The Cold War a Concise History - Essay Example

The main point of contention was that the USA supported capitalism, and thus sought to lure its allies and other friendly countries in the world to adapt to this system. On the contrary, Russia advocated for communism, and thus wanted its allies and other of its friendly countries to adapt this (49). Consequently, Joseph Stalin, the then Russian president issued a very hostile speech in February 1946, postulating that capitalism and communism were not compatible and that communism was more superior and public friendly.

This was followed by a requirement by the then USA president Truman, that Russia leaves Iran, on March of the same year (65). The subsequent periods were marked by an arms race between the two countries, each launching major nuclear bomb tests by Russia in 1949 and USA in 1953 (38). The hostility continued for the better of the 1960-1970s, with each country seeking to contain the spread of the other countries ideology and dominance. This period was marked by among others the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and the Afghan war of 1979 to 1989 (51).

While the Soviet Union blocked access to West Berlin, the USA and its allies sought to supply it through the air. This greatly increased the tension. Several agreements were entered to throughout the period to stop any breakout of a physical war since it would have seen nuclear weapons used, which would have caused untold damage (76). It is these agreements, accompanied by the breakdown of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s which saw the cold war effectively come to an end, leaving the USA as the sole world power.