The beginning of the Cold War
The establishment at the end of World War II, Soviet control over Eastern Europe, particularly the establishment of pro-Soviet government in Poland in opposition to the Polish emigre government in London led to the ruling circles of Britain and the United States was perceived as a threat to the USSR.
In April 1945, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the preparation of a plan of war against the USSR. Set preceded conclusions that Churchill presented in his memoirs:
First, Soviet Russia became a deadly threat to the free world;
Secondly, to establish immediately a new front against its rapid advance;
Third, this front in Europe should go as far as possible to the east;
Fourth, the main and the true aim of the Anglo-American armies - Berlin;
Fifth, the liberation of Czechoslovakia and the entry of American troops in Prague is essential;
Sixth, Vienna, Austria on the merits of the whole must be managed by the Western powers, at least on an equal footing with the Russian Soviets;
Seventh, it is necessary to curb the aggressive claims of Marshal Tito in respect of Italy ...
The operational plan was prepared by the Joint Planning Staff of British War Cabinet. In terms of an assessment of the situation, formulate objectives of the operation, identified enlisted force, the direction of shock troops of the Western allies and their likely outcomes.
The drafters of the plan came to two main conclusions:
Starting a war with the Soviet Union, you must be prepared for a long and costly all-out war,
Numerical superiority of Soviet troops on the ground makes it extremely doubtful the possibility of reaching a limited and rapidly (military) success.
It should be pointed out that Churchill said in comments on the draft plan that he is a "precautionary measure" on how he expects "a purely hypothetical case."
In 1945, the Soviet Union made territorial claims in Turkey and demanded a change in the status of the Straits, including the recognition of the Soviet Union to establish a naval base in the Dardanelles.
In 1946, intensified the Greek rebels, led by the Communists, driven by the supply of weapons from Albania, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, which already were in power the Communists. At the London meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the USSR demanded of his entitlement to a protectorate over Tripolitania (Libya), to establish a presence in the Mediterranean.
In France and Italy the Communist Party became the largest political parties and the communists joined the government. After the withdrawal from Europe the main part of the American troops, the USSR became the dominant military force in continental Europe. All favored the establishment of full control of Stalin over Europe, if he wills it.
Some Western political leaders began to advocate the appeasement of the Soviet Union. Most clearly expressed this view U.S. Commerce Secretary Henry Wallace. He believed the claim Soviet reasonable and offered to go to the original division of the world, recognizing the right of the Soviet Union's domination in some parts of Europe and Asia. Another view is held by Churchill.
The formal beginning of the Cold War is often considered to be March 5, 1946, when Winston Churchill (at that time no longer holds the post of British Prime Minister) made his famous speech in Fulton (Missouri-USA), which advanced the idea of creating a military alliance of the Anglo-Saxon countries to combat world communism. In fact, tensions between the allies began earlier, but by March 1946 it has increased due to the failure of the USSR to withdraw occupation troops from the Iranian (troops were withdrawn only in May 1946 under pressure from Britain and the U.S.).