The Origins of the Cold War: The Soviet Perspective

Zubok and Pleshakov, “Stalin’s Road to the Cold War”

How did Russian history and its imperial legacy shape Soviet foreign policy and Soviet attitudes toward other nations?

Many in the West believed in the late 1940s that Stalin was out to conquer the world. Would the authors concur with such an assessment?

What was “Soviet ideology?” What ideas were at its core?

The authors state that “Marxist thought” had “imperial implications.” What do they mean by this?

Why did Lenin refuse to cooperate with the Allies during World War I, even though his refusal cost the USSR much of its territory and geopolitical power? How did his ideological views guide his decision?

How did the Soviet Union’s experience in and contribution to World War II shape its expectations for how it would be treated once the war was over?

Do the authors believe that Stalin was eager to provoke the Cold War with the West? What evidence do they cite to support their point of view on this issue?

Why did Stalin fear outside influences?

Why were the death of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan significant from the Soviet point of view?

The authors suggest Stalin undermined his own foreign policy goals. How did he do this?

The Novikov Telegram

Why would this be a significant document for historians of the cold war?

What does the Novikov telegram reveal about the Soviet perception of the US?

Given what you know (or what you’ve heard) about the nature of the regimes in Eastern Europe, what do you make of Novikov’s characterization of them as “democratic?”

In what specific ways, according to Novikov, is the postwar situation different than what the American “imperialists” had expected?

What evidence does he cite to back his contention that the US sought to establish world domination?