The Berlin Wall, which went up on August 13, 1961, was a concrete wall separating BERlin in two halves: east and West Berlin. Mainly constructed during the construction period of German Democratic Republic (GDR) and Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), which reflect the fact that the Cold War ideologically divided the Germany into East and West, it is still necessary to consider the USSR’s view as the leading power in the eastern bloc.

1. Security and Control

The soviet held the belief that concrete ideologies would provide safety and order in East Berlin, specifically with its people. One of the Soviet Union’s goals of building it was to stem the tide of public reversal from East to West Berlin, which was particularly detrimental to power. This particular stretch of the wall diminished chances by East Germans to flee to the freer and richer territory of West Germany and thus became the literal separation of the two halves of the city and of several other cities in this Eastern European nation.

2. Defence of the Socialist system

The USSR thought it was important that the Berlin wall act as the barrier to the socialist regime in the east Germany. The Cold War alliance of Eastern bloc headed by USSR was committed for spread of socialism and check on capitalist world. This wall was representing eastern socialism and free market western capitalism showing struggle between two different ideologies. The USSR thought it necessary to build the wall to curb instances of easy sharing of ideas from the western world with east Germany.

3. Demonstration of Power

Another proof of the USSR authoritative position was the construction of the Berlin Wall as a call for keeping grip on the eastern European countries and preventing them from leaving the sphere of the USSR influence. Thus the separation of a city and isolating families and communities became a demonstration of the relevant force and capacity to act determinedly, despite its aggressive actions toward its sphere of influence in front of the West.

4. International Relations

As much of the events in international relations it could be argued that USSR’s approach of the Berlin Wall was inextricably bound with the superpower conflict, the Cold War confrontation between the United States and USSR. It raised the level of confrontation between to two superpowers and further amplified the clear difference between capitalist and socialist world. The wall was again a means through which the Soviet Union squeezed concessions from the West in other issues surrounding cold war politics or preserved the status of the orthodox socialist regimes in Eastern Europe.

5. Soviet Reactions inside the USSR

Two main points should be asserted while specifying, that the position of the Soviet Union on the construction and functioning of the Berlin Wall was not unified. Neither supporters and opponents of the Soviet government remained indifferent to the human rights violations that the Wall would bring about or its impact on relations with the West. Nevertheless, there were always those opinions silenced, because the USSR focused on uniting the entire socialist camp against the forces of the Western bloc.

Conclusion

From the Soviet’s point of view the primary reasons for the Berlin wall were security, authority to maintain order, to preserve the socialist system and sovereignty. This was so mainly because by establishing a barrier that included Germany it sought to strengthen its grip on eastern Europe and check the advance of western influence. The division of East and West Berlin in the death of the Cold War became the catalyst in which freedom was achieved within the city.