Fulton speech marked the beginning of the Cold War

Post-war March 1946 turned out to be difficult for countries - world leaders. The Second World War demolished the powers that had a huge influence in the world, and the states that did not play a significant role before took the first place.

It has long been known that in order to gain credibility and in order to influence world politics, it is necessary to participate in it. No wonder the United States declared itself as a world leader only thanks to this war, although they entered it only after the defeat of German troops near Stalingrad. The Americans were waiting for a turning point in the war, negotiating with the USSR and Germany at the same time. But now we are talking about England and, in particular, about the role that Churchill's Fulton speech played in world history.

Who was the Fulton speech for?

Post-war England lost its former influence in the world and no longer played a key role in the international arena. But the USA and the USSR continued to fight for primacy in the world. And on March 5, 1946, the Prime Minister of England Winston Churchill delivered, as he later put it, "the main speech in his life," which has since been called the Fulton speech. It emphasized the need to unite the English-speaking states for the sake of peace in the world. The Prime Minister supported and recognized democracies, and countries with other government regimes, in his opinion, required urgent reform. According to him, the English-speaking nations should unite for the common good.

Fulton's speech is addressed to the peoples of the world, it is easy to perceive, which, undoubtedly, is a thoughtful political move. The use of the words “family”, “security of the people”, “peaceful states”, “family centers”, “ordinary people” also has a certain meaning. If you read between the lines and know the position of England in the world, you can understand that, first of all, the speech in Fulton was intended for the British themselves and urged them to support an alliance with the United States. England significantly weakened after the war and in order to return to the world stage, it needed a strong ally.

The USA is the most suitable option: an advanced state of the world armed with military innovations, having a powerful economy, which hardly suffered during the war. Another important detail: the official language of the United States is also English. Taking advantage of this coincidence, Churchill skillfully linked this fact with the need to unite with the United States. Two equivalent powers on the world stage could not coexist peacefully, anyway, someone was supposed to be the first. A striking example is the arms race.

Cold war

It was the Fulton speech delivered on March 5, 1946 that laid the foundation for the Cold War, which lasted more than 40 years and almost grew into World War III. The arms race and the struggle for primacy fueled the situation. US President Ronald Reagan would later call this speech historic, as it laid the foundation for world peace. But JV Stalin said that this speech directly calls for other peoples to war against the USSR. He put Churchill on a par with Hitler and doubted his peaceful intentions.

And today, every nation interprets this speech in its own way. The history of the West blesses it as calling for peaceful coexistence, but Russian history claims that it was the Fulton speech that initiated the Cold War and represented the USSR as a world aggressor.