Cold War- Arms Race between US and USSR which Lead to the Fall of USSR - Essay Example

Cold War- Arms race between US and USSR which lead to the Fall of USSR Introduction Cold war sfrom 1947-1991. It was characterized by both political and military superiority between United States which was backed by its NATO allies and Soviet Union that led the communist side. This cold war was mainly started after the success of the alliance that was formed against Nazi Germany. This competition supremacy on nuclear warfare attracted other countries that also started making nuclear war due to the tension that existed in the world. Both sides directed huge sum of money to the military budget with each side trying to outdo the other. History of the cold war The relations gap between United States and Soviet Union were widened up by differences in economic and political ideologies. As a result, each country started suspecting the other as fears of attacks rose to greater heights. These differences prevented them from coming into a mutual understanding an aspect that could have reduced the rivalry. Some of the key policies that widened this rivalry were for example, the case of Cuban missile crisis. In addition, immediately after World War II United States had monopolized knowledge concerning the raw materials that were required to develop nuclear weapons. United States thought that owning nuclear weapons would draw concessions and fear from USSR but, this was not the case. Soviet Union started by trying to match the weapons through working on the atomic bomb silently. A steady supply of uranium from Eastern Europe provided hope to the Soviet Union. Although the project was so expensive for the country, they succeeded in making an atomic bomb. In mid 1950’s, Soviet Union detonated the first bomb in 1949 an aspect that caught the world unaware (Phillips, 2010). Arms race Decision by United States to drop nuclear bombs in Japan in 1945 signalled the starting of the cold war. This move also triggered main aspects of the cold war. A tense moment followed with both superpower being silent to each other in terms of arms up to 1949 when USSR tested its nuclear bomb that was known as ‘Joe one’. The weapon matched ‘Fat man’ which was dropped by United States in Japan. Once each country realized that their weapon power matched, they started funding research that was directed towards making stronger nuclear weapons that were of mass destruction. This resulted to increased quantities and quality of nuclear arsenals. The move saw both countries starting to develop a hydrogen bomb. United States was the first to detonate a hydrogen bomb in 1952. Following this move, Soviet Union intensified their effort to develop a more powerful nuclear bomb. In august 1953, the Soviet Union surprised the whole world by detonating a thermonuclear device despite not being a hydrogen bomb as many were expecting. Furthermore, in 1955, the Soviet Union exploded a hydrogen bomb an aspect that ended speculation that the country was working on hydrogen bomb (Ringer, 2005, p.67). The next major development followed in 1957 when USSR launched the first satellite that was called ‘sputnik’. This was the largest satellite that the world had seen before. In addition, it developed long range inter- continental ballistic missiles. These missiles were regarded as more advanced platform of nuclear weapons and that they were more effective system to deliver in comparison to strategic bombers that was initially used at the starting of the cold war. The soviet union were therefore, able to proof to the world that they had the ability to launch a missile to any part of the world after they launched Sputnik in earth orbit. Following this incident, each country started concentrating on advancing the level of technology that was used to develop nuclear weapons. Although United States was developing missiles, it kept it a secret up to 1958 when it announced that it possesses missiles. This was after a public outcry that the country must rapidly build up its block of ICBM’s. United States went ahead to develop U-2 spy planes which played a great role in helping United States spy the Soviet Union weapons. This build up forced USSR to try and catch up with United States development despite its weakening economy. One of the following developments was the announcement by United States that it possesses submarines-launched ballistic missiles. USSR maintained silence until 1968 when they started using the new technology. The new technology came up with new challenges because the country had very few harbours that could service its nuclear submarines (Phillips, 2003). In 1968, the Soviet Union came up with a new development- the building of antiballistic missiles defence systems. These were to be used for deliver nuclear, chemical, biological or even conventional warheads. They were also designed to counter ICBM’s. As a method to counter this development, United States came up with multiple independently targeted re-entry vehicles (MIRV’s) which improved the chances of avoiding detection by ABM systems. In addition to this development, United States also developed its own IBM in order to match that of Soviet Union. During this period that each country was developing nuclear weapons, countries were also drafting strategies that can be used to launch these weapons. This was despite early leaders such as Stalin and Eisenhower believe that nuclear weapon would be a global catastrophe. Eisenhower policy stated that if attacked, the United States will respond through using any weapon that is under its command rather than using a limited nuclear war. This policy was replaced by Kennedy’s policy, which was more flexible. This policy emphasized more on counterforce as a more effective policy to fight a nuclear war. This strategy targeted the military rather than the public. This policy was mainly seen by the Soviet Union as an attempt by United States to launch pre-emptive strikes in any international crisis short of war. This strategy failed to work during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 an aspect that led to its replacement by a more effective policy of mutually assured destruction (MAD). This policy aimed at both the military and public in order to cause mass destruction and cause maximum casualties. The idea that was behind the formation of this policy was that risks of such a war would prevent both sides to avoid any future crisis from getting out of control. This policy was mainly a reversion of Eisenhower idea that called for massive retaliation. Conventional weapons Although the obvious feature that characterized the cold war was stockpiling of nuclear warheads, new types of weapons and also delivery system plays a great role in the war. During the period of the cold war, the USSR had a huge superiority in Europe than any other country in relation to NATO. This was in terms of troops and tanks. Despite the country being a European state, its conventional forces were also deployed along the boundaries of china. This intensified the cold war. Space race Since 1950, cold war was also directed towards the space. Both the Soviet Union and United States of America tried to gain a lead in the new scientific and endeavour and exploration of space. This was mainly directed to military development. Some of the developments included rockets to launch nuclear warheads on the space. Each of these sides was determined to show it’s mighty no matter the economic impact that the war could have to the country. USSR president was determined to ensure that he wins the space race, and at first USSR recorded a score of successes. In 1957, it was able to send a man on space. At the initial stages, USSR was able to dominate the race up to 1970’s when United States joined. President Kennedy poured money in US space programme. This made the country come to the same level in terms of space technology with USSR. In1969, United States sent the first person on the moon. USSR tried to catch up with United States with no success (Sheehan, 2003). Spies and lies One of the cold war features that were familiar to people from east and west was spying. One of the person that is well known by spying during the cold war was Ian Fleming. It was during this time that activities of bodies such as CIA hit the headlines. Spying became common to both countries as they tried to gain access to each other’s military intelligence. Different journalists were arrested by both sides and accused of spying. Despite public denial by the government that spying was not happening, both nations continued to spy each other. In addition to spying, propaganda was common during this cold war. Both governments funded propaganda campaigns through its media (Combs, 2008, p.17). These propagandas tried to convince the public that what the country was doing was meant to protect them. The propaganda lied to the public concerning government actions such as assassinations, sabotage and support for the terrorist. Impact of the cold war For a period of decades, the world experienced intensified arm race with the world superpowers trying to outdo each other. This rivalry saw the development of sophisticated weapons and intelligence services. In addition, countries started diverting their attention towards expanding their troop size and ensuring that they are updated. On the other hand, despite the arm race having a negative effect to the world, the race had some positive impact. As a result of arm race, the countries were able to divert their attention towards technological development an aspect that seen the world become a technological hub (Gottfried, 2003, p. 56). This has been in particular in the communication sector. Through the use of the satellite, other services such as maintaining security have been well improved. After four decades of the cold war and military rivalry, cold war came to an end after Gorbachev assumed power in the Soviet Union. No one predicted that he could bring any changes to the rivalry that was deteriorating. After United States continue to advance technologically, USSR economy started to deteriorate. This resulted to military build up which was at an expense of domestic development and economic growth. Gorbachev political and social freedoms also contributed largely to the collapse of USSR. This is because these freedoms created an atmosphere of open critics. The situation in USSR aggravated after the drop of oil prices in 1985 and 86. This was backed up by lack of foreign exchange reserves in years that followed. This made it hard for the country to purchase grain to sustain its growing population. The public started to lose its trust towards the sitting government as it was unable to satisfy its interest (Morgan, 2010). As a way to revert the situation Gorbachev started drafting new policies of glasnost’ and ‘perestroika’. Glasnost which meant openness meant a great willingness by soviet officials to allow ideas from the west and goods to the country. On the other hand, perestroika was an initiative that was meant to allow limited incentives of the market to soviet citizens. The president hoped that these changes would spark off the economy, but that was not the case. Instead, country saw these as failed policies an aspect that led to unravelling of the soviet bloc which began in Poland in June 1989. Although the soviet military tried to intervene in countries such as Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland the locals voted unanimously for a non-communist opposition government to form their government. Although the whole world was watching in anxiety to see the soviet roll tanks in an attempt to prevent new government in Poland from taking powers, Gorbachev never acted. After Poland formed an independent government, other countries started to go against dictatorship regimes. Demand of the countries to gain freedom spread throughout the Soviet Union (Ganske, 2008, p. 152). This led Gorbachev with no country to rule an aspect that even led to his arrest and being put under house arrest. The turn of events shocked the world especially united states which pumped trillions of dollars towards armament of the war that was never to be. Conclusion After the end of the cold war, the world was left with only one superpower. Since then countries have tried to re-establish their nuclear weapons with Russia and other upcoming countries being suspecting of developing nuclear weapons. Works Cited Combs, Dick. Inside The Soviet Alternate Universe: The Cold Wars End and the Soviet Unions Fall Reappraised. N.p., 2008. Print. Ganske, Christian. U.S. foreign policy and the end of the Cold War. N.p., 2008. Print. Gottfried, Ted. The Cold War. Twenty-First Century Books, 2003. Print. Morgan, Kayla. The Cold War. Minnesota: ABDO, 2010. Print. Phillips, Steve. The Cold War: Conflict in Europe and Asia. 3th ed. New York, United States: Heinemann, 2001. Print. Phillips, Steve. The Cold War: New York: Heinemann, 2003. Print. Ringer, Ronald E. Excel HSC Modern History. New York, United States: Pascal Press, 2005. Print. Sheehan, Sean. The Cold War. Black Rabbit Books, 2003. Print. Read More