HIST 2401 Lecture : US Hist Mar 6.docx
26 Feb 2014
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
No formal break over soviet consolidation of their power in eastern europe. Traditional soviet challenges to british interests in the middle east (iran) and the eastern. As it does break apart, soviet vs everyone else, brit/us policy becomes economic and ideological containment. In power vacuum in europe, try to establish control in places where allies or where had armies. Soviet was trying to consolidate power on eastern fron (were invaded there twice by germany) Independent coungty now but under british control and had british bases. Us and brits said they"d talk with them about that. Brits didn"t want to give this over now. Diplomat george kennan"s long telegram (feb 46) sent to explain stalin"s anti-western behaviour. He said: soviet foreign policy motivated by a combination of traditional russian imperialism and marxist-leninist hostility toward all outsiders. Conflict was therefore inevitable regardless of what the west did; don"t base policy of.
