Where Americans really scared of the Russians during Cold War?
369898
During the cold war Americans were not afraid of the strength of the Russians (Soviet Union), but we were afraid of the sanity or lack of sanity of the leaders of the S.U. With idiots like Stalin, who butchered millions of his own countrymen, and who became so enraged that he started pounding on the table with his shoe at the United Nations, no one was sure whather the S. U. leaders would in a fit of anger decide to give the order to fire Intercontinental Ballistic Missles  with nuclear war heads at the U. S.\n\nNo one knew whether their leaders valued their lives and the lives of the S. U. as much as we valued ours.\n\nWe were not loosing the nuclear arms race. The soviets had more missles, but our guidance systems were more accurate, and we could deliver a bomb right into the center of one of their cities, whereas their accuracy could easily lead to a target miss of 20 miles or more, thereby sparing our major populations. We also had enough explosives to almost totally destroy them where they could doubly destroy us - which was a waste of power on their part.
394330
Use this site:\nhttp://www.americanaccent.com/\nIt really helped my friend who moved here from Russia.
80248
Because, unlike "hot" wars, a "cold" war features relatively little direct military conflict.  The US and Soviet Union never fought directly on each other's native soil, but instead conflicted via policies, diplomatics, embargoes, and the occasional "offsite" military confrontation (e.g. Korea and Vietnam).
841972
I understand how you feel. If you look at my handle (kalusz) you can figure out where my roots are.However,most Americans are unaware of Ukraine and confuse it with Russia.They only know of the pogroms which were the work of the Russian czar and do not realize Ukraine was a vassal of Moscow  since 1654.They do not know that only for a very brief time from January 28,1918 to 1920 an independent Ukrainian state existed before coming under Bolshevik domination.They know nothing about St. Olga,St. Vladimir(Volodymyr),Yaroslav the Wise,Taras Shevchenko,Symen Petlura or Andrei Sheptycky.They know nothing of the Ukrainian Holocaust, known as the Holodomor. They know nothing of the millions who perished in the gulags. The battle  by Moscow  to assimilate the Ukranian people and to destroy their language and culture is never mentioned.  Our world history courses,even on the college level barely mention Ukraine. If I see your questions, I shall try to answer them.Szcze ne umerla Ukraina. Trymaj szia.
784039
I like Russia. I am American.
369142
From what I understand it would be Russia. They don't play around with you.
679989
People are not the same, different educational level, different social status, different economic situation, etc.  In Russia, there are rich as well poor Russians and the poor must do something to improve their lot.  If they don't see much opportunity right there, they must look elsewhere.  And where else other the America, the land of opportunity.  People who do well in foreign nations do NOT want to come here.  Trust me.  I know some of them personally; they'll never like to live here because they have nothing but contempt for the way of life here.  So, before you go on believing America is a magnet attracting EVERYONE from elsewhere, believe there are those who DON'T want to live here.  They may visit as tourists.  That's it.  By the way, what is a communist answer?
1097618
That the US has used scare tactics often in the last 100 years is a good observation.  But is it too many times?  Probably not.  Most of the instances I can think of were justified.  Government scare tactics united the population against the Germans and Japanese in W W II and the Soviets during the Cold War.  These were very bad people.  We had every reason to be afraid of them.  Maybe the fear mongers were wrong about Vietnam and the Domino Theory, but I think they honestly believed it at the time and felt they were doing a service by alerting the public.
487958
well, sorry, but Ronald Reagan is involved in my answer.  The end of the Cold War was a pretty major one.
136877
I've never been in Russia,but I think that it is very very cold there and i can't live ther even for a few days,although there is interesting places in russia and russian women are very beauty.anyway i think russia is a good place for visiting but not for living;-)
616173
the soviets and americans wanted to spread communism and democracy respectively and wanted to prevent the other from spreading their ideologies. this led to the cold war.
714192
RUSSIA AND U.S. WILL ALWAYS BE ENEMIES!! BLUE ARMY VS RED ARMY-NATO VS RED DRAGON SOVIET!! MUAHHAAHA
529589
Cuba is ninety miles from the US.  Cuba was the only country in the western hemisphere that was communist.  Russia put missiles in Cuba directed at the US,  The wealthy Cubans got out and moved to Florida when Castro took over, became a political force.  Russia was the only other superpower that could challenge the US and in Cuba they were too close for comfort.  Remember the times -  it was early 60s.  Only two powers had nukes, Russia and the US.  School children practiced drills against nuke attacks.  They were taught to hid under school desks. Shelter were set up  and stocked by the govt in case of a nuke strike.  It was not too long after the Red scare congressional hearings and many US citizens being ruined by blacklisting.  A big difference now and then is that the US economy was strong.  Manufacturing took place in the US.  We had the natural resources to  keep the country going.  It was  around 20 years since Europe was torn apart by a World War.  It was around 20 years since the US saw what a nuke could do.  Rmemmber Japan.  Memories were fresh and not yet part of history  that few people are still alive to remember. Items made in Japan were trinkets with a low value.  We had a nice little war going called Viet Nam against the Communist.  How could we say it was OK for them to be in Cuba even though the previous system was a place of extreme wealth and extreme poor.  Corruption was common and then go to war against the same political system in Southeast Asia. War in the past  always helped the US economy. The reason that we don't don't beat the drum against China the way we did USSR is that China holds a huge chunk of the US debt now.  If they called it in the US would be bankrupt.
1154079
What country are you a agent for, with such ideas?  This type of comment can only come from someone trying to make the USA look bad. You Can't be an American, which extremist group do you belong, THE TRUE KILLERS OF THE RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS??
539868
Don't know about the U.S., was on the opposite side during the cold war. For us, the opposite side, the effects were unpleasant: because the economy was so militarized, we had deficits of consumer goods. Could have lived better but for the competition with America. Maybe indirectly it caused the disintegration of the whole country and the collapse of the whole economy. In addition, everyone was afraid of any bang - what if that was the American bomb exploding? I know that the same was happening in the West - everyone was afraid of the Soviet bombs that could have started falling any moment.
1181080
There is no doubt that a nuclear detonation over America would be terrible.  But it is just as unlikely as it is horrible.\n\nI fear what is not quite as devastating or brutal, but far more likely to happen.  I fear not what an external country or terrorist might do to the US, but what the US is doing to itself.\n\nWith every act of legislation, the government gains more power, and the individuals lose some freedom.  I fear the totalitarian state that will arise because of peoples' irrational fear of external threats.\n\nOur strength has always been our freedom, and as our freedom diminishes, so too does our strength.  When we allow Congress to pass the Patriot Act, for example, we make ourselves weaker by diminishing our Constitution, our rights, and our American way of life.
856565
Half of those countries are now secular enemies , so I wouldn't worry to much about a reforming of the soviet union . But Russia will never be a close friend of the US , they don't trust us and maybe they shouldn't