The Causes of the Cold War

In discussions of the causes of the Cold War, one controversial issue has been the question: who caused the Cold War? On the one hand, traditional historians argue that the leaders of the Soviet Union are to blame. On the other hand, revisionists contend that the Western leaders are to blame. Others even maintain that it was both the Western and the Soviet leaders who are equally responsible for the development of the Cold War. My own view is that the Western leaders were responsible for protecting democratic values that we enjoy today while the Soviet leadership’s ideology, aggressive and expansionist intrusions were mainly responsible for the development of the Cold War.

World War II had ended in 1945 leaving the Soviet Union in control of large areas of Eastern Europe, and the Western Allies in control of the West. While the Allies restored democracy in the West, the Soviets started turning the Red Army occupied countries into Soviet satellites controlled my Moscow. Unfortunately, the consolidation and threat of the communist regime, and Stalin’s threatening expansion in Eastern Europe led to distrust and suspicion. Tensions were heightened by the ideological differences between the two sides of the “iron curtain”.

On March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill delivered a speech at Westminister College in Fulton Missouri known as the "Iron Curtain." In his speech, he uncovered what he believed were the true intentions of the Soviet leadership. Hoping for a peaceful reconciliation with the Russians, Churchill said “We welcome Russia to her rightful place among the leading nations of the world.“ However, based on the events in Eastern Europe, he felt that the Soviet intentions were not only solely for security but rather expansion...

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