The Cold War split the temporarywartime allianceagainstNazi Germany, leaving the Soviet Union and the United States as twosuperpowerswith profound economic and political differences. The USSR was aMarxist–Leniniststate led by itsCommunist Party, which in turn was dominated by aleaderwith different titles over time, and a small committee called thePolitburo. The Party controlled the state, the press, the military, the economy, and many organizations throughout theSecond World, including theWarsaw Pactand other satellites, and funded communist parties around the world, sometimes in competition with communistChina, particularly following theSino-Soviet splitof the 1960s. In opposition stood thecapitalistWest, led by the United States, afederal republicwith atwo-partypresidential system. TheFirst Worldnations of the Western Bloc were generallyliberal democraticwith a free press and independent organizations, but were economically and politically entwined with a network ofbanana republicsand other authoritarian regimes throughout theThird World, most of which were the Western Bloc'sformer colonies. Some major Cold War frontlines such asVietnam,Indonesia, and theCongowere still Western colonies in 1947.