Stalin and Stalinism Essay

Was Stalin To Blame for the Cold War?
What lead up to the war...
The USSR was not included in the Ledge of Nations
Appeasement had caused a large amount of fear in communism
The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact had caused other countries to no longer trust the USSR.
This all increased HOSTILITY.
By 1945…
Stalin had dominance over the party in Russia; he had a powerful state security system which helped conceal many of his plans.
He had a ruthless maintence of power.
NATO
War Conferences
Counter-arguments
Documents
Stalin and the Allies Who Deceived Whom?   Pgs 174-177
  * Stalin had a fairly successful relationship with Roosevelt but not with any other American nor the Brit. Minister, with whom he was rude and over familiar. Stalin behaved with discretion around Roosevelt, yet teased Churchill throughout the war.
  * During the war Stalin had to explain his tone more than once, he passes off frankness and rudeness as idiosyncratic jokes or aphorisms, historians argue that it was difficult to distinguish a joke from an insult. He succeeded in continuously misleading his allies during the war years.
  * Sometimes stalin was deliberately rude and capricious and behaved insultingly   he followed this pattern during 3 meetings, the   first went smooth and well, the second he was rude and insulting and the 3rd he acted as if nothing happened. (he   sowed confusion into his interculours)
  * Stalin skillfully cultivated a sense of uncertainty in western powers.
  * No diplomacy can compare with Stalin’s and the art of creating secrets.
      * Stalinism had a brutal hierarchy, espionage, and close knit group of colleagues
  * Stalin created the illusion that he was willing to help and would do
  * Stalin didn’t bring interpreters to private meetings

Cold War Books
  * USSR was inevitably expansionist
  * USSR was very suspicious of the Western Powers.
  * Stalin violated Yalta an Potsdam Agreements
  * Stalin planned to spread... [continues]

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