Soviet Mistrust of the US and the West (Accumulation of Hatred and Mistrust)
1. The intervention of the Western powers in Russian Civil War
The Western powers intervened against the communist government in the Russian Civil War of 1918-21. Ill feeling, therefore, developed between the Soviet Union and the Western powers.
2. The Western attempt to drive Hitler into Eastern Europe as indicated by the agreement signed in the Munich Conferences
On 29 September 1938, Hitler, Chamberlin (the British prime minister) and Daladier ( The French prime minister) attended the Munich Conference. At this conference, the Sudetenland was ceded to Germany and Hitler promised to respect the new borders of Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain and Hitler further signed a declaration that they would work for peace. The Munich Agreement was a victory for Hitler.
3. The delay of the West to open the second front in Europe during the Second World War
Stalin complained that the Western Allies had not helped relieve the suffering of his people during the WWII. The Soviet were left to fight the Germans alone on the Eastern Front. The Western Front was not opened until 1944; as a result, the Soviet suffered the highest casualties among the Allies.
4. The intervention and use of the atomic bombs were kept secret by the West in the last stage of the Second World War
American President Harry Truman had kept the news about the invention of the atomic bomb from Stalin before its use in the Second World War against Japan. It was clear that the US was not willing to share secrets with the USSR. This increased fears and suspicion. They were afraid that the West might attack and destroy communism one day.
5. Lenient punishment of the West on Germany after the WWII had posed a serious security threat to the USSR.
As the Soviet Union had suffered terribly in the war, Stalin had a deep hatred and fear of Germany. At the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, Stalin wanted to weaken Germany permanently by imposing heavy reparations. However, Stalin's request clashed with the wishes of the Western Allies, who wanted Germany to be reconstructed on the basis of democracy and peace.