Changes

==IntroductionStalin sought to secure Soviet borders at Tehran Conference==This article will discuss the goals of [[File: Stalin Joseph.jpg|thumbnail|200px|Stalin in 1945]]Stalin skillfully started to jostle for his regime's post-war position, while he and the Soviet Union western allies were engaged in an all-out war NAZI Germany. Between November 28 and December 1, 1943, Stalin took part in the aftermath of the Second World WarTehran Conference. The Soviet Supreme leader was a very ambitious man and had great hopes for chief discussion of the expansion of his Empiremeeting, after held by the defeat of the Third Reich US President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Stalin, centered on the Empire opening of Japana “second front” in Western Europe. The article will discuss the goals of Stalin after agreed to conduct eastern offensive operations to coincide with the successful conclusion of forthcoming Western Front, and in return, he asked the war western leaders to proceed with formal preparations for their long-promised invasion and how he went about attaining his objectivesregaining of German-occupied France. It will argue that Stalin sought several key objectives, these were also insisted on retaining the security of territories provided by the German-Soviet Union, the expansion Non-aggression Pact of Communism, securing his position 1939 and additionally requested the creation Baltic coast of an empire. As he set out to secure these goals in East Prussia as a compensation for the wake USSR’s enormous role and a greater number of WW II, he laid the foundations for the Cold Warcasualties. <ref>Teheran Conference - http://www.britannica.com/event/Tehran-Conference</ref>

[[File: Yalta Conference 1945 Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt.jpg|thumbnail|200px|Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill in 1945]]==Teheran and Yalta Conferences: Iron will of Stalin and Soviet dictator’s agenda for post-war USSR zone of influence and interest==Stalin skillfully started to jostle for his regime's post-war position, while he and the western allies were engaged in an all-out war NAZI Germany. Between November 28 and December 1, 1943, Stalin took part in the so-called Tehran Conference. The chief discussion of the meeting, held by the US President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Stalin, centered on the opening of a “second front” in Western Europe. Stalin agreed to conduct eastern offensive operations to coincide with the forthcoming Western Front, and in return, he asked the western leaders to proceed with formal preparations for their long-promised invasion and regaining of German-occupied France. Stalin also insisted on retaining the territories provided by the German-Soviet Non-aggression Pact of 1939 and additionally requested the Baltic coast of East Prussia as a compensation for the USSR’s enormous role and a greater number of casualties. <ref>Teheran Conference - http://www.britannica.com/event/Tehran-Conference</ref> The western allies, especially Churchill , did not like what Stalin proposed and saw it as opportunistic. However, they reluctantly agreed to Stalin's demands as they needed to keep the alliance strong in order to decisively defeat the Third Reich . <ref>Roberts, Geoffrey, Stalin's Wars: From World War to Cold War, 1939–1953. (Yale University Press, Yale, 2006), p. 156</ref> In accordance with decisions taken at the Tehran Conference, in May 1944 joint Britain and US troops launched an invasion of France, opening the so-called “second front” in the West. Their actions allowed the Soviet Union to make significant advances across Eastern Europe toward Germany. In particular, they advanced upon the territories that they had lost during the German invasion. The end of the war was near and the changing geopolitical situation, especially in Europe meant that it was time for another meeting of the Allies . <ref> Roberts, p. 145</ref>. ==Stalin cemented Soviet territorial and political gains at Yalta==[[File: Stalin JosephYalta 1.jpg|thumbnail|200px|Stalin Soviet soldiers in Berlin in 1945]]The Yalta Conference took place in February 1945. This was the second wartime meeting of the “Big Three” the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, and US President Franklin Roosevelt). Each brought his own agenda to the Yalta Conference. The British wanted to maintain their empire, the Soviets wished to secure and obtain more land and secure positions in their new zones of influence and interests, and the US wanted to ensure the Soviet’s entry into the Pacific war and discuss postwar settlement.<ref> Geoffery Roberts, "Stalin at the Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam Conferences," Journal of Cold War Studies 9:4 (Fall 2007): 6-40</ref>.. From the very opening, Stalin made it clear that his demands regarding Poland were not negotiable: the Soviets were to gain “their territory” from the eastern portion of Poland and . Poland was to compensate for that by extending its Western borders, thereby forcing out millions of Germans. Negotiators even signed a declaration forcing the Polish to provide inclusion of Soviet Communists in their postwar national government.<ref> Roberts, p. 245 </ref>.

Moreover, Roosevelt main goal was to obtain a commitment from Stalin to participate in the United Nations in order to secure future peace and alliance. As for the other Eastern European countries, the Americans and the British generally agreed that the future governments of the nations bordering the Soviet Union should be “friendly” to the Soviet regime as long as the Soviets pledged to allow free elections in all territories liberated from Nazi Germany<ref> Roberts, p. 37</ref>. Unfortunately, neither Poland nor any other Eastern European country had the opportunity of holding free elections for the next almost 50 years.<ref>Yalta Conference - http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/yalta-conference</ref>

Although the initial reaction to the Yalta agreements was celebratory, it was also very short lived. In 1945, the administration of the new US president Harry Truman clashed with the Soviets over their influence in Eastern Europe, and over the United Nations. Many Americans began to criticize Roosevelt’s handling of the Yalta negotiations due to the following lack of Soviet cooperation and even giving Eastern Europe and Northeast Asia away to the Soviet Union.<ref> Plokhii, p. 119</ref>. Numerous Central European nations also often regard the Conference in Yalta as the “Great Western betrayal” since it allowed the USSR to intervene freely in their domestic affairs, abandoning democratic policies and turning them into Soviet satellites, . Yalta effectively introducing allowed the USSR to install Communist regimes in Central Europe with impunity. At the Yalta conference, the Big Three “attempted to sacrifice freedom for the sake of stability”, and many believe the decisions and concessions of Roosevelt and Churchill during the summit led to the following power struggle during the Cold War. Nevertheless, Stalin essentially got everything he wanted: a significant territorial sphere of influence and interest as a buffer zone.