Question

Explain the causes of the Cold War. 

Explain any four causes of the Cold War.

Answer 1

The causes of the Cold War were as follows:

1. Supremacy between America and Russia (superpowers):
   1. No other powers influenced international politics more than America and Russia after the Second World War.
   2. During World War I, England, France, Germany, and Italy suffered heavy losses.
   3. Japan was destroyed due to the dropping of the atomic bomb by the United States of America.
2. Communism in Russia:
   1. The Cold War began with the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917.
   2. The Bolshevik Revolution gave birth to the communist rule of Karl Marx.
   3. The ideologies of communism and capitalism were quite opposite to each other.
   4. America and Western European countries believed that Russian communism was the greatest hindrance to capitalist economies. Therefore, the enmity grew between the two superpowers.
3. Difference in Philosophical Thinking:
   1. After the Industrial Revolution in Europe, an industry-oriented culture emerged. Capitalists and the workers were the important factors of the economy. 
   2. While creating physical wealth, the working class was systematically exploited.
   3. In response to capitalism, Karl Marx developed the philosophy of communism, which was opposed to it.
   4. America and the Western powers were of the opinion of free economy and therefore they opposed communism which caused the spread of the cold war.
4. Russia disobeyed the Yalta and Balkan treaties:
   1. The Yalta treaty signed between Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill in February 1945 accepted open elections in Poland.
   2. Stalin broke the treaty and gained power over Poland.
   3. Stalin accepted the Balkan treaty with Churchill in October 1944 and agreed that England would empower the Balkans as Russia.
   4. Stalin later neglected the treaty and created a workers’ dictatorship in Romania, Greece, Hungary, and Yugoslavia, the Balkan states. As a result, the Western powers were upset.
5. Poisonous Canvassing of Media:
   1. The capitalist and communist countries started poisonous campaigning against each other through newspapers, radio, and television.
   2. Stalin decided to spread communism all over the world, whereas Truman and Churchill decided to uproot communism.
6. Weapon Competition:
   1. America deliberately kept Russia in dark about its readiness in nuclear weapons.
   2. Russia also performed a nuclear test and showed that it was also well prepared in nuclear arms.
   3. The Cold War became severe due to their competition over weapons.