How and why did the two communist regimes of Russia and China become hostile adversaries? Escalating to the point that Russia put 40 or so divisions on their border with China. It appears to me that at that time (early Cold War era) they should have been partners against the Western powers.

by nathan500

I understand that this may be a topic that would greatly benefit from understanding fine details. Therefore, if you could recommend or direct me to some sources that I could do personal research, it would be appreciated. Thank you.

AStatesRightToWhat

You're looking for The Sino-Soviet Split by Lorenz M. Luthi. I read it nearly a decade ago in university, and I don't have my copy anymore. The thesis was that Mao remained a committed radical communist, devoted ideologically to confrontation with the West. While the Soviets under Khrushchev were busy repudiating Stalin's personality cult and trying to co-exit with the West. Mao was in the process of building his own personality cult more or less modeled on Stalin's so you can see how that would rub him the wrong way. This all led to serious competition for global leadership of various communist movements around the second and third worlds. Sorry that I don't have more details for you, but I studied this quite awhile ago. I do recommend Luthi's book though, if you want to know more.