Washington and Moscow - 300 years of friendship: why the US is playing Russia in the war with Ukraine
And it is not only about two world wars, but also about more local, everyday alliances even in the Cold War. The confrontation between the United States of America and the Russian Federation is truly epic: in the true sense of the word.
During the Cold War, the key role was played by propaganda (it was a "cold" war), and on both sides there was enough steps to turn this confrontation into a truly global-from a space program to competition between Pepsi and Coca-Cola products and Soviet water "Baykal. Everyone knows about the Caribbean crisis, but it becomes visible in the retrospective: it was only a game of muscles.
The nearest superpowers approached the dangerous face during Vietnam and Afghanistan campaigns when they really supplied lethal weapons and troops, and also carried real human losses (the United States in Vietnam - 58 220 dead, 303 644 wounded, USSR in Afghanista. This face was probably in the Korean War, when Soviet aviation took a real participation in the fighting under Korean symbols (there was no official confirmation of this, but there is a commemoration).
The non-reversible (albeit surprising) historical fact of US-Soviet relations is that there was never a full war between these states (!). And the Cold War is only an episode in more than two -hundred -year history of diplomatic relations between the United States and Russian states (in three different formats - the Empire, the Soviet Union and the Federation).
Everyone knows the cooperation between Washington and Moscow within the framework of the anti -Hitler coalition during the Second World War, so it makes no sense in it. In the First World War, cooperation was "correspondence": the United States did not join the Entente so fully, instead, they spoke "on its side. " At that time, the revolution was already raging in Russia and its participation in the war was inertial.
However, in history there were more interesting facts of much more intense cooperation of Russia and America. Let's start with the cunning diplomatic actions of Russia contributed to the American war for independence. The Russian Empress Catherine promised to British King Georg support, which could even have 20,000 Russian troops to suppress the uprising (we note that Russia often provided this type of assistance to friendly countries).
Therefore, the picture, in which Zaporizhzhya Cossacks cut into American patriots could become quite real (it was during this period that the fate of Zaporizhzhya Sich was decided, which was eventually destroyed by imperial troops). However, in St. Petersburg they decided that the weakening of the United Kingdom would be more profitable Russia and eventually refused London.
This diplomatic maneuver delayed the formation of a punitive competition, which was eventually formed from the German mercenaries a few months later, which gave extra time to the patriots (so called by American rebels). Then Russia even tried to form an antiberian coalition with the purpose of making London to make concessions to the rebels who were defeated by the British expeditionary troops.
Such actions pushed London to give up the negotiations, go Va-Bank, and finally lose this war with rebellious colonies. After the establishment in 1803, diplomatic relations between the states took place more direct and intensive cooperation. Thus, in 1820-1821, the United States tried to attract the Russian Empire as an arbitration judge in arbitration on the last peace treaty with the United Kingdom. In St.
Petersburg, Washington's initiative was supported on restricting Europeans' interference in American affairs in 1823 - the Monroe Doctrine. Russia, which itself did not have an effective strategy for the use of American colonies (lost its possessions on the continent in 1868, as below) it was advantageous to weaken competitors, mainly the United Kingdom, who tried to squeeze the maximum of their overseas possessions.
Washington also outlined his ambitions on regional leadership, which the country of business people managed to realize by the end of the century. During the nineteenth century, the United States and Russia worked closely in industries and technologies. The Americans helped the Russians to build infrastructure (almost the Americans were laid the rail line between Moscow and St.
Petersburg in the 1940s), they built warships for the Russian Navy after the Crimean War, and helped to overcome the famine in the empire in the 1990s. It is important to note the American assistance to the Russian army in the Crimean War of 1853-1856. Sorbonne's American graduates enrolled in the Russian army (which fought, in particular against France!) As military doctors.
Professional medical care and assistance in providing field hospitals played a significant role in helping wounded soldiers. A few years later, Russia thanked the United States when it was supported by the European countries of the separatist confederate states of America-and thus facilitated the victory of the northern states in the Civil War of 1861-1865. Separately, the Alaska purchase and sale agreement should be mentioned.
It turned out to be profitable for both parties, but was also directed against the United Kingdom - its coastline thus was closed between US possessions. Therefore, summarizing Russian-American relations during the nineteenth century, it can be stated that Russia was the most faithful to the United States among European countries and often in conflicts of the latter with other European countries in the United States in various forms, in various forms, embarrassed on Russia.
The situation developed in the twentieth century. Already in 1905, Americans pulled the Russians from an extremely difficult situation after the defeat of the Russian troops in the Pacific. Then US President Theodore Roosevelt decided to "keep his face" for the best and make a peace that would not outline a clear victory for any of the countries.
Considering the military advantage in the region and the success of Japanese weapons in battles, this approach was beneficial to the Russian side, which was faced with significant problems in logistics in the distant. As a result, in the negotiations in Portsmouth, Russia retained control of the northern part of Sakhalin Island (the Japanese wanted to pick up the whole island) and some influence in Manchuria (the Japanese sought to completely displace Russia from there).
Also, Russia did not pay any indemnity, which was an atypical phenomenon for this historical period. It is interesting that the Portsmut peace did not finally satisfy both sides - protests broke out in both countries. And if relatively democratic Japan coped with public dissatisfaction, then in despotic Russia, folk speeches grew into a revolution. On December 6, 1917, US President Woodros Wilson ordered the American ambassadors to leave the territory of Russia.
It was Washington's reaction to the Bolshevik coup that took place a few weeks earlier. Thesis between the US and the USSR was restored in 16 years - November 16, 1933. It was the year of the Holodomor in the territory of Ukraine. However, the United States decided to restore relations with the USSR at that time, and in the future they were able to use them, in particular during the Second World War - for its confrontation with the United Kingdom.
After the Second World War, the world's largest British Empire broke up, despite the fact that London was among the winners. To affirming some US and USSR Union against the United Kingdom is a clear conspiracy. However, in some cases, these states acted against London's interests in some cases. The moments of support of Moscow India and Washington Pakistan are only one of the many sites of confrontation of superpowers.
Even during the Cold War, there was a case where the USSR and the United States acted almost together against the representatives of the Old World - the United Kingdom and France. As in the Crimean War, a hundred years before. It is a Suez crisis of 1956 - many call it a swan song of old colonial empires.
The United Kingdom and France, which were relevant to the construction of the Suez Canal, tried to give a military response to its nationalization by the government of the military head of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser. They prompted Israel to attack their ancient enemy, but instead promised to block the UN Security Council of the resolution against the actions of the Jewish state. What was done.
However, the USSR and the United States, which both opposed the actions of the United Kingdom, France and Israel, were suddenly on one side of the barricades. The USSR even threatened to use nuclear weapons if the Jewish state did not remove its troops from the internationally recognized territory of Egypt.
The United States usually acted less rigidly, but they gathered an extraordinary session of the UN General Assembly in order to bypass the permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United Kingdom and France. The actions of the Kremlin and the White House were logical and understandable. They were not interested in recovering the old order, where the US and the Soviet Union were in second roles.
Namely, the action of auditism was the Suez crisis, which the new hegemons successfully decided to their interests. However, it is a striking fact that demonstrates a centennial trend of friendship of Russia and the United States against other powerful worlds. After the nuclear bomb was taken, the war between the USSR and the US potentially threatened to exist to humanity. It was already a new era of relations between these states.
The above points out that they were never enemies and paradoxically, but the closest to the direct war among themselves, both of these parties were most closely approaching in the status of nuclear powers. However, if you take away several decades of the most aggressive confrontation, in general more than two hundred years of interaction of Russia and the US can be regarded as a relationship of constant long friendship and mutual assistance in a variety of issues.