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HISTORY IGCSE > 6. USSR's control over Eastern Europe (NEW) > Flashcards

6. USSR's control over Eastern Europe (NEW) Flashcards

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1
Q

When was Hungary

A

1956

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2
Q

Life in Hungary under the Soviets - Leadership

A

Hungarian leader: Rákosi, hard-line communist, fully under control of Moscow, unpopular amongst people

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3
Q

Life in Hungary under the Soviets - Policing

A

AVH - Rakosi’s secret police
- arrested anyone who spoke out against communism
- no freedom of speech
- fear and terror

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3
Q

Life in Hungary under the Soviets - Soviet presence

A

1000s of Soviet troops/officials in Hungary
Draining Hungarian resources -> poverty

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4
Q

Life in Hungary under the Soviets - language/religion

A

Russian language being forced on Hungarians
Communists discouraged religious beliefs - many Hungarians were religious, leader of Catholic Church imprisoned

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5
Q

What happened in June 1956?

A

Hungarian people began to protest against Rakosi’s refime, Moscow replaced him with Gero

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6
Q

How was Gero seen? What did this lead to?

A
  • unpopular
  • students and workers revolted, supported by Hungarian army
  • riots spread, Soviets agreed to form a new government under Imre Nagy, popular, communist and more liberal
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7
Q

What were Nagy’s reforms?

A
  1. free elections
  2. impartial legal system
  3. total withdrawal of Soviet roops
  4. private ownership
  5. Hungary leave Warsaw Pact
  6. declare neutrality in Cold War
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8
Q

Response of USSR to Nagy’s reforms

A
  • couldn’t accept idea of Hungary leaving Warsaw Pact - gap in USSR’s buffer zone
  • prioritized Soviet security
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9
Q

What did the USSR do to stop Nagy

A

November 1956: soviet tanks crossed Hungarian border, 30 000 killed
Nagy captured and executed in 1958
Nagy replaced by Kadar, who wiped out remaining resistance

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10
Q

Response of the West to Hungary in 1956

A
  • sympathetic but no intervention
  • basically did nothing
  • preoccupied with anglo-french invasion of Suez
  • NATO couldn’t advance through neutral Austria to get to Hungary
  • Eisenhower for reelection
  • NIKITA threatened Britain and France with rockets if they intervened
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11
Q

Consequences of Hungary 1956

A
  • 200 000 refugees fled to West
  • Nagy executed
  • Kadar in power
  • Hungary under strict communist control
  • realisation that USSR would not tolerate attempts from leaving Warsaw Pact
  • showed Soviet sphere of influence not to attempt anything, USSR had power over them
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12
Q

Consequences of Hungary 1956 on international relations

A
  • West more or less powerless to influence events behind iron curtain
  • West determined to resist Soviet expansion
  • West accepted USSR’s determination in Eastern Europe, that they might be brutal
  • despite everything West, accepted EE as soviet sphere
  • Khrushchev determined to maintain communist control at any cost
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13
Q

Warsaw Pact

A
  • May 1955
  • defense against attacks on Soviet Bloc
  • response to NATO
  • military security pact between Eastern European countries
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14
Q

Causes of the Prague Spring

A
  • Czech economy in recession
  • workers: poor housing and lifestyle
  • farmers suffering
  • products exported to USSR
  • students resentful of limited freedom
  • living standards bad: poverty, food shortages, inflation
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15
Q

What was the Prague Spring

A

1968
Czech people tried to exert some power over their own lives + reform communist system
‘socialism with a human face’
lasted for 4 months, until crushed by Soviet Red Army

16
Q

Dubceks reforms
5

A
  1. less censorship
  2. freedom of speech increase
  3. legalisation of political opposition groups
  4. less secret police
  5. capitalist elements into economy

still wanted to be in Warsaw Pact and COMECON - not enough for USSR though

17
Q

Soviet response in Czechoslovakia

A
  • USSR feared proposals went against communist control + liberal ideas would spread, causing instability in Eastern Europe
  • many eastern european countries concerned
  • 500,000 troops entered czech after brezhnvez recieves a letter from czech communists requesting help
  • czzech gov asked people to passivley resist- flower power
  • dubcek arrested
  • new leader husak installed- reversed reforms
18
Q

Brezhnev Doctrine

A

Brezhnev declared that the USSr would not allow Eastern Europe countries to reject communism
USSR feared liberal ideas which caused instability and threatened security of USSR
feared growing trade links between Czech and WG would lead to more Western influence

19
Q

Response of the West to Prague Spring

A

did nothing
accepted Soviet Sphere of influence
focused on Vietnam war
LBJ did not want to provoke Moscow

20
Q

consequences of Prague Spring + Brezhnev doctrine internationally

A
  • end to peaceful co-existence
  • revival of traditional cold war tactics
  • USSR and USA continuing stockpile weapons
  • SALT and Helsinki accords
  • suggested that USSR’s grip on satellite states was weakening
21
Q

Reasons for growing tension over Berlin

A
  • Berlin divided into 4 zones
  • source of tension throughout Cold War (apparent in crisis of Berlin Blockade)
22
Q

Brain drain

A
  • highly skilled people were able to escape hardships of EG and EB for benefits of capitalism in WG and WB
  • lack of smart people in Eastern sectors
  • between 1949 and 1961, 2.7 million East Germans left for West Germany
23
Q

Khruschev response to brain drain

A
  • bad impression of EG
  • Nov 1958: speech, giving West ultimatum. demanded that the Western powers should withdraw their troops from Berlin within 6 months
24
Q

U2 plane incident

A

May 1960: U2 spy plane shot down over USSR
US claimed it was weather plane that was lost
It was clear that it was a spy mission piloted by Gary Powers
June 1961: Khruschev demanded that USA leave WB again
Kennedy refused, increased US spending on weapons

25
Q

consequences of u2 spy plane incident

A
  1. US embarrassed, lost moral high ground in cold war
  2. nothing resolved
  3. tension increase
26
Q

construction of berlin wall

A

August 1961: barbed wire fence erected along E/W Berlin border
then changed into concrete wall
Wall became symbol of communist oppression

27
Q

why was berlin wall built

A

brain drain
lure of the west
espionage
imbalance in cold war superpowers

28
Q

response of west to berlin wall

A

US protested but effectively did nothing
resumed testing nuclear weapons
unwilling to risk war

29
Q

impact of wall on international relations

A
  • tension escalation
  • victory for Kennedy, held onto WB
  • Kennedy argued that communism was not good if Russians need to trap them
  • Khrushchev claimed victory from crisis, he had fulfilled his aim to reduce brain drain
30
Q

What was Solidarity

A
  • communist control unpopular in Poland, but through protests conditions did improve - good living standards, increased wages… poles optimistic
  • late 1970s: Polish economy in crisis, government had no new ideas, just propaganda that gave fake idea that things were good
  • as in most communist countries, there were trade unions but uneffective
  • 1980 strikes broke out
  • new trade union, Solidarity, led by Lech Walesa formed
31
Q

What did Solidarity want

A
  • more pay
  • less censorship
  • welfare benefits
  • broadcasting of Catholic Church services
  • election of factory managers
32
Q

Why was Solidarity so powerful and why did the USSR agree to Solidarity’s demands

A
  • had support of strong and important industries
  • not seen as a political party
  • support of Catholic Church
  • Walesa controlled the radicals, wary of USSR to avoid disputes
  • Walesa seen as a hero, charismatic
  • government hoped Solidarity would split into fractions
  • had western support: USSR treated situation with care
33
Q

why did polish gvt clamp down on solidarity in dec 1981

A
  1. solidarity acting like a political party
  2. poland in chaos due to strikes, organised by some members of Solidarity
  3. many different factions within solidarity, walesa lost control
  4. meat and fish supply went down by 25%, unemployment rising due to strikes, food shortages, industrial production decreased by 11%
  5. began encouraging other countries under Soviet control to rise up
  6. USSR would step in if gvt didn’t do anything
34
Q

Gorbachev

A
  • became leader in 1985
  • USSR in crisis: bad economy, arms race, war in Afghanistan
35
Q

Gorbachev’s concerns

A
  1. Soviets had poor attitude of work
  2. high levels of alcoholism
  3. low quality of work
  4. hardliners
36
Q

Gorbachev’s reforms

A
  1. Glasnost - withdrew troops from Afghanistan, built international trust cooperation, talked about freedom of speech
  2. Perestroika - restructuring - cut spending in arms race + Red Army, remove missiles in Europe, free trade in USSR, people could buy and sell for profit
  3. improved relations with West
37
Q

Why did soviet control of EE collapse

A
  • Gorbachev policies were not successful, economy couldn’t modernize as fast as needed
  • Gorbachev didn’t know what he was doing
  • lost support of Red army by 1989, their funds were cut
  • Gorbachev made it clear that he wouldn’t support other communist gvts in europe with soviet troops
  • people living in eastern urope saw changes in ussr, began to overthrow their own gvts
  • Nov 1989: Berlin wall torn down, germany united
  • countries within USSR also demanded independence eg Ukraine and Lithuania (gorbachev powerless to stop them leaving)
  • Dec 1991: end of USSR

HISTORY IGCSE (13 decks)

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