What impact did the end of cold war have on europe, Russia and the United States?
1 Answer
The USA became the only world superpower
Explanation:
Russia was crippled of its territory and 20 million Russians woke up in a foreign country overnight on Christmas Day in 1991 when the USSR officially broke up. This event is regarded as the greatest disaster in Russian History by many Russians including Vladimir Putin. Russia underwent the greatest economic crisis in its history, after 1992 a major financial crisis struck the country and the majority of Russian people now lived in poverty.
Crime and alcoholism soared while life expectancy dropped, drug use though virtually nonexistant during the Soviet period ravaged the country. After 1993, privatization meant oligarchs bought entire sectors of the Russian economy for a song, they were connected to the Anglo-American financial in Wall Street and the City of London and they plundered the country. Russia lost its rank geopolitically speaking and its alcoholic president, Boris Yelsin, did not help their historic ally Serbia when the USA forced them to separate from Kosovo.
Europe saw the emergence of the European Union in 1992 with the Maastricht treaty. It was based on promises of peace and prosperity which quickly proved out of the blue. The EU was unable to solve the crisis created by the war in Yugoslavia and unemployment in Southern Europe became a major isssue after 2000. Geopolitically speaking, despite its promise of being a counterpower to the hegemony of the USA, it reinforced their power instead. Europe was no longer divided by a Eastern part dominated by Moscow and a Western part allied with Washington, NATO became the main uncontested force.
The USA was integrated in NAFTA( with Mexico and Canada) in 1994. The effect on the economy was disatrous and millions of industrial jobs in the MidWest for instance were wiped out. The Clinton administration continued the aggressive foreign policy despite the end of the Cold War and kept a very high military budget. Military interventions were carried out in Yugoslavia, Somalia, Sudan etc. Half a million Iraqi children died due to the embargo on food and medicines imposed by the Clinton administration.
The breaking up of Yugoslavia led to the creation of Kosovo in 1999 which enabled the USA to build its military base-Camp Bond Steel which controls the pipelines driving oil to Europe. Such a military power is crucial to the Petrodollar system which is necessary to make sure that the US Dollar remain the reserve currency of the World.
