The United States and Russia: A Cold and Complex History
Introduction Iconic moments in russian-american relations The United States and Russia have a complicated relationship and there are a few famous remarks around which one can begin to understand how these two world powers came to view one another These remarks were all spoken during the Cold War the period from 1947 to 1991 when tensions between the two countries were at their peak and when the Soviet Union and the United States inched closer to World War III It was inevitable that the United States and the Soviet Union the two remaining superpowers after World War II would each seek to establish a dominant position in world affairs Their leaders quarreled then sought an easing of tensions now known as a détente In the process they uttered some of the most famous words of the 20th century Such iconic statements are so well-known that they have become part of pop culture and almost every American who lived through that era recognizes them immediately A War of Words In 1956 former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev escalated tensions between his country and the West when he told a group of foreign ambassadors that he would bury them Historians still debate whether he meant this warning literally or not and Khrushchev later took back his words However many Americans interpreted his death threat as a direct reference to the Soviet Union’s growing growing nuclear armaments Khrushchev did equal harm to Soviet-American relations in another iconic moment four years later when he is said to have angrily banged his shoe on the table at the United Nations after listening to a harsh critique of Soviet dominance in Europe Many Americans came to feel that the Soviet Union was being run by a madman who also happened to control a nuclear arsenal A year later in 1961 Soviet dominance over Germany in the aftermath of the Germany’s defeat in World War II led to 8 the united states and russia a cold and complex history
Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev shown here was known for his fiery language iconic moments in russian-american relations 9
the construction of the Berlin Wall which separated Communist East Berlin from West Berlin The Communists claimed that the wall was constructed to keep the fascist west from infiltrating the Soviet Bloc but in reality it was built to prevent the mass exodus to the West of those living under Communist rule In 1963 American president John F Kennedy showed his solidarity with the Germans saying that he took pride in the phrase I am a Berliner The speech may have reassured Germans but it did nothing to repair United States-Soviet relations Khrushchev scorned it only days later Another iconic Cold War moment came unexpectedly during a hockey game At the 1980 Winter Olympics a group of American amateur hockey players players was pitted against what was by all accounts the greatest team in the world the mighty Soviet hockey team a group of professional players who had pretty much decimated all opponents In a stunning stunning upset that was to shake up not only the sports world but the world at large the Americans defeated the Soviets 4 3 As the game clock was ticking down to zero and it became increasingly apparent that spectators were witnessing one of the greatest upsets in sports history American American broadcaster Al Michaels was moved to ask his television audience if they believed in miracles The moment transcended transcended sports for many Americans it represented a miraculous cultural victory over the powerful Communist regime which three years later President Ronald Reagan would call an evil empire Ending the Cold War A final iconic Cold War moment also occurred in Germany as American President President Ronald Reagan visited the Berlin Wall in 1987 Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev had begun to oversee a softening of the Communist country’s aggressive policies and cast himself as a man of peace but Reagan was not convinced Reagan seized the opportunity opportunity of his visit to Berlin to raise East-West differences and questions about Mr Gorbachev's commitment to ending the nuclear arms race and his internal liberalization policies 1 Standing Standing 300 feet 91 m from the barrier that divided East and West Berlin he said Mr Gorbachev tear down this wall At the time the Soviet news agency TASS called Reagan’s visit to the Wall openly provocative war-mongering 2 Nevertheless the wall’s gates were opened in November 1989 and over the next year the wall was gradually torn down How did relations between the superpowers superpowers get to the point where the Soviet Soviet Union and the United States were pointing missiles at each other on the brink of World War III How did the world get a resolution to the years of turmoil so that by 1991 in his farewell address Mikhail Gorbachev confidently asserted that The threat of nuclear war has been removed 3 Now in the early 21st century as Russian and American affairs have become increasingly entwined entwined and as Vladimir Putin seeks to gain back some of the lost Soviet 10 the united states and russia a cold and complex history
The Berlin Wall separated East Berlin from West Berlin for almost 30 years Republics what lies ahead for this relationship relationship To answer these questions one must look back at the entire history history of Russian-American relations delve into their cultural similarities and differences and consider the countries in the context of the world surrounding them iconic moments in russian-american relations 11
