Cold War: Soviet Policy 1945-48 Return to the case study menu
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Comprehension
3a According to the document, what is the main aim of British policy?
3b What do the Chiefs of Staff see as the main threat?
3c What is the best way to meet this threat?

Analysis and Interpretation
3d This document sets out British policy. However, by reading between the lines, we can see what aspects of Soviet policy worried the British. For example, Section d (i) tells us that the military leaders were concerned about Stalin's military strength. What other inferences can you make from this document?
3e The Chiefs of Staff saw this document as a policy to preserve peace. As a neutral historian looking back from the 21st century, do you see this as a peaceful document or an aggressive one? Explain your answer.

Case Study Question
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The Big Question
Look at your answers to the questions on source 3.
  • Has this source given you any ideas about awkward questions to ask the leaders?
  • What evidence have you found which you think they will find hard to explain?
    		• Source 1Source 2Source 3Source 4Source 5Source 6Source 7

    A report to the British Cabinet in 1947 summarising future British policy towards the USSR

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    Extract from the minutes of the British Cabinet in August 1919. This extract contains a report by Churchill on events in the Russian Civil War at the time