While the wreckage of World War II had not yet been cleared, two new
giants were rising on the world stage: the United States and the Soviet Union.
The emergence of these two nations as superpowers marked the beginning of that
long and tense era known as the “Cold War.” (This historic term was first used
in 1947 by the American economist and statesman Bernard Baruch).
The primary critical developments that shaped international politics and
the fate of the world during this new era were:
The Collapse of Europe: The fact that Europe and its established states, which had been the centre
of the traditional balance of power and politics for centuries, emerged from
the war with massive devastation, practically in ruins.
The New Superpowers: The filling
of this massive political vacuum by the USA and the Soviet Union, who emerged
from the war victorious and much stronger, claiming the status of “superpowers.”
The Shadow of Nuclear Weapons: Undoubtedly, the most defining element of this era was the development of nuclear weapons. This terrifying invention continues to directly shape both era and modern international crises. Just as we see today in the ongoing tensions between the US and Iran or in modern warfare strategies, nuclear deterrence is the greatest diplomatic weapon inherited from the Cold War.
With Europe withdrawing from the stage of world politics
after World War II, the international order took on a sharply bipolar nature centred
around the USA and the Soviet Union. One of the first concrete steps of this
polarization was the secret bargain that went down in history as the Percentages
Agreement, which took place in Moscow in October 1944. Aimed at
definitively establishing spheres of influence in Eastern Europe, this
agreement saw British Prime Minister Churchill and Soviet Leader Stalin
determine their dominance over Eastern European countries by dividing them into
percentages on a simple scrap of paper.
According to this, the fate of entire nations was divided by
these ruthless ratios:
·
Romania: 90%
USSR, 10% UK
·
Greece: 90% UK
(with the US), 10% USSR
·
Yugoslavia:
50% USSR, 50% UK
·
Hungary: 50%
USSR, 50% UK (Soviet ratio was later increased)
· Bulgaria: 75% USSR, 25% UK (Soviet ratio was later increased)
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| British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Leader Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin Generated by AI The
Berlin Crisis and the Baruch Plan The first major and
volatile crisis of the Cold War erupted in the heart of Germany, the country
that suffered the heaviest wounds of the war. Following World War II, just like
the rest of Germany, the capital city of Berlin was divided into four
occupation zones by the victorious powers (the US, UK, France, and the USSR).
However, the Soviet Union’s aggressive attempt to push Western powers
completely out of its occupation zone and its deliberate prevention of German
reunification severed all ties. When a compromise proved impossible, the US,
UK, and France made a swift move to merge their respective occupation zones,
laying the foundations for West Germany (and West Berlin). This situation
triggered the historic “Berlin Crisis,” bringing the world to the brink of a
new war. In response to the Soviet Union’s ruthless 1948 Berlin
Blockade, which cut off all land and rail routes to force Western powers out of
the city, the US and UK launched the Berlin Airlift, one of the most legendary maneuvers
of the Cold War. Wanting to save the city without triggering a hot conflict,
Allied planes performed an unprecedented logistical miracle by flying day and
night for nearly a year to airdrop thousands of tons of food, coal, and medical
supplies into West Berlin. Faced with the West's unwavering resolve, the
Soviets were forced to lift the blockade in May 1949, and this humanitarian
operation went down in memory as one of the greatest psychological victories of
the free world against communism. Nuclear Crisis The US submitted a proposal
to the UN known as the “Baruch Plan” for the control of the atomic bomb,
a weapon it had used at the end of WWII to prove its ultimate power to the
world. This plan envisioned the creation of an international authority with
unlimited inspection powers over nations to monitor the development and use of
atomic energy. The US even demanded an alteration of the famous “veto” system
in the UN Security Council to ensure that violators of the agreement could not
block their own punishment. However, the Soviet Union categorically rejected this plan. The Stalin administration harboured a highly justified fear: if this plan were implemented, the US would remain the sole “monopoly” capable of manufacturing nuclear weapons, and America, which already heavily dominated the UN, would completely manipulate this newly established atomic commission for its own interests. This mistrust between the US, which was unwilling to share its nuclear secrets, and the Soviets, who rejected this inspection plan, pushed the tension between the two superpowers to its peak, officially igniting the terrifying global nuclear arms race.  The
Construction of the Eastern Bloc and the First Cracks As
Europe was divided in two, the fate of the countries behind the “Iron Curtain”
had already been sealed. Thanks to the power vacuum created by the war and the
military presence of the Red Army, Marxist-Leninist parties rapidly seized
political power in countries like Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. The greatest
share in the establishment of communist regimes in these countries undoubtedly
belonged to Soviet tanks. However,
not all of the Eastern Bloc was under the absolute control of the Soviets. Two
countries stepped outside this rule and drew their own destinies: Yugoslavia and Albania. ·
Yugoslavia: Not owing its power to Soviet armies and having driven out
the Nazis with its own strong partisan resistance, Yugoslavia (under the
leadership of Tito) exhibited an independent communist movement from the very
beginning and refused to fall into the Soviet orbit. · Albania: Similarly, the National Liberation Front led by Enver Hoxha
seized power by its own strength on November 29, 1944. Initially allied with
the Soviets, Albania eventually opposed this hegemony and completely broke away
from the Soviet Union in 1961. The
other Eastern European countries, apart from these two exceptions, faced direct
Soviet intervention (such as tanks rolling into the streets) at the slightest
attempt at independence. Up
to this point, we have talked about what the concept of the Cold War means, the
general characteristics of the era, the post-war devastation, and how that
famous bipolar world (US-USSR) was separated by sharp lines. In other words, we
have made quite a “hot” and solid entry into that tense and long Cold War era! Now, we are moving on to the First Phase of this massive period (1947-1950s). But don't worry; without getting bogged down in details and endless diplomatic crises, we will continue on our way by briefly touching only upon those most critical turning points that changed the fate of the world. |
