RUSSIA-UKRAINE CRISIS: COLD WAR REVISIT

Abstract

The cold war rivalries between united states of America and Soviet Union after the second world war till 1991 had divided the entire world into two blocs with extreme hostilities against each other on ideological lines. America and its allies formed NATO defence bloc to promote and protect liberal democratic ideology. While Soviet Union and its allies formed Warsaw pact defence bloc to promote liberal-democratic ideology. These organizations started counter strike each other to fulfil their interests and animosities all over the world. This generated arms race and development of nuclear weapons of mass destructions by them which could destroy the entire world. Russian leader Gorbachev’s reforms of glasnost and perestroika led to the end of communist rule and abolition of Warsaw pact in 1991. There was a reduction in cold war animosity. Measures were adopted for disarmament of nuclear weapons. People all over the world felt relief and hoped that the cold war had ended but it emerged again but now between NATO and Russia after Russia’s invasion on Ukraine because of Ukraine’s desire to join the Western defensive alliance NATO. The main aim of Russia was to demilitarise and de-nazify Ukraine. Russia refused to call it a war or invasion rather they coined it as ‘Special military operation’. The relation between two countries became hostile after 2014 Ukrainian revolution which followed by Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. This present paper tries to study and explore the dimensions of new Cold war and its impact on the globe.