Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty was a marvelous creation that helped in the demise of the Soviet Union. There is no doubt that the Cold War was full of mischief and deceit, that it was necessary from a democratic perspective to hear the true sides of events. The innovations of the Cold War Committee enable these two stations to beam the correct versions of event behind the Eastern Curtain. For many Communist and noncommunist; there was only one version of what happened, and the advent of RFE and RFL gave the conquered people the opportunity to hear both sides. Naturally, many people behind the Iron Curtain were often confused, and since there was no means to verify the accuracy of the radio’s message, most assume it was all propaganda regardless of the source.
Arch Puddington wrote a most captivation and well researched book on the impact of RFE and RL, in informing listeners, which brought about the demise of Marxism and the Eastern Bloc. Puddington suggested that the success of the stations goes to the grand architects: Allen Dulles, George Kennan, and General Lucius Clay, who were firmly committed to the effectiveness of the stations. Puddington stated that, a 1949 RFE memo refers to Kennan as the “Father of our project”, in which he drafted NSC 10/2, which authorized psychological warfare, including propaganda against the enemy.(p11) Indeed, this should come as no surprise, since he was after all the main architect of the Cold War policy.
His book offers the reader a fascination glimpse of RFE and RL in executing the U.S. Cold War foreign policy, and the efforts of foreign agents to infiltrate and subvert both stations without any success. Arguably, the stations served as the principal means of expressing America’s po...
... middle of paper ...
...ad a tremendous impact on the USSR, and was very much a part of the equation for their sudden demise.
All in all, this was a most exhilarating book which dwells on the trials and triumphs of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, and tremendous role in bring about the demise of Communism. Without a doubt, the stations did their part, which it is no wonder the Soviets were reluctance to end their jamming of RL, whilst they did not for VOA, and the BBC. Arguably, it is no wonder that the vast majority of Russian citizens, who have since emigrated from the USSR, saw for themselves the lies their leaders told them about the west, and have since shared in the American dream of freedom and fulfillment. Indeed, one might add, successful experiment might also be used against the North Koreans, so that their people can fully experience what free of choice is all about.
Both the superpowers have made use of the propaganda to fight the Cold War. Propaganda is information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause of point of view. Especially, the USSR or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics efficiently manipulated the prop...
Evans, M. Stanton. “Mccarthyism: Waging The Cold War In America.” Human Events 53.21 (1997): S1. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
On June 19, 1953, there came an end to what would become known as “the trial of the century”. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted for being Soviet spies and leaking crucial information about the creation of atomic weapons to the Soviet Union. They were sentenced to death and executed by use of the electric chair, leaving behind two orphaned children. However, they have never admitted to committing this crime and their involvement in the leaking of the so-called Manhattan Project was never thoroughly proved. Their execution came to be known as one of the main events characteristic of the Cold War environment in the United States of the 1950s, which was influenced by the phenomenon of McCarthyism. This essay will examine the Rosenberg Case up close. It will first look at the course of their trial. Then it will take a step back and describe the Cold War environment in which the trial took place, which was being dominated by anti-communist sentiment, the Red Scare and Joseph McCarthy. In combining these two sections, this essay will seek to explain how the Rosenberg Case neglected American values of freedom and tolerance, and how this neatly fitted the environment of the Cold War.
Odd Arne Westad, Director of the Cold War Studies Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science, explains how the Cold War “shaped the world we live in today — its politics, economics, and military affairs“ (Westad, The Global Cold War, 1). Furthermore, Westad continues, “ the globalization of the Cold War during the last century created foundations” for most of the historic conflicts we see today. The Cold War, asserts Westad, centers on how the Third World policies of the two twentieth-century superpowers — the United States and the Soviet Union — escalates to antipathy and conflict that in the end helped oust one world power while challenging the other. This supplies a universal understanding on the Cold War (Westad, The Global Cold War, 1).
On the brink of the war, Germany needed hit the ground running or risk being defeated by the opponent. After Hitler became Head Chancellor of Nazi Germany, Joseph Goebbels was promoted to Reich Minister of Propaganda. Goebbels was greatly respected by his Germans and government officials after his service in the German military. It was observed as, “He (Goebbels) came as a fighter who had proved himself against the French, separatists and Communists in three years in the Rhine and Ruhr areas. He came without support; he had to build his own support.” Goebbels was viewed as a brilliant war hero who had all the answers to make Germany the most powerful country in the world. His popularity and image made him a suitable candidate to run the Ministry of Propaganda. In addition, Goebbels’ actions perfectly reflected the attitudes preached by Nazi Germany. The Third Reich was gaining momentum and it was all due to the active spread of Nazi propaganda. Nazi Germany was willing to go to any length to not only unite the German people to support the war, but also to use propaganda against the enemy directly. Newspapers, posters, rallies, and education of youth were a few ways Goebbels and the German Ministry of Propaganda spread their thoughts; however, nothing was as effective and important to the propagandist movement as radio. Radio was a revolutionary propaganda tool, to say the least, because it turned out to be the fastest, easiest, and most manipulative form of communication to shape the attitudes of the German people. The Third Reich did not intend to simply spread their propagandist thoughts to manipulate the German people. The bigger goal was to use radio as a psychological and strategic weapon of war, exponentially increasing the...
New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Gregory, Ross. A. Cold War America: 1946 to 1990. New York, NY: Facts on File, 2003. McQuaid, Kim.
Marshall, George C. Cold War Reference Library. Ed. Richard C. Hanes, Sharon M. Hanes, and
Stalin’s hunger for power and paranoia impacted the Soviet society severely, having devastating effects on the Communist Party, leaving it weak and shattering the framework of the party, the people of Russia, by stunting the growth of technology and progress through the purges of many educated civilians, as well as affecting The Red Army, a powerful military depleted of it’s force. The impact of the purges, ‘show trials’ and the Terror on Soviet society were rigorously negative. By purging all his challengers and opponents, Stalin created a blanket of fear over the whole society, and therefore, was able to stay in power, creating an empire that he could find more dependable.
boosted the USSR’s economy. Therefore Stalin had created a country which seemed corrupt at the time, but later on it improved by the hard work Stalin had forced upon them.
Walker, Jesse. Rebels on the air: an alternative history of radio in America. New York: New York University Press, 2001. Print.
The cold war was failed by the Soviet Union for many reasons, including the sudden collapse of communism (Baylis & Smith, 2001.) This sudden collapse of communism was brought on ultimately by internal factors. The soviet unions president Gorbachev’s reforms: glasnost (openness) and perestroika (political reconstructering) ultimately caused the collapse of the Soviet Empire. Gorbachev’s basics for glasnost were the promotion of principles of freedom to criticize; the loosening of controls on media and publishing; and the freedom of worship. His essentials of perestroika were, a new legislature; creation of an executive presidency; ending of the ‘leading role’ of the communist party; allowing state enterprises to sell part of their product on the open market; lastly, allowing foreign companies to own Soviet enterprises (Baylis & Smith, 2001.) Gorbachev believed his reforms would benefit his country, but the Soviet Union was ultimately held together by the soviet tradition he was trying to change. The Soviet Union was none the less held together by “…powerful central institutions, pressure for ideological conformity, and the threat of force.
Krastev, Nikola . "Salinger's 'Catcher In The Rye' Resonated Behind Iron Curtain As Well." RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. N.p.,
Karrington, Kelly. American and Russian Propaganda Techniques During the Cold War. Yahoo Voices. 20 July 2007. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
...E. The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
As with many important historical events throughout history the dissolution of the Soviet Union had many contributing forces. However, most historians agree that the main contributor was Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and the many radical reforms he implemented during the six years he was the leader of the USSR. Even though the official dissolution took place in December 1991, the Soviet Union’s demise began to take form in the 1980s. In order to understand why the Soviet Union dissolved it is important to have a clear picture of its history and political climate.