Question

Even though WW2 had ended, tensions were still on the rise. What was Stalin’s goal? How did the United States stop here?

Answer 1

As pohnpei remarks, Stalin had a personal goal to gain as much power as he could for himself at the apex of society in the Soviet Union, and to maintain that power. He was ruthless in dealing with enemies, real and imagined, leading to the creation of a society where people were afraid to challenge him. He was liable even to turn on those that might appear closest to him in the center of power in the Communist Party. His motivation for this undoubtedly sprang from his personal ruthless temperament - a temperament that had been further hardened during the days of absolute turmoil, hardship and civil war that surrounded the Communist Revolution in Russia in 1917.

However, this remorseless concern with absolute power (while attempting to maintain something of the facade of an open, free society) also came from the fact that, having achieved control in such turbulent circumstances, Stalin was determined that the Communist Party should retain the leadership of the country at all costs. In addition, Stalin and other tough, ruthless men at the top of Party hierarchy felt it was imperative to maintain absolute control during the drive to modernize the Soviet Union. Russia had long been a technologically backward country but Stalin's broader goal was to make his country an advanced, modern society capable of challenging Western powers, as pohnpei observed. To achieve modernization in a relatively short time was an enormous task, and Stalin evidently felt that it could only be achieved in a ruthless manner. Witness, for example, his treatment of the more wealthy peasants (kulaks) who did not want to be part of his vast collectivization schemes, and were brutally coerced.

Stalin, then, had the personal goal of achieving and keeping power for himself, and the broader aim of modernizing his country as fast as possible. In this last aim, he was certainly motivated by the urgency of keeping pace with the Western powers in an uncertain time of economic crises and world wars. However, contrary to what pohnpei suggests, he did not necessarily envision the spreading of Communism across the globe. This was certainly what the likes of Lenin and Trotsky had wanted earlier, but Stalin came to see that it was not a realistic aim and settled on the principle of 'Socialism in One Country'. If the Soviet Union was going to be isolated as a Communist country, he would make sure it was strong enough to take its place as a world power and defend itself against other nations.

The Soviet Supreme leader was an incredibly ambitious man and hoped to expand the Soviet Empire, after the defeat of the Third Reich and the Empire of Japan. Stalin sought to achieve four specific objectives. After the calamity of World War Two, he wanted to ensure the security of the Soviet Union, the expansion of Communism beyond the Soviet Union, secure his position in world affairs and create of a Soviet empire. As he set out to secure each of these goals in the wake of World War two, he laid the foundations for the Cold War.

Stalin skillfully started to jostle for his regime's post-war position, while he and the western allies were engaged in an all-out war with Germany. Between November 28 and December 1, 1943, Stalin took part in the Tehran Conference. The main discussion of the meeting, held by the US President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Stalin, centered on the opening of a “second front” in Western Europe.

Stalin agreed to conduct eastern offensive operations to coincide with the forthcoming Western Front, and in return, he asked the western leaders to proceed with formal preparations for their long-promised invasion and regaining of German-occupied France. Stalin also insisted on retaining the territories provided by the German-Soviet Non-aggression Pact of 1939 and additionally requested the Baltic coast of East Prussia as a compensation for the USSR’s enormous role and a greater number of casualties.

The western allies, especially Churchill, did not like what Stalin proposed and saw it as opportunistic, they reluctantly agreed to Stalin's demands as they needed the Soviet Union to defeat the Third Reich. In May 1944, in accordance with the decisions made at the Tehran Conference, Britain and US troops launched an invasion of France, opening the so-called “second front” in the West. Their actions allowed the Soviet Union to make significant advances across Eastern Europe toward Germany. In particular, they advanced into the territories that they had lost during the German invasion. It was becoming clear that Germany was near defeat and that the geopolitical situation was going to quickly change. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin needed to meet again to sort out the future of Europe.