Our Competition With Russia

For half of the twentieth century, the United States and the Soviet Union were locked in conflict.  While there wasn’t any actual combat between the two nations, they competed in just about every way imaginable.  Through pseudo-wars, economic battles, and a general mindset that one nation is superior, the U.S. and the Soviets attempted to outdo each other in every aspect of life.

One aspect I will focus on in this post is the space race.  I read an article written by Matthew Godwin, of the Department of Science and Technology Studies at University College London, that spoke about the space race and possible motivators for the two countries to push into space at such a rapid pace.  Not much had been done before world war two to advance into the final frontier.  All of that changed when the U.S. and the Soviet Union were put in the spotlight to see who would become the next dominant world power.  The Soviets launched Sputnik in 1958, which was the catalyst for the race.  The Soviets would continue to outdo the Americans in space technology until 1969, when Americans put the first man on the moon.

This part of the cold war is more than just a series of technological advancements.  The space race almost perfectly symbolizes the conflict between the U.S. and the Soviets.  The drive to become better than another nation is played out through the exploration of space between 1958 and 1969.  The launch of the Sputnik was a hard hit to the Americans.  It was a statement that the Soviets were more intelligent and certainly more powerful with the new ability to control the space outside of our atmosphere.  When this is coupled with the fact that each country had a large number of nuclear weapons poised to be launched at the other side at any given moment, it’s easy to see why this was such an important race.  That being said, the space race showed us exactly how important the drive to be the better country was.

The war in the Ukraine is one of the first major conflicts after the end of the cold war that tests both the U.S. and Russia.  Russia is attempting to reclaim territory that they had when they were the mighty Soviet Union, and the U.S. must figure out how to handle the situation without starting an all out war.  While the U.S. came out on top at the end of the cold war with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia is still a world power that has the ability to make a major statement.  That statement is that they will prove just how powerful they are.

The space race was the epitome of the cold war and all it meant.  Because Russia didn’t come out on top, they certainly have something to prove, and the situation in the Ukraine is the perfect way to prove it.  If America intervenes at all, Russia is prepared to start an all out war that the U.S. really can’t afford to be in.  The U.S. is doing the right thing by not getting involved, but at what cost?  Russia is practically invading and conquering an innocent nation for the betterment of itself, and to show its power to the rest of the world.  The last time that happened, we ended up with world war two.  When should the U.S. say “enough is enough”?  Will Russia continue to prove its power with the taking over of other nations?  Only time will tell.

Godwin, Matthew. “The Cold War and the Early Space Race.” Www.history.ac.uk. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. <http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/cold/articles/godwin.html&gt;.