Soviet Union Dbq Essay

Imagine two superpowers, once allies, now enemies. Weapons of mass destruction; stockpiled, but never used in battle. A war, never fought. From 1945 through 1950, the wartime alliance between the U.S.A. and Soviet Union deteriorated. Several times, during the next four decades, these powers clashed, though never physically.

“He was determined to establish a sphere of influence that would safeguard Soviet periphery for all time.” (doc. 12) Stalin’s goal was to promote a great country, and he did. His footprint was left behind, as effects of his work is still shown throughout the previous countries of the

The arms race caused tensions between the U.S. and USSR, bringing them closer to the brink

The U.S also went to 99% but they had more people that knew how to read or write in the year 1915 than compared to the Soviet Union. (Doc F) Another major event between the U.S and the Soviet Union, was the Space Race. The U.S and the Soviet Union were in a race to get their satellite up into space first. The Soviet Union was better prepared than the U.S because they invested a lot of money to the education of the children and adults.

Joseph Stalin instilled a totalitarian government into Ukraine’s society. Moreover, Stalin tried to cut any threats that would affect his plan in making Russia a communist utopia, by using the secret police. (document 1) But, the Ukrainians were independent, rebellious people who believed strongly in their culture and

Russian Revolution In 1922, as a result of the Russian Revolution, a new political party emerged: the USSR or the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was the world’s first communist state. Communism was a new political and economic model that was supposed to get rid of class distinction. From the beginning, communism opposed capitalism and capitalist countries like the United States. The Russian Revolution united the socialists against the capitalists, with the USSR, a communist country, siding with the socialists.

Therefore, despite the horrors of Stalin’s regime, one could argue that the socialist realism paintings could ‘mould the consciousness of the people’ into believing that Stalin was a great and wise leader, a kind and humble man, and the father of all Soviet people, thus reinforcing his cult of personality that tries to portray him in that light. However, while art might have the power to do this, one must not forget about other visual representations of life such as photographs and posters. Their relative power and influence will be discussed later in the

and the Soviet Union. This war was not fought with weapons but with technology to see who could out due each other. The space race came from this. Both the U.S. and Russia were trying to see who could send satellites and people into space. In the end the U.S. won the space race.

Section B: Summary of Evidence American Inferiority to Soviets • Soviet’s Sputnik device was eight times heavier than what the U.S planned and launched much sooner. • Soviets claimed to understand American “difficulties” but disclaimed their competition with America in conquering space. Improved Space Technology • American fears were provoked because the Soviets were able to launch a major space technology while the United States had failed twice. • Prior to Russian launch of Sputnik

The USSR’s GNP (Gross National Product) was significantly lower than the United States, but the USSR still spent over thirty billion more dollars on their military program. The Soviet Union had more of everything, besides money. The military was known as the “Red Army,” and they had more troops, tanks, artillery guns, and nuclear weapons than any other nation on the planet. In Document E, Time Magazine compares the USSR’s Nuclear Arsenal to that of the United States, and its more than double the size. The USSR went to extreme lengths to have the most powerful army in the world, yet it greatly damaged their economy years before it collapsed.

The United States and the Soviet Union’s alliance came to an end from 1945-1950. Then from 1947 to 1991, the Cold War took place and these two nations were competitors at every thing they did during the war. Both nations wanted to have the main influence an impact on life throughout the world. They wanted global charge and other nations to follow the same economic and political systems. The Cold War put both of these nations at test to see who could succeed the most.

"The Cold War was an ideological contest between the western democracies especially the United States and the Communist countries that emerged after the Second World War" (Tindall 972). The United States and the Soviet Union had differences over issues such as human rights, individual liberties, economic freedom, and religious belief. "Mutal suspicion and a race to gain influence and control over the so called nonaligned or third world countries further polarized" (Tindall 945). After the WWII Soviets dominate European countries and thought the U.S. had the same motives.

However, this only scratches the surface of what Stalin put the Soviet Union through. Stalin was a very persuasive man, his writings make it seem as if he is in the right and is innocent. To support this statement, two pieces of Stalin's writings were

In the 1960s and 1970s, the United States had a wide range of powerful military capabilities. However, during the Vietnam War, the United States of America government attempted to use its strength in an asymmetric manner. In times the United States of America uses the military technology instead of using soldiers, and sometimes use their military power to change the state of war and carry out of the way. However, in this the longest ever played in a war, although the United States spent a considerable force, but still failed attainable military victory. There was no way for America to win.

Through his role model of a true leader and his great charisma he influenced the Russian citizens to contribute towards his vision of a greater Russia. Vladimir Putin is seen, as a strong leader with brilliant psychological skills that had the power and will to make the decisions and take crazy risks, which he thought, was right for Russian citizens. He was highly people oriented since he new the culture and came from the same background as many Russian individuals and he new what they exactly needed and wanted in a president. But on the contrary his management background helped him to direct and control the Russian citizens by coordinating and harmonizing them to accomplish a mutual goal that was based on their needs and wants. Vladimir Putin created strategies, policies based on the Russian culture, values and views.