After the end of one of the most brutal and bloody wars in the history of mankind, World War II, which resulted in the unconditional victory of the Soviet Union, the causes of the Cold War were formed. This name was given to the further confrontation between the countries of the capitalist and communist camps, between the USA, the USSR and their supporters.
Today, researchers say that the causes of the Cold War are an ambiguous and rather controversial aspect. However, there is no doubt that the basis of the confrontation was the contradiction between the two strongest states - the USA and the USSR - on the basis of ideology.
Capitalism or socialism? Which system will prevail? Of course, each of the two superpowers sought to become the head of the world community, in spite of any obstacles, while maintaining the ideological system that was formed.
In addition to ideological contradictions, one cannot fail to note the causes of the Cold War related to security issues. After the end of World War II, the USSR established a dominant position in the countries of eastern Europe, where communism was entrenched. Of course, such an expansion of the influence of the Soviet Union exerted very significant pressure on the United States and Great Britain, who were afraid of the further strengthening of the USSR and, accordingly, the possible gain of world domination both in the political sphere and in the economy.
Considering the causes of the Cold War, it is worth noting the desire of the United States to maintain its spheres of influence and in no case to prevent the spread of socialism, primarily on the American continent. Why? A key aspect rests on the economy. One of the consequences of World War II was the complete devastation that was happening in Western Europe, where huge investments were required to restore a normal standard of living. And it was the United States that offered the resources so necessary for European countries, of course, provided that communism would not be established in these countries.
If we turn to chronology, it is easy to understand how the Cold War began. The reasons for the confrontation are the foundation for the conflict, but the impetus is always some reason, the “boiling point”. There was such a point in this confrontation.
In March 1946, in Fulton, the British ruler W. Churchill made his famous speech, which marked the beginning of the confrontation. The priority task that was set before the US government was to establish the superiority of the United States over the Soviet Union in all spheres of life. However, the emphasis was precisely on the economic sphere, and in 1947 the United States established a rigid system of many prohibitive and restrictive measures for the USSR in trade and finance.
This was followed by the years 1949-50, which were marked by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty, followed by the war with Korea and the testing of the atomic bomb. The general negative attitude towards the capitalist countries contributed to the strengthening of relations between the USSR and China. The Caribbean crisis of 1962 showed that in the event of a new war, there would be no winner and loser - so great was the power of the superpowers.
In the early 1970s. the tensions between US and USSR began to decline. And by 1990, the Cold War ended with the collapse of the USSR and the socialist camp.
It is very difficult to assess the consequences of the Cold War even today, more than twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Of course, such a confrontation had a very positive effect on the development of science and, first of all, on improving the military-industrial complex and related areas of industry. However, this is one of the few positive and highly controversial consequences of the Cold War amid the many negative phenomena that accompanied this confrontation.