ABSTRACT
Relations between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies rapidly deteriorated after the war in Europe and Asia had ended. The story of the gradual emergence of the East European “Popular Democracies” has frequently been described; so have the beginnings of the “cold war” in Europe. The line adopted vis-a-vis the national movement in Asia resembled in some respects the “Third Period” policies. Considerable stress was put on the national liberation movement in Asia, but it was argued at the same time that this movement would succeed only under Communist leadership. The official attitude toward the Jews in Stalin’s last years has been the subject of much comment and need not be reviewed in detail; originally, only a group of “rootless cosmopolitans” was attacked in 1949. Direct Soviet pressure on Turkey abated somewhat after 1946, but the underlying hostility did not change.
