February 11, 2019 (Monday)
In 1945, the leaders of the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union met at the the Russian resort town of Yalta for a conference to plan for the postwar era. Today, February 11, is the 74th anniversary of the final day of that conference.
From left to right: Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Josef Stalin
As you can see in the photograph above, President Roosevelt was showing symptoms of illness. He died two months later on April 12, 1945 at the age of 64.
This conference has long been considered the beginning of the “Cold War” between Russia and the Western powers.
It soon became clear that Russia was intent on spreading communism to as many countries as possible, and so the former allies no longer shared objectives and plans for a peaceful solution to what had been a world at war. The nations that had been occupied by USSR forces during the war were now controlled behind an “Iron Curtain” of communism.
It is plain to me that the Western powers, led by the United States, won the “Cold War” on December 26, 1991, when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ceased to exist and reverted to independent states, and Russia became one of those states.
In recent years, however, signs of strengthening totalitarianism in Russia have raised many questions about its relationships with the nations of the world. There is now a definite uneasiness in the halls of government throughout the world as Russia has shown signs of becoming more powerful and less cooperative with others.
The Yalta Conference of 1945 set the pace for the “Cold War,” and we are still dealing with the consequences of decisions made at that time.
Our fathers’ God, to thee,
Author of liberty, to thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright
With freedom’s holy light;
Protect us by thy might, great God, our King.