IB History: Cold War Cause – Theory 1

IB History: Cold War Cause – Theory 1

The Cold War began as early as the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution

As this is a guide about the Cold War, I won’t go into too much detail about the Bolshevik Revolution. Basically, during World War I, the Russians were facing potential defeat under the rule of Nicholas Tsar. Therefore, the Bolsheviks (a type of Marxist Revolutionists) decided to take matter in their own hands and rallied the support of the citizens to overthrow the Tsar and withdraw from the war.

The 1917 Bolshevik Revolution was the beginning of the Communism in Russia (later called the USSR), which would continue until the end of the Cold War.

However, there was a conflict between the Bolsheviks and the anti-communists, or Red Shirts (Bolsheviks) vs White Shirts (Anti-Communists). Now, here is where the imperial forces come in. The USA and UK were not idle bystanders. They sent forces and supplies to support the White shirts.

When the Bolsheviks eventually won, I’m sure Lenin sent special thanks to the USA and UK for being so “supportive”.

Kidding aside, historians have argued that from that moment, the USSR had begun to become suspicious towards the Western side, and it was clear to Lenin that they had a strong distaste for Communism. From this moment, it was clear that both sides distrusted each other, and cooperation was going to be a challenge.