Davison History Department

Why did the USSR and USA dislike each other?

 

*Different political systems. USSR was Communist and USA was capitalist. The USA hated communism and its lack of freedoms. Both countries thought their way was the way other countries should be run.

The USA believed the USSR was trying to spread communism across the world and tried to prevent this. The USSR believed it was under threat by the west and that it was acting defensively, not aggressively.

• A History of mistrust: During the Russian Civil War (1918-22) America had fought for the Whites to destroy communism.

• The western countries had not allied with Russia in the 1930s. Russia had not been allowed to join the League of Nations. Britain and France had appeased (given into) Hitler, who hated Communism. Stalin was not invited to the Munich conference in 1938. The West knew that Hitler intended to destroy communism. Stalin felt threatened when they allowed Hitler to take parts of Czechoslovakia.

• During World War 2 when Hitler invaded Russia, the western allies were slow to open a second front in Europe to draw the Germans away from Russia. Stalin believed they were deliberately delaying D Day in France to weaken Russia.

• The USA had not shared the secret of the atom bomb with USSR in 1945, even though they were allies.

• The USA resented that USSR wouldn’t invade Japan at the end of World War II.

• West feared Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe.