), which by 1953 united 14 European states under the auspices of the United States. The creation of this military-political bloc was largely facilitated by the events associated with the Soviet blockade of West Berlin in the summer of 1948. OPTA were forced to organize an “air bridge” that supplied the city for about a year. Only in May 1949 was the Soviet blockade lifted. However, the actions of the West and the intransigence of the USSR ultimately led to the creation in 1949 of two countries on German soil: on May 23, the Federal Republic of Germany and on October 7, the German Democratic Republic.
Late 1940 - early 1950s became the culmination of the Cold War. In September 1949, the USSR tested the first Soviet atomic bomb, the creation of which is associated with the name of the outstanding Soviet scientist I.V. Kurchatov. The most serious international problem for the USSR was the war of North Korea against the pro-American regime of South Korea (1950-1953), unleashed with the direct consent of Stalin. It cost the lives of several million Koreans, Chinese and representatives of other nations who took part in this largest conflict since World War II. The question of the integration of Germany into the Western political system and its cooperation with NATO was of great difficulty.
The death of J.V. Stalin, which occurred at the height of the Cold War, helped to reduce tensions in international relations, although it did not remove the question of the further continuation of the struggle between the United States and its allies, on the one hand, and the USSR, the vanguard of the so-called commonwealth. "socialist" states of Europe and Asia, on the other hand, for world domination.
Test yourself
The division of Germany into two states occurred: 1) in 1945; 2) in 1948; 3) in 1949; 4) in 1953?
Which of the named writers was subjected to especially harsh criticism from the authorities in 1946-1953: 1) A. Akhmatova; 2) M. Sholokhov; 3) M. Zoshchenko; 4) K. Simonov?
Which of the following events and phenomena relate to the concept of the “Cold War”: 1) the signing of the Anti-Comintern Pact; 2) political confrontation between the USSR and the USA; 3) Soviet-Yugoslav conflict 1948-1953; 4) the Korean War in 1950-1953?
Name the main political repressive campaigns of the post-war period: 1) “the case of the Industrial Party”; 2) “Leningrad affair”; 3) “Tukhachevsky process”; 4) “the doctors’ case.”
