Cold War and Ukraine
Ich bin ein Berliner!:
Berlin in the Cold War
for
History 105B
Dr. Andrew Wender
An Essay by
Russell Manning
V00796267
March 6, 2014 An excruciatingly long and stagnant conflict, the Cold War brought to light the true and divinely evil power that Communism had in the world. But where did it all start? Where was the battle ground for such polar opposite ideologies? The indisputable answer: Berlin. For nearly 50 years, the former Capital of the 3rd Reich was divided by only a wall 12 feet high and 155 kilometers long. With Robert Kaplan’s “Revenge of Geography”, Kaplan brings in a distinctive view on world politics and the importance of geography, how it can shape every aspect of the world; from geopolitics, to the spread of culture and technology to the advancement of entire civilizations. With these ideas in mind, I will show some of the key actions taken from inside the city itself, and how it was a symbol for an entire world at war. I will also provide a brief history of the state of Russia, and why they became the modern behemoth of the world today.
With the northern Eurasian steppes being extremely flat and easily traversable, Russia blossomed into one of the largest empires the world ha sever seen. Yet the importance and fierce fighting spirit of Russia has been formed by over five centuries of Tsar conquest. Its continual thirst for taking over the Eurasian Heartland has seemed to be the reason for the unification of the Slavic peoples, and it still continues today. The formation of the USSR in 1922 brought a scary force to the modern world; nearly 150 million people expanded over nearly 12% of land on earth. With advancements in recent technology brought nearly instant communication, a factor limiting many major empires from reaching their true potential. As Mackinder is quoted in Kaplan’s book “The Revenge of Geography,” he states that “Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland: Who rules the Heartland commands the
Berlin in the Cold War
for
History 105B
Dr. Andrew Wender
An Essay by
Russell Manning
V00796267
March 6, 2014 An excruciatingly long and stagnant conflict, the Cold War brought to light the true and divinely evil power that Communism had in the world. But where did it all start? Where was the battle ground for such polar opposite ideologies? The indisputable answer: Berlin. For nearly 50 years, the former Capital of the 3rd Reich was divided by only a wall 12 feet high and 155 kilometers long. With Robert Kaplan’s “Revenge of Geography”, Kaplan brings in a distinctive view on world politics and the importance of geography, how it can shape every aspect of the world; from geopolitics, to the spread of culture and technology to the advancement of entire civilizations. With these ideas in mind, I will show some of the key actions taken from inside the city itself, and how it was a symbol for an entire world at war. I will also provide a brief history of the state of Russia, and why they became the modern behemoth of the world today.
With the northern Eurasian steppes being extremely flat and easily traversable, Russia blossomed into one of the largest empires the world ha sever seen. Yet the importance and fierce fighting spirit of Russia has been formed by over five centuries of Tsar conquest. Its continual thirst for taking over the Eurasian Heartland has seemed to be the reason for the unification of the Slavic peoples, and it still continues today. The formation of the USSR in 1922 brought a scary force to the modern world; nearly 150 million people expanded over nearly 12% of land on earth. With advancements in recent technology brought nearly instant communication, a factor limiting many major empires from reaching their true potential. As Mackinder is quoted in Kaplan’s book “The Revenge of Geography,” he states that “Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland: Who rules the Heartland commands the