Origin of the Cold War

Summary: The origins of the "Cold War" lie in the Russia Communist Revolution of 1917, and the ideological struggle between democracy and communism that reach its peak post-World War II. Russia filled the power vacuum left in Europe following Germany's defeat after the war and the United States implemented the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine to counter it.

The basis of the Cold War was mutual suspicion and mistrust. This essay will discuss the origins of the cold war regarding suspicion and mistrust until the year 1949.

The main origin of the cold war was due to the basis of fear. The USA feared the spread of communism in the West and Russia feared the spread of democratic beliefs in the East. It was an ideological struggle of two main world powers, capitalism (USA) and communism (Russia). This was not a conventional war but an indirect one where the fighting was not done on the battle field.

The Cold War began as early as the 1917 October revolution in Russia when Russia became the first communist state. The USA further showed their mistrust of Russia in 1938 when they purposely excluded Russia from the Munich conference even though Russia had also been involved in the war. The USA forced Russia to sign the Non-Aggression Pact with Hitler in 1939 as they refused to side with Russia in World War 2, this was because USA feared communism more than it feared the aggressive foreign policies of Hitler. Eventually USA did become allies with Russia but still the mistrust continued and it surfaced after the war.

When Germany was defeated, after World War 2, there was a power vacuum left in Europe. Someone needed to take the place of Germany. This vacuum was quickly filled by Soviet armies who were liberating Germans and it was not contested by Britain or France. By 1946 many Eastern European countries had become communist and were loyal to the Soviet Union. Stalin used these countries as buffer states as he did not trust the West and feared an invasion. He also realised that with acquiring these countries he acquired all their wealth and raw materials.

In 1947 USA introduced the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. These would serve to change USA's foreign policy up till then. It was no longer a policy of isolationism but rather a policy of containment. USA believed in the domino theory. Once one country became communist, like dominos, all the surrounding countries would fall. USA felt that it had to contain communism and therefore instituted the Marshall Plan which gave financial aid to any country that was under communist threat. This was not simply a charitable gesture; it boosted USA economy through trade.