Territorial and Global Influence of the Soviet Union

The Rise of the Soviet Union
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The Rise of the Soviet Union
After the second world war, the United States and the Soviet Union strategically positioned themselves in the struggle for supremacy that spanned several decades. Even though the two superpowers had fought as allies during the war, the trajectory changed dramatically after the war ended. As such, they routinely antagonized each other through espionage, propaganda, military coalitions, and political maneuvers (J. F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, n.d.). Several aspects helped the Soviet Union distinguish itself as a force to reckon with, including economic, ideological, military, and diplomatic factors.
Economic Factors
Before the 1970s, the Soviet Union’s economy recorded rapid growth. Using per capita GDP as a parameter of economic performance, the Soviet Union was one of the most successful economies in the world (Allen, 2001). This happened against the backdrop of the first world war that caused an unprecedented dislocation of the economy. It left industries standing idle while famine ravaged the countryside. However, Vladimir Lenin introduced the New Economic Policy that infused vigor into the fledgling capitalist economy (Library of Congress, n.d.). Even though political repression and rampant famines marked the period, the collectivization of agriculture spurred growth to a considerable extent. In addition, rapid growth in consumption and investment catalyzed economic growth elevating the Soviet Union to unprecedented economic success.
Ideological factors
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) embraced the Bolshevist Marxism-Leninism ideology. It centrally focused on a centralized command economy and a one-party regime to achieve dictatorship over the working-class people. In essence, it was a communist ideology that sharply contrasted with the United State’s ideology of capitalism (Kinnu, 2023). Even though the policies ensconced in the ideology were largely unpopular, CPSU contended they were corrected and deserved respect. In this regard, the party employed propag...