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Cold War Dbq Analysis

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The Cold War is over, but the influence of the Soviet Union is not. The Soviet Union grew out of the Bolshevik Revolution and Civil War in 1917. Eight leaders and 74 years later the Soviet Union fell in 1991. The story of those 74 years leaves much to tell. However, three areas are most necessary to understand: its cultural achievements, its military strength, and its political oppression. The first truth about the Soviet Union that textbook authors should emphasize is its great scientific, sports, and cultural achievements. One impressive scientific achievement was the many firsts involving the space race (Doc F). A notable victory in sports was the medal count of the Summer Olympics from 1952-1988 (Doc G). The Soviets also had globally admired ballet companies, including those that came to the United States in a cultural exchange to help ease relations between these two nations (Doc H). This is an important area for textbook authors to explore because despite the Soviet Union’s well-earned reputation for political oppression and militarism, the nation achieved great heights in culture and sometimes used their talent to promote international peace. …show more content…

The Soviet Union’s staggering World War II death toll of over 20 million spurred them to strengthen their military after the war (Doc B). By 1980, the Soviet Union spent a much higher percentage of its GNP on the military than the United States did (Doc D). The USSR, even passed the USA in areas such as manpower and nuclear weapons capacity (Doc D). The Soviet technical prowess was also boosted when in 1957 they launched the first satellite into space (Doc F). The Soviet Union’s military strength should be emphasized because it allowed them to extend their influence into Eastern Europe (Doc A) and compete with the US as one of the world’s two

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