Book contents
- Distant Friends and Intimate Enemies
- Reviews
- Distant Friends and Intimate Enemies
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 From First Contacts to Fledgling Diplomatic Relations, 1607–1807
- 2 Diplomacy and Rebellions, 1807–1841
- 3 Beginning of a Friendship: Cooperation, Crisis, and Transformation, 1841–1860
- 4 The Noonday of Friendship, 1861–1881
- 5 Romance and Revulsion, 1881–1901
- 6 Collision and Revolution, 1901–1905
- 7 Interactions and Contradictions, 1906–1914
- 8 Wartime Honeymoon, 1914–1917
- 9 Revolution and Intervention, 1917–1920
- 10 From Estrangement to Engagement, 1921–1933
- 11 Hopes and Horror, 1934–1941
- 12 Allies, 1941–1945
- 13 From Alliance to Enmity, 1945–1953
- 14 Crises and Coexistence, 1953–1963
- 15 Détente, 1964–1979
- 16 From Armageddon to Accommodation, 1980–1989
- 17 Transformation and Reversion, 1989–1999
- 18 From Partners to Archenemies, 2000–2020
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
11 - Hopes and Horror, 1934–1941
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 October 2025
Book contents
- Distant Friends and Intimate Enemies
- Reviews
- Distant Friends and Intimate Enemies
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 From First Contacts to Fledgling Diplomatic Relations, 1607–1807
- 2 Diplomacy and Rebellions, 1807–1841
- 3 Beginning of a Friendship: Cooperation, Crisis, and Transformation, 1841–1860
- 4 The Noonday of Friendship, 1861–1881
- 5 Romance and Revulsion, 1881–1901
- 6 Collision and Revolution, 1901–1905
- 7 Interactions and Contradictions, 1906–1914
- 8 Wartime Honeymoon, 1914–1917
- 9 Revolution and Intervention, 1917–1920
- 10 From Estrangement to Engagement, 1921–1933
- 11 Hopes and Horror, 1934–1941
- 12 Allies, 1941–1945
- 13 From Alliance to Enmity, 1945–1953
- 14 Crises and Coexistence, 1953–1963
- 15 Détente, 1964–1979
- 16 From Armageddon to Accommodation, 1980–1989
- 17 Transformation and Reversion, 1989–1999
- 18 From Partners to Archenemies, 2000–2020
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter analyzes why high hopes in 1933 for expanded trade and strategic cooperation were not fulfilled in the following years. It argues that the failures did not stem solely from Joseph Stalin’s evil actions. Presenting a more complex story, the chapter highlights how conservative Americans exaggerated threats of Soviet-instigated communist revolution, how Ambassador William Bullitt’s intemperate diplomacy hampered relations, and how the US Navy obstructed President Roosevelt’s plans for building warships for the USSR. Despite those problems, the descent of the Soviet Union into the Great Terror, and the signing of the Nazi–Soviet pact in 1939, the United States did not break relations with the USSR. As a result, Roosevelt kept open the possibility of a military partnership as war erupted in Europe. Going beyond the strategic and economic dimensions, the chapter highlights how harsh Soviet anti-American propaganda sought to buttress belief in the superiority of socialism over capitalism while Hollywood films ridiculed ascetic, doctrinaire Soviet communists and suggested that they were susceptible to seduction by the consumer pleasures of capitalist countries.
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- Distant Friends and Intimate EnemiesA History of American-Russian Relations, pp. 219 - 239Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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