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The relations between the Soviet Union and the United States (1922-1991) succeed the relations between the Russian Empire and the United States (1776-1922) and predate the post-Soviet Russo-United States relations (1991-present). Full diplomatic relations between the two countries were established late due to U.S. hostility towards communism. During World War II the two countries were for a brief period allies. At the end of this war, the first signs op post-war mistrust and hostility began to appear, escalating into the Cold War, a period of tense and hostile relations between the two countries, with periods of detente.

The United States viewed the Soviet Union as a pariah state during its nascent years and did not extend full diplomatic relations until 1933, the last Western power to do so. But when Germany invaded the Soviet Union during World War II, most Americans became sympathetic to the Soviet cause. When America joined the war in December 1941, $11,000,000,000 in Lend Lease aid was allocated to the Soviet Union. An alliance between the Soviet Union, the United States, and United Kingdom led to the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Main article: World War II

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Main article: Cold War.

The end of World War II saw the resurfacing of previous divisions between the two nations. The expansion of Soviet influence into Eastern Europe following Germany's defeat worried the liberal democracies of the west, particularly the United States, which had established virtual economic and political primacy in Western Europe. The two nations promoted two opposing economic and political ideologies and the two nations competed for international influence along these lines. This protracted a geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle--lasting from about 1947 to the period leading to the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991--is known as the Cold War.

The Soviet Union detonated its first atomic weapon in 1949, ending the United States' monopoly on nuclear weapons. The United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a conventional and nuclear arms race that persisted until the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Main article: Cold War (1985-1991).

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