But with his troops occupying much of Germany and Eastern Europe, Stalin was able to effectively ratify the concessions he had won at Yalta and reduce his advantage over Truman and Churchill (who was replaced by Prime Minister Clement Atlee in the middle of the conference). In March 1946, barely a year after the Yalta Conference, Churchill gave his famous speech declaring that an “Iron Curtain” had fallen on Eastern Europe, signaling the definitive end of cooperation between the Soviet Union and its Western allies and the beginning of the Cold War. The Yalta Conference, also known as the Crimean Conference and codenamed Argonaut, was held from February 4 to 11, 1945 and was the meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union during World War II to discuss the reorganization of Germany and Europe after the war. The three states were represented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Prime Minister Joseph Stalin. The conference took place near Yalta in Crimea, Soviet Union, in the palaces of Livadia, Yusupov and Vorontsov. The differences in the political and economic systems of the Western democracies and the Soviet Union – socialism versus capitalism, economic independence versus free trade, state planning versus the private sector – have been simplified and refined in national ideologies to represent two ways of life. The atheistic nature of Soviet communism worried many Americans. The American ideals of free determination and President Woodrow Wilson`s Fourteen Points were at odds with many of the policies of the USSR. On the 23rd. In August 1939 – just before the outbreak of World War II (1939-45) in Europe – the enemies of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union surprised the world with the signing of the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, in which the two countries agreed not to take military action against each other.

Soon after, Stalin imposed the blockade of Berlin (June 24, 1948 – May 12, 1949), one of the first major crises of the Cold War, which prevented the arrival of food, materials and supplies in West Berlin. The Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies` access by rail, road and canal to areas of Western-controlled Berlin. The Soviets offered to abandon the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced D-Mark from West Berlin. Several disagreements between Western and Soviet leaders in the post-war period were related to their different interpretations of the war and the immediate post-war conferences. At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, they were unable to reach firm agreements on crucial post-war issues such as Germany`s post-war occupation and reparations. Given Russia`s historical experience with frequent invasions and the immense number of war deaths (estimated at 27 million), the Soviet Union sought to increase security by dominating the internal affairs of its neighboring countries. Stalin was determined to use the Red Army to take control of Poland, dominate the Balkans, and destroy Germany`s ability to participate in another war. Roosevelt wanted Soviet support in the American Pacific War against Japan, especially for the planned invasion of Japan (Operation August Storm), as well as Soviet participation in the United Nations; Churchill lobbied for free elections and democratic governments in Central and Eastern Europe (especially Poland); and Stalin called for a Soviet sphere of political influence in Central and Eastern Europe as an essential aspect of the USSR`s national security strategy. Stalin`s position at the conference was one he considered so strong that he could dictate the terms. According to James F. Byrnes, a member of the U.S. delegation and future secretary of state, “it was not about what we would let the Russians do, but about what we could get the Russians to do.” [9] Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met in the city of Yalta in Russian Crimea from February 4 to 11 and each arrived at the conference with their own agendas.

For Stalin, post-war economic aid to Russia and the recognition of a Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe by the United States and Britain were the main objectives. .