The United States and the Soviet Union became the two superpowers of the post - World War II era. For the officially defined period of forty five years the US and the USSR have been in the state of war; however no direct confrontations ever emerged between them on either territory. Each state had its ideological mission, its networks of alliances and third war clients, and its deadly arsenal of nuclear weapons. The Cold War has brought around all the new kinds of weapons, propaganda and a permanent threat of use of the weapons of mass distraction, several so called, "proxy wars" took place, where the rivalry between capitalists and communists resulted in the real fights on the other states territories, when the US and the Soviet Union supported different sides in the Civil Wars, for example Berlin Crises, Korean War, Cuban missile crises, Vietnam and Afghanistan wars. .
Nevertheless, although the vast majority of the historical facts are now known and have been studied carefully, it is still hard to decide what should be considered the exact beginning of the Cold War and what were the most significant reasons for its emerging? The most popular view on the origins of the Cold War would be considered to lay in the policies of the World War II, others would say that the mistrust between the two started with the Bolshevik revolution in Russia and communists gaining power. In my essay I will examine the consequences of those events and suggest other ideas on the origins of the Cold War. .
We should also take into account that there are several different theories and ways of looking at the origins of the Cold War. Some would put the blame entirely on the Soviet Union and argue that the Cold War was the result of its aggression - that is the Orthodox theory. Others supported the revisionist view and would claim that it was not an aggression but a self - defence policy and that the American involvement in the South America and therefore its Imperialism resulted in the Cold War.