>From http://www.historystudystop.co.uk/php/displayarticle.php?article=39&page=4&topic=meu
>
>Potsdam Conference
>In July 1945 following the defeat of Germany, Stalin, Churchill (replaced by Atlee, the new Prime Minister, half way through the Conference) and Truman (the new American President) met at Potsdam in Berlin. They confirmed the agreements made at Yalta, but suspicions grew up between them. Stalin feared American intentions, now that she possessed the Atomic Bomb, and Truman feared that Stalin was more interested in gaining control of Eastern Europe than making peace.
>Provisional Government
>
>From http://www.johndclare.net/EC2.htm
>Both the USA and the USSR had very different aims. Stalin wanted huge reparations from Germany, and a ‘buffer’ of friendly states to protect the USSR from being invaded again. He systematically stripped the Soviet zone in eastern Germany of wealth and agricultural and industrial machinery. Britain and the USA opposed this because they believed that it was simply Stalin tightening his grip on eastern Germany. Britain and the USA wanted to protect democracy, and help Germany to recover. They were worried that large areas of eastern Europe were falling under Soviet control. The western powers action caused hostility in Russia because Stalin feared that they were setting up a strong Germany which might again threaten the USSR.
>
>Both those articles draw a picture that staling indeed did fear the west and esspecially the USA.
>
>
>>I'm not saying that Russia WOULD stop expanding, as obviously they didn't. I'm saying that Russia needed have no fear of Britain and France trying to annexe them - the idea is absurd.
>
>No, but he did fear the USA..
>
>>>I agree it was not in an inmediate danger of being invaded. absolutely true, but this also was the case right after napolean invaded russia, and right after WWII. Your logic does not make sense to me.
>>
>>What's not to make sense? Russia was in no danger of being invaded - just proven a foolhardy venture by the Germans.
>
>Russia was not in an immediate danger of being invade, but certainly was in the longer term. Stalin did not want to wait for that.
>
>>Missiles could "invade" their territory - and buffer states would not stop them from flying overhead. But that wasn't till the future, post-war, anyway.
>>
>>>
>>>>>>I've said what I think of Stalin's regard for his people's lives.
>>>>>
>>>>>And I don't disagree on that, but that is an entire different discussion.
>>>
>>>>No, you said he feared losing more millions of lives. All he wanted was more land and more vassals.
>>>
>>>Stalin was paranoid about people undermining his position, ...
>>
>>Exactly! so the fewer the better!

>
>That but that does not mean he wanted to rule over a country with a declining population. That is absurd. He was not a pol-pott.

http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/stalin.htm
http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/sedlyar.htm

+ His pogroms against the jews
+ the millions who died in the gulags
Yeah, he was all for population expansion!

>
>>>Again, you are talking about the inmediate threat. I think you're right there was none. However on the long term there was, as proven by the cold war.
>>
>>But the Cold War was geared totally in a defensive mode in the West. The allies waited in W. Germany for the soviet tanks to come rolling in - not vice versa.
>
>And what do you think the russian view was. Was it really different from the western view?? No they also did not trust the west.

YAWN! We're just going round in circles here. You're right, Stalin didn't want these satellite countries for himself, he wanted them as a buffer for when the Americans, going it alone, ignoring the lessons of history given by Napolean and Hitler, mobilised their forces and started rolling into the USSR.

...

Terry