Question

What was the underlying cause of the Cold War?

Answer 1

Russia's unwillingness to let go of Eastern European countries after the war. (And the fact that new President Truman and Prime Minister Attlee were unwilling to take the hard line with Stalin that their predecessors had)

Answer 2

After WW2, the Russians refused to pull out of the countries that they had run over on their way to conquering Berlin. The US demanded that they give the land back to the original governments but the Russians refused. It created a standoff because neither one wanted another war.