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Iron Curtain: Cold War 1's Deadly Line of Demarcation - Megaprojects > .
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Monday, September 18, 2017
59-9-15 Khrushchev visits America 59-9-27
59-9-15 Khrushchev visits America - Cold War > .
History of the Cold War: Every Month - Dec '45 to Dec '91 > .Berlin Wall: Escaping for Freedom and Love - Geographics > .
The state visit of Nikita Khrushchev to the United States was a 13-day visit from 15–27 September 1959. It marked the first state visit of a Soviet leader to the US. Nikita Khrushchev, then General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Chairman of the Council of Ministers, was also the first ethnic Ukrainian leader of the Soviet Union to set foot in the Western Hemisphere. Being the first visit by a leader of his kind, the coverage of it resulted in an extended media circus.
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (15 April [O.S. 3 April] 1894 – 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of that country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev stunned the communist world with his denunciation of Stalin's crimes, and embarked on a policy of de-Stalinization with his key ally Anastas Mikoyan. He sponsored the early Soviet space program, and enactment of relatively liberal reforms in domestic policy. After some false starts, and a narrowly avoided nuclear war over Cuba, he conducted successful negotiations with the United States to reduce Cold War tensions. In 1964, the Kremlin leadership stripped him of power, replacing him with Leonid Brezhnev as First Secretary and Alexei Kosygin as Premier.
Khrushchev was born in 1894 in a village in western Russia. He was employed as a metal worker during his youth, and he was a political commissar during the Russian Civil War. Under the sponsorship of Lazar Kaganovich, he worked his way up the Soviet hierarchy. He supported Joseph Stalin's purges and approved thousands of arrests. In 1938, Stalin sent him to govern the Ukrainian SSR, and he continued the purges there. During what was known in the Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War, Khrushchev was again a commissar, serving as an intermediary between Stalin and his generals. Khrushchev was present at the bloody defense of Stalingrad, a fact he took great pride in throughout his life. After the war, he returned to Ukraine before being recalled to Moscow as one of Stalin's close advisers.
On 5 March 1953, Stalin's death triggered a power struggle in which Khrushchev emerged victorious upon consolidating his authority as First Secretary of the party's Central Committee. On 25 February 1956, at the 20th Party Congress, he delivered the "Secret Speech", which denounced Stalin's purges and ushered in a less repressive era in the Soviet Union. His domestic policies, aimed at bettering the lives of ordinary citizens, were often ineffective, especially in agriculture. Hoping eventually to rely on missiles for national defense, Khrushchev ordered major cuts in conventional forces. Despite the cuts, Khrushchev's time in office saw the tensest years of the Cold War, culminating in the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Khrushchev enjoyed strong support during the 1950s thanks to major victories like the Suez Crisis, the launching of Sputnik, the Syrian Crisis of 1957, and the 1960 U-2 incident. By the early 1960s however, Khrushchev's popularity was eroded by flaws in his policies, as well as his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. This emboldened his potential opponents, who quietly rose in strength and deposed him in October 1964. However, he did not suffer the deadly fate of previous Soviet power struggles and was pensioned off with an apartment in Moscow and a dacha in the countryside. His lengthy memoirs were smuggled to the West and published in part in 1970. Khrushchev died in 1971 of a heart attack.
Khrushchev was born in 1894 in a village in western Russia. He was employed as a metal worker during his youth, and he was a political commissar during the Russian Civil War. Under the sponsorship of Lazar Kaganovich, he worked his way up the Soviet hierarchy. He supported Joseph Stalin's purges and approved thousands of arrests. In 1938, Stalin sent him to govern the Ukrainian SSR, and he continued the purges there. During what was known in the Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War, Khrushchev was again a commissar, serving as an intermediary between Stalin and his generals. Khrushchev was present at the bloody defense of Stalingrad, a fact he took great pride in throughout his life. After the war, he returned to Ukraine before being recalled to Moscow as one of Stalin's close advisers.
On 5 March 1953, Stalin's death triggered a power struggle in which Khrushchev emerged victorious upon consolidating his authority as First Secretary of the party's Central Committee. On 25 February 1956, at the 20th Party Congress, he delivered the "Secret Speech", which denounced Stalin's purges and ushered in a less repressive era in the Soviet Union. His domestic policies, aimed at bettering the lives of ordinary citizens, were often ineffective, especially in agriculture. Hoping eventually to rely on missiles for national defense, Khrushchev ordered major cuts in conventional forces. Despite the cuts, Khrushchev's time in office saw the tensest years of the Cold War, culminating in the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Khrushchev enjoyed strong support during the 1950s thanks to major victories like the Suez Crisis, the launching of Sputnik, the Syrian Crisis of 1957, and the 1960 U-2 incident. By the early 1960s however, Khrushchev's popularity was eroded by flaws in his policies, as well as his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. This emboldened his potential opponents, who quietly rose in strength and deposed him in October 1964. However, he did not suffer the deadly fate of previous Soviet power struggles and was pensioned off with an apartment in Moscow and a dacha in the countryside. His lengthy memoirs were smuggled to the West and published in part in 1970. Khrushchev died in 1971 of a heart attack.
50-6-25 Korean War 53-7-27
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Last Time China and America Went to War > .How North Korea Became What It Is - Cold War > .
Korean War 1950-1953 - Cold War > .Korean War | Animated History - Armchair > .
History of the Cold War: Every Month - Dec '45 to Dec '91 > .Berlin Wall: Escaping for Freedom and Love - Geographics > .
01:20 Communist front
04:00 The attack from the north
07:00 On the brink of world war
10:10 A treacherous truce
13:07 Outro
04:00 The attack from the north
07:00 On the brink of world war
10:10 A treacherous truce
13:07 Outro
Cold War mapped - '45-'91 ..
The Korean War ("Fatherland Liberation War"; 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was a war between North Korea, with military support from China and the Soviet Union, and South Korea, backed by personnel from the United Nations (principally the United States). The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following clashes along the border and insurrections in the south. The war ended unofficially on 27 July 1953 in an armistice.
After the surrender of Japan at the end of WW2, on 15 August (officially 2 September) 1945, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into two zones of occupation. The Soviets administered the northern-half and the Americans administered the southern-half. In 1948, as a result of Cold War tensions, the occupation zones became two sovereign states. A socialist state was established in the north under the totalitarian leadership of Kim Il-sung and a capitalist state in the south under the authoritarian leadership of Syngman Rhee. Both governments of the two new Korean states claimed to be the sole legitimate government of all of Korea, and neither accepted the border as permanent.
North Korean Korean People's Army (KPA) forces crossed the border and drove into South Korea on 25 June 1950. The United Nations Security Council denounced the North Korean move as an invasion and authorized the formation of the United Nations Command and the dispatch of forces to Korea to repel it. The Soviet Union was boycotting the UN for recognising Taiwan as China, and China was not recognised by the UN, so neither could support the People's Republic of Korea (PRK). Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel.
After the first two months of war, South Korean Army (ROKA) and American forces hastily dispatched to Korea were on the point of defeat, retreating to a small area behind a defensive line known as the Pusan Perimeter. In September 1950, a risky amphibious UN counteroffensive was launched at Incheon, cutting off KPA troops and supply lines in South Korea. Those who escaped envelopment and capture were forced back north. UN forces invaded North Korea in October 1950 and moved rapidly towards the Yalu River—the border with China—but on 19 October 1950, Chinese forces of the People's Volunteer Army (PVA) crossed the Yalu and entered the war. UN retreat from North Korea after the First Phase Offensive and the Second Phase Offensive, then Chinese forces were in South Korea by late December.
In these and subsequent battles, Seoul was captured four times, and communist forces were pushed back to positions around the 38th parallel, close to where the war had started. After this, the front stabilized, and the last two years were a war of attrition. The war in the air, however, was never a stalemate. North Korea was subject to a massive US bombing campaign. Jet fighters confronted each other in air-to-air combat for the first time in history, and Soviet pilots covertly flew in defense of their communist allies. Eventually, Chinese armies under Mao Zedong merged with the North Korean army and mounted an attack that, by their sheer numbers, pushed the American forces and their allies back to roughly what is the 38th parallel north.
The fighting ended on 27 July 1953 when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. The agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to separate North and South Korea, and allowed the return of prisoners. However, no peace treaty was ever signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war, engaged in a frozen conflict. In April 2018, the leaders of North and South Korea met at the DMZ and agreed to work toward a treaty to formally end the Korean War.
The Korean War was among the most destructive conflicts of the modern era, with approximately 3 million war fatalities and a larger proportional civilian death toll than WW2 or the Vietnam War. It incurred the destruction of virtually all of Korea's major cities, thousands of massacres by both sides, including the mass killing of tens of thousands of suspected communists by the South Korean government, and the torture and starvation of prisoners of war by the North Koreans. North Korea became among the most heavily bombed countries in history.
The Korean War ("Fatherland Liberation War"; 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was a war between North Korea, with military support from China and the Soviet Union, and South Korea, backed by personnel from the United Nations (principally the United States). The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following clashes along the border and insurrections in the south. The war ended unofficially on 27 July 1953 in an armistice.
After the surrender of Japan at the end of WW2, on 15 August (officially 2 September) 1945, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into two zones of occupation. The Soviets administered the northern-half and the Americans administered the southern-half. In 1948, as a result of Cold War tensions, the occupation zones became two sovereign states. A socialist state was established in the north under the totalitarian leadership of Kim Il-sung and a capitalist state in the south under the authoritarian leadership of Syngman Rhee. Both governments of the two new Korean states claimed to be the sole legitimate government of all of Korea, and neither accepted the border as permanent.
North Korean Korean People's Army (KPA) forces crossed the border and drove into South Korea on 25 June 1950. The United Nations Security Council denounced the North Korean move as an invasion and authorized the formation of the United Nations Command and the dispatch of forces to Korea to repel it. The Soviet Union was boycotting the UN for recognising Taiwan as China, and China was not recognised by the UN, so neither could support the People's Republic of Korea (PRK). Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel.
After the first two months of war, South Korean Army (ROKA) and American forces hastily dispatched to Korea were on the point of defeat, retreating to a small area behind a defensive line known as the Pusan Perimeter. In September 1950, a risky amphibious UN counteroffensive was launched at Incheon, cutting off KPA troops and supply lines in South Korea. Those who escaped envelopment and capture were forced back north. UN forces invaded North Korea in October 1950 and moved rapidly towards the Yalu River—the border with China—but on 19 October 1950, Chinese forces of the People's Volunteer Army (PVA) crossed the Yalu and entered the war. UN retreat from North Korea after the First Phase Offensive and the Second Phase Offensive, then Chinese forces were in South Korea by late December.
In these and subsequent battles, Seoul was captured four times, and communist forces were pushed back to positions around the 38th parallel, close to where the war had started. After this, the front stabilized, and the last two years were a war of attrition. The war in the air, however, was never a stalemate. North Korea was subject to a massive US bombing campaign. Jet fighters confronted each other in air-to-air combat for the first time in history, and Soviet pilots covertly flew in defense of their communist allies. Eventually, Chinese armies under Mao Zedong merged with the North Korean army and mounted an attack that, by their sheer numbers, pushed the American forces and their allies back to roughly what is the 38th parallel north.
The fighting ended on 27 July 1953 when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. The agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to separate North and South Korea, and allowed the return of prisoners. However, no peace treaty was ever signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war, engaged in a frozen conflict. In April 2018, the leaders of North and South Korea met at the DMZ and agreed to work toward a treaty to formally end the Korean War.
The Korean War was among the most destructive conflicts of the modern era, with approximately 3 million war fatalities and a larger proportional civilian death toll than WW2 or the Vietnam War. It incurred the destruction of virtually all of Korea's major cities, thousands of massacres by both sides, including the mass killing of tens of thousands of suspected communists by the South Korean government, and the torture and starvation of prisoners of war by the North Koreans. North Korea became among the most heavily bombed countries in history.
Sunday, September 17, 2017
46-2-22 Long Telegram
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1946-2-22 'Long Telegram' sent by George Kennan, senior US diplomat in Moscow > .22-9-2 Stalin vs Truman: Origins of the Cold War (Doc) > . On 22 February 1946 George F. Kennan, a senior American diplomat in Moscow, sent the "Long Telegram" outlining his views on the USSR. The long telegram explained Soviet motivations by recounting the history of Russian rulers as well as the ideology of Marxism–Leninism. It argued that the Soviet leaders used the ideology to characterize the external world as hostile, allowing them to justify their continued hold on power despite a lack of popular support. Washington bureaucrats quickly read the confidential message and accepted it as the best explanation of Soviet behavior. The reception elevated Kennan's reputation within the State Department as one of the government's foremost Soviet experts.
In the aftermath of World War 2, the United States found itself navigating a complex international landscape. While President Franklin D. Roosevelt had sought to cooperate with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Kennan believed that the USA had to adopt a dramatically different approach to post-war diplomacy.
On February 22, 1946, Kennan sent a 5,363-word telegram to Secretary of State James Byrnes containing his analysis. Known as the Long Telegram, it emphasized that the Soviet Union was inherently expansionist and ideologically driven. Kennan argued that the Soviet leadership saw itself in a perpetual state of conflict with the capitalist world, and any attempts at collaboration were mere tactical manoeuvres. He recommended a policy of firm containment, advocating for the restriction of Soviet influence rather than direct confrontation.
Although the Long Telegram was classified, it was widely read across Washington where its analysis was accepted by bureaucrats. Consequently it had an impact on U.S. foreign policy by contributing to the Truman Doctrine, articulated a year later in President Harry S. Truman’s speech to Congress, in which the United States undertook to provide economic and military assistance to nations resisting communist aggression.
Kennan developed the ideas contained in the Long Telegram in his subsequent "X Article" for Foreign Affairs magazine. Nevertheless it is considered a foundational document in the U.S. strategy of Containment, which went on to dominate American foreign policy for much of the Cold War era.
In the aftermath of World War 2, the United States found itself navigating a complex international landscape. While President Franklin D. Roosevelt had sought to cooperate with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Kennan believed that the USA had to adopt a dramatically different approach to post-war diplomacy.
On February 22, 1946, Kennan sent a 5,363-word telegram to Secretary of State James Byrnes containing his analysis. Known as the Long Telegram, it emphasized that the Soviet Union was inherently expansionist and ideologically driven. Kennan argued that the Soviet leadership saw itself in a perpetual state of conflict with the capitalist world, and any attempts at collaboration were mere tactical manoeuvres. He recommended a policy of firm containment, advocating for the restriction of Soviet influence rather than direct confrontation.
Although the Long Telegram was classified, it was widely read across Washington where its analysis was accepted by bureaucrats. Consequently it had an impact on U.S. foreign policy by contributing to the Truman Doctrine, articulated a year later in President Harry S. Truman’s speech to Congress, in which the United States undertook to provide economic and military assistance to nations resisting communist aggression.
Kennan developed the ideas contained in the Long Telegram in his subsequent "X Article" for Foreign Affairs magazine. Nevertheless it is considered a foundational document in the U.S. strategy of Containment, which went on to dominate American foreign policy for much of the Cold War era.
Saturday, September 16, 2017
Mao's Cold War
Cold War mapped - '45-'91 ..
Mao's Cold War ..
Mao's Cold War ..
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sī vīs pācem, parā bellum
igitur quī dēsīderat pācem praeparet bellum therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war sī vīs pācem, parā bellum if you wan...
