How did the Cold War actually start?
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Despite being allies in WW2 relations between the US and the USSR were already tense (because of both communism and Russia demanding buffer zones on their western border because of long-standing geopolitical insecurities). When the war was over and Germany was defeated the two weren’t going to be pals, but this situation was exacerbated considerably with the dropping of the atomic bombs (which were, according to articles and other I’ve seen about Truman’s diaries, dropped as much to intimidate the USSR as to defeat Japan.) From that point it’s a story as old as time, rivals vying to increase their own influence especially in Europe and to limit the others’ influence in the same areas.
Certainly some of it was ideological in nature, with the US seeking to contain the spread of communism largely because it negatively impacted the US’s ability to throw its weight around, but it was largely a result of competing geopolitical interests.
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