Japan was on Germany's side during the war and continued to fight after Germany surrendered. In August 1945, the USA dropped two atom bombs on Japan, which destroyed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The atom bombs meant that military help from the USSR wasn't needed to defeat Japan, and Truman refused to allow the USSR to take part in the US occupation of Japan
The USA had kept the exact nature of the atom bomb a secret from the USSR at Potsdam
These nuclear weapons boosted the status of the USA, and Stalin saw the development of the atom bomb as an attempt to intimidate the USSR
The atom bombs increased the rivalry between the USA and the USSR, so the USSR sped up the development of its own atomic bomb, starting an arms race between the two countries
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The USSR became influential in Eastern Europe
At the end of the Second World War, the USSR's army occupied Eastern Europe. These countries would pass into the USSR's sphere of influence after the war
Between 1946 and 1948, Stalin installed pro-Soviet's 'puppet' governments in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia
For a while it seemed that Czechoslovakia might remain democratic, but when the Communist Party seemed likely to lose ground in the next election, it seized power in February 1948. The exception to Soviet domination was Yugoslavia, which had freed itself from the Germans without the Red Army. Yugoslavia was communist but more open to the West. Its leader, Tito, argued with Stalin over political interference. Stalin cut off aid but didn't invade
Increasing tensions between the USA and the USSR became known as the 'Cold War'. Both sides were afraid of another war, especially after 1949, when the USSR had its own nuclar weapons
Countries in Western Europe tended to support the USA, and most countries in Eastern Europe were dominated by the USSR. In a famous speech in 1946, Churchill warned there was an 'Iron Curtain' dividing Europe. This speech demonstrates the breakdown of the Grand Alliance, as Britain and the USA now viewed the USSR as a threat, not an ally
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