"Why did relations between the USA and USSR change in the years 1945-49?"

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“Why did relations between the USA and USSR change in the years 1945-49?” (15)

        In the years of 1945-1949, the relationship between the USA and the USSR changed in many shapes and forms due to various reasons. It mainly began at the Yalta Conference in February of 1945 where the three main allied powers of Churchill (Britain), Roosevelt (US) and Stalin (USSR) first met. Here, we can understand that the relations between the two biggest powers – USA and USSR – were very much neutral from the beginning due to the fact that they were “a team” fighting Nazi Germany in the Second World War. Roosevelt wanted to be great friends with Stalin and wanted to unite America and Russia, however, Stalin thought Roosevelt was trying to trick him. At the conference, many agreements were made between the powers including all three countries were to join the United Nations Organisation, Stalin would enter the war against Japan after Germany had surrendered and support America, and more importantly Berlin and Germany would be divided into four zones (American, French, British and Soviet).

Yet, by the Potsdam conference in July-August of the same year, the relationship was worse and the communication between the two main powers were at an all time low. This was mainly because America had successfully tested the Atomic bomb one day prior to the start of the meeting. This great step into Nuclear weapons changed the bond for the bad, as Stalin realised how much power America had, and how effective it could be (this idea of fear through nuclear weapons was emphasised again when the A-Bombs were dropped onto the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). The Arms Race that occurred between America and the USSR later on in 1950s and 1960s, was based on the fear factor felt between the two countries.

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As well as the Atom bombs, America had a new president in the form of Harry Truman. Truman aggravated the situation between America and the USSR because he had a more anti-communist view towards Stalin compared to the previous president Roosevelt, who had died from a heart attack in April. This meant that due to Stalin’s ideas of the spread of communism, Truman greatly distrusted Stalin, and now, instead of thinking Stalin as an ally, now thought of him as the opposition. Other disagreements at Potsdam also lead to the changes in relations such as the fact that Stalin wanted ...

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