Home > Cold War > Cold War Beginnings

• George F. Kennan
• Winston Churchill
• Nikolai V. Novikov

The Cold War (1945–91), a war of differing systems of government, of mutual fear and distrust, did not begin like conventional wars, with guns blazing. The Cold War began on the heels of World War II (1939–45), and the principal opponents were the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States, with its democratic government and capitalist economy, operated very differently from the communist Soviet Union.

A democratic form of government consists of leaders elected directly by the general population. The candidates for election are supported by various political...